Introduction

Indo-Polish relations are longstanding, and friendly. In recent years, the relationship has been characterised by pragmatism and cooperation. There are no bilateral issues of discord and the two countries maintain close cooperation in international fora. Poland supports India’s candidature for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and is currently focussing on developing and upgrading its relationship with India. The Poles admire Indian culture, spirituality, traditions. More and more Young Poles are visiting India to have a first hand encounter with the world’s largest democracy.

Background

From India’s point of view, Poland is the largest and perhaps the most important country in Central Europe. Poland became a NATO member in March 1999 and acquired EU membership on 1 May 2004. Its relative success in effecting a smooth transition to a democratic polity and a market economy, the high growth performance of the Polish economy over the past ten years, its size and strategic location in an area undergoing rapid and fundamental structural transformation, and Poland’s deep sense of history and culture, convinces analysts that it will play a key role in the region and in Europe's future. India is committed to focus on further strengthening bilateral relations with Poland. Poland is seen as an attractive gateway for goods and services to the vast EU and CIS markets. Poland is already India's largest trading partner and export destination in the Central European region (CER). India’s private sector sees Poland as an attractive location for their businesses/manufacturing units/service centres.

Streets in Warsaw and Krakow have been named after Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. During World War II, the then Jam Sahib (Ruler) of Jamnagar had extended hospitality to some 5,000 Polish orphans deported from Siberia. These children, who lived in camps in a number of places in Western India have formed the World Association of Poles from India, which now has 400 members in several countries. The Association organizes a Congress every two years, the last being held in Poland in May 2008 at Waplewo.

Political Relations

India and Poland established diplomatic relations in 1954 and the Indian Embassy in Warsaw was opened in 1957. During the Communist era, bilateral relations were close and cordial, with regular exchanges of high level visits, planned trade and economic interactions implemented by state trading organisations and underpinned by the rupee clearing arrangements, inter-governmental cooperation in defence and science and technology and cultural exchanges organized under the aegis of the Cultural Exchange Programme.

Foreign Policy Priorities

After emerging from the Eastern Block, Poland’s priorities focussed on entry into NATO and EU and building up ties with the US. There is a solid basis for the development of friendly and cooperative relations with Poland. In recent political exchanges, the Polish side has emphasised that it regards India as a mature democracy with which it wants to maintain close relations. It has shown understanding of our position on Kashmir and favours a bilateral resolution of the issue. India and Poland have agreed for the reciprocal support arrangement whereby India would support the candidature of Poland for election to a non-permanent seat of the UNSC in 2010-11, and in exchange the Government of Poland would extend its support to the candidature of India to a non-permanent seat of UNSC for the term 2011-2012.

Important bilateral treaties and agreements:
• Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investments: The Agreement regulating the bilateral investments was signed on 7 October 1996 in Warsaw during the State visit to Poland by President Dr. S.D. Sharma.
• Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation: The Agreement on 'the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income' was signed on 21 June 1981 in Warsaw for an indefinite period.
• Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations: A Protocol of Consultations between the Foreign Offices was signed in 1996 in Warsaw. The Protocol provides for meetings to be held at senior official level alternatively in New Delhi and Warsaw at least once in two years. The 3^rd Foreign Office Consultations were held in New Delhi in May 2006. The 4^th Foreign Office consultations were held in Warsaw on August 31, 2007 and the 5th Foreign Office Consultations are going to be held in New Delhi on June 16, 2008.
• Agreement on Cooperation in Science and Technology: The Agreement on Cooperation in Science and Technology was signed on 12 January 1993. A Joint Committee on S&T Cooperation was established under the Agreement. The Committee has been meeting regularly since then.
• Agreement on Cultural Cooperation and subsequent Cultural Exchange Programmes (CEP): An Agreement on Cultural Cooperation between India and Poland was signed in New Delhi on 27 March 1957. It provides a framework for cooperation in the fields of education, arts and science and technology. In pursuance of this Agreement, three-year Cultural Exchange Programmes (CEPs) have been concluded to provide guidelines for various activities. The last CEP for the period 2005-2007 was signed in March 2005. The extension of the agreement is under process.
• Agreement on Cooperation in Combating Organised Crime and International Terrorism: Signed in February 2003.
• Agreement on Defence Cooperation: Signed in February 2003.
• Extradition Treaty: Signed in February 2003.
• Agreement on Economic Cooperation between India and Poland - signed in Warsaw on May 19, 2006 by Shri Kamal Nath, India’s Minister of Commerce & Industry and Mr. Piotr Grzegorz Wozniak, Poland’s Minister of Economy.

Bilateral visits: There have been regular VVIP, Ministerial and delegation-level visits between Poland and India as per details below:

VVIP Visits

To Poland

June 1955 : Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
October 1967 : Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
June 1970 : President Varahagiri Venkata Giri
June 1979 : Prime Minister Morarji Desai
November 1986 : President Zail Singh
October 1996 : President S.D. Sharma
April 2009: President Pratibha Devisingh Patil

To India

1957 : Prime Minister Cyrankiewicz
January 1973 : Prime Minister Jaroszewicz
1977 : First Secretary of PUWP Gierek
February 1985 : Gen. Jaruzelski
March 1994 : President Lech Walesa
January 1998 : President Aleksander Kwasniewski
March 1999 : President Aleksander Kwasniewski (on transit)
February 2003: Prime Minister Leszek Miller
February 2004: President Aleksander Kwasniewski (on transit)

Foreign Ministry Visits

To Poland

June 1989 : Shri Natwar Singh, MOS(EA)
February 1993 : Shri R.L. Bhatia, MOS(EA)
September 1997 : Smt. Kamala Sinha, MOS(EA)
June 2000 : Shri Jaswant Singh, EAM
February 2002 : Shri Omar Abdullah, MOS (EA)
April 2005 Smt. Shashi U. Tripathi, Secretary (West)
June 2006 Shri Anand Sharma, Minister of State for External Affairs
August 2007: Shri Nalin Surie, Secretary (West)

To India

April 1990: Mr. Jan Majewski, Deputy Foreign Minister
June 1995: Mr. Robert Mroziewicz, Deputy FM
April 1997: Mr. Krzysztof Jakubaweski, Deputy FM
March 2005: Dr. Boguslaw Zaleski, Deputy FM
May 2006 : Mr. Witold Waszczykowski, Deputy FM
June 2008: Mr. Ryszard Schnepf, Deputy Foreign Minister

Other Visits

To Poland

January 1994: Shri Chimanbhai Patel, CM of Gujarat
June 1994 : Shri Mallikarjun, Raksha Rajya Mantri
June 1996 : Chief Justice Shri A.M. Ahmadi
September 1996 : Shri Tejendra Khanna, Commerce Secretary
November 1996 : Smt. Kanti Singh, MOS for Coal
March 1997 : Gen. Shanker Roy Chowdhary, COAS
May 1999 : Gen. V.P. Malik, COAS
January 2000 : Prof. V.S. Ramamurthy, Secretary, DST
May 2000 : Shri V.K. Shunglu, C&AG
June 2000: Shri T.R. Balu, Minister for Environment and Forest
May/June 2001 : 16-member NDC delegation
November 2001 : Shri Subhash Yadav, Deputy Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
May 2002 : Shri Manohar Joshi, Hon'ble Speaker, Lok Sabha Speaker and a multiparty Parliamentary delegation
July 2002: Shri Harin Pathak, RURM
April 2004: Shri Lakshmi Chand, Secretary (IPP)
June 2004: Shri V. S. Ramamurthy, Secretary (DST)
November 2004: Raksha Mantri Shri Pranab Mukherjee
March 2005:Shri Ashok Jha, Secretary, IPP
May 2006: Shri Kamal Nath, Commerce Minister
June 2007: Shri K.H. Muniappa, MOS for Shipping, Transport & Highways
November 2007: MOS for Forest & Wildlife, Sh. S. Regupathy
December 2007: Sh. K.P. Singh, Secretary (DP), Ministry of Defence
March 2008: Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor
July 2008 : Shri H.S. Puri, Special Secretary, MEA
September 2008: Shri Santosh Bagrodia, MOS (Coal)
October 2008: Shri Vijay Sharma, Secretary, M/o Environment & Forest
December 2008: Shri Vijay Sharma, Secretary, M/o Environment & Forest

To India

March 1990: Deputy Minister of External Economic Relations
November 1990: Minister of External Economic Relations
December 1992: Mr. Chrozanowski, Marshal of the Sejm
November 1996: Mr. Jan Czaja, Deputy Minister of Foreign Economic Relations
January 1997: Mr. Grzegorz Kolodko, Dy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
January 1997: Prof. Adam Strzembosz, Chief Justice of Supreme Court
February 1997: Mr. Jerzy Wiatr, Education Minister
October 1997: Mr. J. Katner, Deputy Minister of Economy
March-April 1998: Lt. Gen. Henryk Szumski, Chief of General Staff
January 1999: Mr. Janusz Wojciechowski, President of Supreme Chamber of Control
March 1999: Dr. Romuald Szeremietiew, Deputy Defence Minister
March 2000: Mr. Stanislaw Grzonkowski, Chairman of the Polish-Indian
Parliamentary Group led a 6-member Group
April 2000: Mr. Janusz Steinhoff, Minister of Economy
February 2001: Dr. Romuald Szeremietiew, Dy Defence Minister
Feb/March 2001: Prof. Andrzej Wisniewski, Minister of Science and Technology
February 2002: Deputy Defence Minister Zemke to participate in DEFEXPO 2002
January 2003: Senate Speaker Pastusiak to participate in 50th anniversary celebrations of Indian Parliament
February 2004: Deputy Defence Minister Zemke
December 2004: Mr. Jozef Oleksy, Speaker of Sejm
January-February 2006: Mr. Marek Zajakala, Dy. Defence Minister and Mr. Tomasz Wilczak, Dy. Economic Minister
January-February 2007: Mr. Lech Walesa, former President for the Satyagraha conference
January-February 2007: Mr. Pawel Zalewski, Chairman, Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee for the Satyagraha Conference
March 2007: Mr. Marek Zajakala, Minister of State for Defence
June 2007: Ms. Anna Kalata, Labour Minister
January 2008: Mr. Adam Szejnfeld, Secretary of State, Ministry of Economy
February 2008: Lt.Gen. Mieczyslaw Stachowiak, First Dy Chief of General Staff.
May 2008: Mr. Adam Szejnfeld, Secretary of State, Ministry of Economy
October 2008: Mr. Zenon Kosiniak-Kamysz, Undersecretary of State for Armament and Modernisation
November 2008: Mr. Bogdan Klich, Defence Minister

Defence Cooperation

Defence Cooperation between India and Poland has been a key factor in the bilateral relations between the two countries from the very beginning. Defence equipment and supplies production institutions on both sides have been in regular contact with each other. A formal MOU on Defence Cooperation was signed in New Delhi during the visit of the Polish Prime Minister to India in 2003 and a Joint Working Group on Defence now meets regularly – the 4^th meeting was held in Delhi on 15-17 October, 2008 and the 5^th round is scheduled in late 2009.

The two sides have also been exchanging visits by Service Chiefs and have shown interest in each other’s training programmes. There has also been cooperation between the two sides in UN Peace Keeping Operations.

Economic and Commercial Cooperation

Indo-Polish Trade Relations

Introduction:

Poland has a population of about 39 million. It is the largest country in Central Europe and ranks 8 th in Europe by size of population and 9 th by area. Poland followed a centrally planned economy till 1989 and was the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to start economic reforms and transition from a command economy to market driven economy. As a result of the bold economic reforms carried out during the last decade, the foreign trade, which was a state monopoly till 1989, has been privatized and grown from US$14.9 billion in 1989 to $671.03 billion in 2006 and $300 bilion in 2007. Exports have been the main driving force for the country's economic growth during the last few years. Poland formally joined the European Union on 1^st May, 2004.

Forign Trade of Poland:

Comparative Chart of Poland's Global Trade during last six years in gives below:

Source: Central Statistical Agency of Poland

The figures for Indo-Polish trade for the last 15 years are given below:

Source: Central Statistical Agency of Poland

Total bilateral trade has grown by almost seven times from 1992 to 2008. Overall, in 2008, bilateral trade between India and Poland crossed the one billion dollar mark for the first time to reach US$ 1274.77 million (a 47.9% increase), following the US$861.78 million level achieved during the previous year in 2007.

INDIA'S INVESTMENTS IN POLAND:

• Arcelor Mittal Steel Poland SA: Arcelor Mittal - the largest steel company in the world, took over the four largest steel mills in Poland located in Kraków, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Sosnowiec and Świętochłowice. Arcelor Mittal Poland S.A. based in Katowice was founded in 2002 following merger of Huta T. Sendzimira S.A., PHS Huta Katowice S.A., Huta Cedler S.A. and Huta Florian S.A.. It produces steel products for the automotive, appliance and construction industries and also produces coke. The company was formerly known as Polskie Huty Stali S.A. and changed its name to Ispat Polska Stal S.A. in 2004. Further, it changed its name to Mittal Steel Poland S.A. in 2005; and to Arcelor Mittal Poland SA in 2007.
• Videocon (TV picture tube manufacturing facility in Piaseczno near Warsaw, acquired from Thomson)
• Escorts Farmtrac Tractors Europe Sp.z o.o (100 % subsidiary of ESCORTS Ltd.)
• Strides Arcolab, Pharmaceuticals
• Reliance Industries, Trevira- a company of the Reliance Group,and manufacturer of polyester fibres started production of texturised yarns in Zielona Gora, Poland in June 2006
• Ranbaxy (Pharmaceutical company - representative office in Poland)
• VSNL Teleglobe International Holdings [Internet Protocol IP presence in Warsaw, Poland launched in October 2005]
• Essel Propack, leading global producer of speciality packaging tubes, set up manufacturing plant in Poland August 2006 - registered in Poznan-Poland as “EP Polska”; plant located at Miedzyrzecz in mid-West Poland. The new facility set up at a cost of US$ 23 million became operational in mid 2007.
• KPIT Cummins, relocating IT services from Germany [KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd., global IT consulting co. with subsidiaries in Europe and US; decided in May 2006 to start its European near shore operations in Wroclaw, Poland [Wroclaw Technology Park].

• Zensar Technologies Ltd.- Indian IT company’s investment in Gdańsk- set up operations in April 2007 – to eventually generate employment of 500 programmers and computer engineers.
• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)-IT services- Representative office in Warsaw
• IMES Poland Sp.z o o, Warsaw - Parent Indian company M/s Varroc Engineering Pvt Ltd, based in Aurangabad India, manufacturing and supplying steel components to automobile industry acquired IMES Poland Sp.z.o.o. in January 2007
• Genpact – GE money; BPO operations in Wroclaw.
• Jindal Stainless Limited- opened a representative office in Warsaw in May 2007
• Apollo MoU with MediCover group of USA/Sweden for 200-bed hospital in Poland
• Tata Tetley acquired the Vitax and Flosana trademarks in Poland in April 2007, which puts Tetley at the number two position in the Polish tea market
• Lambda Therapeutics Research (based in Ahmedabad) purchased a 76% stake in MPR Pharma Clinical Research Centre in Warsaw in May 2007. Paid investment of approx. Euro 5 million (PLN 19 million)
• HCL Technologies, Indian IT company has set up outsourcing operations in Krakow Poland. HCL's Poland delivery centre opened in July 2007 with about 100 local employees, growing to 250 by the end of the year, with potential for further growth.
• UFLEX LIMITED - Noida - producers of flexible packaging- tie up with Polish company in Wroclaw.
• Infosys- Indian software services company- entered into a $250 million outsourcing deal with Royal Philips Electronics - acquiring 3 of its service centers for $29 million. Infosys is set to take over Philips back-office center in Poland (besides India and Thailand). Poland operations in Lodz commenced in November 2007.
• WIPRO - Partnering Credit Suisse in its organization-wide HR transformation and deployment initiative: Designing and operating the HR service delivery center (SDC) in Wroclaw, Poland. Operations launched in April 2008
• BERGER Paints India: Berger Paints India signed an agreement in April 2008 with Advent International, a global private equity group, to acquire 100 per cent of Polish company- Bolix SA - a leading provider of external insulation finishing system (EIFS) in Poland, for an estimated Rs 154 crore ($38.6 million). Bolix located in Zywiec, is a $45-million company and the largest provider of EIFS in the B2B segment in Poland.
• Sylvania Havells India Ltd. (professional lighting solutions) - Representative Office in Poznań, Poland.
• Tata Motors: Vehicle production tie up with Marubeni Motors Poland (MMP) Sp. z o.o.
• VVF Ltd., Mumbai: Indian contract manufacturer of soaps and toiletries acquired in July 2008 the German chemical giant Henkel's soap making facility at Poland - VVF Poland Sp. z o.o. Raciborz, Katowice Area, Poland.
• Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Mumbai acquired seven pharmaceutical brands in Poland in July 2008, from Iceland's Actavis and its Polish affiliate Biovena.
• Novo Tech Sp. z o.o., 100% subsidiary company of Time Technoplast Ltd (India) - engaged in manufacture and sale of technology based polymer products for sectors involved in Lifestyle Products and Auto Components products. Started operations in September 2008 in Kostrzyn - Słubice Special Economic Zone (KSSSE) located in Kostrzyn Nad Odra.
• Manaksia, a Kolkata - based maker of Aluminium products negotiating to buy a Aluminium alloy company in Poland.

The Polish companies that operate in India include:

• Toruńskie Zakłady Materiałów Opatrunkowych (TZMO) with partner company BELLA INDIA, (hygiene sanitary products)
• Can-Pack Poland manufacturing metal packaging in Aurangabad
• VTS company, manufacturing equipment and air conditioning systems, has opened an office and sales and service center in Bangalore.
• Polish company Geofizyka TORUN (group PGNiG) undertakes Oil extraction / exploration services in India for Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, Cairn Energy India and Oil India.
• Another major Polish company group - Nafta Piła PGNiG signed in October 2007 a new contract for exploration/drilling of oil in India with an American company JTI.

Cooperation in Science and Technology

There is a long-standing programme of cooperation in science and technology between India and Poland, which has been found to be useful by both sides. The first Indo-Polish Agreement on S&T Cooperation was signed in March 1974; subsequently, in pursuance of this Agreement concrete Programmes of Cooperation (POC) in S&T were signed between the two countries from time to time. Following the change in the name of the Polish People’s Republic to the Republic of Poland, a fresh S&T Agreement was signed in New Delhi in January 1993. Programmes of Cooperation have thereafter been implemented for two-year periods beginning with 1993-95. The S&T Agreement and the POCs are being coordinated by the Indo-Polish Joint Committee for S&T Cooperation, with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Polish State Committee for Scientific Research (KBN) as the respective nodal agencies.

The fifth meeting of the Indo-Polish Joint Committee met in Warsaw and was co-chaired by Prof. V.S. Rangamurthy, Secretary in the Department of Science and Technology and Dr. Jan K. Frackowiak, Under Secretary of State in the Ministry of Scientific Research and Information Technology. The sixth meeting of the Indo-Polish Joint Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, was held in New Delhi on 9th June, 2006. The Indian and Polish Delegations were led by Mr. YP Kumar, Adviser & Head, International Division, Department of Science & Technology (DST), and Ms. Iwona Jedrzejczak, Director of the Departament of International Cooperation and European Integration, Ministry of Science and Higher Education, respectively.

In addition, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) have ongoing scientific exchange programmes with the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN). These programmes have been useful in fostering interaction between scientists, exchange of data and S&T interaction.

Cultural Interaction

Indological Studies in Poland: Cultural links between India and Poland predate the political association and indeed the independence of both countries. There is a strong tradition of Indological studies in Poland, with Polish scholars having translated Sanskrit classics into Polish as early as in the 19th Century. The centenary of the first Chair of Sanskrit, which was established at the Jagiellonian University at Krakow in 1893, was celebrated more than a decade ago. The University has an active Indology Department which offers a popular 5-year post-graduate course in Indology. In September 2001, the Department organised the Second International Conference on Hindi Studies at Krakow with the participation of eminent Hindi scholars from India and several other countries. The Department had earlier organised International Conferences on Sanskrit and Related Studies (Warsaw, October 1999) and on Jainism (Warsaw, September 2000). It has also brought out a Hindi translation of the works of the renowned Polish poets – Tadeusz Rozewicz and Simborska over the last 3 years. Since September 2004, ICCR is paying salary of an Indian teacher employed at the Department to teach Hindi. MOS(AS) visited the Centre in June 2006. In October 2007, a selected works of the well-known Hindi poet Kunwar Narain was translated into Polish and published in Krakow under the patronage of Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi.

The Indology Department of the Oriental Institute at the University of Warsaw was established in 1932 and is now the biggest centre for Indian studies in Poland. The ICCR funds two Indian professors, who are teaching Hindi and Tamil at the Warsaw University. The Indology Department organised a successful seminar on "Argument and Reason in Indian Logic" (Kazimierz Dolny, June 2001), with research papers being presented by a number of Indian, Polish and international scholars of repute. In April 2004, the Department organised an All Poland Conference of Indologists in which over 50 professors of Indology from Poland and 2 professors from JNU and DU (sponsored by ICCR) participated.An anthology of the conference was published in March 2006 with financial grant from ICCR. In September 2005, ICCR sponsored the first Central & Eastern European regional conference of Indology in the Warsaw University in which 19 scholars from 11 countries participated. It has been decided to hold these conferences regularly; the latest one was held in August 2006 in the Vilnius University. ICCR has also approved an amount of Rs. 1,50,000 for publication of the conference volume of the first conference. The 2nd Bonn-Warsaw Hindi Workshop was held in Warsaw from September 17-24, 2006, organised by the Warsaw University (Department of South Asian Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies) in collaboration with Embassy of India, Warsaw which was fully funded by Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi.

Website of Central and Eastern European Network of India Studies (CEENIS): As a direct outcome of the Central & Eastern European Regional Conference of Indology in Warsaw in September 2005 and in Vilnius, Lithuania in August 2006, a website of the CEENIS, www.ceenis.eu, for establishing a network amongst the Indologists of East Europe, is now available to all, under the patronage of ICCR, publicised by the Indology Department, Warsaw University.

In addition to Krakow and Warsaw, Indological studies are on offer at the University of Wroclaw (since 1945) and the Adam Miciewicz University at Poznan. Cumulatively, there are well over 100 students specialising in post- graduate studies in Indology in Poland. Hindi Diwas 2007 was celebrated by the Embassy of India in two parts in Poland - in Warsaw, a Seminar on ‘Ways and Means of promoting Hindi as a language” was held at Embassy Residence on October 22, 2007, in which Hindi scholars and all those interested in Hindi participated and in Krakow, Hindi Divas was celebrated on December 13, 2007. Many students and faculty members of the Indology Department from Warsaw and Jagiellonian University took active part in both the celebrations. Prizes were distributed to the winners of Hindi Essay writing and poetry competition. On this occasion, Ms. Magdalena Slusarczyk, Hindi Lecturer in the Jagiellonian University, Krakow was felicitated by Ambassador on behalf of the 8th World Hindi Conference panel for her contributions in the field of Hindi. She could not earlier participate in the felicitation ceremony in New York in July 13-15, 2007.

Cultural Exchange Programme: The first Indo-Polish Agreement on Cultural Cooperation, providing for cooperation in the fields of culture, education, arts, science and technology, was signed in New Delhi in March 1957. The first Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP), covering the period 1964-66, was finalised in March 1964. Since then, CEPs have been agreed and implemented every two years, the last CEP being for the period 2005-07 signed in March 2005 by Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Boguslaw Zaleski and Culture Secretary Neena Ranjan.

Over the years, a large number of cultural and educational exchanges have taken place. Several cultural troupes have visited Poland and staged performances in Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, Dabrawa Gornicza, Lublin, Poznan, Wroclaw, Gdansk, etc. and many other Polish cities. In 2005/06, Bharat Natyam, Odissi, Kathak, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Bollywood, and Bhangara dance troupes and several music groups performed in Poland to full houses and appreciative audiences. Art, doll and photo exhibitions, festivals of Indian films (5 major events in 2005/06) and cuisine and puppet shows are some of the other events that have been organised over the last few years. The film ‘Fanaa’ was shot in Zakopane last year. Starting in September 2006, Bollywood nights are being organised by the ‘Shamiana’ group in major cities of Poland every weekend. From the Polish side, several musical, art and film shows have been organised in India. These interactions have nurtured the abiding interest of the Polish people in Indian culture and art forms. Days of Poland in India was held from December 2006 to March 2007. Subsequently, Days of India in Poland is expected to take place from May 2008. During 2006-2007, 10 cultural troupes sponsored by ICCR visited Poland and performed in various cities. An Indian painting exhibition ‘Women by Women’ compiled by ICCR was hosted in Szczecin, Gdansk, Krakow, Torun, Warsaw and Biolystok during November 2006- August 2007. The exhibition received lot of appreciation from the art-loving people of Poland. The programmes were organised by Embassy of India in collaboration with Indian and Polish Associations and Polish government departments/organisations. Embassy of India in collaboration with Movie Art Development Foundation, Warsaw organised filming of 10 Bollywood movies during the Second Open Air Movie Festival which took place in Warsaw from June 26 to August 28, 2007. Besides, many other cultural and film festivals were organised by various Indian and Polish organisations.

At the academic level, ICCR has been deputing two Indian teachers to teach Hindi and Tamil at the University of Warsaw and paying for one at the Jagiellonian University, Krakow (the latter since September 2004). Efforts are on to depute a few more Indian professors at various universities in Poland. Eleven students from Poland are given scholarships to study in India every year. Polish candidates have also utilised the training slots under ITEC programme. Indian students have been studying in Poland in areas such as medicine, engineering, town planning, ship-building and coal-mining, and now also management, but under private basis.

Indians in Poland

The Indian community in Poland is relatively small and is estimated at around 2,000 persons. The large majority are NRls and there are not more than 100 PIOs

The NRI community, who are, by and large, recent arrivals in Poland's post-Communist phase, fall into two categories. There is a business and trading community, which is networked with overseas Indian companies working out of Hong Kong, Dubai, London and Germany. They are essentially traders, many specialise in textiles, garments and consumer electronics (not necessarily of Indian origin), though a small number are in manufacturing as well. These companies also have a number of Indian employees who are in Poland on work visas.

The second category of NRls consists of young professionals working with multinational or Indian companies and software/IT experts. They are in Poland on projects or against fixed contracts and stay from a few weeks to several years.

Government of India Scholarships

The Government of India offers scholarships and fellowships to international students wishing to study in India in various programmes and disciplines. Under Cultural Exchange Programme between India and Poland, Indian Council for Cultural Relations offer 11 scholarships every year to Polish nationals which are fully utillised. The subjects offered include performing and visual arts, language, history, philosophy and engineering. Under this scheme ICCR grants living allowance, accommodation and tuition fee. The international air passages are to be borne by the individuals.

Besides the above scholarship, Kendriya Hindi Sansthan (KHS) offers two scholarships to Polish nationals to study Hindi in KHS, Agra. The scholarship includes free air passages, tuition fee and hostel accommodation.

Government of India also offers training fellowships under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme to Polish nationals sponsored by the Polish government. This includes air passages, hostel accommodation and tuition fee. The exclusive link on ITEC in Embassy’s website provides additional details. Eight training fellowships have been offered for April 2007-March 2008 financial year of India.

Indian community Associations/Religious Places: Indian Association of Poland, Warsaw, Indo-Polish Cultural Committee and Indo-Polish Integration Society, Wroclaw are the three Indian community associations in Poland. The website of Indian Association of Poland is www.iap.org.pl and of Indo-Polish Cultural Committee is www.ipcc.pl .

Mother Theresa's Missionaries of Charity operate 5 homes in Poland and there are a few Indian nuns in these and other nunneries. Religious, yogic and spiritual organisations such as ISKCON, Bramhakumaris, Art of Living Foundation (of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar), Sri Satya Sai Baba, and Shri Chinmoy Foundation are also functioning and have followers in Poland. ISKCON maintains 3 temples in Poland, including the one in Warsaw. In 2004, a Gurudwara was opened in Warsaw and organises a number of events, especially on weekends and religious days of the Sikh Sangat. The Gurudwara has recently been registered as a religious body with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Poland.