ICCC Weekly Newsletter
01 May 2021
For whom the bells tolls
“Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”
John Donne (1572 – 1631).
The statistics are staggering. Apparently, by some calculations, four Indians are dying every minute, as the macabre death dance caused by the resurgence of the second wave of Covid-19 devastates India.
According to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre, the leading online statistical resource for tracking the global spread of Covid-19, despite the resurgence of the virus, India’s death rate as compared to its population, is not as high as some of the more developed countries. The table below list the 10 countries with the highest number of deaths.
Of course, the situation is extremely fluid in India, and the caseload is rising every day to cross half-a-million daily in the coming days, and the number of deaths in India will rise exponentially. According to many experts, May and June will see the situation worsening.
According to a World Health Organization report Global Spending on Health: Weathering the storm, published in December 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, global spending on health was continuing to rise, though at a slower rate in recent years.
In 2018, global spending on health reached US$ 8.3 trillion, or 10% of global GDP, and it was the first time in the past five years that health spending grew slower than GDP. Pertinently, Government health spending per capita grew over the 2000–2018 period, but at a slower rate after the economic crises of 2008–2009.
The share of out-of-pocket spending in total health spending remained above 40% in low and lower middle-income countries. Health spending from external aid reached its peak in 2014 and has since fallen. The share of external aid absorbed by lower middle-income countries has been increasing and in recent years surpassed that of low-income countries. The share of health spending devoted to primary health care varied widely across countries.
Read more:
WHO report (link)
Current Health Expenditure (link)
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre (link)
Indo-Canadian Task Force
Combatting Covid-19's 2nd Wave in India
Taskforce's first Zoom meeting on 1 May
India is currently facing a massive surge in cases of COVID-19. The situation is critical. The sharp increase in cases is putting immense pressure on India’s healthcare system. The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce Taskforce on India’s Covid-19 crisis comprises entrepreneurs, academics, community leaders, and supported by the Canadian and India diplomatic corps. The taskforce has already engaged political decisionmakers both in Canada and India.
Objective:
The taskforce will focus on the following:
- Reach out to 1.6 million Indo-Canadians and seek $100 contribution from each Indo-Canadian (target: $160 million)
- Raising resources to buy medical equipment
- Procuring equipment from global markets
- Sending equipment to India where it is most needed
- Coordinate with the Indian and Canadian governments on the formulating an urgent action plan to overcome the crisis
If you are interested in contributing resources to the taskforce, please contact iccc@iccc.org
An Appeal for India
Vijay Thomas
HELP INDIA CONQUER THE SECOND WAVE OF COVID-19
As a Canadian organization, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce adheres both in letter and in spirit to Canadian laws and values, and support and respect cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity of the Canadian society. In the spirit of non-partisanship and in accordance to Canadian values of multiculturalism, the ICCC provides a list of organizations that are at present working on raising resources for India to fight the resurgence of Covid-19.
The ICCC encourages its Members and stakeholders to contribute directly to any of these organisations.
Read more: Appeal for India: Updated List of Organizations
CONNEXT 2021
ICCC's Virtual Trade Mission to India has been rescheduled to the third quarter of 2021. New dates will be announced later.
Download presentation: CONNEXT 2021
Click here for details: CONNEXT 2021
Click here to register: Delegate Registration
Past Programs and Events
India & Covid-19's Second Wave - A Panel Discussion
On 29 April 2021, as part of its continuing Thursday Talks Webinar Series, the ICCC organized a panel discussion on India and Covid-19's Second Wave. Canada's Minister Anita Anand gave introductory remarks, emphasizing the excellent bilateral ties between the two countries. Apoorva Srivastava, Consul General of India to Canada, set the tone of the discussion in her keynote address by emphasizing that India is capable of procuring its medical emergency needs commercially. The panelists included Ramesh Chotai of Vraj Community Services, Kanchan Kumar of TiE-Toronto, Madhukar Pai and Ananya Banerjee of McGill University, and Sharonya Sekhar of Red Cross Canada. The session gave an opportunity have a fact-based debate to discuss the impact of the resurgence of the pandemic and what needs to be done.
Watch the recording of the Webinar: India & Covid-19's second wave
In the News
Canada
Covid-19 pandemic slows down FDI in Canada
Foreign direct investment activity slowed considerably in Canada and globally in 2020 amid upheavals caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, the stock of both Canadian direct investment abroad and foreign direct investment in Canada continued to increase, the growth in the investment position abroad exceeding that of investment in Canada.
The stock of Canadian direct investment abroad increased by 4.2% to $1,469.3 billion at the end of the year. Meanwhile, the stock of foreign direct investment in Canada was up 2.7% to reach $1,046.3 billion. As a result, the net foreign direct investment position reached $423.0 billion, up $31.6 billion from 2019.
Read more: FDI 2020
India
India Media & Entertainment Sector is worth US$23.7b despite 24% decline in 2020
The Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) sector is expected to grow by 25% in 2021 and is expected to reach INR 1.73 trillion (US$23.7 billion) states FICCI-EY report 'Playing by new rules' launched today. With its current trajectory, the M&E sector in India is expected to reach INR 2.23 trillion (US$30.6 billion) by 2023 at a CAGR of 17%. In 2020 while television continued to remain the largest segment, digital media has overtaken print, and online gaming has overtaken a disrupted filmed entertainment segment. The Indian Media and Entertainment sector has degrown by 24% to INR 1.38 trillion (US$19 billion) in 2020.
Digital media and online gaming were the only segments that grew in 2020 adding an aggregate of INR 26 billion. Other segments have degrown by an aggregate of INR 467 billion. While M&E as a sector has usually grown and often outperformed India's nominal GDP, the sector fell three times (3x) India's nominal GDP fall by 8% due to the discretionary nature of the spend. Subscription revenues however proved their mettle by holding up better than advertising revenues.
Television: The TV industry declined 13% from INR787 billion to INR685 billion in 2020.
Digital: In 2020 digital media grew by 6.5% to reach INR235 billion and is expected to grow at 22% CAGR to reach INR425 billion by 2023.
Print: Has degrown 36% in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19. Print's revenue declines were led by a 41% fall in advertising and a 24% fall in circulation revenues.
Radio: Revenues, which had fallen 7.5% in 2019, fell by over 50% again on account of both ad rate and volume drops.
Read more: Playing by New Rules (link)
Youth Membership
At a Meeting held recently, the Board of Directors decided that from January 2021, Youth Membership would be restricted to University and College students only. All Youth Members will have to provide proof of being a valid student in a Canadian educational institution.
Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce
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Email: iccc@iccconline.org
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