![]( "Iran, India relations span centuries marked by meaningful interactions")
The two countries shared a border till 1947 and share several common features in their language, culture and traditions. Both South Asia and the Persian Gulf have strong commercial, energy, cultural and people-to-people links.
Independent India and Iran established diplomatic links on 15 March 1950. In addition to the Embassy in Tehran, India currently has two Consulates in Iran -Bandar Abbas and Zahedan. Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi visited Iran in April 1974 and Prime Minister Shri Morarji Desai visited in June 1977.
The Iranian Revolution in 1979 introduced a new phase of engagement between India and Iran marked by exchange of high level visits of Indian and Iranian officials.
India-Iran economic and commercial ties have traditionally been buoyed by Indian import of Iranian crude oil.
India-Iran trade in 2010-11 was US$ 13.4 billion (Indian exports US$ 2.5 billion and imports US$ 10.9 billion).
India’s exports to Iran include rice, machinery and instruments, metals, primary and semi finished iron and steel, drugs/pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, processed minerals, manmade yarn and fabrics, tea, organic/inorganic/agro chemicals, rubber manufactured products, etc.
India and Iran hold regular bilateral talks on economic and trade issues at the India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting (JCM).
The 16th JCM was held in New Delhi on July 8-9, 2010. It was co-chaired by Iran’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Dr. Seyed Shamseddin Hosseini and India’s External Affairs Minister Shri S.M. Krishna.
During the visit, Dr. Hosseini called on Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and met Minister of Finance Shri Pranab Mukherjee, and NSA Shri Shivshankar Menon.
Dr. Shamseddin Hosseini again visited India on 25 February 2011 during which he called on Prime Minister, Finance Minister and External Affairs Minister. The 17th JCM was held in Tehran in 2012 at the level of Foreign Ministers. Under the JCM mechanism, meetings of various Joint Working Groups have been held regularly.
During the 16th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM), 6 MoUs/agreements were signed: (i) Air Services Agreement; (ii) Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons; (iii) MoU on Cooperation in New & Renewable Energy; (iv) MoU on Cooperation in Small Scale Industry between National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) and Iranian Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organisation (ISIPO); (v) Programme of Cooperation on Science & Technology and (vi) MoU on Cooperation between Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute of India (CPPRI) and Gorgan University of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources (GUASNR).
There has been regular exchange of business delegations from both sides. India and Iran are also engaged in discussions on various projects in Iran, including the Chabahar Port and Rail Project.
Till now it has been believed that Iran and India have had cultural and civilizational links with each other from the time of Cyrus the Great and Darius. But many recent archaeological findings in north Khorassan, Sokhte (burnt city)and Jeeroft in Iran show that the civilizational relations between the Iranians and India have been so much older.
In the period of Darius and Xeroxes (Khashayar Shah), a group of the elephant riding soldiers of the army were Indians. Such kinds of relations have been clearly recorded in the periods of Ashkanians and the Sassanids as well.
In the period of the Gorkanis (the Moghals) or the Khorassanis the official language of the courts of India was Persian. It is for the same reason that about seventy per cent of the important documents, royal orders as well as the poetry and prose books still found in the museums and the government as well as private collections in India are in the Persian language.
Dr. Hekmat, the first ambassador of Iran in India has recorded a total of 80 important stone engravings in the important palaces and mausoleums of India. But the number of such engravings and inscription which are still found runs into thousands.
India and Iran maintain regular cultural and educational exchanges.
The cultural ties between Iran and India go back to the ancient times, to such an ancient time that determining its real date is impossible.
This antiquity of relations can be understood from the extensive similarities in the languages of the two countries. It is for the same reason that Sanskrit is called as the sister of the ancient Iranian languages. India and Iran have been familiar names for each other. The names of India ,Sind and Makran have been used in almost all historical& geghraphical and literature Persian books in the Shahnameh itself at least a hundred times. The same is true for other books as well.
A number of Indian scholars were teachers in the great university of the Gandi Shahpur of Persia and used to teach there.
In the period of Khusro Anushirvan, a number of Indian tales including the Panchtantra were translated into Iranian language by the name of Kalileh Wa Dameneh.
This work was later translated from the Persian language to Hindi. Other stories like the tales of Behram, story of the parrots and the tales of Sindbad were all translated from Hindi into Persian.
Iranians have played a distinguished role in the transmission of the heritage of India to the other languages. The famous Iranian scientist, Aburehan Albiruni, during his 16 years stay in India, presented his master piece named ˈTehqeeq Maˈal le Hindˈ to the world which is known as the Encyclopedia of India.
Masoodi was yet another Iranian scholar, who wrote many detailed reports about India. Moreover, the scientists like Koshiar and Khwarizmi learned the Indian mathematics and globalized this science.during the Gurkanid(mogul)the cultural exchange was so deeply that the official language became Persian. India and Iran maintained regular cultural exchanges even during the time of colonialism and also after independent India. Khorasanid dynasty(Tamurid,Babri,mugals) in India invited several Persian artist to their courts.
India has extremely been influenced by Persian art and architecture and Persian Sufis music.hundreds of Persian poets also were invited to India and some of the Indian kings themselves were composing Persian poem.also many Persian commander and minister or Nuvab were serving the Indian court one of them was Mirza Ghiyas Beg an important official the rule of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, and served as the chief treasurer, and he was given the title ˈIˈtimād-ud-Daulahˈ which means ˈPillar of the Stateˈ. His daughter, Mehr Nūr Jahān married Jahāngīr in 1611, and his son Mirza Abul Hasan ˈAsaf Khanˈ served as a general to Jahangir.
Mirza who was the father of Arjumand Banu Mumtaz Mahal,The wife of Shah Jahan, the Emperor of India also we can mention many others like safdar jung and Ashraf khan khorasani.
.
![File:Mumtaz Mahal.jpg]()
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Arjuman Bano and her father Asaf Khan
As per an MoU signed in January 2008 between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi and the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) a weeklong Iranian cultural week was held in New Delhi and Mumbai in April-May 2008.
India also held its “Days of Culture” at the Niyavaran Palace in Tehran and Hafezia in Shiraz from May 10-17, 2011 which was attended by over twenty thousand people. The cultural festival was dedicated to the memory of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
During 2011-12, various functions were organised through out Iran to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Tagore. Gurudev Tagore had visited Iran in 1934 and 1935 during which he wrote a poem on Iran.
There are about 8,000 Iranian students studying in India. India provides 67 scholarships every year to Iranian students under ITEC, ICCR, Colombo Plan and IOR-ARC schemes.
India over the years has emerged as one of the favourite tourist destinations for Iranian tourists and every year around 40,000 Iranians visit India for various purposes.
2160**2050
: ارتباط با سردبیر
THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS VOLXXXIX NO 295 PAGE 19 DATE 10/02/2014
India-Iran relations span centuries marked by meaningful interactions
Till 1947 India and Iran not only shared their borders but also shared several common features in their language, culture and traditions. Both South Asia and the Persian Gulf have strong commercial, energy, cultural and people-to-people links.
Independent India and Iran established diplomatic links on March 15, 1950. In addition to the Embassy in Tehran, India currently has two Consulates in Iran – Bandar Abbas and Zahedan, while Iran has two Consulates in Hyderabad and Mumbai.
To further improve relations, the Shah visited India in February/March 1956 and Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited Iran in September 1959. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Iran in April 1974. The Paade Shah, in turn, visited India in February 1978.
The Iranian Revolution in 1979 introduced a new phase of engagement between India and Iran marked by exchange of high level visits of Indian and Iranian officials.
Economic Relations
India had a deep economic connection with the Persian gulf since antiquity. Spice was traded from Indian coast to the Hormuz and Siraf and Basra in the Persian gulf to the Mediterranean region.
Between 12000-15000 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz annually and many of them were Indian. Iran provided fuel service facilities to these passing ships.
Recently India-Iran commercial ties have been buoyed by Indian import of Iranian crude oil. India-Iran trade
in 2010-11 was US$13.4 billion
(Indian exports US$2.5 billion and imports US$10.9 billion). India-Iran trade in 2013 was US$15 billion (Indian exports US$6 billion and imports
US$9 billion).
India and Iran hold regular bilateral talks on economic issues at the India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting (JCM). India and Iran are also engaged in discussions on various projects in Iran including the Chabahar Port and Rail Project.
Cultural and historical
Relations
Till now it has been believed that Iran and India have had cultural and civilizational links from the time of Cyrus the Great and Darius. But many recent archaeological findings in north Khorassan, Sokhte (burnt city)and Jeeroft in Iran show that the civilizational relations between the Iranians and India have been much older.
In the period of Darius and Xerxes (Khashayar Shah), a group of the elephant riding soldiers of the army were Indians. Such kinds of relations have been clearly recorded in the periods of Ashkanians and the Sassanid as well. In the period of the Gurkanis (the Mughals) or the Khorasanids the official language of the courts of India was Persian. It is for the same reason that about seventy per cent of the important documents, royal orders as well as the poetry and prose books still found in the museums and the government as well as private collections in India are in the Persian language.
Dr Hekmat, the first ambassador of Iran in independent India, had compiled a total of 80 important stone engravings in the important palaces and mausoleums of India. But the number of such engravings and inscription which are still found runs into thousands. Some of the stone engravings in the Red Fort, the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort have been registered as world heritage.
The cultural ties between Iran and India go back to the ancient times. This antiquity of relations can be understood from the extensive similarities in the languages of the two countries. It is for the same reason that Sanskrit is called as the sister of the ancient Iranian languages. India and Iran have been familiar names for each other. The names of India, Sind and Makran have been used in almost all Persian books in the Shahnameh itself at least a hundred times. The same is true for other books as well.
A number of Indian scholars were teachers in the great university of the Gandi Shahpur of Persia and used to teach there. In the period of Khusro Anushirvan, a number of Indian tales including the Panchtantra were translated into Iranian language by the name of Kalileh Wa Dameneh.
This work was later translated from the Persian language to Hindi. Other stories like the tales of Behram, story of the parrots and the tales of Sindbad were all translated from Hindi into Persian.
Iranians have played a distinguished role in the transmission of the heritage of India to the other languages. The famous Iranian scientist, AbuRehan AlBiruni, during his 16 years stay in India, presented his master piece named “Tehqeeq Ma’al le Hind” to the world which is known as the Encyclopedia of India.
Masoodi was yet another Iranian scholar, who wrote many detailed reports about India. Moreover, the scientists like Koshiar and Khwarizmi learned the Indian mathematics and globalised this science. During the Khorasanid dynasties (Tamurid, Babri, Mugals, Bahmani) Persian was adopted as the official language. The Khorasanid emperors of India invited several Persian artists and scientist to their courts.
India has been heavily influenced by Persian art and architecture and Persian Sufi music. Hundreds of Persian poets were invited to India and some of the Indian kings themselves composed poems in the Persian language. Also many Persian commanders and ministers served at the Indian court. Notable among these was Mirza Ghiyas Beg, an important official during the rule of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. He served as the chief treasurer, and was given the title ‘I’timad-ud-Daulah’ which means Pillar of the State. His daughter, Mehr Nur Jahan married Jahangir in 1611, and his son Mirza Hasan ‘Asaf Khan’ served as a general to Jahangir. Mirza was the father of Arjumand Banu Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan. He also served as the governor of west India and Lahore.
India and Iran maintained regular cultural exchanges during the colonial period and post Independence. India held its “Days of Culture” at the Niyavaran Palace in Tehran and Hafezia in Shiraz. During 2011-12, various functions were organised through out Iran to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Tagore. Tagore had visited Iran in 1934 and 1935 during which he wrote a poem on Iran. There are about 7,000 Iranian students studying in India. India over the years has emerged as one of the favourite tourist destinations for Iranian tourists and every year around 40,000 Iranians visit India for various purposes.
Blurb: India-Iran trade in 2013 was
US$ 15 billion. Indian exports US$ 6 billion and imports
US$ 9 billion
Discover the splendour of Iran
In the past few years, Iran has been witnessing an increasing flow of tourists. Tourists visiting Iran are bedazzled by the majestic beauty of its countryside and the modern appeal of its cities, particularly Tehran, the capital of the country. Iran boasts of a rich heritage, which dates back to many centuries. With such an amazing sight seeing options tourists here would never feel bored.
Here you will come across some of the most beautiful and worth seeing historical places. Many of these have been officially recognised by UNESCO as the “World Heritage”. A visit to Takht Jamshed is a must. Though partially in ruins today, this used to be the capital of ancient Persia some 2500 years ago.
The Safavid Islamic period forms an important part of Iran’s heritage. Buildings dating to this period include The Maidan e Naghsh e Jahan, a complex containing religious and government buildings of the Safavid Islamic period. Some other prominent buildings of this period include the Esfahan square and the Safavid palaces, the Sheikh mosque, which is one of the architectural master pieces of the Safavid period and the 33 arch bridge. The Wanak church is one of the most beautiful churches of Iran.
Tehran, the capital of Iran, is a highly modern and developed city and a mix of the traditional and the modern. Here you would find the ancient monuments standing in close harmony to the modern buildings of the present era. Tehran is replete with majestic palaces and fantastic museums throwing light on the rich history of the country.
Iran offers visitors such a scintillating experience that just one visit would be not enough to discover the country. Every week Mahan Air has three flights on Delhi-Tehran. All passengers can receive visa on the arrival for 15 days.
International name: Islamic Republic of Iran.
Ancient name: Persia
Area: 1648195 Sq. Kms. Population: 75,597,633
Capital: Tehran .
Official language: Persian. Currency: Rial
The political system:Islamic Republic based on the 1979 Constitution.
From the point of view of area, Iran is the sixteenth largest country in the world.
About 90 per cent of the area of the country consists of plateau. Iran is completely a hilly and semi dry region. More than half of the country consists of mountains and hills. One fourth of the country consists of desert and the other less than one fourth is under cultivation. The lowest point in the country is at the height of 56 meters in kavir Lout and the highest point at 5628 meters is Damavand summit in the Alborz range near Tehran.
The Damavand mountain can be seen from the different cities particularly Tehran, Varameen and also from part of the Caspian Sea.
The total periphery of Iran is 8731 Kms, the 6031 kms of which consist of land and the remaining 2700 Kms is coastal area in the Caspian Sea and Oman Sea and the Persian Gulf
The longest and navigable river: The Karun river, with 950 kms.
The biggest lake: The Uroomieh with 4868 Sq.Kms.
The biggest island: The Gheshm with 1491 Sq.Kms .
Number of provinces: 31- cities: 397 - divisions: 984- towns: 1154
Rural areas: 2499
Exports: oil, carpets, different kind of fruits, dry fruits and herbs& saffron& pistachio , caviar, petrochemical products, textiles, clothes and food products.
Rail transport network: 9796 Kms. Length of roads: 158000 Kms
Pipelines: Oil products 3900 Kms, natural gas: 4550 Kms.
Main Ports: Abadan, Bandar Abbas, Anzali, Bushehr, Imam Khomeini, Turkmen, and Noushehr
Cultural Heritage:
Iran has 200000 beautiful and worth seeing historical buildings some are number one in the world. Such as:
- The biggest stone structure in the world ( Persepolis )
- The hottest summer climate in the world in Lout Desert(shadad) which has a temperature of more than 70 degree Celsius.
The highest brick tower in the world The Qaboos Gumbad.
- The longest salt cave in the world the Gheshm island( Persian gulf).
- The biggest brick structure of the world ( Yezd)
- The biggest non independent island of the world The Gheshm island
- The hottest spring in the world in Mishkin Shehr.
- The oldest mountain written script of the world in Anobanini Kermanshah.
- The oldest cypress tree of the world in Abr Koh.
- The oldest still in use bridge in the world in Dezful which was constructed 1800 years ago.
- The biggest brick building in the world The Nareen fort in the Mebod city.
- The highest ventilator(Baadgeer) of the world in Bagh Dolatabad, Yezd
- The oldest living animal species in the world The three eyed tripos in west Azerbaijan
- The biggest natural arch in the world at the mouth of the Espehbad cave in Khursheed Firozkoh
- The oldest dam of the world on the old Qom – Kashan highway (Kabbar Dam)
- The biggest covered traditional market of the world Tabriz Bazaar
- Iran is the first producer of saffron, pistachio, barberries and carpets in the world.
- A unique network of two storey subterranean canals in the world for water supply in Ardestan
- The longest, deepest and oldest network of subterranean canals(qanat) in kariz Ganabad.
The Ancient History of Iran:
Dozens of pre-historic sites across the Iranian plateau point to the existence of ancient cultures and urban settlements in the fourth millennium BCE, centuries before the earliest civilizations arose in nearby Mesopotamia.
Iran contains most beautiful and worth seeing historical places some of which have been officially recognized by UNISCO as the “World Heritage”, the most important of which are as the following:
Takht Jamshed (the ruins of the capital of the ancient Persian about 2500 years ago) – Shiraz and Marv Dasht
Iran enjoys a seven thousand years old civilization and has got a written history recorded year wise.
The Islamic period
Iran played a valuable role in the spread of the Islamic culture and civilization to the other parts of the world.
The mausoleum of Imam Reza (A.S.)
Architecture, illumination, stucco plastering, engraving, calligraphy, copper and zinc industry and alchemy as well as translation of literature are the things which the Iranians exported to the Islamic countries.
- The most important and famous historical, cultural and religious places of Iran include the following:
- Maidan e Naghsh e Jahan (a complex containing religious and government buildings of the Safavid Islamic period) The Esfahan square and the Safavid palaces, the Sheikh mosque (one of the architectural master pieces of the Safavid period) and the 33 arch bridge.The Wanak church (one of the most beautiful churches of Iran)
- Mashhad: The mausoleum of Imam Reza (A.S.), the eighth Imam of the world Shias, the grave of Firdowsi, the famous epic poet of Iran.
- -Chaghaz Nabeel (the royal city of the Ilamis about three thousand years ago) Haft Teppeh/ Shush
- -Takht e Soleiman (the ancient complex consisting of the fire temple of Azar Gashb in the Sassanid period) – Tokab Azerbaijan West
- Gonbad e Soltanieh (the highest dome of the world) in the city of Khodbandeh in Zanjan
- Tehran: The skiing field in the Damavand mountains of Tehran and Diesene, the museums of Tehran, the palaces of Tehran and the Niavaran Palace, Park Millat and Jamshedieh
- Shiraz: Takht Jamshed, Arak, the Shah Chiragh mausoleum, the graves of Hafiz and Sa’di, the famous poets of Iran, Pasargad (the mausoleum of Cyrus) and the relics of Rostam in Mehr mountain
- Yezd: The Yeza fire temple (the biggest and the most ancient place of worship of the Zoroastrians)
- Bam: Arg Bam (the biggest brick structure in the world)
- Kermanshah: Buildings of the Parsi and Sassanid period, Taaq e Bostan (a stone building of the Sassanid period) and Anahita temple (the stone temple of the Ashkanian period)
- Lorestan: The Falak ol Aflak fort (the big military fort of the Sassanid period). There are many religious buildings as well as natural scenery in Tabriz, Nishapour and Hamadan. The Hamadan cave also is matchless.
The most important natural worth seeing places in Iran include the following:
The Damavand hillock in the north east Tehran, the Ali Sadr cave in Hamadan, the field of the inverted tulips in the Dena mountain region, the Golestan forest in Bijnorad, the National Park in the Golestan province, the Lout desert in central Iran, the Uroomieh lake in Azerbaijan region, the Anzali marshes in the Anzali port region, the Lour lake and the Damavand mountain region.
The most important museums of Iran:
In most of the cities of Iran, different museums can be found and at least twenty museums of Iran enjoy international fame.
The main features of the economy of Iran:
It is the eighteenth economy in the world
The young and educated population with a rapid growth.
It is the fourth oil producer and second largest gas reserves in the world
Extensive privatization in the country:
It is agreed that 80% of the assets of the government should be transferred to the private sector, the half of which would be transferred to the public judiciously and the other half would be sold through the stock exchanges.
According to president Rouhani Investment Law in Iran support and Guarantee all Wright for foreign investors.( Article – ۴- ۸ -۹- ۱۶- ۱۷- ۲۶ -۱۱- in investment Law guarantee all the wrights.)
Visa on arrival at the airport
Everybody can get a 15 days entry visa on arrival at the Tehran airport. This visa can be renewed for a period of another 15 days. But those having passports of USA, UK, Canada, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh –Kenya –Somali should coordinate through the embassies.
Some achievements and International Rankings in Science and Technology cording to Iranian officials
According to the book a summary of selected technology achievement of the i. r Iranby CITC has demonstrated a remarkable growth in science and technology over the past 2decade, increasing its science and technology output fivefold from 2000 to 2008. Iranian had win many awards in different scientific field.
Ancient Persia contributed to the current understanding of nature, medicine, mathematics, and philosophy, Algebra and Chemistry, invented the wind-power machine, The Qanat (under ground water management system and invented water clock ), the windmill and watermill and invented Perfume(Attar GoulAab) and the first distillation of alcohol.
Despite international tough sanctions , Iran’s scientific progress is reported to be the fastest in the world. During the period 1996–۲۰۰۸, Iran had increased its scientific output by 18 folds.
Iran’s university population swelled from 100,000 in 1979 to 2 million in 2006. 60% of its science and engineering students are female.
Iran has made great steps in different sectors, including civil engineering, medical development and health, aerospace, nuclear science, energy as well as stem cell and cloning research.
In 2009, Iranian government formulated a 15 year comprehensive national plan for science focused on higher education and strengthening the links between academia and industry in order to promote a knowledge based economy.
A total of 9,570 national inventions was registered in Iran during 2008.
Iran ranks 18th in world in medical sciences and 5 in health care.
Iran is the 7th country in production of uranium hexafluoride (or UF6). especially in nuclear medicine.
Ultra Fast Microprocessors Research Center in Tehran’s Amirkabir University of Technology successfully built a supercomputer in 2007.
Iran ranked 23rd in Nanotechnology in 2007 and By 2012, ranked 5th in the world.
According to Scopus, Iran ranked 17th in terms of science production in the world in 2012 with the production of 34,155 articles above Switzerland and Turkey.
Iran increased its academic publishing output nearly tenfold from 1996 to 2004, and has been ranked first globally in terms of output growth . Iran’s growth rate in science and technology is 11 times more than the average growth of the world’s output in 2009 and in terms of total output per year, the fastest growing sectors in Iran are Physics, Public health sciences, Engineering, Chemistry and Mathematics.
Iran ranked 49th for citations, 42nd for papers, and 135th for citations per paper in 2005. Iran ranked 30th in the world in terms of scientific impact. And first or second in Islamic world.
Iran ranked 32, 46 and 56 in Chemistry, Physics and Biology respectively among all science producing countries.
Iran had doubled its biological sciences and health research out put in just two years (2006–۲۰۰۸).
The fastest growing scientific field in Iran was medical sciences at 344% and the slowest growth was of chemistry at 128% with the growth for other fields being biology 342%, ecology 298%, physics 182%, basic sciences 285%, engineering 235% and mathematics at 255%.
v Biotechnology
ü Published articles in comparison to other countries: 13th
ü General rank in terms of production in Asia: Among top 5 Countries
ü Production rate also Vaccines production rate in the Middle East: 1st
ü Producing 12 of the 24 most expensive biotechnology
ü Designing and manufacturing of the First National Intelligent Electric-Fuel Cell Vehicle.
ü ANGIPARSTM is a novel drug in management of Diabetic Foot Ulcer and inhibits from Amputation
ü CinnoVexTM is used in the treatment of relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) to slow the development of physical disability.
ü IMODTMA medicine for Treatment of HIV/AIDS.
**In engineering Iran improved its impact.
Iran is the 9th country to put a domestically-built satellite into orbit since the Soviet Union launched the first in 1957.
Iran has achieved the technical expertise to set up hydroelectric, gas and combined cycle power plants. Iran is among the four world countries that are capable of manufacturing advanced V94.2gas turbines. and is now the third country in the world to have developed Gas to liquids(GTL) technology.
Iran possesses the technology to launch superfast anti-submarine rockets that can travel at the speed of 100 meters per second under water, making the country second only to Russia in possessing the technology. Iran is among the five countries in the world to have developed ammunitions with laser targeting technology. Iran is among the 12 countries with missile technology.
Solar Energy
most parts of the country are exposed to very high levels of solar radiation with a daily average of between 5.0 and 5.4 KWh/m2 in the south of the country (London receives a daily dose of around 1.0 KWh/m2). If only one per cent of the Iranian desert area was covered by solar PV collectors, the energy obtained would be five times more than the current annual electricity consumption in Iran.
INDIA-IRAN RELATIONS
Political Relations:
India-Iran relations span centuries marked by meaningful interactions.
The two countries shared a border till 1947 and share several common features in their language, culture and traditions. Both South Asia and the Persian Gulf have strong commercial, energy, cultural and people-to-people links.
Independent India and Iran established diplomatic links on 15 March 1950. In addition to the Embassy in Tehran, India currently has two Consulates in Iran -Bandar Abbas and Zahedan. And Iran has two Consulates in Hider Abaad and Mumbai.. .
The Shah visited India in February/March 1956 and Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited Iran in September 1959. Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi visited Iran in April 1974 . The Paade Shah, in turn, visited India in February 1978.
The Iranian Revolution in 1979 introduced a new phase of engagement between India and Iran marked by exchange of high level visits of Indian and Iranian officials.
Economic Relations:
Economocly India had a deep connection with the Persian gulf since antiquity . spice were trading from Indian coast to the Hormuz and Siraf and Basra in the Persian gulf to the Mediterranean region.
Between 12000- 15000 ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz annually many of them Indian. Iran is capable of providing fuel service facilities to these passing ships.
Recent India-Iran commercial ties have traditionally been buoyed by Indian import of Iranian crude oil. India-Iran trade in 2010-11 was US$ 13.4 billion (Indian exports US$ 2.5 billion and imports US$ 10.9 billion). India-Iran trade in 2013- is US$ 15 billion (Indian exports US$ 6 billion and imports US$ 9 billion).
India and Iran hold regular bilateral talks on economic issues at the India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting (JCM).
India and Iran are also engaged in discussions on various projects in Iran including the Chabahar Port and Rail Project.
Cultural and historical Relations:
Till now it has been believed that Iran and India have had cultural and civilizational links with each other from the time of Cyrus the Great and Darius. But many recent archaeological findings in north Khorassan, Sokhte (burnt city)and Jeeroft in Iran show that the civilizational relations between the Iranians and India have been so much older.
In the period of Darius and Xeroxes (khashayarShah), a group of the elephant riding soldiers of the army were Indians. Such kinds of relations have been clearly recorded in the periods of Ashkanians and the Sassanid as well. In the period of the Gurkanis (the Mughals) or the Khorasanids the official language of the courts of India was Persian. It is for the same reason that about seventy per cent of the important documents, royal orders as well as the poetry and prose books still found in the museums and the government as well as private collections in India are in the Persian language.
Dr. Hekmat, the first ambassador of Iran in independent India had compiled a total of 80 important stone engravings in the important palaces and mausoleums of India. But the number of such engravings and inscription which are still found runs into thousands.
Some of the stone engravings in the Red Fort, the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort which have been registered as the world heritage.
The cultural ties between Iran and India go back to the ancient times, to such an ancient time that determining its real date is impossible.
This antiquity of relations can be understood from the extensive similarities in the languages of the two countries. It is for the same reason that Sanskrit is called as the sister of the ancient Iranian languages. India and Iran have been familiar names for each other. The names of India ,Sind and Makran have been used in almost all historical& geographical and literature Persian books in the Shahnameh itself at least a hundred times. The same is true for other books as well.
A number of Indian scholars were teachers in the great university of the Gandi Shahpur of Persia and used to teach there.
In the period of Khusro Anushirvan, a number of Indian tales including the Panchtantra were translated into Iranian language by the name of Kalileh Wa Dameneh.
This work was later translated from the Persian language to Hindi. Other stories like the tales of Behram, story of the parrots and the tales of Sindbad were all translated from Hindi into Persian.
Iranians have played a distinguished role in the transmission of the heritage of India to the other languages. The famous Iranian scientist, AbuRehan AlBiruni, during his 16 years stay in India, presented his master piece named “Tehqeeq Ma’al le Hind” to the world which is known as the Encyclopedia of India.
Masoodi was yet another Iranian scholar, who wrote many detailed reports about India. Moreover, the scientists like Koshiar and Khwarizmi learned the Indian mathematics and globalized this science.
During the Khorasanid dynasties(Tamurid,Babri,Mugals, Bahmani) the cultural exchange was so deeply that the official language became Persian. the Khorasanid emperor of India invited several Persian artists and scientist to their courts.
India has extremely been influenced by Persian art and architecture and Persian Sufis music. Hundreds of Persian poets also were invited to India and some of the Indian kings themselves were composing Persian poem. also many Persian commander and ministers or Nuvab were serving the Indian court, among them was Mirza Ghiyas Beg an important official the rule of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, and served as the chief treasurer, and he was given the title ‘I’timād-ud-Daulah’ which means Pillar of the State. His daughter, Mehr Nūr Jahān married Jahāngīr in 1611, and his son Mirza Hasan ‘Asaf Khan’ served as a general to Jahangir. Mirza who was the father of Arjumand Banu Mumtaz Mahal,The wife of Shah Jahan, the Emperor of India he also served as the governor of wes india and lahour.
also we can mention many others such as Safdar Jung and Ashraf khan khorasani.
India and Iran maintained regular cultural exchanges even during the time of colonialism and also after independent India.
Persian paintings on the Rashtrapati bahavan palace.
India held its “Days of Culture” at the Niyavaran Palace in Tehran and Hafezia in Shiraz . During 2011-12, various functions were organised through out Iran to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Tagore. Tagore had visited Iran in 1934 and 1935 during which he wrote some poem on Iran.
There are about 7,000 Iranian students studying in India. India over the years has emerged as one of the favourite tourist destinations for Iranian tourists and every year around 40,000 Iranians visit India for various purposes.
