SG is opening the doors for thousands of CECA talent

CECA Dua Kee mah

True Believer said:

I have witnessed CECA tenants at my condo bring in their guests for a swim and BBQ on weekends. The place their towels and belongings to reserve the whole row of deckchairs by the poolside even when they are at the BBQ pits, gym or function room. They are really inconsiderate, and have no qualms inconveniencing residents.

Click to expand...

just pee on these fuckers. i fuck them loudly even in their own territory. These fuckers are cry babies. They have no balls. very fast to call police

Scoot is going to hire 100 ceca pilots. Sinkies will get their cpfs very soon

Standard Chartered cuts jobs in Singapore; moves them to India: Finance jobs portal​

The bank had previously cut about 100 jobs across its Singapore, London and Hong Kong hubs in November 2024.ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Sharon Salim
Jun 18, 2025

SINGAPORE - Dozens of staff at Standard Chartered have reportedly been laid off in Singapore in a fresh round of job cuts by the London-based bank.

The move affected about 80 Singapore-based employees – understood to be from the bank’s technology and operations teams – with their jobs being offshored to India, according to finance jobs portal efinancialcareers.

In a website article published on June 12, the global financial services company noted that “sources at the bank in Singapore said the 80 jobs currently being offshored to India are likely only the start”.

“Singapore remains a critical centre for their global businesses and technology and operations teams,” a StanChart spokesman said when contacted by ST, without providing details such as whether the job cuts are part of the bank’s plan to save costs in a bid to return capital to shareholders.

“We continually look to enhance our operations to serve our clients better. As a global firm, we maintain a dynamic blend of world-class local talent in our key markets, including Singapore, and leverage the multi-disciplinary expertise housed in our global business service hubs,” he added.

The bank, which makes most of its money in Asia and the Middle East, is in the midst of a corporate cost-saving programme called “Fit for Growth” as it aims to return US$1.5 billion (S$2 billion) more to shareholders. It reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates in February 2025.

The bank had previously cut about 100 jobs across its Singapore, London and Hong Kong hubs in November 2024. This was part of the Asia-focused lender’s plan to cut costs by more than US$1 billion (S$1.35 billion) through 2024.

StanChart’s head office in Singapore is at Marina Bay Financial Centre, with a network of 11 branches and over 30 ATMs islandwide.

A check on StanChart’s job openings on its website showed that the bank is still hiring for over 60 Singapore-based roles in areas ranging from operations to marketing and business development. Tech positions, such as infrastructure engineers and those related to digital products, are still open.


The job cuts follow other global banks that have made reductions to their workforce, including DBS, which had communicated its intention to reduce its contract and temporary staff by around 4,000 over the next three years as artificial intelligence increasingly takes on roles carried out by humans.

Meanwhile, HSBC had also announced a restructuring process in October 2024 that was expected to lead to job cuts, mainly involving those in senior roles to reduce duplication. HSBC Singapore was not able to comment on the number and type of senior management roles it has here, then.

The financial sector’s contribution to Singapore’s gross domestic product has grown from 12.5 per cent in 2018 to 13.8 per cent in 2024, with a workforce of close to 200,000 here.

S’pore must manage new arrivals with utmost caution, but also stand firm against nativism: SM Lee​

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong at a dinner hosted by the Singapore Indian Development Association and 14 other Indian community organisations on Jan 11. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI

Anjali Raguraman
Jan 23, 2025

SINGAPORE - Singapore relies heavily on immigrants and foreign workers – who raise political sensitivities in many societies – to top up its population base and talent pool, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The inflow and integration of new arrivals must therefore be managed with the “utmost sensitivity and caution, to ensure the flows are balanced and sustainable”, noted SM Lee.

“But we must also stand firmly against nativism and xenophobia, and welcome the new arrivals to become part of our extended family,” he said in a speech at a dinner hosted by the Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda) and 14 other Indian community organisations on Jan 11.


SM Lee said Singaporeans should help these new arrivals adapt progressively to the way things are done here, and to the country’s social norms and ethos. It is an ongoing process that takes time, but gradually they will integrate into the local community, he added.

“This is how earlier generations became Indian Singaporeans, and it will happen with this generation, and with new arrivals from other groups and places too,” he said.

This is how the Singaporean identity can be sustained and enriched, and the way to build a cohesive and inclusive society that is “connected to the world, strengthened and not divided by our diversity”, he said.

SM Lee was addressing around 2,000 guests, including Cabinet ministers, MPs, Indian leaders and volunteers who attended the appreciation dinner at Marina Bay Sands’ Sands Grand Ballroom.

A tribute video was screened, and organisers gifted him intricately designed elephant sculptures as a token of appreciation for his support for the Indian community during his tenure as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2024.

SM Lee said the Indian community has progressed with the nation, and made considerable contributions in many fields.

While the community may be small, it has played a full role in Singaporean society and worked with other communities to contribute in many ways, he added.

This shows the success of Singapore’s multiracial model, which has created full and equal opportunities, a harmonious society and better lives for all, including the minority communities, SM Lee said.

He acknowledged the migrants from many parts of the Indian subcontinent – including Tamils, Malayalees, Telugus, Sindhis, Punjabis, Bengalis and Sinhalese – who came to modern Singapore in its earliest days in search of a better future, and who formed part of the Singapore story.

“These different groups sank roots here, formed bonds with one another, and out of this kaleidoscope of backgrounds, there gradually emerged a distinctive and proud Singaporean Indian community,” he said.



Ms Indulekha, a volunteer with the Malayalam Language Education Society, handing SM Lee Hsien Loong a flame to light a vilaku, or traditional oil lamp, on Jan 11.ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
SM Lee said the Singaporean Indian community is flourishing, benefiting from the efforts of self-help community organisations, such as Sinda, and the People’s Association’s Indian Activity Executive Committees Council, or Narpani Pearavai.

Cheques of $150,000 each were presented to the Singapore Indian Education Trust and Sinda during the dinner.

The community organisations can do good work because of the strong support of many selfless volunteers, he said, noting that their ranks include those who have moved to Singapore only recently.

Some have become permanent residents or citizens, while others are here temporarily, for school, family or work.

Regardless, they should be applauded for willingly stepping up to volunteer, said SM Lee, noting that this new crop comes from a wider range of backgrounds and places than earlier generations of Indian immigrants.

They add vibrancy and dynamism to Singapore’s Indian culture, and thus are contributing to the community and the country, he added.

The strength of the Indian community here has enabled it to reach out confidently to the rest of the world, SM Lee said, noting that Singapore has developed a healthy and extensive relationship with India and other countries in the subcontinent.

The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca) with India has helped to foster extensive trade, investment, and travel links between the countries, he said.

“Many Indian companies have set up in Singapore to serve the region, while many local Indian businesses have successfully forayed into the Indian market,” he added.

“India is growing, and on the move,” said SM Lee, with Singapore seeing many opportunities to expand cooperation on several fronts such as bilateral trade, skills training and fintech, alongside exploring fields like healthcare, as well as digital and green economies.

“Singapore has a good brand name in India, and we have enjoyed very good ties with successive Indian governments,” he said, urging the Indian business community to make the most of these advantages.

美

J

True Believer said:

The SG Govt under LHL has already welcomed a Trojan Horse into our country. Yet he talks about managing new arrivals with caution. Just stop anymore CECAs from entering SG because true blue S'poreans cannot find white collar work these days.

Click to expand...

Just look at the latest employment data released by MOM, so many more jobs were given to foreigners than local!

True Believer said:

The SG Govt under LHL has already welcomed a Trojan Horse into our country. Yet he talks about managing new arrivals with caution. Just stop anymore CECAs from entering SG because true blue S'poreans cannot find white collar work these days.

Click to expand...

Is this considered as patriotic?

India, Singapore ministers discuss deeper tie-ups in digitalisation, skills, industrial parks​

DPM Gan Kim Yong led a six-member Singapore delegation at the third edition of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR). The ISMR aims to boost collaboration between the two nations in emerging fields.

Summary

• Singapore and India reaffirmed their strong relationship and aim to deepen cooperation across various sectors, including cross-border data flows and semiconductor skills training.
• Both nations are exploring green energy exports from India to Singapore and establishing a green shipping corridor between Paradeep Port and Singapore to promote green fuels.
• Singaporean firms, aided by government discussions, are expanding into semiconductor manufacturing in India, while Singapore supports India’s upskilling through skills centres.

AI generated

Aug 14, 2025

NEW DELHI – India and Singapore explored deepening their engagement on digitalisation, skills building and industrial parks at a meeting of a key bilateral platform on Aug 13 during Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong’s visit to the South Asian state.

DPM Gan led a six-member Singapore delegation at the third edition of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), which aims to boost collaboration between the two nations in emerging fields.

According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press statement, the two sides reaffirmed the close and longstanding relationship between Singapore and India, underpinned by strong economic and people-to-people ties.

They reviewed the good progress since the last meeting in Singapore in 2024, and expressed support for deeper cooperation in a wide range of areas that included sustainability, healthcare and medicine, advanced manufacturing, and connectivity.

The ministers also discussed collaboration on cross-border data flows and capital markets via the use of regulatory sandboxes, as well as cooperation on skills training in semiconductors, maintenance, repair and overhaul, and India’s national centres of excellence.

The other members of the delegation from Singapore were Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo, Minister for Manpower and Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology Tan See Leng, and Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow.

The Indian side was represented by Indian Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Railways, and Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The visit by DPM Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry, comes ahead of Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s visit to India in early September as the two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic relations.

Mr Wong launched the inaugural version of the ISMR during a visit to India in September 2022, when he was deputy prime minister.

The second ISMR meeting was held in Singapore in August 2024, ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Republic.

India and Singapore are further expanding cooperation at a time of global economic uncertainty brought about by the US’ so-called reciprocal tariffs.


India, the world’s fourth-largest economy, has been on the receiving end of US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable levies, which have left many businesses facing a potential 50 per cent tariff.

All this has added new urgency for India to expand on existing economic ties with friendly countries like Singapore, noted analysts.

“The external world is changing so much. The Trump effect is beginning to unfold.

“Singapore has got 10 per cent and India is in a different place, but the need for regional engagement is increasing to limit some of the damage, even for Singapore,” said Professor C. Raja Mohan, visiting research professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies.


“At the last roundtable, new ideas had come forward for cooperation in semiconductors and advanced manufacturing. India and Singapore can work together to manage the consequences (of the Trump tariffs on the global economy).”


The third edition of the ISMR took place in New Delhi on Aug 13.


Under the ISMR, the two countries have been working on newer areas of cooperation like semiconductors and green energy while expanding in older areas of cooperation like skills training, where Singapore has helped India set up institutes.

A key emerging area of cooperation is in the semiconductor space, where India’s bid to boost local manufacturing has opened up opportunities for Singaporean companies, which are looking to new markets.

In 2024, during Mr Modi’s visit, Singapore and India signed a memorandum of understanding on semiconductors that would help to facilitate the entry of Singapore companies.

This has helped Singapore firms like Cleantech Services, which provides gas and chemical supply equipment and systems used in chip manufacturing, to expand operations in India.

Mr Mujeeb Mundayil, managing director of Singapore start-up Cleantech Services, said that the high-level discussion provided a platform between the two countries “to share feedback and work on solutions to on-the-ground challenges”.

He said: “Such cooperation (between India and Singapore) will not only strengthen supply chains, but also accelerate the growth of the Indian semiconductor ecosystem.”

India, starting from scratch, has moved fast with six semiconductor plants under construction across different states, including Gujarat and Assam, with the South Asian country and the first Made in India chip to be rolled out later this year.

Eyeing a 5 per cent share of the global market by 2030, the government on Aug 12 announced the approval for four more projects under the India Semiconductor Mission.

The two countries are also looking for ways to export green energy from India to Singapore.

In January, Sembcorp Green Hydrogen India, a subsidiary of Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries, signed a non-binding agreement with the Odisha government to set up a green hydrogen manufacturing facility in Paradeep.

They are also looking at setting up a green shipping corridor to facilitate shipping and support the use and trading of green fuels from Paradeep Port in the state of Odisha to Singapore, a distance of around 1,900 nautical miles.

The two countries have been expanding cooperation in areas that were previously identified as well.

Upskilling is the need of the hour for India, where more than 65 per cent of the population is under 35, for the country to ensure that this demographic dividend does not become a liability.

Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education Services has helped set up five skills centres in different parts of the country.

The biggest one, with the capacity to train 3,000 young Indians, was set up in the eastern state of Odisha in 2021 with courses in vertical transport, mechatronics, and air-conditioning and refrigeration.


During a call on Indian President Droupadi Murmu by the Singapore ministerial delegation led by DPM Gan on Aug 13, the two sides hailed the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the countries.

PHOTO: PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU OF INDIA

India and Singapore enjoy close political and economic ties.

Singapore is India’s top foreign investor and has accounted for about 24 per cent of India’s foreign direct investment equity inflows since 2000.

Singaporean companies are constantly looking for opportunities in the fast-growing economy in areas like manufacturing, sustainability, data centres, and tech and innovation.

Many Indian start-ups, apart from multinational companies, use India as the regional headquarters, particularly in the fintech and healthtech space.

The discussions under the ISMR are beneficial for business, noted Mr Neil Parekh, chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI).

“The discussions at ISMR are expected to enhance cooperation in key sectors such as digital economy, fintech, sustainability, advanced manufacturing, and skills development,” he said.

“These align closely with the priorities of SICCI and the broader Indian business community in Singapore, offering new pathways for investment, innovation and cross-border partnerships.”

The Singapore ministers also called on Indian President Droupadi Murmu on Aug 13, with the two sides hailing the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations and reaffirming their strong bilateral cooperation.

President Murmu and the Singapore delegation discussed the ISMR and highlighted the importance of cooperation on skilling.

During their meeting, DPM Gan conveyed President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s invitation to President Murmu to make a state visit to Singapore at a mutually convenient time.

Separately, the third India-Singapore Business Roundtable (ISBR) was held on Aug 13.

The ISBR is a business-led forum that brings together select leaders to identify initiatives that could strengthen the partnership between the business communities in India and Singapore, as well as forge cultural and people-to-people ties.

Blackstone Singapore senior managing director and chairman Gautam Banerjee and Temasek Holdings executive director and chief executive Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara were among the business leaders who discussed ideas for potential partnership in areas such as digitalisation, industrial parks, skilling and infrastructure financing at the forum.

Aug 21, 2025, 11:15am



Ong Su Mann
Submitted by Stomper Ainy

An Indian flag was spotted next to a Singapore national flag at a condominium in Sengkang during the National Day period.

Stomper Ainy shared a photo of the two flags hung side by side over the balcony railing on high floor at The Topiary condo at Fernvale Lane on Aug 15.

She said on Aug 21 that the Indian flag had been removed.


"My feeling on this is simple: THIS IS SINGAPORE. Period," declared the Stomper.

According to the Singapore Statutes, the National Emblems (Control of Display) Act states that displaying any flag or national emblem that is not of Singapore in public is considered an offence. An emblem is considered as being displayed in public when it is visible to members of the public.

If convicted of the offence, the person could face a fine of up to $500 and/or a jail term of up to six months.

Exceptions to the Act include diplomatic representatives of a foreign power to Singapore, where authorisation has been granted by the government, and on ships and aircraft.

In a similar incident, a flag of the People's Republic of China was displayed next to a Singapore flag at a condominium construction site in One-North in July.

A spokesperson for the developer told Stomp: "Upon thorough internal review, we found that a staff member of our contractor, in a well-intentioned gesture to celebrate Singapore's 60th National Day and the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Singapore, temporarily displayed the flags of both China and Singapore at the worksite.

"Upon discovery, the contractor proactively replaced all flags with Singapore's national flag several days prior to the publication of your report on Aug 3, ensuring full compliance with local regulations."

Nice

Commentary

What’s driving wealthy Indians to leave India​

The country is no stranger to waves of emigration. But a geo-economist sees in the latest wave – of its moneyed elite – a vote of no confidence in its economy.


Indians have always been great migrants – just as they have been welcoming of people arriving from distant lands.

Aug 26, 2025

Since 2016, the largest source of immigrants to Canada has been India. After Brexit, South Asian nations led by India sent the most numerous immigrants to the United Kingdom.

Australia once preferred immigrants from Britain and Ireland. Around the turn of the century and until about 2010, the Chinese led the numbers. Latterly, it has been Indians who have been the top immigrants.

Why do so many Indians leave India? The South Asian giant, now the world’s largest by population, has a briskly expanding economy. Its people have wide access to the world, thanks to a booming aviation sector that’s reaching Tier 2 cities – flights to Singapore’s Changi Airport alone number 290 a week – and an increasing number of countries offering them visa-free entry or visas on arrival.


From Himalayan glades to beaches to wildlife sanctuaries, there’s so much of the country to enjoy. Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims have plenty of spots to visit. And if shopping is your passion, both classy local and foreign designer labels are easily available. Ditto, if you are looking for rejuvenation therapy.

What then is it that India cannot offer that makes emigration such a cherished goal, even for its elite classes?

The truth of the matter is that Indians, particularly from the coastal areas, have always been great migrants – just as they have been welcoming of people arriving from distant lands. An old saw has it, for instance, that when Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed on the moon, they were approached by a man from Kerala who ran a tea shop there.

A common word for Muslims in that south-western Indian state is moplah, a corruption of mapilla or son-in-law. Why so? Because Arab traders seeking the state’s rich spices had brought Islam to the state in the 7th century, and some fell into the practice of taking local wives.

When Islam became the dominant West Asian faith, Muslim Arabs and their local descendants came to be called moplahs.

Conversely, according to the United Arab Emirates’ official statistics, Indians today are the largest expatriate community in the emirates.


Elsewhere, even as Turks and Persians arrived in ancient India from the north-west, rulers in the south-east of the land sent expeditions into what are now Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Waves of migration​

The structured Indian emigration though is a modern phenomenon – one that has gained attention as a phenomenon that has helped shape economies and societies abroad.

The first large-scale organised migration took place under British rule when indentured labour was sent out as far as Fiji in the Pacific and Trinidad in the Atlantic. A second wave took place in free India, when the Gulf nations started booming in the 1970s following the discovery of oil. A third phase arose shortly after “professional middle-class” engineers and doctors moved out to developed nations such as the UK and the US.

The Indian diaspora now extends to 210 countries and overtook the Chinese diaspora a decade ago in terms of spread and density.

In his latest book Secession Of The Successful, Dr Sanjaya Baru, a geo-economist and former media adviser to the late prime minister Manmohan Singh, examines this phenomenon, including how attitudes towards emigration have shifted both in government circles and intellectual circles.

Half a century ago, he points out, celebrated economists such as the trade guru Jagdish Bhagwati of Columbia University fretted about the “brain drain” from India. But in March 2024, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, speaking in Singapore, offered a different perspective, noting that India’s burgeoning relationships with Singapore, the US and UK would not have been the same without what he referred to as the “diaspora factor”.


“An expansion of the global workplace is to India’s benefit,” Dr Jaishankar went on to say. “It is not something which is to India’s detriment.”

Dr Baru is on firm ground here. Indeed, with job creation proving to be such a challenge domestically, India seems to have a far more relaxed view of emigration.

A person who is closely linked with the employment issue says the government’s strategy on non-farm job creation could be loosely described as resting on three pillars: promoting entrepreneurship that leads to self-employment, a little over a third of the workforce absorbed by the organised private and public sectors including the military and bureaucracy, and a smaller chunk of the semi-skilled and highly skilled that the state hopes could be profitably placed overseas.

Continued access to H-1B visas for Indians, as Dr Baru points out, often figures in US-India bilateral discussions.

The rich pack their bags​

It is the current, fourth wave of Indian out-migration that Dr Baru identifies – that of the children of the wealthy, and in many cases the power elite themselves – that must concern India. At home, they constitute a privileged class, but the future of their families is no longer tied to the future of India.

According to a Morgan Stanley report that he cites, some 23,000 Indian millionaires had left the country since 2014, the year Mr Narendra Modi came to power.

A survey by Kotak Mahindra Bank suggested that one in five high net worth individuals it had contacted across a dozen cities had plans to move their home base overseas. In 2024, an international consortium of journalists and data miners reported that Indians were the largest property-owning foreign group in Dubai – 29,700 Indians owning 35,000 properties.

NRIs or non-resident Indians, he points out, using the widely used term for overseas Indians, have become non-returning Indians. The number of Indians renouncing their citizenship touched 206,378 in 2024, soaring from 85,256 in 2020.

What drives this? According to Dr Baru, acquiring a global footprint for their business may be one reason, and social pressure from wives and children to live in more comfortable climes is possibly another.

But there’s a third reason that’s relevant for India’s economic future: seeking shelter from excessive taxation and intrusive tax administration at home.

Indians now account for close to one in 10 of all golden visa holders worldwide.

Among the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, Indians top the list of new immigrants with 407,000 of them entering OECD countries in 2021.

Henley and Partners, an international consultancy that advises the wealthy, says 4,300 Indian millionaires moved out of India in 2024 – with UAE as their top choice, overtaking Singapore.

Only the UK and China topped those numbers for emigrating millionaires. While Singapore has attracted more of the professional upper middle-class and children of the Indian power elite, Dubai has attracted more of the business elite, notes Dr Baru. Either way, India’s metropolitan elite are running scared.

“All of them are running away from the Delhi Darbar, which is now increasingly arbitrary, intrusive and opaque and manned by a bureaucracy that has its roots in less developed small towns and conservative Hindu India.”


The issues that emerge from Secession Of The Successful raise questions for both India and the countries that receive Indian emigrants.

Let’s start with India. Anecdotal evidence confirms that perceptions of an intrusive tax regime are indeed a key impetus for the flight of the elite. But Dr Baru fails to give adequate recognition to why this is so.

Indians are notoriously reluctant taxpayers even as they like to whine about their poor public services. Second, to the Indian government’s credit, the tax administration has been streamlined considerably; refunds, for instance, are impressively prompt.

But along with this has come the increasing ability of the Indian state to both soak up data on individuals and cross-connect this information. This, really, is what has caused the sense of siege among the wealthy.

Dr Baru captures a part of the irony, though. While their business leaders seek high tariff walls to keep out competition, he notes drily, they also demand a liberal regime to move their wealth out.

What does this capital flight mean for India? And should this movement of money be begrudged when Indians overseas remitted home a record US$130 billion (S$167 billion) or so in 2024?

“Such flights need to be treated as a vote of no confidence in the medium-term outlook for the Indian economy,” Dr Baru told me in a phone conversation.

“Last fiscal year, outward Indian FDI (foreign direct investment) exceeded FDI inflows to India. The flight of human and finance capital at this stage of India’s development can by no means be good for India. The pity is that over the last 25 years, we have simply come to accept it.”

What they bring to the table​

What of the recipient nations? For the most part, Indian settlers have contributed greatly to their lands of adoption and assimilated without compromising on their Indian identity. Along the way, they have gained a reputation for being a law-abiding community and one with deep family values.

In the US, for instance, highly qualified Indians have not only contributed knowledge power, their skills have heightened American competitiveness and the global success of US corporations.

Their reputation for good citizenship in fact opened new doors for them, and second-generation migrants have even obtained trusted public positions.

That’s in part because unlike, say, a China that is thought to have tapped its diaspora for its strategic ends, the Indian government has not really sought anything much from them except the remittances they send home of their own accord.

Founding prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru would in fact remind overseas Indians that they should seek to integrate into their host countries, a message I recall the late prime minister Narasimha Rao repeating in late 1994 at a community event in Singapore.

Likewise, says Dr Baru, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee told the inaugural Overseas Indians Day in 2004 that those who take up foreign citizenship should stay loyal to their host country and integrate with its society.

Secession Of The Successful also draws attention to latter-day developments that governments everywhere will study closely.

Dr Baru warns that the growing public assertion by Indians abroad of their religious affiliation and social and political mobilisation based on such affiliation have contributed to concerns about overseas Indians mixing religion and politics.

“Hindu nationalism” in the home country is impacting host countries that are themselves battling challenges to multiculturalism and religious pluralism. This, he says, has long-term implications for how Indians are viewed. Ironically, he adds, proponents of global Hindutva rarely if ever seek to return to India.

Indians overseas must pay heed. The broader Indian community would do well to emulate the example of their Parsi brethren who, as Singapore’s former foreign minister George Yeo once pointed out, carry a reputation of “sweetening the milk that is their host”.

It would be feckless on their part, for instance, to import the faith-based politics of the home country into their adopted ones. In countries like Canada and Australia, this has become a serious issue – enough of a worry for governments to even consider curbs on Indian migrants.

Whatever the reasons – I am inclined to think pride in India’s resurgence, the ease of communication and real-time access to information about the mother country are facilitating a sort of dual mental citizenship that helps the migrant stay engaged with events both at home and in India simultaneously – Indian migrants will thrive if they are better residents of America, Australia and Singapore.

SWFs

The team behind Temasek’s recent performance​

In GIC, S'pore Inc, Temasek on 27/08/2025 at 4:14 am
Reminder


Not much better than the more conservatively run GIC.

So now kanna restructuring. Teo Chee Hean (next chairman, now deputy chairman) is going to kick ass?

One reason for bad performance: Placed big bets on private capital

Private equity fundraising slides as sector’s downturn deepens
Firms are struggling to raise money even as they offer discounts to attract new investors

Recent FT headline

Click to expand...

Another reason: Were bulls on China. Reduced exposure belatedly after Americans cut and ran.

Third reason? Almost All India team. Deputy CEO is true blue S’porean: ethnic Chinese. The CEO is an ethnic Indian from M’sia, albeit now new citizen.


Seriously, I’m surprised. This almost All Indians’ team kept investing in China. They continued despite China losing its favoured haven status a few years ago.

rushifa666 said:

Scoot is going to hire 100 ceca pilots. Sinkies will get their cpfs very soon

Click to expand...

Sinkees who value their lives better not fly Scoot.

LITTLEREDDOT said:

SWFs

The team behind Temasek’s recent performance​

In GIC, S'pore Inc, Temasek on 27/08/2025 at 4:14 am
Reminder


Not much better than the more conservatively run GIC.

So now kanna restructuring. Teo Chee Hean (next chairman, now deputy chairman) is going to kick ass?

One reason for bad performance: Placed big bets on private capital


Another reason: Were bulls on China. Reduced exposure belatedly after Americans cut and ran.

Third reason? Almost All India team. Deputy CEO is true blue S’porean: ethnic Chinese. The CEO is an ethnic Indian from M’sia, albeit now new citizen.


Seriously, I’m surprised. This almost All Indians’ team kept investing in China. They continued despite China losing its favoured haven status a few years ago.

Click to expand...

Ah Nehs so good ...they should replace our scholars.

PM Wong to visit India from Sept 2 to 4, marking 60 years of diplomatic ties​

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last visited Singapore in September 2024, where he met with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Summary

• PM Lawrence Wong will visit India from Sept 2-4, at invitation of PM Modi, reaffirming Singapore and India's commitment to stronger ties.
• PM Wong will meet President Murmu, PM Modi, business leaders, and visit Raj Ghat. He will also attend a reception with Singaporeans in New Delhi.
• Singapore is India's top foreign investor; bilateral trade has grown 2.5 times since 2005, with mutual interests in maritime and aviation connectivity.

AI generated

Sep 02, 2025

NEW DELHI – Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will make his first official visit to India as head of Government from Sept 2 to Sept 4.

His visit to New Delhi, on the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, comes as the two countries mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

It also reaffirms Singapore and India’s mutual commitment to strengthening ties, said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in a statement on Sept 2.

During his trip, PM Wong, who is also Finance Minister, will call on Indian President Droupadi Murmu and meet Mr Modi, who will host a banquet lunch.

PM Wong will also receive calls by Indian officials, namely Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Jagat Prakash Nadda, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of External Affairs Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, said PMO.

The visit follows a series of high-level meetings between leaders of the two countries, as both sides mark the 60-year milestone and work towards establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP) – a high-level diplomatic relationship that Singapore has with only a handful of countries.

Mr Modi made a two-day official visit to Singapore in September 2024, during which both countries agreed to elevate their relationship to a CSP.

In January, Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam made a state visit to India.

More recently in August, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong led a six-member Singapore delegation to the third edition of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, a key bilateral platform that aims to boost collaboration in emerging fields.


PM Wong’s itinerary also includes a visit to the Raj Ghat memorial to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and a closed-door dialogue with a group of Indian business leaders.

He will also meet overseas Singaporeans at a reception in the Indian capital to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the countries’ ties, as well as Singapore’s 60th year of independence.

The prime minister will be accompanied on the trip by Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Acting Transport Minister and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang. Both Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Siow were also part of the August delegation.

Officials from PMO and various ministries will also be part of the delegation.

In PM Wong’s absence, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam will be acting prime minister.

Singapore and India have worked together on various fronts over the decades, including in economic relations and connectivity.

Economic relations between both countries are anchored by the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) signed in 2005. Since then, annual bilateral trade has grown by about 2.5 times, from S$20 billion in 2005 to S$52.2 billion in 2023.


Singapore is India’s top foreign investor, accounting for about a quarter of India’s foreign direct investment equity inflows since 2000. India’s investment in Singapore has also grown from S$481 million in 2004 to about S$31.6 billion in 2023.

Both countries also have mutual interests in maritime and aviation connectivity.

Singapore port operator PSA has had a presence in India for over 25 year, and runs four terminals there.

In August, DPM Gan toured Phase 2 of PSA Mumbai, a container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Navi Mumbai operated by the international arm of PSA.

The Phase 2 extension, when completed, would make PSA Mumbai India’s largest single container terminal.

Singapore Airlines also has a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, while SIA Engineering has announced plans to work with Air India to build up maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities in India to support Air India’s growing fleet.