30 Jan, 2012, 10.59AM IST, Surendra SinghSurendra Singh,TNN & Agencies
DUBLIN: Did you know that an Irish company is behind India's biggest identity card programme - Aadhaar?
Daon, a global company founded by an Irish enterpreneur, is providing India its biometric identity software for the UIDAI project. Not many Indians talk about Ireland except for its world famous Guinness beer. But there are many a reason the Irish relate themselves to Indians: both were once an English colony, both witnessed early settlement of monks and even the colours on the flags are the same.
Like India, Ireland too withstood the ravages of time - the Norman invasion, a famine and a war for independence in early 20th century. Despite all the churns and the recent Euro crisis, an island with a population of just 46 lakh is gradually turning into an important gateway to European and American markets for Asian MNCs. To cash in on the cultural sync with India, Ireland is now wooing Indian companies to set up their European offices in the country. Top Indian firms like Reliance, HCL and Wockhardt have already invested in Ireland to make the most of low rentals, single-window clearance and common language.
Also, to promote itself as an education hub, Ireland is now providing scholarship schemes to Indian students and will hold education fairs in Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad next month to attract them to its top universities.
Even Bollywood has not been left untouched. When a Salman Khan-starrer film became the first Hindi movie to be shot in the scenic beauties of Dublin, the Ireland tourism ministry waived off most of the fees and, instead, gave tax incentives that saved the film producer 42% of the total cost (Euro 2.1 million) he spent in the shoot. The country, wants to provide Indian film directors a cheaper shooting alternative to Venice and Amsterdam.
Naoise Barry, film commissioner of Irish Film Board, says, "We want to promote cross-culture shooting." With a study showing that 20% of the tourists come to Ireland after seeing the country in films, Barry expects Hindi movies being shot in Ireland will facilitate the inflow of Indian tourists in Ireland. Leo Varadkar, the half-Indian Ireland tourism minister, too sees Irish hope in his father's homeland. "I feel a strong bond with India which, once you get to know it, is like no other country," he said.
(The journalist was in Ireland at the invitation of Dublin Airport Authority)