July 2015
ICCC Newsletter
Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce 924 The East Mall, Etobicoke ON M9B 6K1
ICCC Newsletter May 2015 From the President's desk Welcome to the glorious Canadian summer. The summer months give us all a respite from the long and often dreary winter that seemingly never end. Summer is the time when we all take a break, relax, unwind and enjoy some quality time with family and friends. I’m looking forward to ICCC’s classic golf tourney that is scheduled for 23 July, 2015. You will see the details of the Sanjay Makkar program in this newsletter. Over the years, the golf event has become a great meeting place for our stakeholders to take their business outdoors. I am sure that tradition will continue this year as well. I want to put on record my sincere gratitude to the Golf committee comprising Anil Shah, Pradeep Sood and Vikram Dua for working together to organize this spectacular tournament. Let me also emphasize that while summer is, indeed, time for a bit of relaxation, I and my new team of board members are going to find ourselves rather busy during the next couple of months. We have already allocated the portfolios for the new team; see the announcement following my message. Among the items on the agenda that we will be actively working on include:
Revitalizing ICCC committees Strategizing with stakeholders to redefine ICCC’s core objectives Planning process for the year
It is my belief that as a Chamber we need to focus more on creating opportunities for our stakeholders. This means providing linkages to small entrepreneurs and professionals to be able to grow. It will be my endeavor to achieve this objective in a more focused manner. I invite you to share your ideas with me. Write to me at president@iccconline.org and help me give shape to a dream that we share – of turning ICCC into a robust business organization. Sanjay Makkar
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Meet your new board Sanjay Makkar, President Jagdish Bajaj, Vice President- Program & Events Pathik Baxi, Vice President-Corporate Secretary, Legal Affairs Ginni Sethi, Vice President- Membership and Women Entrepreneurs & Professionals (WEP) Committee Arun Srivastava, Vice President- Finance and Sponsorship Abu Bakar Noohujohn, Director-Membership Ajay Tandon, Director-Affinity Program & Events Kanwar Dhanjal, Director- Trade and SME Pappur Shankar, Director-Energy & Mining
Article RBI Makes Third Interest Rate Cut; Further Cuts Not Anticipated in near Term By: Excel Investment Counsel Inc. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut interest rates by 25 basis points on July 1, the third cut for the year so far. Interest rates were previously cut on January 15th and March 4th in an ongoing push to spur investment and growth in the Indian economy. In announcing the rate cut, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan indicated that he will delay further rate cuts until
an assessment of the monsoon season is completed, disappointing some investors who anticipated further cuts in the near term. As a result, Indian equities declined and bonds fell slightly on concerns that the reduction in interest rates would not be enough to offset the impact of deficient rainfall on economic growth.
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Incidentally, rainfall was less than predicted in April, which may “lead to an increase in prices of everything from rice to vegetables,” causing an increase in inflation, as “food costs account for almost 50 percent of the consumer price index,” says David Kunselman, Senior Portfolio Manager with Excel Investment Counsel Inc. Kunselman adds: “The tone of the central bank has cast doubts on the possibility of further rate cuts in the short term until rainfall improves.
Incidentally, the market has been concerned about rainfall every year the monsoon begins but these concerns dissipate during the summer months when the focus is less on rainfall. For now, the market is not anticipating a rate cut in August but we could see another cut possibly at the end of September or December once rainfall improves.” For more articles from Excel Funds please go to: http://www.excelfunds.com/index.php/insights
Economic trends Ontario’s manufacturing and exports in decline According to a report released by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, Ontario’s manufacturing-led economy is undergoing a major metamorphosis that has led to a sharp decline in its exports and reduction in its market share in the United States. The Ottawa-based centre concludes that Ontario also faces tremendous pressure to maintain its productivity. During the 12-year period of 2000 to 2012, productivity grew by a mere 0.5 percent annually. This compares extremely unfavourably to the preceding period of 1987 to 2000, when productivity grew by 2 percent annually. Emphasizing the strong and direct linkage between Ontario and Canada, the report notes, “the province’s weak productivity growth has largely been responsible for Canada’s overall poor productivity performance.” It explains that the primary reason for this phenomenon is weak demand for what Ontario produces, with the problem concentrated in the manufacturing and financial services. Labour productivity in manufacturing fell to an average of 2.8 per cent a year between 2000 and 2012, down from 3.6 per cent a year between 1987 and 2000. The report identifies the following three as the main causes for lower productivity: 1|Page
Slower export sales and lost market share in the United States to China, Mexico and South Korea Recession in the United States Rising value of the Canadian dollar in the early 2000s
No recession says Oliver, but rate cuts expected Federal Finance Minister Hon. Joe Oliver emphasized early July that the Canadian economy was not in recession. Statistics Canada released new data in late June that indicated that GDP had contracted in each of the four months of the year (Jan-Apr). Technically, economists declare a recession when an economy registers negative growth for two consecutive quarters. The data for the second quarter (Apr-Jun) is not yet available. The federal budget had estimated that the economy would grow at the rate of at least 2 per cent in 2015-16. However, the numbers compiled by Statistics Canada show that the economy in fact shrank by 0.1 per cent. Economists are of the view that this slowdown will result in Bank of Canada implementing interest rate cuts probably as soon as in July.
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June 2015 ACTIVITIES June 05, 2015
Annual Awards & Gala Night 2015
2015 Award Winners with ICCC's board of directors
John Tory, Mayor City of Toronto was the Chief Guest at the 24th Annual Awards & Gala Night on Saturday June 06 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto. Mayor John Tory said that he is working to manifold the relations with India and appreciated the recent visit of Prime Mayor John Tory
Minister Modi to strengthen the bilateral relations. He applauded the chamber’s contribution in promoting the bilateral trade and commercial relations and shown his willingness to cooperate with India for developing smart cities. Mr. Asim Ghosh, President & CEO of Husky Energy was the keynote speaker for the evening. While accepting the Corporate executive Award of the year from Dharma P Jain,
Mr. Asim Ghosh
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ICCC’s President, he said that India is a hot market . . . a seductive place for people who think they can make a quick return from a pool of 1.2 billion consumers. While many other countries are at a similar level of development, India has a resource of intellectual and managerial capital still to be tapped, Ghosh said. The Annual Gala and Awards Night is a marquee event where ICCC promotes trade and commerce between India and Canada and recognize the achievements of IndoCanadians from all across Canada by way of an award presentation. Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s Advisory Board independently chooses the award recipients. In 2015, MNP, LLP was tasked with conducting due diligence of the nominations received. The 2015 award recipients included a spectacular mix of community stalwarts, entrepreneurs, professionals, academics, and young achievers. The evening, replete with entertainment skits and speeches from VIPs, was attended by over 800 guests comprising the who’s who of the Indo-Canadian society. The 2015 recipients of ICCC’s Annual Awards & Gala Night include: Category
Award Winner
Sponsor
Female Entrepreneur
Nisha Amin
CIBC
Male Entrepreneur
Prashant Pathak
CIBC
Female Professional
Neeru Gupta
Excel Funds
Male Professional
Manjul Bhargava
Collins Barrow LLP
Young Achiever
Courtyard by Marriott
Technology Achievement
Hargurdeep Singh & Avish Sood Rajiv Manucha
Corporate Executive
Asim Ghosh
ICICI Bank
Humanitarian
Jag Parmar
Bromed Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Lifetime/Outstanding Achievement
Venkatesh Mannar State Bank of India (Canada)
Member of the Year
Avinash Mehra
Air Canada
President's Award
Frank Scarpitti
Johnnie Walker
TD Bank
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June 10, 2015
Reception in Honour of H.E. Vishnu Prakash, High Commissioner of India to Canada Indian Diaspora is the real ambassadors of India who are working hard to brand India in Canada said High Commissioner Vishnu Prakash while speaking at a dinner reception hosted by Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce on June 10, 2015. He added that ICCC has played an Sitting From L to R: Ginni Sethi, Asha Seth, Dipika Damerla, Rajni Tekriwal, important role in Amrit Mangat Standing From L to R: Jagdish Bajaj, Hardesh Marwaha, Tony forging relations Chawla, Dharma P Jain, H.E. Vishnu Prakash, Brij K Sharma & Sanjay Makkar between India and Canada for nearly four decades. Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Canada this year added new depth to relationship which has the potential for a strong economic partnership. Canada’s rich natural resources and sophisticated technological and educational base give us great promise to deepen our engagement. Canada can be a true partner in India’s infrastructure development, food security, energy security, science & technology, higher education and clean energy. June 18, 2015
Drake’s INTELLIGENT HELP – Your One-Stop-Shop for HR Solutions The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce organized an interactive session introducing Drake’s INTELLIGENT HELP HR Portal – Your One-StopShop for HR Solutions on 18-June 2015 at the ICCC headquarters. Ms. Maysa Hawwash, National Manager for INTELLIGENT HELP at Drake International, was the guest speaker. From L to R: Sanjay Makkar, Dharma P Jain, Maysa Hawwash, Brij K Sharma & Annie Singh
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She highlighted the importance of Human Capital as the biggest value driver for organizations. She also threw light on the key HR issues faced by SMEs and how the inability to manage these people issues causes a huge adverse impact on the organizations and their bottom line. The event was marked by the introduction of the innovative Drake INTELLIGENT HELP portal that leverages Drake’s 60+ years of Talent management experience and modern technology, to help SMEs find answers to their specific people challenges in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The audience experienced a LIVE DEMONSTRATION of the INTELLIGENT HELP portal that gives ICCC member’s access to HR services and best practices needed to run their day-to-day business. ICCC members also have access to practical advice on critical people issues through free Drake white papers and webinars. June 25, 2015
Sanjay Makkar elected as 27th President of ICCC Sanjay Makkar was elected as 27th President of the IndoCanada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) Thursday June 25 at the Chamber’s Annual General Meeting. Six directors were also elected to the new board of the Chamber. These include one director from the outgoing board – Pathik Baxi, re-elected for a two-year term. Sanjay Makkar
Five new directors elected are:
• Abubakkar Noohujohn • Ajay Tandon • Arun Srivastava • Kanwarjit Dhanjal • Pappur Shankar Mr. Makkar, along with Jagdish Bajaj and Ginni Sethi are the other elected directors on the board, who were elected last year, and are in the middle of their two-year term. Speaking about his priorities, the new president emphasized that while the board will ensure continuity, it will be geared towards radically changing the orientation of the chamber. “2015 will be a year of change,” he declared. Mr. Makkar said he would follow a threepronged approach during his tenure as the Chamber’s President:
Governance & Transparency 5|Page
Robust financials Broad based, inclusive growth
Mr. Makkar added: “The 2015 will be a year when the chamber’s leadership will work together with stakeholders and members to bring about better governance, make the operation completely transparent, work towards making the financials more robust and make the chamber’s composition more inclusive and broad based.” June 26, 2015 The 2015 Transformation Awards Gala Mr. Sanjay Makkar, the newly elected President of Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce attended The 2015 Transformation Awards Gala as a special guest. The gala event brought together business, community, as well as public sector leaders and innovators to discuss issues that affect our diverse communities, proffer solutions to challenges as well and to celebrate leadership, excellence and diversity. June 27, 2015 Mr. Sanjay Makkar, President, Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce was felicitated by Mr. BV Nagaraj, BV Communication Canada at 11th World Kannada Cultural Convention, 2 day event held at Grand Victorian Convention Centre, Ontario, Canada from June 27 to June 28.
ICCC President Sanjay Makkar was felicitated by Mr. Nagaraju & others
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June 30, 2015 Meeting with Mr. Akhilesh Mishra, CGI ICCC’s newly elected board led by its President Mr. Sanjay Makkar met Mr. Akhilesh Mishra, Consulate General of India. Mr. Makkar discussed in details his plans for the coming year and assured the CGI that “chamber will be second to none in promoting Canada India business relations”. Mr. Mishra emphasized the need to increase Canada India commercial ties and said that the reciprocal visits of two Prime Minister ICCC President Sanjay Makkar with CGI Akhilesh Mishra will serve as milestones in strategizing the relations between the two countries. Mr. Mishra discussed the opportunities available in the sectors such as IT, energy, power, mining etc. He expressed a keen desire to engage the big companies along with the small and medium enterprises for doing business with India. Collaboration and cooperation in the education sector is another area for mutual understanding with immense scope. Mr. Makkar said that at Chamber “we look forward to many more interactions between the Consulate and our Chamber during your tenure.” All the new directors were present at the meeting. From L to R: Arun Srivastva, Abu Bakkar, Sanjay Makkar, Akhilesh Mishra, Kanwar Dhanjal,Pappur Shankar & Ajay Tandon
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UPCOMING EVENTS 23-July-2015
17th ICCC Golf Classic
For details please see www.iccconline.org ICCC in news http://suhaag.com/finance/iccc-annual-dinner-gala-celebrates-indo-canadian-a http://southasiandaily.com/community/sanjay-makkar-elected-as-27th-president-of-iccc/
FOR ADVERTISEMENT IN NEWSLETTER Please contact Mr. Pawan Chankotra at iccc@iccconline.org, or by calling 416-224-0090 BECOME A MEMBER Membership is open to any person who is in agreement with the objectives of the IndoCanada Chamber of Commerce. The present membership represents a wide range of industries and professions. The benefits of joining the ICCC include:
Professional and personal development through business and social networking Exposure to business and professional opportunities in Canada, India and around the world Tickets to events at discounted member rates Invitations to selected free business programs An annual magazine Annual membership directory Opportunity to serve on various committees and be elected to the Board of Directors Benefits through the Chamber's Affinity Program
To join ICCC as member please click here
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Know your Organization Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce is a 38-year-old organization with twin objectives of fostering bilateral trade between Canada and India and creating entrepreneurial and professional opportunities for Indo-Canadians. It is run by an elected board with the help of various committees involving member. To know more about your organization, please visit: www.iccconline.org SUGGESTIONS Your board is committed to make this esteemed organization member friendly, open, transparent, and truly a business organization working to achieve its mission and vision. Board is considering of: i) Publishing achievements of members in the upcoming issues of ICCC newsletter. Therefore, members are advised to send their achievements such as new position, additional qualification, awards etc. at iccc@iccconline.org. ii) Publishing articles on different topics involving trade, commerce, tax etc. Interested writers can send their articles (500 words) at iccc@iccconline.org iii) Starting blogs on Chamber's website. Send your resumes and subjects you wish to write a blog. iv) Constituting a newsletter committee. Those who have flare of writing, designing and passionate about this, send in their resumes at iccc@iccconline.org Board is there to steer this august body in the direction provided by articles and by-laws and ensuring that interest of various stakeholders is protected. Board invites your suggestions and opinions regarding future events, newsletter content, and ask you to get engaged more and more and participate in Chamber events. You are the true ambassador of Chamber and your board is working for you in. Please feel free in contacting any board member. Please feel free in sending your suggestions and recommendations at: president@iccconline.org or iccc@iccconline.org.
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