ICCC leadership with the Consul General Dinesh Bhatia (third from left)

releasing India Mission 2016 report

At a glittering reception attended by the Who’s Who of Indo-Canadian community and members of the Ontario legislature including Hon Amrit Mangat; former senators Vim Kochar and Asha Seth, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce feted the new Consul General in downtown Toronto Tuesday.

Reciprocating to ICCC President’s overture about working jointly for Indian students in Canada, the new Consul General said that among the three priorities he has set for himself since he took charge in early March are the diaspora community, trade ties between Canada and India, and Indian students in Canada.

During his speech, Mr. Bhatia said he has set up Friday mornings between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm to meet with the Indian diaspora, and he would be meeting everyone “without appointment.”  Speaking extempore, Mr. Bhatia said he had come after a diplomatic stint in Africa, and what he found in common between Africa (which has 53 countries) and Canada is that both of them are looking at India because of India’s growth story.

India will continue to grow at an astounding pace, and has already begun to attract more FDI than any other country in the world, Mr. Bhatia said, and added that India and Canada have been negotiating the trade agreement for a few years, and the situation has reached a stage where India has made certain proposals and is awaiting Canadian response.

In his welcome remarks Sanjay Makkar broached the idea of working together with the Consulate to create a forum for the Indian students in Canada. Giving statistics, he said, in 2015 over 40,000 students from India were enrolled in Canadian educational institutions, constituting 12 percent of the total enrolment of international students. 

The number of students has steadily been increasing, and the year to year rise was expected to be 11 percent. Indian students require handholding when they come to Canada they need cultural acclimatization and a sense of belonging to feel secure in an alien environment at least initially.

Mr. Bhatia agreed to work with the Chamber to create such a forum. Further, Mr. Makkar gave a brief background of ICCC’s four-decades-old history of working to foster bilateral relations between Canada and India, and to create opportunities for the Indo-Canadian diaspora. He spoke about the India Mission 2016 that the Chamber had organized in January.  

The program ended with Consul General  Bhatia, Vim Kochar and Asha Seth releasing the India Mission report. Among those who shared their experiences about India Mission included ICCC's VP Arun Srivastava; Panorama India's Chair Anu Srivastsva; Mukund Purohit, and a few others. 

Download the India Mission 2016 report, click on the cover below