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  • 12 Mar 2019 1:00 PM | Anonymous
    Coffee Board of India delegation interacts with ICCC members
     

    Meeting in progress

    Toronto: Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce met the visiting Coffee Board of India delegation at the ICCC headquarters on 12th March 2019. The delegation was led by Mr. N. N. Narendra, IOFS, Director of Finance, Coffee board, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. Delegation visited Canada for the promotion of Indian Coffee Products. India is one of the largest exporter of coffee to Europe and Italy is the largest importer of Indian Robusta Coffee. The delegation was exploring the opportunities for exporting the coffee to Canadian market as Canadians are one of the highest consumers of per capita coffee.

    In his detailed presentation, Mr. Narendra said that India is the Seventh largest Coffee producer in the world, produces 3.16 lakh MTs of the worlds’ best Sustainable and Scintillating Coffees. Coffee in India is grown in different geographies, under varying degrees of altitudes and rainfall. These differences bring subtle but exciting variations to the flavour Indian Coffee. Indian coffee is grown under the canopy of two-tier mixed shade, handpicked, sun dried, grown at altitudes above 1000m, nurtured by rich soils, mountain streams and filtered sunlight with diverse ecosystem with rich flora and fauna and it is Eco-friendly. Indian coffee beans are dense, full bodied, and slightly acidic with exciting aroma.

    India also produces some specialty coffees such as Monsooned Malabar Coffee, Mysore Nuggets, Robusta Kaapi Royale etc. India also do have world class infrastructure to provide space, product development laboratories for maintaining international standards of the coffee.

    Ms. Devika Penekelapati, Corporate Secretary & Vice President ICCC welcomed the delegation and briefed them about the chamber and its activities. ICCC board members Ms. Sunita Vyas and Mr. Rakesh Joshi were also present along with ICCC past Presidents Mr. Sanjay Makkar and Mr. D P Jain.

    Please click the following for details of Indian Coffee


  • 08 Mar 2019 6:30 PM | Anonymous
    ICCC Celebrates its eighth International Women Day

    Nourishment 101: Healing, Motivation & a Sprinkle of Indulgence

     
     
     From L to R: Devika Penekelapati, Shibani Sahney, Seema Bhatia, Sunita Vyas, Allison Graham, Yuvika Wadhwa, Mini Khurana & Anu Kalra
     

    Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s (ICCC) Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals (WEP) Committee celebrated International Women Day on the subject ‘Nourishment 101: Healing, Motivation & a Sprinkle of Indulgence’ on March 8th at the Avani Event Centre in Vaughan. Members of the ICCC, its stakeholders and supporters gave a stupendous reception to the program by participating in large numbers.

    ICCC invited Ms. Seema Bhatia an Ayurvedic Practioner, Ms. Yuwika Wadhwa, owner Protein Chefs and Ms. Allison Graham, a motivational speaker from Resiliency Ninja. All the three eminent speakers enlightened the audience on the subject.

    Ms. Devika Penekelapati, Vice President & Corporate Secretary ICCC in her welcome remarks said that ‘Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change’ is the United Nations theme for 2019 International Women Day which reflects that still a lot more efforts are needed for women leaders to be smart and innovative in generating new ideas for changing the old fashioned perceptions of the male dominated society to think on equal terms. She further said that International women's day has been celebrated since 1975 internationally but the ICCC started celebrating it since 2012 with the formation of Women Entrepreneurs and Professional Committee.

    Ms. Seema Bhatia in her address to the gathering said that a healthy food is need of the body and soul. She correlated the Yoga and Ayurveda for the healthy life style and said that both go side by side.

    Ms. Bhatia is a proponent of Ayurvedic diet, lifestyle and yoga in our daily lives and is tirelessly trying to create momentum for Regulation of Ayurveda in Canada. She is committed towards the cause of health in Mind, Body and Soul.

    Ms. Yuvika Wadhwa from Protein Chefs in her brief remarks advocated the importance of healthy and nutrition rich food. She is specialized in healthy, nutritious meals that is delivered from their commercial kitchen to homes and offices.

    She had expanded her food business to serve across Ontario with a goal to serve maximum people with healthy and balanced meals.climb.

    Ms. Allison Graham, keynote speaker of the evening from Resiliency Ninja said that a motivational person can live a life happily despite of numerous challenges he faced in day to day life. She explained her developed relatable, actionable, easy-to-apply tools to master resilience. Allison believes that everyday resilience has a more significant impact on your overall quality of life compared to Big-R-Resilience during traumatic life events or milestone physical pursuits. Climbing the mountain presents obstacles, but the true test on your path to success is how you navigate the day-to-day after the big 
    Mini Khurana, Chair, WEP Committee, exclaimed, “This is one of the best WEP event we’ve organized since we formed the Committee eight years ago. She applauded the managing committee members Anu Kalra, Shibani Sahney and Paluck Sharma for their strong support and involvement in making this program such a grand success.
     
     
     
     ICCC Members with the Speakers
     
     


  • 04 Mar 2019 6:30 PM | Anonymous

     

    Canada - India collaboration in the mining sector

     

    India's mining Secretary Shri Anil Mukim visits PDAC with a Big Delegation

     

    Hon. Anil Mukim, Secretary Mining with Consul General Dinesh Bhatia,  

    members of the Indian delegation with ICCC Board members

    The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) in collaboration with the Consulate General of India in Toronto hosted a business reception in the honour of Visiting Mining delegation for PDAC under the leadership of Mr. Anil Mukim, Secretary, Mining Government of India on 4th March 2019.

    The delegation is visiting Canada to participate in the annual PDAC International Convention, Trade Show & Investors Exchange held in Toronto. Mr. Anil Mukim, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Government of India is leading a high-powered delegation comprising India’s public sector mining companies as well as senior-level government of India officials. 

    The reception was attended by the Indo-Canadian business community of the Greater Toronto Area and the Indian diplomatic corps. 

    Speaking on the occasion Mr. Mukim applauded the role of ICCC in promoting the Canada India relations since last four decades. He said that the mining sector is a priority area for the Indian government and the use of latest technology will bring further transparency and better monitoring in the mining sector. He emphasized that the Modi government has already accomplished a lot so far but there is always more scope for doing better and fast work, as contribution of the mineral sector towards the growth of the GDP is significant and has to be improved further in collaboration with the States.

    The Consul General of India in Toronto Amb. Dinesh Bhatia in his remarks said that Canada and India can help each other in the mining sector by utilizing existing synergies in the sector. Canada can provide both investment avenues for Indian companies as well as technological knowhow to Indian companies in the sector. 

    He listed the minerals in which Canada leads the world, and said that India, in its quest of rapid development, needs all these minerals.

    Ms. Devika Penekelapati, Vice President of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), in his welcome remarks, said that in the mining sector, our journey of cooperation began a decade ago when during India and Canada Foreign Office Consultations held in Ottawa in December 2008, the Indian side conveyed its interest for a broader MoU on Mining between the two countries. The specific areas of interest for India include potash, urea, gold, diamonds, oil and gas, uranium, clean coal technology, mining prospecting technology, etc. A MoU between the India’s ministry of mines, and Canada’s department of natural resources, concerning cooperation in the field of earth sciences and mining was signed in 2010 in Toronto. She added, “Over the last decade, several significant developments have occurred in the mining sector both in Canada and in India, and it would be necessary to keep in mind these developments while charting the future course of cooperation between our two economies in this sector. 

    Mr. Pappur Shankar, Chair of the ICCC's Mining Committee introduced the event to the audience and welcomed the delegates. Several past presidents of the Chamber and member of the incumbent board members were present at the event.

     

                     Sunita Vyas, Devika Penekelapati, Anil Mukim and Dinesh Bhatia

     

     Audience at the event

     


  • 12 Feb 2019 6:30 PM | Anonymous

    ICCC Organized an Informative Session on Federal Government Contracting and Intellectual Property Services 


    From L to R: Rakesh Joshi, Devika Penekelapati, Chirag Shah, Menelaos Argiropoulos, Darlene Carreau, Prmaod Goyal & Sunita Vyas

    Indo Canada  Chamber of Commerce organised an event on Federal Government Contracting and Intellectual Property Services for Small and Medium Businesses on Tuesday 12 February 2019. The event enlightened the members regarding protecting their Intellectual Rights and how they can do Business with the Government of Canada.

     
       

    Mr. Pramod Goyal, President ICCC in his welcome remarks said that the ICCC is working hard to promote its mandate for disseminating latest information on Small and medium Businesses developments and how they can get benefit from these programs.

    He also said that ICCC is leading its eighth India Mission 2019 from 17th to 24th February 2019 covering Chandigarh, New Delhi, Chennai, Panaji and Hyderabad. He also informed the members that ICCC is launching its India Chapter in New Delhi during the upcoming business mission.

         

     

     

    Ms. Darlene Carreau, Director General of Business Services at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) in her presentation said that small businesses are having an important role in the development of the economy so they should be aware how to protect their Intellectual Property (IP). She said that 27% of SMEs hold formal IP (2% patents, 9% trademarks and 1% ID), 78% of SMEs indicate that they are familiar with at least one type of IP so the awareness is must for SMEs. Of the 31% of companies that innovate, around half hold formal IP. SMEs should take this seriously as it can give them an edge over the competition to build a reputation and goodwill with the clients. Additionally, CIPO isresponsible for designing and delivering a suite of IP products, training tools and services to raise awareness among small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators to bolster innovation, competitiveness and long-term growth.

    For presentation details please click here

     
         


     

    Mr. Menelaos (Manny) Argiropoulos, Chief,SME Stakeholder Engagement, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) – Officeof Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) in his detailed presentation said that information and correctknowledge is key to success for getting into the business with the Governmentof Canada. He provided detailed information on understanding the procurement process,registering as a supplier, security screening, building relationships, biddingon opportunities available for SMEs and information on the build in CanadaInnovation Program.

    For presentation details please click here

       
     

    The event was well attended by members despite of winter storm. Mr. Chirag Shah introduced the event to the audience. ICCC board members Ms. Devika Penekelapati, Ms. Sunita Vyas and Mr. Rakesh Joshi were also present at the event.

    Our sponsor, Telus not only sponsored the refreshments for the event, but also, gave away a smartphone in a raffle prize draw.


  • 15 Jan 2019 6:30 PM | Anonymous

    ICCC announces new Initiatives; to Open India Chapter

    High Commissioner, Mayor Brown Applaud Chamber's work at New year 'Meet & Greet' Event

     

    From L to R: Amb. Dinesh Bhatia, H.E. Vikas Swarup, Mr. Pramod Goyal & Mayor Patrick Brown 

    Toronto: Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organised an exclusive ICCC New Year Meet and Greet at The Vue, at the Royal Woodbine Golf Course on 15 January 2019 to announce new initiatives during 2019 in the presence of ICCC’s key stakeholders and sponsors.

    The Chief Guest at the event was His Excellency Vikas Swarup, High Commissioner of India to Canada. Amb. Dinesh Bhatia, Consul General of India in Toronto and His Worship Mayor Patrick Brown, City of Brampton joined as special guests at the event.

    ICCC President Mr. Pramod Goyal welcomed all the guests and acknowledged the ICCC’s sponsors. Mr. Goyal also welcomed the ICCC’s newly joined sector sponsor Raymond James Ltd at the event. Mr. Goyal shared his vision and announced several new initiatives that ICCC is taking to further augment member and stakeholder engagement and accelerate promote Canada India bilateral trade & commerce. Addressing the gathering, ICCC President also declared a new team for the office of President to help the chamber in achieving its goals. Amb. Praveen Verma (Retd.), Special Advisor - Government Affairs, Mr. Surinder Sharma, Special Advisor - Partnerships & Strategic Alliances, Mr. Sanjay Chadha, Special Advisor - Fundraising & Sponsor Engagement, Mr. Ashutosh Chauhan, Special Advisor - Business Growth Initiatives, Mr. Sarbjeet S Arora, Advisor - Memberships & Special Events. Ms. Sumeet Dhanju-Dhillon, Special Advisor - Legal Affairs, Mr. Vijay Thomas, Advisor – Information Technology and Mr. Anil Arora, Advisor - Affinity Programs. The team will help in formulating the ICCC vision and roadmap to achieve those goals in a specified time period. 

    He also announced that ICCC is working to start a chapter in New Delhi, India very soon. Permanent presence of ICCC in India will help in promoting its mandate in the Indian subcontinent. 

    His Excellency Vikas Swarup, High Commissioner of India in Canada and the Chief Guest of the evening applauded the ICCC’s work in the promotion of Canada India business and commercial relations since last 41 years. He also shown his happiness in the new chapter of the chamber in New Delhi, India. He said that the permanent presence of the chamber will help in sustaining its operations in India. It will also be helpful for the chamber to arrange the reciprocal visits of business delegations.

    He also suggested the ICCC to strengthen its secretariat for the sustainability in its programs and assured all the help from his office.

    Mr. Dinesh Bhatia, Consul General of India appreciated ICCC. 

    He said that the office of the Consulate General working closely with the ICCC in the promotion of Canada India bilateral relations and will be continuing to do so in the future as well.

    His worship Mayor Patrick Brown, City of Brampton said that he is a great friend of chamber and the City of Brampton is its corporate member. He further said that he worked closely with the chamber and always supported its activities. In the past he attended a number of ICCC led India Missions. He is planning to partner with the ICCC for his upcoming visit to India in February 2019.

    ICCC board members Ms. Devika Penekelapati, Mr. Abu Becker, Ms. Sunita Vyas, Mr. Rakesh Joshi and Mr. Chirag Shah were also present along with past presidents and board members of the chamber. ICCC sponsors representatives from Turkish Airline, TD Bank, Crown Group of Hotels, SBI Canada Bank, Peter & Paul, RBC Royal Bank, CPA Ontario, Seneca, Raymond James Ltd, Y-media and Weekly Voice were also present.

     

      

     

    ICCC board with Vikas Swarup, Dinesh Bhatia & Mayor Patrick Brown 

     

    Audience at the event

     

     

     

     

    Audience at the event 

     

    Audience at the event 

     

     

     


  • 13 Dec 2018 6:30 PM | Anonymous

    Doing Business in India: Opportunities for Canadian IT Firms at GlobalSoft


    Mr. D. K. Sareen, CEO Global Soft, Counsel General Amb. Dinesh Bhatia, ICCC President Pramod Goyal and Mr. Nalin Kohli,  Chairman, GlobalSoft

    Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce and Consulate General of India in Toronto Jointly organised an informative session on Global Soft 2019 at the ICCC office on Thursday December 13, 2018. Mr. Nalin Kohli, Chairman of Indiasoft and Mr. D.K Sareen, CEO of Indiasoft came all the way from India to interact with the ICCC members. 

     

    Mr. Pramod Goyal, President ICCC in his welcome remarks said that Information technology is accelerating its growth in the all the fields. India is a major player in the sector as it is the largest exporter of software in the world and still growing. He quoted that, “as per NASSCOM IT sector revenues were USD $160 billion in 2017, with USD $99 billion in export earnings, and USA accounting for over 2/3rd of the total IT exports.” During Prime Minister Trudeau’s visit to India earlier this year in February 2018, several MOU’s were signed between the two governments and businesses to promote innovation & entrepreneurship, including setting up of ‘Indo Canada Innovation Bridge’, through a Public Private partnership.


    Amb. Dinesh Bhatia in his brief remarks applauded the ICCC and its activities in promoting the India Canada trade and commercial relations. He said that the IT sector potential has not been tapped fully and the collaboration has not been reached to the level, it should be.

    He referred that the USA is importing over US$63 billion software from India whereas the Canada is only importing over a US$1billion. As per Canadian market size the potential is much more and it can easily cross the US$ 4 billion, he said.

    Mr. D. K Sareen, Chief Executive Officer, Globalsoft in his detailed presentation said that by attending the Globalsoft 2019, you can access the potential of trillion dollar digital Indian marketplace in the new and promising areas of Cyber Security, Smart Cities, Health IT, Fintech, Online Education, Analytics, and E-Commerce among others through partnerships with Indian IT companies; distributor and licensing arrangements; value-added reselling; and points of presence etc. As a one-stop point for IT industry from across the globe, the second edition of GLOBAL SOFT 2019 can be the gateway for your enterprise to the vast market of India, the emerging markets of Africa, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Middle East.


    GlobalSoft 2019 offers one-stop access to explore the business opportunities in the IT industry in India.  

     

     

     

                          Amb. Bhatia addressing the members

     

                               Audience at GlobalSoft Roadshow

    The session was followed by a Q & A session. ICCC board members Ms. Devika Penekelapati, Ms. Sunita Vyas, Mr. Rakesh Joshi and Mr. Chirag Shah were present along with member representatives from several IT firms. Ms. Devika Penekelapati opened the event and introduced Mr. Nalin Kohli to the audience and Ms. Sunita Vyas proposed the vote of thanks.  

     

    ICCC Board members with Amb. Bhatia, Mr. Nalin Kohli and Mr. Sareen of GlobalSoft


  • 07 Dec 2018 6:30 PM | Anonymous

    Mayor Patrick Brown at an interactive session with ICCC members

    ICCC President Pramod Goyal welcoming Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown

    His Worship Mr. Patrick Brown, Mayor City of Brampton interacted with members of the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce on 7th December 2018 at an interactive session. This was his first interaction with a business chamber after taking over the charge as Mayor, City of Brampton. Mayor Brown applauded the role of ICCC in fostering the bilateral trade and investment between Canada and India. The Mayor said that since creating jobs tops his agenda, he would take every step to make Brampton attractive for businesses and investors from anywhere, including India, by keeping the cost of doing business in his city low.

    Describing Indian and other diaspora communities of his city as its biggest assets, the Mayor said he would use the huge Indian community to pitch his city to businesses in India. "The ICCC can open doors for Brampton in India during their India Missions. I have been India 18 times in 11 years and I will do now as Mayor to pitch Brampton to businesses in India," he said.

    Mr. Pramod Goyal, who also took the office of the President of ICCC on the same day as Mayor Brown took the oath said that the Chamber has been building business bridges between the two countries for over four decades. He further said that as the oldest Indo-Canadian business organization with deep reaches within the Indian diaspora, ICCC has successfully harnessed the community’s contribution to the growing bilateral economic relations by becoming a gateway to business and knowledge networks. ICCC President assured all the help and support to City of Brampton, in fulfilling its objectives.  

    Mr. Goyal also invited the Mayor for joining ICCC for its upcoming India Mission 2019 in January. ICCC board members Mr. Abu Becker, Ms. Devika Penekelapati, Mr. Rakesh Joshi, Mr. Chirag Shah and Ms. Sunita Vyas were also present along ICCC members and  Past President's of the chamber. 

     

    From L to R, ICCC board members Sunita Vyas, Devika Penekelapati, ICCC President Pramod Goyal, Mayor Patrick Brown, Abu Baker, Rakesh Joshi and Chirag Shah

     

     Audience at the Event


  • 03 Dec 2018 12:30 PM | Anonymous
    Pramod Goyal elected   
     
    ICCC's 31st President
     
    Committed for engaging members 
     
     Pramod Goyal

    Mr. Pramod Goyal was unanimously elected the 31st President of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) on Monday, December 03, 2018, by board members.

    Mr. Pramod Goyal is a business strategist and a highly experienced management consultant with over 30 years of experience in founding, managing, and advising growth companies, including strategy consulting, corporate finance, audit, and governance; private equity transactions and venture capital; commercial due-diligence and strategic business relationships. He is currently the President and CEO of Canadawide Financial Corporation Limited, a business advisory, and management consulting firm. In the past, he has held senior roles at Investco, Royal Bank, Scotiabank and Acer Telecom.

    He holds a Bachelor of Science degree, and Post-Graduate Diploma in Internal Audit from University of Delhi, and a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern and York University. He is an Associate of the Institute of Canadian Bankers and a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors. He has served on several professional, private and non-profit boards, and committees of various organizations. 


  • 02 Nov 2018 1:00 PM | Anonymous

    ICCC welcomes India Canada track 1.5 Dialogue

     
    Delegation with ICCC Members

    Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) hosted Gateway House delegation on 2nd November 2018 at the ICCC office. The delegation was visiting Canada for track 1.5 dialogue. The interactive session witnessed exchange of ideas, suggestions and information between the ICCC and delegates.

    Mr. Pranav Patel, president ICCC welcomed the delegation on behalf of the chamber and congratulated them for starting the 1.5 dialogue with Canada. Canada India relations are progressing well but lot more potential avenues can be unlocked between these two countries.

    Amb. Dinesh Bhatia, Consul General of India in Toronto said that Consul General is working closely with ICCC in promoting the Canada India bilateral relations in trade and commerce.

    Ms. Manjeet Kripalani, leader of the delegation and co-founder of Gateway House said that through 1.5 dialogue they wanted to explore the possibilities of working together with Canada on Energy, Geo-engineering, cyber security, Trade and services, renewable technology collaboration, clean and green environment and economic relations.

    Amb. Rajiv Bhatia (Retd) who is working as distinguished fellow with Gateway house said that India-Canada Track 1.5 Dialogue on Innovation, Growth and Prosperity is a three-year initiative between Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations and the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), to explore areas for closer cooperation. Delegation would like to explore the possibility of working together with ICCC, to know the challenges in Canada India relations, and what needs to be done at different levels of government.

    Mr. Samir Patil shared his views on cyber security where as Mr. Chaitnya Giri presented research focuses on aqua politics and astro politics, the new-age techno-geostrategy, space and marine industrial complex, and science of space exploration.

    India and Canada maintain strong bilateral relations built on the foundation of shared values and healthy economic ties. Economic exchanges between India and Canada are on an upward trajectory, but there are unexplored areas for mutually beneficial growth, especially in light of rapid developments in technology that are changing every facet of the economy and society in both countries.

    To address these challenges, our partnership will help to develop policy recommendations, promote innovation and navigate shared governance issues that are integral to the continued growth of India-Canada bilateral relations. India-Canada Track 1.5 Dialogue on Innovation, Growth and Prosperity help to build closer ties between Canada and India to unlock the full potential.

    ICCC board members Mr. Abu Becker, Mr. Rakesh Joshi, Mr. Chirag Shah, Ms. Devika Penekelapati, Mr. Pramod Goyal, Ms. Sunita Vyas were also present in the meeting along with other ICCC members. Mr. Saifullah Khan Consul Commercial was also present.



  • 01 Oct 2018 6:30 PM | Anonymous

    Interactive Session with TPCI

     


    Mr. Makhijani with ICCC members

    Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce organised an interactive session with the visiting Joint Director General of Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) Mr. Suresh Kumar Makhijani, on  01 October, 2018 for promotion of second edition of INDUSFOOD to be held at Noida, India on 14-15 January 2019. click here for brochure

    ICCC President Mr. Pranav Patel welcomed the guests and said that ICCC will help TPCI to promote the mega event with its members. ICCC will also take part in the two days event during the India Mission 2019.

    Mr. Suresh Kumar Makhijani in his presentation (click here for presentation) said that INDUSFOOD is India's official, export-focused Food and Beverage Trade fair showcasing the country's best line-up of food & agriculture products to global buyers. The first edition of  INDUSFOOD was organized by the Council from 18-19 January, 2018 at Greater Noida (Delhi-NCR) and it was a grand success. The first edition of INDUSFOOD had successfully attracted a 15-member business delegation from Canada (click here to see video of first edition).

    Mr. Saifullah Khan, Consul (Commerce) Consulate General of India also applauded the ICCC efforts in promoting the trade and commerce between Canada and India. 

    ICCC's board members Mr. Pramod Goyal, Mr. Abu Becker and newly elected board members Mr. Chirag Shah and Ms. Sunita Vyas also attended the session along with Immediate Past President Mr. Kanwar Dhanjal. 


    Session in progress


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