Amar Sinha 
Counsellor (Press, Information & Culture) 
Embassy of India 
Washington, DC 
(202) 939-7042 

August 7, 1998

 Ministry of External Affairs in association with World Link, which is the magazine of the World
 Economic Forum and Investor Access, a CD-Rom publisher in UK have brought out a CD-Rom
 on "India - Priorities for the 21st Century". This is a unique multimedia guide to India for investors
 which has about 30 minutes of video footage where the views of Industry Ministry Shri Sikander
 Bakht and several Secretaries to Government of India on our foreign investment and related policies
 can be heard. The broad idea of this CD-Rom has been to convey a comprehensive picture about
 the evolving scene in India as the country moves towards the 21st century. Industrial and investment
 policies of all the States and Union Territories have been featured along with analysis of 20 different
 sectors, each highlighting the potential for growth and the vast opportunities opening up. An
 economic environment section brings out the economic policies and agenda of the Government and
 describes the present economic setting. The CD also has a complete guide for foreign investor on
 policies and procedures for foreign investment. There are several other interesting features like the
 Internet hub which highlights the contents of over 40 investment related websites of India or the
 corporate focus section which has a contact data base of over 600 listed Indian companies. There is
 also a data library which provides useful information about the various economic indicators. There
 are also some interactive tools which further enrich the CD and enhance its practical utility. In fact,
 with hyperlinks given for important websites, the CD virtually acts as a gateway to the larger data
 base contained in most of the investment related websites of India.

 As per the arrangement worked out with World Link, the CD will be distributed by them to all the
 participants of the last Davos Summit of WEF. Copies of the CD are also being sent to all our
 Missions abroad who will not only use it as a reference material and send copies to key local
 chambers of commerce or large corporate groups but also use it as a presentational aide while
 adressing investment promotion seminars or other such speaking opportunities.

 This statement would not be complete without an acknowledgement of all the cooperation that
 Ministry of External Affairs has received from the other concerned Ministries of Government of
 India as well as the State Governments and several other agencies. Both State Bank of India and
 Tata Enterprises have also supported the project as co-publishers.