News 

ICCC Weekly Newsletter

01 February 2021

Announcement

The ICCC Newsletter will now be sent to members and stakeholders every week. The weekly newsletter will continue with the features that formed a part of the monthly newsletter and will include additional features such as welcoming new members. We invite newsletter recipients to suggest subjects that they would like included in the newsletter. You may send your suggestions to iccc@iccconline.org

In the News

Canada

New Travel Restrictions

Quarantine rules to discourage international travel

Canada’s main airlines have agreed to cancel service to the Caribbean and Mexico and the federal government is introducing new mandatory quarantine rules as it tries to discourage international travel.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced 29 January that Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Air Transat have agreed to suspend service to some sun destinations starting Sunday 31 January until 30 April, and will be making arrangements with their customers who are in these regions now to organize flights home.

Starting at 11:59 p.m. ET on Feb. 3, all international passenger, private and charter flights, including from the U.S., will land at the Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal airports. Cargo-only flights will remain exempt.

The prime minister said the government will soon be introducing mandatory PCR testing at the airport for people returning to Canada “as soon as possible in the coming weeks.” That’s on top of the pre-boarding test already required.

Read more: Prime Minister's Announcement

Read more: CBC news report

Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program

Financial support to businesses hardest hit by Covid-19

Hon. Mary Ng, Canada's Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion & International Trade

The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, announced the launch of the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program, or HASCAP on 26 January 2021. As first outlined in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, HASCAP will provide financial support to businesses that have been hardest hit by the pandemic.

Through HASCAP, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) will work with participating Canadian financial institutions to offer government-guaranteed, low-interest loans of up to $1 million. Hard-hit businesses, like a chain of hotels or restaurants with multiple locations under one related entity, could be eligible for up to $6.25 million. HASCAP will help businesses with their day-to-day operating costs during the COVID-19 crisis and enable them to invest in their longer-term prosperity.

HASCAP is available to businesses across the country, in all sectors, that have been hit hard by the pandemic. This includes restaurants, businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors, and those that rely on in-person service.

Read more: Minister Ng announces launch of HASCAP

Read more: Eligibility requirements

India

India's 2021-2022 Budget

Six pillars of the budget

India's Finance Minister Hon. Nirmala Sitharaman before presenting the Budget in the Indian Parliament

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented the Union Budget 2021 with focus on six pillars to energise the economy which has been battered by the Covid-19 pandemic. The budget reflects the government’s confidence in being able to combat the pandemic effectively and is focused on growth.

Presenting the first ever digital Union Budget, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman stated that India’s fight against COVID-19 continues into 2021 and that this moment in history, when the political, economic, and strategic relations in the post-COVID world are changing, is the dawn of a new era – one in which India is well-poised to truly be the land of promise and hope.

Read more: Key highlights of the budget

Read more: HT news report

India Telecom 2021

Exclusive International Business Expo

India’s Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Ministry of Communications has set up Telecom Equipment & Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) for promotion of exports of Telecom Equipment and Services from India.

TEPC is going to organize ‘India Telecom 2021’ - an Exclusive International Business Expo virtually on 3 & 4 March 2021. The main objective of the event is to provide opportunities to Indian telecom exporters to meet qualified overseas buyers. TEPC has created this platform to bring potential buyers from across the globe and quality telecom equipment manufacturers and ICT services solution providers from India under one roof to interact and finalize business deals.

The event will have a Conference session from 09:30 to 13:00 hours and Expo & the B2B sessions will continue the whole day for the two days – 3 & 4 March 2021.

This is an open invitation to ICT stakeholders to participate in India Telecom 2021 (Virtual Edition) and be partners of Indian exporters of telecom products & services. The template for sending the details is attached for reference.

Download specs: India Telecom 2021

Re-Design Business @Rajasthan

Virtual Global Business and Investment Summit

Government of Rajasthan is organizing a Virtual Global Business and Investment Summit, “Re-Design Business @Rajasthan” on the revised dates in the third week of February 2021. The Summit is being held in collaboration with high profiled Non-Resident Rajasthanis (NRRs) who are keen to promote their homeland as an Investment Destination. Brochure of the Summit is attached.  

Rajasthan has achieved remarkable success across various economic verticals. “Re-Design Business @Rajasthan” is going to be an all-inclusive investor meet which will comprise of industry focused sectoral sessions to brainstorm and showcase the focus areas and sectors for business opportunities, joint ventures and investments. 

The Government of Rajasthan is presently finalizing the agenda and other details of the Summit.  However, before the main event, the State Government representatives such as Principal Secretary Industries, Commissioner, Rajasthan Foundation, Commissioner BIP and relevant industry heads and Secretaries would like to meet individually with stakeholders/investors to discuss their investment related queries.

All those interested in participating in this meeting may use the information in the brochure.

Download information: Rajasthan

Welcome to new members

The ICCC Board of Directors approved the following new members in January 2021

Life

Jayesh Menon

Corporate

Babu Sampath

Sachin Kundra

Regular

Abhishikta Tripathi

Amit Bhasin

Amit Rastogi

Anand Karat

Avinash S. Tukrel

Dhruv Ghosh

Inder Singh

Olivia Fernandes

Pawan Chankotra

Piero Pucci

Purna Kandel

Suja Chandy

Vishal Kapoor

Vivek Chandrasekharan

Programs and Events

Thursday Talks Webinar Series

Moderated by Vijay Thomas, President, ICCC

Panelists to be announced on 2 Feb 2021

Register on Zoom (first 100 registrants): Zoom

Watch livestream on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ICCCONLINE

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce

924 The East Mall Toronto ON M9B 6K1

Tel: (416) 224-0090 Fax: (416) 916-0086

Email: iccc@iccconline.org

Website: www.iccconline.org

ICCC Committees are being reconstituted

ICCC depends upon the expertise of its members to meets its mandate of fostering bilateral trade and creating opportunities for its small business owner members.

This is an opportunity for everyone who aspires to contribute to the growth of one of Canada's oldest and the largest membership based bilateral business organisations.

This is an opportunity to give back to the community that has supported you in your Canadian journey.

Here is the list of ICCC Committees. Select the one that best suits your interest, experience, qualification and send us an email at iccc@iccconline.org We will be finalizing the members of all the committees by 31 January 2021.

CORE COMMITTEES 

• Events & Programs
• Finance and Sponsorship
• International Trade & Market Access
• Membership & Engagement
• New Immigrants & Mentorship
• Philanthropy
• Small and Medium Enterprises
• Social Media & Marketing
• Women Entrepreneurs & Professionals
• Young Entrepreneurs & Professionals

SECTORAL COMMITTEES   

• Advertising & Media                             
• Banking, Financial Services and Insurance
• Education, Advanced Skills and Training
• Ethnic Food and Restaurants                                    
• Hospitality & Tourism
• Legal, Tax and Compliance
• Natural Resources & Environment
• Retail and Distribution                                
• Real Estate                                      
• Startups and Angel Investing
• Transportation and Logistics

If you know someone who would be a perfect fit for one of these committee, send this information to them and ask them to become our Chamber's member. Our membership discount offer is a great time for becoming a new member of our Chamber. See the offer below.

ICCC's Membership Drive

• 20% discount on New Membership & Renewals
• On Regular category Up to 28 February 2021

Become a Member: Regular Membership

Growth: In his first communication to Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s members and stakeholders, Vijay Thomas, the new President, delineated a three-pronged strategy to bring back the organisation’s glory. The first point in the strategy was Growth. Vijay said, “The Indo Canadian Diaspora in Canada especially the GTA has grown exponentially the last 10 years but the ICCC has really not been able to show a similar growth. This can be very easily be done by outreach within the professionally educated and affluent newer immigrants.”

To fructify this promise, the ICCC is launching an online Membership Drive by offering a 20% discount to new membership and renewals up to 28 February 2021 in the Regular category. The $150 annual membership is available for only $120 up to February end.

Online payment: Moreover, to ease the process of new member enrolment and renewals, the ICCC has now enabled online payment of membership. Both new members and members renewing their membership can now immediately make payment online.

In compliance with the provisions of ICCC's bylaws, all new membership applications will be reviewed by the board of directors within 10 days of receiving the application. If an applicant does not meet any of ICCC's membership criteria, then s/he would be contacted by a representative of ICCC's membership committee, and the membership fees paid upon application would be refunded.

Life Membership: We are changing our Life Membership category. Starting this year, we will be bringing exclusive programs only for Life Members. Also, Life Memberships would be closed for the entire year and would open only in the beginning of each year for one week to allow 30 new Life Members.

For 2021, Life Membership is open till 28 February 2021

ICCC's Membership Drive

20% discount New Membership & Renewals

On Regular category

Up to 28 February 2021

Growth In his first communication to Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s members and stakeholders, Vijay Thomas, the new President, delineated a three-pronged strategy to bring back the organisation’s glory. The first point in the strategy was Growth. Vijay said, “The Indo Canadian Diaspora in Canada especially the GTA has grown exponentially the last 10 years but the ICCC has really not been able to show a similar growth. This can be very easily be done by outreach within the professionally educated and affluent newer immigrants.” To fructify this promise, the ICCC is launching an online Membership Drive by offering a 20% discount to new membership and renewals up to 28 February 2021 in the Regular category. The $150 annual membership is available for only $120 up to February end. Online payment Moreover, to ease the process of new member enrolment and renewals, the ICCC has now enabled online payment of membership. Both new members and members renewing their membership can now immediately make payment online.  In compliance with the provisions of ICCC's bylaws, all new membership applications will be reviewed by the board of directors within 10 days of receiving the application. If an applicant does not meet any of ICCC's membership criteria, then s/he would be contacted by a representative of ICCC's membership committee, and the membership fees paid upon application would be refunded. Life Membership We are changing our Life Membership category. Starting this year, we will be bringing exclusive programs only for Life Members. Also, Life Memberships would be closed for the entire year and would open only in the beginning of each year for one week to allow 30 new Life Members. For 2021, Life Membership is open till 28 February 2021.

Become a Member today: Membership

ICCC January 2021Newsletter

President's Views

By Vijay Thomas

2021 promises to be a New Year with a big difference – it will be the year when we will all begin to see the back of Covid-19 – the horrific pandemic that continues to wreak havoc globally.

With the vaccine rollout steadily encompassing large swathes of world’s population, we will hopefully return to normalcy soon. But, as we hasten to leap back to the familiar, let us not forget the lessons that the pandemic and the lockdown have taught us.

And, as a technology entrepreneur, I root for the technological revolution that was ushered in during 2020 in every possible realm of our existence, and especially in the manner in which technology transformed our workspace.

By now, all of you are aware that I have taken over as the 32nd President of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC). We have a new team of directors – all experienced community leaders and nearly all of them successful entrepreneurs.

As the new leader of an established institution, I am aware of my responsibilities and duties and to fulfil them I have chalked out a three-pronged outreach strategy, and a three-pronged internal strategy. Let me adumbrate the outreach strategy first.

Growth – The Indo Canadian Diaspora in Canada especially the GTA has grown exponentially in the last 10 years but the ICCC has really not been able to show a similar growth. This can be very easily be done by outreach within the professionally educated and affluent newer immigrants. As we attract a better membership, our membership start to become more aspirational – imagine a “Member of the ICCC” bumper sticker or an ICCC plaque in offices of Indo-Canadians.

Relevance – The ICCC should seek to make itself more relevant in the Indo-Canada business corridor and assist businesses from Canada and from India to look at each others’ markets more. We have the partnerships and the government connections to take this to the next level. The ICCC should also become a lobby group for the Indo Canadian business community. We will strive to make ourselves relevant to the second and third generation of Indo-Canadians.

Digital – we have to have a digital first strategy and ensure that we still conduct our events as much as possible via a digital medium to enhance reach and also lower costs – the 2020 Gala cost only 20K versus nearly 200K for the 2019 Gala.

Read more: President's Views

In the News

Canada

Ontario's support to small businesses

Hon. Vic Fedeli,

Ontario's Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation & Trade

The Ontario government has opened  applications for the new Ontario Small Business Support Grant. The grant, first announced in December, provides a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $20,000 to eligible small businesses who have had to restrict their operations due to the Provincewide Shutdown. The tightened restrictions were put in place to help stop the alarming rise of COVID-19 cases in Ontario.

"As Ontario's employers do their part to defeat COVID-19, they are facing unprecedented challenges as a result of this global pandemic," said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board. "I encourage every eligible small business owner in Ontario to visit Ontario.ca/COVIDSupport to access the support our government has made available. While we still have a lot of work ahead of us, we can all look confidently to the future as we resolve to do our parts and put COVID-19 behind us."

Small businesses required to close or significantly restrict services under the Provincewide Shutdown will be able to apply for a one-time grant and use this funding in whatever way makes the most sense for their individual business needs. For example, some businesses could need support paying employee wages, while others could need support with their rent.

Eligible small businesses include those that:

• Were required to close or significantly restrict services due to the Provincewide Shutdown being imposed across the province effective 12:01 a.m. on December 26.
• Have fewer than 100 employees at the enterprise level.
• Have experienced a minimum of 20 per cent revenue decline in April 2020 compared to April 2019. New businesses established since April 2019 will also be eligible if they meet the other eligibility criteria.

"Small businesses are the heart of Ontario's economy," said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. "The Ontario Small Business Support Grant will help thousands of small businesses get through this difficult time, while strengthening our province's economic recovery."

Read more: In the News

India

Indian PM's pledge: Vaccine-production
capacity to help all humanity

On January 3, 2021, India announced emergency use authorization (EUA) for two COVID-19 vaccines. The first is for a vaccine developed by Oxford University and U.K.-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca that is being manufactured in India by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India under the name of Covishield. This vaccine has already been approved for use in the UK. The other, an indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, called Covaxin, has been granted 'Monitored Approval.' It is made by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research. Indian health authorities announced that from January 16, India would roll-out one of the most extensive immunization programs globally by immunizing more than 300 million people in the next six months.

The approval of Covaxin drew concern from some quarters. However, the issue had already been clarified by India's Health Minister who said that the EUA for COVAXIN is differently conditional -- in clinical trial mode. All Covaxin recipients will be tracked and monitored like in a regular trial. This approval ensures India has an additional vaccine shield in its arsenal against potential mutant strains in a dynamic pandemic situation – a strategic decision for our vaccine security. There were also some false reports that the Government of India has put restrictions on the export of vaccines. The Health Ministry in India has already clarified that the Government has not banned the export of any of the COVID vaccines.

The vaccines manufactured by Indian firms are most affordable and require less expensive infrastructure to store and transport. Unlike Covishield and Covaxin, which can be stored at temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, Pfizer's vaccine requires temperatures of minus 70. These India made vaccines open the possibility for vaccines to be equitably distributed across the globe.  Indian pharmaceutical sector is among the most sophisticated globally, and Indian companies are major manufacturers of vaccines distributed worldwide, particularly those for low-income countries, supplying more than 60% of vaccines provided to the developing world. Without this capacity, there will not be enough vaccines to save the world. While addressing the United Nations last year, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi had committed India's vaccine-production capacity to help 'all humanity'.

Read more: In the News

Insight

India's Agriculture Reforms

The Indian Supreme Court has stayed the implementation of the new farm laws and has formed a committee to examine them,

Meanwhile, more than 800 academics, researchers, scientists, and policy experts in India have issued a joint statement where, while expressing sympathy with the farmers' protest, they pointed out that the three new agricultural laws would be of tremendous benefit to the farmers in India. Several Farmers’ Unions have also stated that they support the reforms and demanded that the laws should not be rolled back.

On December 18, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the farmers, strongly asserted that the existing regime of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for agricultural produce would continue. The issues surrounding the farm reforms have been politicized but there are compelling reasons to bring such reforms, the most important being the need to bring greater prosperity to farmers.

We share with our members information on the agriculture reforms provided by the High Commission of India in Ottawa.

Agriculture employs over 50% of Indians yet accounts for only 15% of India’s GDP. The bottlenecks include low farm productivity, fragmented land holdings, lack of storage infrastructure, and high indebtedness, are causing persistent agrarian distress in India.

Narendra Modi government’s bold moves to fundamentally reform one of the most important sectors of the Indian economy seek to change this.

Under the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, farmers now have the freedom to engage in contract farming. This legislation will obliterate the role of rent-seeking intermediaries and will lay the foundation of a true digitally enabled national agricultural marketplace, and hence a level playing field for all farmers. This paves the way for better land utilization and long-term financial security while providing access to modern technology and reducing the cost of marketing.

With the new Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, farmers will now able to sell their produce anywhere in the country as part of the 'One Country One Market' policy. This promises better pricing for agricultural produce and increased farmer incomes, which were previously squeezed by unscrupulous middlemen and cumbersome state taxes.

The uproar over Bills is misplaced for many reasons and politically motivated.

Read more: Insight

For more information, download following reports:

Agriculture Market Reforms: Fixing a Broken System (Report)

Agriculture Market Reforms: Fixing a Broken System (Presentation)

New Farm Acts - Understanding the Implications (Analysis)

Money Talk

By Rakesh Vijay

Exchange Trade Funds - A Primer

More and more investors are looking to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) as part as their balanced portfolios. ETFs are hybrid securities; they are mutual fund trusts, but the units are listed and traded daily on major stock exchanges just like individual equities.

ETFs can come in many varieties from passive index tracking, quantitative based strategies, to full active management. Within the passive index based categories, commodities such as gold, silver, and oil as well as currencies, sectors, and specific industries are widely used and available. ETFs have also been developed to track a group of stocks from specific countries and regions, and others allow investors to emphasize growth or value stocks within a particular index. There are even ETFs designed to help investors profit from bull and bear markets by offering inverse and magnified exposure to the S&P/TSX 60 Index and other indices, sectors and commodities. To note, the latter category offering magnified exposure are high risk and recommended for short-term hold periods only.

Read more: Money Talk

Message from our Sector Sponsor

Cosmos Sports & Entertainment

11 AM EST 28 January 2021

Sponsorship marketing can help you reach new customers in Peel Region

There are nearly 1.4 million people living in Peel Region.

How are you reaching them?

You’re probably tired of webinars by now.  But you won’t want to miss this one.

In this free session, you'll learn:

How to use Sponsorship Marketing to reach your potential customers

How Sponsorship is different from other advertising

How Sponsorship and Advertising can be used together to deliver a 1-2 punch for your brand

Learn More & Register for our free webinar on sponsorship marketing best practices!

Businesses in Peel Region are partnering with events like these to connect with consumers and drive real business results

This session will be led by industry experts:

Gavin Roth, Managing Partner, Gavin Roth + Associates

Cary Kaplan, President, Cosmos Sports & Entertainment

January is the perfect time to set your strategy for the year ahead.

We hope this webinar can help offer a new perspective as we head into 2021.

Learn More & Register for our free webinar on sponsorship marketing best practices!

Register here: Sponsorship Marketing

BOARD OF DIRECTORS - 2021

Vijay Thomas
President

 Vijay Thomas is founder and CEO of Tangentia, which has evolved to become a leading global Robotic Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence and B2B solutions company with a multi-national footprint with offices in USA, Canada and India. Tangentia has 100+ customers in 30+ countries and 150+ employees worldwide. Vijay is a seasoned speaker on e-commerce, B2B, Automation and Artificial Intelligence. He is also active in the Indian startup scene and has been an angel investor in many start-ups including Ixigo which is India’s largest meta search engine. Vijay has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Karnatak University and a MBA from Goa Institute of Management.
Surinder Sharma
Vice President & Director, Operations & Programs and Events

Surinder Sharma is a veteran technocrat who has served as Senior Professional with Multi-National Compies in India, Bahrain, UAE and Canada in the areas of project management, engineering, marketing and strategic planning. As a social entrepreneur, he is deeply engaged in energy conservation and demand management programs aimed to protect the environment. In 2001, Surinder founded Power Saving Systems Inc. that assists Canadian Industry (manufacturing, commercial, hospitality and small business) to reduce their carbon footprint by reducing the electricity usage by conducting energy audits and retrofit programs. Surinder is the Past President of the IIT Alumni Canada and a Founding Member & Past Chair of Panorama India. He actively served the Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) and remained a Director on its Board from 2012 to 2017. Tauseef Sheikh
Corporate Secretary & Director

Don Patel 
Vice President & Director, Finance

Don R.B. Patel is an entrepreneur with stake in retail businesses, and a decade of focus on real estate field has kept him connected to Indian diaspora. He made Brampton his Karmabhumi almost 3 decades ago, and since then has been passionately involved in several community organizations. He is a member of the Toronto Real Estate Board, and CREA besides being an active member of ICCC for several years.

Virender Rathi
Vice President & Director, Government Relations & Legal Affairs

Virender Rathi is a versatile lawyer, specializes in Immigration and Real Estate. Virender graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School. He is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association and CASAL. He is strongly committed to community and actively involved in many NFP’s including ICCC.

Sanjay Kulkarni
Director, Governance & Business strategy

Sanjay is the CEO and President of Sankul Enterprises Inc., a boutique firm providing CFO services and business value advice to small and medium sized companies. Sanjay is a CA(I), CS(I), CMA, CPA, CFA and Chartered Director. With years of experience in financial services, Sanjay Kulkarni is a problem-solving leader with the ability to effect change by improving processes, setting robust goals/corporate objectives and identifying/resolving critical issues. An expert in negotiations, Sanjay is a strong business leader who has had a distinguished career of 25 years in Canada in building and governing corporate finance, accounting, and treasury functions for various companies. Sanjay’s passion is to help small and medium sized companies in enhancing their business value, enabling them to provide meaningful work.

Bhavik Parikh
Director, Membership Engagement & ITC

Bhavik Parikh is an innovative technologist, data architecture and researcher who has worked with multiple fortune 500 companies and provided B2C, B2B and B2G solutions. He serves on various non for profit boards across Canada, USA and India. He has worked in various business domains including human resource, finance, space, health, pharmaceutical and education. Bhavik has a bachelor degree in Business Community Enterprise and Information Technology from University of Liverpool and masters degree in Information Systems engineering from University of Manchester.

Vikas Sharma
Director, Small & Medium Business

Since 2006, Vikas has been the President and Owner of a post-industrial plastics recycling company in Toronto, Canada. The firm specializes in trading a wide variety of secondary fiber, post-industrial plastics and raw material to build the efficiency and profitability of its customers recycling operations. Vikas has significant experience in international trade and over the last two decades, Vikas has exported to China, India, Vietnam, Mexico and the USA. He specialises in India and North America trade.

Vikas is the President and Founder of the Care4Cause Foundation, which offers dignity, compassion and respect to individuals suffering poverty and unfortunate circumstances. Vikas joined the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation in 2019 as Director and worked on expanding its Christmas Miracle on Main Street toy drive charity event to Brampton.

Ripudaman Singh Dhillon
Director, Sponsorship
Ripudaman established ICC Canada Immigration Solutions Inc. to help new immigrants to easily settle into a better life in Canada. His entrepreneurial zeal led him to launch Guru restaurant in 2013 in Heartland. His affinity for public service inspired him to start Radio Dhun, Ontario’s first multicultural and multilingual radio station, and in 2017 he acquired Radio 1220AM that reaches audiences from Ottawa to St. Catherines. The International Fashion Festival Toronto he launched in 2014 promotes local designers. Ripudaman is an active philanthropist and was the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario’s candidate in 2018 and a candidate of record for Brampton North.

ICCC 2020 Annual Magazine Special

(Click on image to download the magazine)

President's Message

Pramod Goyal

New Era of Transformation

Resilience ● Rebuild ● Rejuvenate

It would be easy to dismiss 2020 as annus horribilis, which is Latin for “a horrible year”. There is no denying that the Covid-19 pandemic radically transformed the world and sent it hurtling down into an unfamiliar territory and terrain.

Public debt incurred by governments across the world to help sustain a modicum of economic growth and to directly assist people deal with crippling effects of the global lockdown has snowballed to unmanageable levels. It will take serious fiscal discipline measures to restore the public finances of majority of nations globally once the world moves back to post-Covid-19 normalcy.

When the pandemic-induced lockdown started several months ago, I was among the first to laud the federal and the provincial governments for taking swift action to help alleviate the economic malaise that small businesses would begin to feel, and had forcefully advocated that a nuanced approach to dealing with the economic crises was imperative, especially in dealing with small businesses.

And while there are several issues that we need to come to terms with in dealing with the traumatizing and enervating effects of the pandemic, I want to emphasize that there have been a number of positives that have emerged during the year that will have a long-lasting beneficial impact.

In choosing the theme for this year’s annual magazine and the first virtual Gala – New Era of Transformation Resilience. Rebuild. Rejuvenate. – we were certain that we had to focus on the present crisis with a view to its future beneficial fallout.

The pandemic has brought the world together, unitedly we have shown nerves of steel to make a new future that accommodates what has worked in the past but focuses on fresh alternatives. This is transformation that considers resilience, has the zest to rebuild and the zeal to rejuvenate.

Read more: President's Message

ICCC Annual Awards 2020

The Honourable Mary Ng, Canada's Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion & International Trade, accepted the ICCC 2020 President's Award in person at the ICCC office in Toronto, from Pramod Goyal, President, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce. 

Minister Ng said she is "honoured to be recognised by the ICCC, an organisation that has done so much for bilateral trade relations between Canada and India."

The ICCC Annual Awards 2020 virtual show livestreamed Sunday 20 December 2020 was a path-breaking event. Never has such a grand program been put together. It is being hailed by everyone for its quality, content, crisp delivery and for its heady mix of entertainment, speeches, and awards presentations.

Pramod Goyal, President, ICCC, in his Presidential address, said, “In our own small way, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce turned the crisis into an opportunity to reach out to the small business owners and professionals in the Indo-Canadian community. The pandemic transformed our organisation into a re-energized entity that re-established its credentials as a Chamber of Commerce. When we had to decide on the overarching theme that would encapsulate the year, the choice was straightforward. Globally and especially at our Chamber, we have entered an Era of New Transformation where the emphasis is on Resilience, Rebuild, and Rejuvenate.”

A veritable who’s who of VIPs congratulated the award recipients and the ICCC. They included, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, who, in a special message, congratulated the award recipients and emphasized the four-decades-long service of the ICCC to fostering Canada India trade ties. His Excellency Ajay Bisaria, the High Commissioner of India to Canada, strongly advocated for a continued impetus to enhancing trade.

The Honourable Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, commended the award recipients for their achievements and for their contribution to the fabric of the Canadian society. He also underscored the role of the ICCC in building trade ties between Ontario and India. Similarly, the Honourable Mary Ng, Canada’s Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, and the Honourable Anita Anand, Canada’s Minister of Public Service and Procurement, also lauded both the award recipients and the Chamber.

The Mayors of Mississauga, Brampton, and Markham – Her Worship Bonnie Crombie, His Worship Patrick Brown and His Worship Frank Scarpitti – who work closely with the ICCC to create opportunities for Indo-Canadian businesses in their cities, also sent a special greeting message.

Chetan Sehgal of BDO Canada explained the process of shortlisting the nominations to enable the Advisory Board to make a judicious selection of the award winners.

The Executive Directors of the Board introduced the VIP speakers, and Amin Dhillon, the Master of Ceremonies, introduced the award recipients. Ramesh Chotai of Bromed Pharmaceuticals introduced the Humanitarian Award recipient, and Vijay Thomas of Tangentia Inc. introduced the Male Entrepreneur recipient. He also rounded off the evening with a vote of thanks.

Insight

Experiencing India for 25 Years

Canada needs more India

By Gary Comerford

Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday, and not 24 years ago, when I first stepped foot in India. Since that first trip I have made 90 others, ‎and through the years I witnessed the transformation of a country.

As I boarded the British Airways 747, I had visions of an exotic India waiting to welcome me. I was both excited and apprehensive, but had no idea how my life was about to change.

The moment I landed in Delhi, all my senses were bombarded at the same time. The smell of what I later learned was burnt kerosene permeated the air.  My personal space vanished as I waded into a sea of passengers, relatives, airport workers — and people just looking for a place to sleep. In the background I could hear car horns, lots of them, blasting all at the same time. Why were these horns blowing? 

I would learn that this was simply a typical day of organized chaos in a country of 1.3 billion people, 800 million of whom were impoverished . To say that this fortysomething executive had second thoughts would be the understatement of the century. So how is it that, today, I have such genuine affection for India? When I land in Mumbai now, I feel like I am returning home.

I assure you, it did not happen overnight.

My assignment for Sun Life was to help establish a life insurance company in India. A few years earlier, the Malhotra report had been written to evaluate the potential opening of the insurance industry to foreign companies. This meant Sun Life could possibly return to India, after being nationalized in 1956, provided it found an Indian partner.

How do you find an Indian partner? Nowhere in the world are there more consultants willing to use their connections to facilitate a partnership. Everyone — and I mean everyone — in India has a friend that can be of help. The good news for me was when I was introduced to Dan Gupta, the same executive who brought IBM back to India. It was Dan who facilitated a critically important introduction to the AVBirla group, one of the most prestigious diversified business houses in India. But the Birla's were already talking with several other international insurance companies, including mega-players like Met Life. How were we going to convince them Sun Life was the best choice?

Read more: Canada Needs More India

We will be reproducing articles from the ICCC 2020 Annual Magazine in the ICCC Newsletter's Insight section over the next few months.

Member Insights

The ICCC is a member-driven organisation. Here, we reproduce two insightful pieces written by

Ravi Seethapathy, who is a member for over 25 years, and Sangita Iyer, who became a member in 2020.

Learn. Serve. Experience.

By Ravi Seethapathy

The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) offered me a great opportunity to learn, serve and experience, the various interactions (both govt and business) – first as a volunteer in 1994 (thanks Sudha Berry), then as a Nominated Board Member (thanks Hari Panday) and elected Board member, followed by as a Vice President and finally as the President (1998-2000).

The ICCC primarily serves as a focal point of Indo-Canadian businesses (and its service providers’) interests, allowing others (political, bureaucracy, industry, education, professions) to view its membership in all its strengths and capabilities (business, education, wealth, charity). A second objective is to be a strong voice in the Canada- India bilateral trade corridor.

The ICCC has a rich legacy of hard work, deeply rooted in volunteerism. To this day, the ICCC Charity Golf Tournament, Annual Awards & Gala, and its many business events are comparable with other prestigious events held across Canada.

Headwinds create opportunities.

My presidential term witnessed “rough weather” on the bilateral front. Canada-India relations had hit a rough patch with Pokhran II (May 1998). So, a key challenge was for the ICCC, to make itself more visible to both countries and to be seen as being capable of solutions / thought leadership.

Read more: Ravi Seethapathy

Learn. Contribute. Support.

By Sangita Iyer

I am excited to be part of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), an esteemed forum that has existed for over four decades; a forum that focuses on the power of collaboration and supports mutual commercial ties between the world’s finest countries – India and Canada.

As an Indo-Canadian filmmaker, a Positive Psychology Educator, and a Learning and Development Professional, I look forward to offering my unique skillset in the art of storytelling, programs in well-being and leadership training, and I am eager to network with fellow entrepreneurs and professionals with diverse experiences and learn about them and from them.

My hope is to be able to share a short documentary GuruCool, written and directed by me, with all of you soon. GuruCool is a conversation about the 21st century education system among Indian educators and stakeholders while making global comparisons. GuruCool has been selected to be screened at several festivals around the globe and we continue to win awards in different categories.

I believe that being a part of ICCC will be an enriching experience for me and succour my vision of making insightful and inspirational films about people, places and events that have social relevance to the community.

Read more: Sangita Iyer

Message from our Sector Sponsor

Cosmos Sports & Entertainment

11 AM EST 28 January 2021

Sponsorship marketing can help you reach new customers in Peel Region

There are nearly 1.4 million people living in Peel Region.

How are you reaching them?

You’re probably tired of webinars by now.  But you won’t want to miss this one.

In this free session, you'll learn:

• How to use Sponsorship Marketing to reach your potential customers
• How Sponsorship is different from other advertising
• How Sponsorship and Advertising can be used together to deliver a 1-2 punch for your brand

Learn More & Register for our free webinar on sponsorship marketing best practices!

Businesses in Peel Region are partnering with events like these to connect with consumers and drive real business results

This session will be led by industry experts:

Gavin Roth	Cary Kaplan
Managing Partner	President
Gavin Roth + Associates	Cosmos Sports & Entertainment

January is the perfect time to set your strategy for the year ahead.

We hope this webinar can help offer a new perspective as we head into 2021.

Learn More & Register for our free webinar on sponsorship marketing best practices!

Register here: Sponsorship Marketing