Breakthrough deal in education relations of India and Australia.
The Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne has announced a partnership with India’s top business school – the Indian School of Business (ISB).
Now, this partnership will give MBA students a truly global perspective of emerging business trends.
As part of the collaboration between the two schools, Executive MBA and Senior Executive MBA cohorts from Melbourne Business School will undertake immersion modules at ISB’s Hyderabad campus (pictured).
This is a brilliant deal and will contribute to the India-capability of Australian executives.
Good friend and colleague Vinay Sarawagi is Senior Vice President Digital for the Times Network and is based in Delhi.
If you think India has shifted “our way” or is ready to follow “our friends” then here is some food for thought – so simply and elegantly put by Vinay.
🌍 India’s growing role in containing China’s power will be on its own terms, not as an appendage of the United States.
🤝 Collaborating with India in the Indian Ocean and developing niche military capabilities can strengthen the US-Indian partnership for regional security.
🔒 A realistic and resilient strategic partnership with India can contribute to stability without imposing unreasonable expectations, benefiting both nations and deterring potential crises.
Makes sense to me – INTO INDIA has long had reservations about the cheerleaders who think via the QUAD and other moves that India is somehow now part of the US alliance.
Russian Deputy PM Denis Manturov this week in Delhi announced India and Russia are close to an FTA – further evidence of India’s “Multi-Alignment”
INTO INDIA was so pleased to see Economics Correspondent for The Age, Matt Wade, today writing about the shared Indian Ocean region strategic interests of India and Australia.
This is such a refreshing shift from the rhetoric about the QUAD (India, Australia< Japan and USA) so called strategic alignment for the “Indo-Pacific Region”.
One of the clumsiest terms of recent diplomacy has been the concept of an “Indo-Pacific Region”. A quick glance at a map shows this to be wide of the mark.
But the same glance at the map will quickly show why India and Australia worry about the Indian Ocean region – they both need this area to be safe and open for maritime activity and stable for economic development. It is also realistic for these two countries to combine for peace and stability in the Indian Ocean.
It is just not realistic to expect India to share in security interests for the Pacific.
India has traditionally been a “non-alignment” country, which happens to be close in defence to Russia.
It is now promoting the concept of “Multi-Alignment”. Of course, the USA (and Australia) do not understand this at all, believing in the power of taking sides.
That is why they have been so hopeful that India coming into the QUAD is a sign of India shifting towards “taking sides” and moving “our” way.
Not happening.
Here is one piece of evidence that India maintains an independent and “Multi-Alignment” program – at a time when the western alliance is condemning Russia, this week India and Russia have announced progress towards a free trade agreement, to build stronger trade and investment in both countries – according to Russia’s deputy prime minister Denis Manturov, speaking at an event in New Delhi with India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar on Monday.
There you go. Multi-alignment is the modern incarnation of India’s historic “Non-alignment”.
India’s “north east region” has long been neglected and is little known among western leaders – but it has a crucial future because of the role it can play in India’s strategic and commercial connectivity in the surrounding region.
The role of China in the Indo-Pacific increases the focus on this sensitive region.
India is now giving the NER priority – there are around 30 major road and highway links under construction, a complex process when border crossings are involved. There are also around 10 major railway construction projects including bridges and new lines.
This has been so well described by Sreeparna Banerjee and Ambar Kumar Ghosh, “India’s Northeast: Gateway to Connectivity with Eastern Neighbours,” ORF Occasional Paper No. 395, March 2023, Observer Research Foundation.
India’s northeast consists of eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Nagaland. It shares 5,812 km of international boundaries with the neighbouring countries of Myanmar, China, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. It is landlocked; seven of the eight states are linked to the rest of India only through the Siliguri Corridor in North Bengal—a narrow strip of land (22-km wide) that is also called the ‘Chicken’s Neck’. The corridor is flanked by Nepal in the north and Bangladesh in the south.
This region can serve as a pivotal connecting space between India and its neighbours to the east in South Asia, as well as to East and Southeast Asia and beyond, enhancing the country’s diplomatic, infrastructural, and commercial engagements.
India’s foreign policy priorities, reflected in its ‘Act East’ and ‘Neighbourhood First’ policies, also bring the northeast into focus as a connectivity gateway to the wider Indo-Pacific.
Japan, with its long-standing expertise in the infrastructure sector, continues to play a significant role in developing physical connectivity projects within and across the northeast.
Australia shares many of the strategic goals of India, and now through the QUAD (India, Australia, Japan and USA) the countries are closer together through their commitment to democracy, open and free cultures and more.
The focus on this region will continue – India is crucially positioned within South Asia and in the broader Bay of Bengal region. It needs to play a more vibrant role in the region, and to do so, must engage more strongly with its East and Southeast Asian neighbours.
INTO INDIA was super pleased to see that Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Penny Wong, has appointed Ms Swati Dave as the inaugural Chair of the Advisory Board to the Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR).
By all talks, the CAIR is going to be the new epicentre of Australia’s broad relationship with India.
It can take things to a new level. Much needed.
CAIR will open some time this year and will serve as a national platform to further strengthen our relationship with India.
Why is this such a strong appointment?
Ms Dave is currently Deputy Chair of the Asia Society Australia and as a member of the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations’ Advisory Board. She is also an Investment Committee member for QIC Global Infrastructure. Ms Dave has more than 30 years’ of experience in finance and banking across a range of sectors in both domestic and international markets.
She is the right person to guide the relationship to a higher level.
We need much more guidance on business relations, cross-cultural understanding and a broader cultural engagement with India. INTO INDIA has long called for more Australian investment in India -investment is a powerful basis for future trade.
CAIR will apparently work closely with the Australia India Council (AIC) and the Australia India Institute (AII).
Australia and India – stepping up with CAIR to a new, stronger relationship.
As this year comes to a close, INTO INDIA reflects on the game changer – the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement.
It surprised us all. Many did not expect it to be signed. Nobody expected it to be so vast in potential impact.
ECTA will save Australian exporters around $2 billion a year in tariffs, while consumers and business will save around $500 million in tariffs on imports of finished goods, and inputs to our manufacturing sector.
The tariff commitments provided by India in the agreement will open up access for Australia’s exporters of products including critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, lentils, seafood, sheepmeat, horticulture and wine.
Australian service suppliers will benefit from full or partial access across more than 85 Indian services sectors and subsectors. Australian suppliers across 31 sectors and subsectors will be guaranteed the highest standard of treatment that India grants to any future free trade agreement partner.
Australian services sectors to benefit include higher education and adult education, as well as business services such as tax, architecture and urban planning.
ECTA will support tourism and workforce needs in regional Australia by making 1000 Work and Holiday Program places available to young adventurous Indians. It maintains opportunities for Indian students graduating in Australia to undertake post-study work, with a bonus year of stay for high-performing STEM graduates.
These are the priorities of Indian Gen Z and Millennials.
Most of the world’s young people live in India.
And India next month becomes the most populous nation on earth, passing China.
India’s YOUTH BOOM looks like this:
440 million Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996)
375 million Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012)
There are two things we need to know about these generations.
First, they are hard working and earning better than their elders. A high percentage of them have a second job.
Second, they are big spenders, so their capacity to shape and influence us all is enormous.
So, getting your product or service into India right now would make great business sense.
And countries, like Australia, are busy building closer political and strategic ties with India. Makes sense – it will be the economic (and therefore cultural etc) driver of the future.
Dr Ashok Sharma has written about the increasingly close relations of India and Australia – for example, we are now the number 2 education market behind the USA and just ahead of the UK. Dr Sharma pointed to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the New Education Policy which should “bring the current education partnership to the next level”.
We know that the increasing activity in education has many spin offs – increased tourism, professional exchanges and more.
Education might be the “trade flagship” that drags other industries into the trade mix.
But we cannot be sure.
It is time for a new national conversation about Australia-India trade, with a close examination on what blockages might exist and what steps would increase two-way trade.
India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar (pictured with Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles) came to Australia in October for the annual Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue – where these matters were discussed.
The two foreign ministers discussed “accelerating and deepening economic ties, including through our Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement.”
Sounds good.
But what is next?
Can the Australian Trade Minister, the Hon Don Farrell, bring business and education at all levels together in a national dialogue?
Remember – India is not just the second most populous nation on earth, it is also the YOUNGEST – which makes it the global growth centre. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity.
AICC’s Mahadevan Shankar (right) with SatCom President Dr Subba Rao Pavaluri in presence of Minister The Hon Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar
India is a major centre for all aspects of satellites – the rockets are flying, the satellites launching and this is becoming a big industry.
There’s some good news in this for Australia. The Australia India Chamber of Commerce has driven this good news.
Thanks to the efforts of AICC’s Mahadevan Shankar, Convenor, Defence and Security National Industry Group – we now have super good news out of India – an MOU has been signed yesterday between the AICC and the SatCom Industry Association, India.
The signing was in the presence of Hon Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & Information Technology. Pictured with the documents in front of the Minister are (left) the President of SatCom Industry Association Dr. Subba Rao Pavaluri and AICC’s Mahadevan Shankar, Convenor, Defence and Security National Industry Group.
This bilateral partnership will lead to growing collaborations – and opportunities for Australian companies to engage directly with this growth sector of India.
SatCom Industry Association represents satellite operators, satellite systems, launch vehicles, ground and terminal equipment manufacturers and suppliers, satellite-based IOT/M2M solution providers, space startups, innovation hubs, academic institutions, law firms and provides interface with Government, Regulators, Policymakers and domestic & international standards’ bodies.
It has been a dynamic year for the AICC.
Members of AICC have been contributing extensively in this area past year, which has significantly motivated the progress of this bilateral 🇦🇺🇮🇳 partnership towards growing collaborations into the future.
Mahadevan Shankar says: “Sky is the limit and truly the exponential growth in space sector globally, and in particular in India, has opened up significant opportunities for Australian companies to engage directly and share in the rapid growth!”
“Big opportunities for next generation leaders, innovators & entrepreneurs to enter civilian and military use satellites and participate in the booming digital economies of future!” he said.
Deakin University set to lead in new education era for India – at JGU are Professor Iain Martin, VC, Deakin, and Ravneet Pahwa, VP and CEO South Asia
These “HUBS” are a great innovation by Deakin University – giving it a great advantage in the Indian era of the New Education Policy.
Deakin Vice-Chancellor Professor Iain Martin visiting New Delhi, India, announcing the launch of partner-institutions so that students can commence the first part of their studies in their home country.
“I am excited to be back in India and it couldn’t have been for a better occasion than the launch of the DEAKIN UNIVERSITY HUBS at OP Jindal Global University, Symbiosis International University and Chitkara University,” said Professor Martin.
Here is why this is a big idea!
Indian students can now commence the first part of their studies with a Deakin partner institution in India and then transfer to a Deakin campus in Australia for the second part of their educational journey.
But that’s just the early stage of the HUBS.
“These hubs will provide valuable opportunities for growth, student mobility and joint research. They will promote enhanced collaboration between Indian institutes and Deakin, leading to academic and research excellence that will be highly beneficial for both countries,” said Professor Martin.
It gets better!
Deakin has established similar hubs with corporates – Infosys, TCS and more.
Deakin was the first international university to establish its presence in India in 1994.
CONGRATULATIONS to Ravneet Pawha, Vice-President (Global Alliances) and CEO (South Asia) at Deakin and the whole Deakin team in India.
Deakin is a role model in how to do business in India:
Establish a presence for the long haul
Be visible in India
Develop relationships over time
As India further liberalises, build stronger engagement
Use Indians to head up your presence in India
Ensure your leadership (V-C) is a regular visitor to India
Into India 