NEW PUNJABI LEADERSHIP SEEKS EDUCATIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 002177

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/INS, SCA/PPD, ECA/A. R, DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PINR SCUL IN PK
SUBJECT: NEW PUNJABI LEADERSHIP SEEKS EDUCATIONAL
COLLABORATION WITH U.S.

REF: A. NEW DELHI 666

B. 06 NEW DELHI 6886

C. NEW DELHI 1977

D. NEW DELHI 1681

E. NEW DELHI 2127

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Classified By: PolCouns Ted Osius for reasons 1.4 (B,D)



1. (SBU) Summary: During a May 2 meeting with POLCOUNS in
Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Secretary Ramesh Inder Singh and
Principal Secretary to the Punjab Chief Minister D.S. Guru
discussed opportunities for India/U.S. education cooperation,
water and electricity subsidies, relations with Pakistan, and
female feticide. Singh noted the need for Punjab to invest
in education so that the state will continue progressing into
the 21st century. Additionally, Guru highlighted Punjab's
three tier initiative to tackle the grossly imbalanced gender
ratio and cut the prevalence of female feticide, claiming
significant gains since the 2001 Census (ref A). Although
Punjab held one of the worst gender ratios in the nation at
798:1000 (females:males),Guru stated that recent state
surveys indicate the ratio has improved to 870:1000. Singh
and Guru pointed to agriculture and education as the primary
areas where India and the U.S. should focus attention to
strengthen the bilateral relationship. Punjab held elections
in February 2007; this cable documents the first official
interaction with the new Shiromani Akali Dal/Bharatiya Janata
Party (Akali/BJP) government under the leadership of Chief
Minister Prakash Singh Badal. END SUMMARY.

Scouting for Education Cooperation
--------------


2. (SBU) On May 2, in the Punjab capital of Chandigarh,
POLCOUNS met with the state Chief Secretary Ramesh Inder
Singh and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister D.S. Guru
to discuss opportunities for Punjab/U.S. collaboration.
Highlighting the need to invest in their
&human capital,8 and catch up with the more progressive
Southern states in this regard, Singh outlined Punjab,s
education development plans. The Punjab government intends
to set up a national institute for science and research in
Mohali, modeled after the prestigious Indian Institutes of
Technology and Management (IITs and IIMs). Singh noted that
agricultural research was stagnant in Punjab. In order to
revitalize this area, the Agricultural University in Ludhiana
recently hired an American-educated quantitative genetics
professor as Vice Chancellor. Singh felt that a professor,
with &so many linkages8 to the U.S. will provide many
benefits to the university.


3. (SBU) Singh expressed interest in deepening U.S./Punjab
linkages in public/private education ventures, with an eye
towards establishing joint management institutes. One of
Punjab's highest priorities, he related, is to boost its
management capacity, as well as its biotechnology and
nanotechnology expertise. Currently, in order to get a job,
management and technology graduates in India must possess a
degree from an institution accredited by the All India
Council of Technical Education (AICTE). Parliament is
considering a bill to exempt universities with 100 percent
foreign direct investment (FDI) from AICTE accreditation
requirements, saving them from a lengthy bureaucratic

NEW DELHI 00002177 002.2 OF 003


process. Hopeful that the bill would pass, Singh told
POLCOUNS that the Punjab government is actively scouting for
potential U.S. partners to create a management school and is
offering government land (Note: In Punjab land is an
increasingly valuable asset, valued at approximately
$250,000/acre near Chandigarh. End Note.),as equity in the
partnership.


4. (SBU) Singh also indicated that the current debate over
proposed quotas for Other Backward Castes (refs B, C, & D)
would not impact foreign universities as they could &figure
out a way around it.8 Dispelling any notions that the
school would be a &charity,8 Singh pointed to the India
School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad (affiliated with the
Kellogg School of Management - Northwestern University and
University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business).
ISB charges $40,000 per student and runs a fully residential
program. Singh hoped Punjab would establish a school in that
category. POLCOUNS described A/S Hughes' recent visit to
India with a delegation of American University Presidents and
said we would share Punjab's interest in educational
collaboration with Washington and facilitate interactions.

Water Issues
--------------


5. (SBU) Singh noted that water issues are a &ticklish8
subject politically. He asserted that Punjabi farmers enjoy
fewer subsidies than American farmers. Singh agreed with
POLCOUNS that people value water more and waste less when
they have to pay for, but countered that electricity and
water subsidies for rural farmers are too difficult
politically to eliminate. Singh reported that there have
been no further developments regarding the dispute with
neighboring state, Haryana over sharing the waters of the
Yamuna River, as the issue is out of their hands and before
the courts.

Bettering Relations with Pakistan
--------------


6. (SBU) Indicating that the previous government did much to
develop Punjab/Pakistan trade, Singh contended the new Punjab
government in Chandigarh needed to continue and deepen this
trend. However, Singh pointed out the tepid and slow GOP
reaction to India's grant to Pakistan of most favored nation
status. Additionally, he asserted that although trade
barriers can and should be brought down, national security
must remain a top priority. Singh declared that the entire
region would benefit economically from better trade
relations, so the entire region and Punjab could not
&escape8 this trend. He also expressed a commitment to
deepening "people to people" contact, hoping to stimulate
greater interaction and opportunity growth. POLCOUNS
explained USG policy regarding the India/Pakistan
relationship and emphasized that greater economic integration
could benefit South and Central Asia.

Attacking Female Feticide, Denying Trafficking
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7. (SBU) Asked about female feticide, Guru, the former Health
Secretary, reported that the gender disparity in Punjab is

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less than that indicated by the 2001 Census. Punjab has done

NEW DELHI 00002177 003.2 OF 003


subsequent surveys which document the gender ratio has
increased from 798/1000 to 870/1000 since 2001. He
attributed the increase in the number of females to a three
tiered approach adopted that includes: 1) implementation and
enforcement of the Prenatal Determination and Testing Act
(PNDT),which criminalizes fetal gender determination and
abortion based on gender; 2) raising awareness in schools,
newspapers, and communities; and 3) government programs which
provide monetary awards to families with girls and villages
who neutralize their gender ratio disparity. Guru and Singh
noted that the mindset in Punjab is a holdover from an
earlier feudal society in which girls were kept indoors. He
expressed optimism at the progress Punjab is seeing and noted
that girls are viewed more and more as a &fruitful8 part of
society.


8. (C) Guru unequivocally denied that trafficking is a
problem in the state. (Note: A series of high profile stories
broke after a BJP Member of Parliament, Babubhai Khatara, was
arrested attempting to smuggle a woman and child into the
U.S. (ref E). The subsequent investigation has revealed high
level GOI officials involved in smuggling numerous Punjabis
into the US and other countries. End Note).

Comment: A Stable State Searching for Opportunity
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9. (C) Punjab has strong international linkages due to a
large diaspora. It is stable, with little communal tension.
Religious harmony, Singh noted, is embodied by the Akali/BJP
political coalition (a Sikh party and a Hindu party) --
although he characterized relations between the two parties
as only &cordial.8 In addition to agriculture, Singh noted
education as a key area for U.S./Punjab cooperation and
coordination and urged USG facilitation in finding partners
for higher education joint ventures, especially in the areas
of management, biotechnology, and nanotechnology. Although
recent arrests of high level GOI officials involved in an
elaborate network of human smuggling led to media reports
portraying Punjab as a nerve center for human smuggling, the
government denies that it is a problem. End Comment.
PYATT