Finally, the day has come where the Focus India Delegation could take off to India. On 28 March 2018, the interdisciplinary group of students and professors gathered at Zurich Airport to head to their first destination: Delhi.
Day 1: Embassy of Switzerland in India
After a short bus ride through an amazingly stunning Delhi and its embassy district, the delegation arrived at the Swiss Embassy. Compared to other embassies in the near surroundings, the Swiss building seemed to be smaller from the outside, but albeit important, as we were to learn during the following few hours. On the outside of the building, a large banner was symbolizing the 70 years of friendship between India and Switzerland, which are celebrated this year. Not yet 70 years enduring, but equally impressive is the fact that it was already the 13th time, that a delegation of the Focus India project was welcomed at the Swiss Embassy. We were welcomed by Dr. Indraneel Ghose and we were invited to a delicious networking lunch.
The official program of this year’s visit started with a spontaneous presentation that was held by Marylaure Crettaz Corredor, the Head of the Swiss Cooperation Office in India. She introduced us into the various projects that the Swiss Embassy is engaging in and partnering up with different ministries of the Indian government. Several projects tackle the issues caused by climate change, which is a big risk for India as a large part of the population is still working in the primary sector and would be affected heavily by climate changes and its devastating consequences.
One of the main partners that the Embassy is working with in this topic is Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies. They offer a solution to protect the farmers from a loss of their harvest, at least financially, with their agricultural insurance solutions.
How the SDC is pushing PPP’s (Public-Private-Partnerships) to achieve sustainable solutions
Another project is the “low carbon cement project (LCC)”, which the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the EPFL in Lausanne are working together. India is the world’s second-largest producer of cement – behind China. With a strong focus on construction via several initiatives from Prime Minister Modi, the demand for cement is stronger than ever before. The SDC and EPFL are developing a new cement which is based on crushed limestone and is called Calcined Clay Cement or LC3, which should save more than 30% of the carbon dioxide emissions compared to standard concrete.
Smart Cities in India
After this interesting presentation we had the pleasure to meet two members of the Ministry of Urban Affairs that introduced us to two projects matching the core theme of this year’s Focus India edition; think DIGITALLY. act SMART. succeed GLOBALLY.
The first presentation was about the 100 Smart Cities initiative from Prime Minister Modi and showed how the individual projects have been selected and how the ministry is connecting the different projects. “Smartnet” creates a database that helps other cities create projects and learn from the already ongoing projects. Amongst other features, it is a tool including a questionnaire in order to help the cities evaluate where they position themselves in each of the topics, and to see where improvements are needed the most.
CapaCITIES: reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing resilience to climate change
The second presentation was about a project that the SDC is working on with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and it’s so called CapaCITIES project. The project is active in four cities, namely Coimbatore, Rajkot, Siliguri and Udaipur, in addressing upcoming challenges related to the effects of climate change or inadequate infrastructure analysis, with Swiss knowledge, experience and expertise. One example that was highlighted was the sewage systems in each city which had a lot of capacity to clean water but lacked connected houses.
The session at the Swiss Embassy in India was very interesting and inspiring for the experiences to come during our onsite trip. We will soon get to know the “Incredible India” with all its beautiful places and contrasts within cultures, people as well as infrastructure. After a short break, we went back to the entrance to take the mandatory group picture. Thanks to new inspiring technology, also a funny boomerang with the red baseball caps that the delegation received earlier from the Embassy staff as welcome presents, was taken. In retrospect, a very smart gift for the trip when considering the warm weather in India.
Day 2: Visit at Blaser Swisslube
Expanding to India as a Swiss family business must have been challenging, yet the Focus India delegation witnessed and felt an impressive success story today: Blaser Swisslube has blended Swiss excellency with Indian passion and created a business with committed and happy employees. Their hospitality, openness and presentation left a lasting impression.
It was the second day in India for the Focus India delegation and the student delegates were still processing the first impressions of a completely new country. Arriving at the office of Blaser Swisslube in Guragaon, Delhi, it felt surprisingly familiar to see the signature barrels scattered around the rooms. The reception was truly welcoming and smiles were all around, it was obvious that everyone involved had a true interest in learning more about each other.
Introduction to “Incredible INDIA”
After everyone introduced themselves, the Blaser India staff lead us into a highly interactive session and they gave us a taster of “Incredible India”. To everyone’s surprise, some delicious snacks and tea were served in handcrafted traditional single-use clay cups. During an in-depth introduction into various fundamental aspects of the Indian life and culture, many questions arouse which led to engaging discussions.
Blaser Swisslube’s “strategy for a generation”
In the second part, Punit Gupta, the Managing Director, took over and explained the delegation more about the activities of Blaser Swisslube in India. It was particularly interesting to learn about the symbioses of the two countries, the company cultures and how Blaser Swisslube is successfully pursuing a “Glocal”-approach, aggregating the global strategy with Indian values.
The Focus India Delegation first learned about Blaser Swisslube, the LiquidTool and CEO Marc Blaser’s unique strategy during the preparatory seminar in February (read the article on page 16 of our NEXUS newsletter). Some delegates immediately noted that they can recognize the culture in the Indian office and the way the local staff embodied the corporate philosophy of “serving before deserving”. We witnessed how Blaser Swisslube intends to make every experience with the company a positive one.
The exchange was rounded off with an incredible dinner together with many Blaser India employees at a venue, embodying the various regions, architectures and food traditions within India. The learnings from the very open and interactive session and the following discussions in the restaurant were highly appreciated by the whole Focus India delegation – a perfect start into the onsite seminar in India. Thank you to Punit and to the whole team for welcoming us so warmly.
Day 3: Visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra
A cultural highlight: Seeing the Taj Mahal and visiting Agra Red Fort took everyone’s breath away. The delegation also had the chance to interact with locals and discover new means of transport by bus and by train. The third day started early at 6.30 in the morning, as we were visiting an UNESCO heritage, that many of us had on their bucket list: the famous Taj Mahal.
To trigger the real Indian experience off, we took the train to get to Agra. As we spent the first days mainly in the bus or companies, it was fascinating to change the point of view by traveling with the locals. Already, when we left the bus in front of the station, some of us felt lost in the crowd of Indians looking at us as complete strangers. On the platform men were carrying huge packages of food, pushing wagons with huge sacks stacked on it and there were women wearing beautiful saris with their children smoothly sneaking through the mass of people. Others were jumping on the already packed train and some were walking between the rails to collect rubbish. Our train was made mainly for tourists traveling to the Taj, as it was very comfortable and heading only to Agra.
Once arrived in Agra, the air was torrid as the sun was burning from the sky. A bus ride and one bottle of water later, we had to take another bus that brought us finally to the famous Taj Mahal. This was again a very Indian experience: All 27 delegates were supposed to fit in a mini bus made for max. 15 people. Our guide provided us with further information on the history of the Maharajas and the Taj Mahal itself. This mausoleum is an incredible building and one of India’s most iconic landmarks. Inside the palace, it was very busy with tourists, of which the majority were Indians itself.