India Mission 2017 

High-powered meetings dominate India Mission 2017 final leg 

After successful first leg of India Mission 2017, the delegates reached Bengaluru to conduct a series of high-powered meetings with important political decision makers from the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent. Arun Srivastava, President, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) led the delegation from Bengaluru and initiated in-depth discussion on promoting trade and commerce, and exchange of knowhow between Canada and the Indian states. 

Bengaluru, Karnataka

 ICCC President Arun Srivastava greets India's Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. VK Singh (Retd)

General V K Singh (Retd.), India’s Minister of State for External Affairs welcomed the delegates and said that the Indian government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is promoting its relations with the foreign countries. He said that there is a need to promote the bilateral relations between Canada and India. The visit of Indian Prime Minister followed by other cabinet ministers was a step in this direction.

Among the important political functionaries that the delegation met include the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Devandra Fadnavis; Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal, Puducherry, V. Narayanasamy. The Maharashtra Chief Minister invited delegates to invest in Maharashtra. He said the state is the leading investment destination in India because of the infrastructure facilities. The Assam Chief Minister invited India Mission 2018 to visit Assam and explore Assam as a business and investment destination. Chief Minister said that the state is a leader in producing the organic products and would like to increase its market and looking forward for partnership in improving the quality of the products. The Chief Minister of Puducherry said that the state is being promoted as a tourism destination, because the state offers natural beauty and a French colonial culture, unique in India.

The India Mission delegates also met Priyank Kharge, Karnataka’s Minister of State IT, BT and Tourism. The meeting with the minister was successful. He briefed the ICCC delegates regarding the new start-ups in India. The state government is working in close coordination with the union government to transform Karnataka into a business friendly state. He said Bengaluru is a hub for the Information technology sector and now the state is promoting it in biotechnology and as a tourist destination as well.

Mr. Ashish Khare, General Manager & Business Head, System Integration, Wipro Smart Cities briefed the India Mission delegates. The Wipro team made a presentation that demonstrated smart cities products. Wipro is working closely with CISCO, the largest provider of smart city technologies in the international market. Indian government also pledged to develop one hundred smart cities so the scope for smart cities and its allied technologies is accelerating.  

Subsequently, the delegation met the Mayor of Bengaluru, Ms. G Padmavati. She said that the city is working on a Housing project for low income and poor people. She welcomed the investment in the real estate in the city.  

Ahmedabad & Gandhinagar, Gujarat

 Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at the Vibrant Gujarat 2017 summit in Gandhinagar

India Mission 2017 delegates actively participated in Vibrant Gujarat 2017 in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, where Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce was a partner organization. The mega event was inaugurated by the Prime Minster of India Mr. Narendra Modi. During the Vibrant Gujarat summit, the India Mission delegation also met Canadian Minister Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.

The India mission delegation met the Indian Defence Minister Mr. Manohar Parrikar and Chief Minister of Gujarat Mr. Vijay Rupani in Ahmedabad. Both the leaders welcomed the Canadian delegation. They offered help to Canadian investors to start projects. The Government is easing the way to do business in India and wanted to promote the FDI in all the sectors. Defence Minister Mr. Parrikar said that the Indian government has opened up the defence sector as well for FDI so the Canadians can invest in the sector. The final meeting at Vibrant Gujarat was with Mr. Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Panchayati Raj, Government of India. The minister discussed the cooperation in the agriculture sector to make it more environment friendly without compromising on the yield. ICCC delegates also met Mr. Gautambhai Navalchand Shah, Mayor City of Ahmadabad.

Delhi

  Meeting with Mr. Kalraj Mishra, Minister of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Government of India

The final stop in the seven-city itinerary was Delhi, where the India Mission delegates met Mr. Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India. The delegation discussed the scope of collaboration in the MSME sector as it is the backbone of both the countries. The minister has shown  interest in the Canadian technology and would like to visit Canada for exploring the cooperation or possibility of joint ventures between the two countries.

In the last leg of the business mission the Canadian High Commissioner H. E. Nadir Patel hosted a dinner reception for the visiting Delegation at Canada House in Delhi.