News 

Mineral Sector Opportunities in India and Canada

ICCC-Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce & Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission roundtable

The growing cooperation and the potential for future growth between Canada and India in the mining sector were discussed at a roundtable conference on Thursday October 22, 2012, in Thunder Bay (Northern Ontario). The Mineral Sector Opportunities in India and Canada conference was organized jointly by Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) with Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC), and Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce (TBCC).

Addressing the roundtable, Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, explained that the discussion was being organized under the aegis of the Chamber’s Canada-India Mining Committee (CIMC) formed earlier this year with the objective to serve as a focal point for promoting trade and investments between Canada and India and provide a collaborative platform for networking and sharing market intelligence.

The roundtable is a small but important step in achieving our objectives, which include promote the export of transformative mining technologies from Canada to India. Naval Bajaj noted, “This roundtable is a small but important step in achieving our objectives, which among other things, include promoting export of transformative mining technologies from Canada to India and encouraging investments from India to Canada."

The CIMC team comprises

Indira Singh, Principal Mining Consultancy International Inc., and Chair of the committee

Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC

Satish Thakkar, Immediate Past President, ICCC

Glen Nolan, President, Prospectors and Developers of Association of Canada (PDAC)

Sampat Poddar, President Byrex Gems

R.K. Sharma, Secretary General Federation of Indian Mineral Industries

Tushar Pandey, President and Country Head, Yes Bank

Aditya Rebbapragada, Lawyer with Norton Rose LLP

Recent major investments by Indian firms in Northern Ontario have demonstrated that our large scale opportunities in the region may yield foreign direct investment

The regional roundtable provided collaborative platform for relationship development and business development and to become aware of the emerging opportunities in the mining sector both in Ontario, Canada and in India. The Canadian partners included mining services and supply providers and mining companies with mineral deposits (gold, iron and palladium) to be mined for which they are looking export market, joint ventures and partnerships.  The Indian partners provided information on export opportunities for mining equipment and technologies and other investment opportunities for the Canadian companies in India.

Harold Wilson, President of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, noted “Our Chamber was pleased to work with the ICCC to provide the intelligence on the opportunities for mining supply and service companies into the growing mining sector in India. Moreover, recent major investments by Indian firms in Northern Ontario have demonstrated that our large scale opportunities in the region may yield foreign direct investment.”

Echoing his sentiments, John Mason, Project Manager, Mining Services, Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) observed, “India and Canada host world class mineral resources for a variety of commodities; a strengthening relationship between the two countries will unlock downstream supply chain business opportunities and new mine development.”

Participating from India, Tushar Pandey, President and Country Head, Strategic Initiatives, Government & Advisory, who was invited to the round table through teleconference, said, “There tremendous opportunity to unlock in the Indian Mining Sector, but there are also several challenges. Canadian Mining Companies need to build on their strengths to harness this potential, particularly in exploration by introducing their technology, zero waste mining, maximizing the mined minerals, R&D including establishment of Centre of excellence, facilitating exchange of faculty, students and knowledge as well.”

As a follow up to this roundtable, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce would be holding a conference on mining in Toronto on December 7, 2012.

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IT cooperation between Canada and India will grow:

Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM

Toronto: Canada and India enjoy a special relationship that will get better when the free trade agreement will be signed next year, Som Mittal, President, India’s National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) said Thursday.

He was addressing a reception hosted by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) in downtown Toronto that brought together professionals and entrepreneurs primarily from the information technology sector.

Mrs. Preeti Saran, Consul General of India in Toronto was the guest of the honour at the reception.

“We are here to offer opportunities for partnership. Today, the world is interconnected and one can’t gain at the cost of another. It has to be a win-win for all,” Mr. Mittal emphasized in the context of the bilateral relations between Canada and India.

Elaborating on the state of the Indian economy, the NASSCOM President said the India growth story would continue even if the face of the present slowdown which was a fallout of the global recessionary trends.

“There is a shift in our economy and there are some global economic issues so our growth is slowing down but in the last two months, path breaking announcements to continue with the reforms have put us back on track,” Mr. Mittal said.

Naval Bajaj, President, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) in his Presidential remarks, welcomed Mr. Mittal. He said, “Som Mittal is an institution by himself. He is a technocrat with a heart and the epitome of the new face of rising India. He is playing a key role to enable NASSCOM realize its strategic vision of ‘Transforming Business and Transform India’.”

Advocating intense collaboration between ICCC and NASSCOM, to create synergies in the IT sector, Mr. Bajaj said that the vast potential in the two-way trade between our countries is as yet unrealized, especially in the non-traditional sectors such the IT sector, even though it is growing in significance.

“It will depend upon organizations such as ours to work with the governments to turn the growth potential into reality because governments can only create the right atmosphere and define the parameters of cooperation, finally it is businesses that have to trade and it is people and companies that have to invest.”

The ICCC President said that the Chamber has “identified IT as an important sector of focus” for the forthcoming India Mission 2013 in January.

 

 

Indian IT sector can help Canada improve productivity and efficiency:
Som Mittal, President NASSCOM

 

Making a strong plea for a more relaxed immigration regime in Canada, Som Mittal the President of India’s National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) said that the regulations governing movement of highly skilled people either on a temporary or a permanent basis in Canada needs to be more relaxed, but have instead been made more stringent.

“Canada needs to improve its efficiency and its productivity, and technology is the best means to achieve that improvement, so the free movement of people is an important bilateral issue,” Mittal emphasized.

The NASSCOM President was participating in a roundtable discussion organized by Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) on last week (Thursday, October 18, 2012) in downtown Toronto to discuss the Emerging scenario in the Canada-India cooperation in the IT sector.

Setting the agenda for the roundtable discussion, Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, explained that the purpose of the roundtable was to develop a better understanding of the IT sector and identify the areas within the sector where policy changes would lead to enhanced cooperation between Canada and India.

He said the Chamber is interested in understanding what industry experts from both Canada and India feel about the following issues:

• Measures that need to be undertaken at the government and the firm level to enhance IT trade and investments directly between Canada and India
• Mobility of IT professionals from India to Canada in the skilled workers class category to supplement the IT human resource requirements in the North American market
• Enhancing global competitiveness by removing barriers to business and trade
• Also, Canada’s expected boom in the oil and gas sector is going to change the complexion of the Canadian – and the North American – energy scenario. Does NASSCOM have a strategy to immerse the Indian software industry into the oil and gas sector, similar to its immersion in the finance and banking sector worldwide

Several senior professionals of Canadian, Indian and global IT companies, entrepreneurs, legal luminaries and corporate entities participated in the roundtable. Madam Preeti Saran, the Consul General of India in Toronto, was the guest of honour at the event.

Seeking more collaboration between Canadian and Indian IT sectors, Mittal noted that, “We have our trades balanced but we do hope that CEPA would create more opportunities for both our countries. Out of the $ 70 billion India IT exports, Canada represents $1.5 billion which given the size and the potential of both countries is small. Therefore, there are large opportunities for us,” Mittal said.

Some of the Canadian companies active in Indian market are CGI, Research in Motion, Wesley Clover, Sigma Systems, TLI Software, AirG, Axcend Global, Mediagrif Interactive Technologies, Future Electronics, Replicon Inc, Vantrix Inc, XStream Software Inc, Toon Boon, and Entrust.

ICCC’s launches India Mission 2013
CEPA negotiations to be completed by 2013: Don Stephenson,
Canada’s Chief Trade Negotiator with India

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) launched its multicity, multi-sector trade mission to India on Monday. With nearly 200 guests in attendance, the India Mission 2013 launch was a stupendous success.

The guests included eminent members of the community from business, professional and political circles. Consul General Preeti Saran and Senator Dr. Asha Seth were the guests of honour for the evening, and Don Stephenson, Canada’s Chief Trade Negotiator for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India was the keynote speaker.

In his Presidential address, Naval Bajaj, said, “Canada and India are committed to creating strong and lasting bonds. The series of ministerial visits from both sides during the last three months has heightened everyone’s expectations about the scope and extent of our bilateral relationship. With the expected Prime Ministerial visit in November, we are looking at an unprecedented scale of cooperation between Canada and India.”

Bajaj also said that in view of the burgeoning economic relations between the two countries, ICCC has decided to expand the scope of its annual visit to India during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations in January.

“The main objective of the mission is to create opportunities for our delegates to expand their business and develop competencies to turn into global entities. The highlight of our mission will be the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Kochi and Vibrant Gujarat in Gandhinagar,” he said.

Mike Mehta, ICCC’s Director of Business Development, made a presentation on the forthcoming mission. The salient features of the mission are:

Mumbai (03-01-13 to 06-01-13), Bangalore (06-01-13 to 07-01-13), Kochi (07-01-13 to 09-01-13), Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar (10-01-13 to 13-01-13) and Delhi (13-01-13 to 16-01-13).

The cost includes international airfare, stay in 5 star hotels in all cities, meals, local transportation, domestic airfare, registration to PBD-India and Vibrant Gujarat.

The key highlights of the mission are over 30 B2B meetings, workshops, interactive sessions, meetings with decision makers, corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, government officials and representatives of chambers of commerce, and industry associations.

Mehta also clarified that it may be possible for delegates to join the mission on the cities of their choice, and the ICCC would be able to provide a pro-rata cost structure based on the delegate’s number of cities.

Lauding the ICCC for persistently engaging the governments both in India and in Canada on fostering trade, Don Stephenson in his keynote address said, “What ICCC is doing is important because governments can only define the parameters of trade, finally it is businesses who trade and people who invest.”

He informed the audience that Canada is committed to enhancing economic relations with India and is focussed upon signing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by 2013.  Stephenson noted that India is an important market for Canada because of its present size and future potential.

The CEPA negotiations focus on goods and services, and have reached a stage where both sides have explained their positions to each other exhaustively, and now the process of agreement will begin.

He observed that several issues had been highlighted during the negotiations, including business relationships, business culture, regulations, laws, variability in the market place and the issue of quality. Under the merchandise, the negotiations are about tariffs, technical standards, process for residing diplomats, customs, procedures and under the services sector it will cover business culture, skills, cross border services, tourism, investment, temporary entry of specialized staff.

Preeti Saran, Consul General of India in Toronto, speaking on the occasion, said the annual celebration of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas coincides with the date Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa – January 7^th 1915. She said the convention is a unique platform for the Indian Diaspora to come together and participate in India’s development.

The Consul General lauded ICCC’s role in taking an active lead in fostering bilateral ties between Canada and India, and engaging the Indian Diaspora in Canada in striving to create synergies between the two countries.

Mayor of Markham, Frank Scarpitti, in a communique, which was read at the reception, said, “ I commend the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce for playing a vital role in promoting opportunities of trade and economic cooperation between India and Canada. Developing and maintaining strong links is an essential part of creating a prosperous and healthy future for our respective communities. I am confident that the 2013 India Trade Mission, departing in less than 90 days, will provide all participants with positive opportunities to work with local chambers of commerce and industry associations, while strengthening relations and promoting joint ventures and investment opportunities.”

Sanjay Makkar, Vice President and Director, Affinity Programs, introduced the evening, and Nita Shastri, Co-Chair, ICCC’s Business Development Committee, gave the vote of thanks.

Naval Bajaj, President, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, was interviewed on 680 News. Click here to listen to the interview: Naval - 680 News

Toronto: Canada is among the 18 countries that the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has identified to develop stronger trade relations with in the near future. Informing an audience comprising leading lights of Toronto’s Indo-Canadian business community about this crucial development, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Secretary General of FICCI said that the apex body of commerce and trade in India is keen to take the cooperation between Canada and India to another level.

Dr. Kumar was speaking at the business reception organised by Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APFC) in downtown Toronto late last month.

Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, during his brief address emphasized the need for closer cooperation between organizations such as the ICCC and FICCI. “As the Canada-India file gains prominence it is becoming increasingly important for organisations in both the countries to work together to enhance the pace of economic cooperation,” he said.

He added that the ICCC and FICCI have worked together on several projects in the past. Earlier this year, during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Jaipur, ICCC collaborated with FICCI and the Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation on a symposium that examined the growing significance of the small and medium enterprises in the Canada – India economic relations.

Naval said the Chamber would be seeking FICCI’s assistance during the forthcoming India Mission 2013 when ICCC will lead a delegation of small businesses to five Indian cities. Dr. Kumar instantly agreed to this proposal and said FICCI would be delighted to organize match-making meetings for the Canadian delegation with Indian companies.

Vikram Khurana, Director, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APFC) introduced Dr. Kumar. Dr. Kumar joined FICCI as Director General in October 2010 and subsequently as Secretary General in May 2011. Prior to FICCI, he was Director and Chief Executive of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), one of India’s leading independent economic policy think tanks.

His latest book, Many Futures of India, published in April 2011 is a compilation of his columns in some of India’s newspapers. He is a leading columnist in business dailies and his views on matters relating to the economy are widely sought.

The 

Official sponsor  of the project

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organised on September 26^th, 2012 a consultative round table discussions on its proposed project on , “Future agenda for Canada-India Partnership: Unlocking its full potential”.

The round table was attended by 20 eminent scholars, experts, representatives of organisations such as Canada India Foundation, Indian Institute of Technology Alumni Canada, Canada India Education Council, The Indus Entrepreneurs and Vice Consul (Com) from Consulate General of India.

ICCC president Naval Bajaj referred to the convention PBD Canada2011 held in Toronto on June 9-10, 2011 on “Building Bridges: Positioning Strategies for the Indian Diaspora” which brought the growing band of ‘India watchers’ for interaction with Indian Diaspora with a view to synergize their knowledge and expertise with those of the diaspora. He added that “the ICCC would like to continue to work with Indo-Canadian organisations, India watchers and other stake holders in the Canada-India space to build synergies in policy formulations that could lead to more India-engaged Canada.” He noted that the components of Canada India partnership include consultations, coordination’s, joint ventures, joint projects, joint research in addition to mutually beneficial trade and investment.

The participants commended the ICCC for its initiative and suggested that the first phase of the project could usefully focus on subjects such as education, skill development, energy, small and medium enterprises, science & technology and innovation. A suggestion was also made that the Chamber may take a lead in compiling a database on Indian Diaspora knowledge network.

It was agreed that the project will accordingly begin with the first round table discussion on the subject in Toronto in the fall of 2012. 

On Monday, September 24th 2012, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce – Young Professionals Committee (ICCC-YP) held an Open House in association with the South Asian Business Association at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Young professionals in the industry and MBA students had an opportunity to interact, network and share stories with one another. 

Speaking on the occasion, Avi Goel, Director, Young Professionals & New Immigrants Committee at ICCC, said that the main objective of this collaboration was to provide participants an opportunity for professional and business development, mentorship, networking and exchanging helpful tips to succeed in their professional endeavors.

Arpit Garg, President, South Asian Business Association (SABA), also addressed the group and was very pleased with the partnership created between ICCC’s Young Professionals and SABA. He said that “SABA’s aim is to provide a unified medium through which its members and other constituents can explore and lead initiatives related to South Asia and how ICCC can help strengthen that goal further.”

Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, also addressed the gathering. He emphasized that for young professionals it is important to have connections with businesses and with the Diaspora. “ICCC offers both to young professionals and students,” he said, urging them to become ICCC members.

ICCC-YP focuses on members between 21-35 years of age and provides them with a forum to get involved with ICCC in their early years. The committee also provides members with a forum to develop and refine their professional skills through events that highlight leadership, entrepreneurship, and soft skills through networking with fellow members.

ICCC-YP’s previous events include 'Book Smart vs. Street Smart', 'Dare to be Different', 'Women in Leadership', 'Losing Fear - Achieving Goals workshop series', ‘Chai with CEO’ along with many other events. 

Minaaz – the statement in diamond jewelry sponsored the event.

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce launches fourth round of mentoring program

 

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) launched its fourth module of the mentoring program on 19 September 2012. This will be the first module that will cater to participants from different sectors; hitherto, the program had focussed on a specific sector.

The program will be conducted over five technical sessions and cover topics such as

• Skill development
• Understanding of Canadian work culture
• Resume writing
• Interview handling
• Job search techniques

Speaking on the occasion, Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, said that the main objectives of this program is to connect internationally trained Indo-Canadian newcomers with successful Indo-Canadian professionals to help build useful networks and learn tips and tricks to achieve their career goals in Canada.

Narrating his own experience as a newcomer to Canada, Naval said the biggest stumbling block a newcomer faces is that he knows nobody. “A new immigrant is unaware of the country’s work culture, style of living, working conditions. And most importantly, he has no network of professionals from his own field. All these aspects combine to result in the newcomer having to opt for survival jobs and their skills developed in a particular field goes in vain,” Naval said.

He observed the mentoring program was launched because ICCC realised this lacunae, and wanted to help newcomers. “The faster newcomers get into their chosen vocation, the faster they’re able to contribute to the fabric of the Canadian society and its economy,” Naval emphasized.

Aviral Goel, Director, ICCC’s Young Professionals & New Immigrants Committee said that through the mentoring program, ICCC will take the initiative to introduce young successful professionals to the newcomers. “We organize many business and social networking events and meetings for our members and these can also help newcomers,” he noted.

Srini Iyengar, Director Multicultural Markets, BMO Bank of Montreal also shared his experiences from the previous mentoring sessions with the attendees.

ICCC will organise joint sessions of all the mentees for resume writing and survival skills required for the job market.  The Chamber will also help mentees by having sessions with the experts from different fields who may inspire the mentees in broadening their horizon and motive them to make better career choices more suited to their new environment. These sessions will benefit the mentees to develop a better understanding for the Canadian labour market.

The mentors for the program have been carefully chosen from professional pool of talent available within its membership to help the mentee in their professional networking and job search strategies. The mentors are specialists in their filed and have a vast experience in Canada which will help the mentees by sharing their own experience in life.

 

Understanding Immigration

Immigration expert Ravi Jain discusses changes in immigration law
at ICCC’s Speaker Series meet

Immigration to Canada is coveted by many across the world; people’s hopes, aspirations, dreams and lives are intertwined with an issue that is vexatious and contentious, often controversial, and always hard to understand.

Getting to know the complexities of Canadian immigration law is not easy, and the frequent changes add to the problem and making immigration incomprehensible to those most affected by the law. It requires a professional to grasp the full import of the provisions of the laws. There are few who have mastered the practice better than Ravi Jain, Partner, Green and Spiegel, the Toronto-based law firm.

The Speaker Series that Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce organized turned into a scintillating session between Ravi and Sudha Krishnan, anchor, Omni TV where Ravi discussed the recent changes in the Canadian immigration law before a live audience of nearly 150 guests.

Adopting a Q&A format that they follow on Omni TV, Sudha asked and Ravi answered questions on all the aspects of immigration. Ravi discussed the changes in the regulations, the rules, and how these would impact the potential immigrant.

The formal interview sessions then turned into a Q&A from the audience where Ravi answered several specific queries ranging from the changes in the language skills requirement; the status of students in the new scheme of things; business immigration; immigration for skilled category and the status of work permits.  

The scheduled one-hour session had to be extended as the questions kept coming from an audience eager to learn more.

Speaking on the occasion, Naval Bajaj, President, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) said that the new team that had taken charge of the Chamber’s operations in July would focus on ushering in change through innovative programs, and yet stay rooted to meet the Chamber’s core values. “Continuity with change is our motto,” Naval said.

Introducing the evening’s program, Jagdish Bajaj, Vice President & Director, Programs & Events, ICCC, said, “Canada is a nation of immigrants, some new – others not so new. The policies of the Government with regard to immigration affect all of us in one way or another.”

Dharma P. Jain, Vice President & Director, Finance, ICCC, gave the vote of thanks. The event was held at the opulent Grand Empire Banquet Centre in Brampton.