Business awards recognise Australia-India collaborations

InauguralA/BCAwards set to become a regular event fostering greater trade ties

Businesses and individuals whohave madesignificant contributionstoprogress tradeand investmentbetween Australiaand Indiawere recognisedwiththe inauguralAustralia IndiaBusinessCouncilTradeand InvestmentAwardsrecently.

TheAwardswere pareof theEngaging with lndiaForum, heldby theAustralia lndia BusinessCounciland the Australian Financial Reviewin Sydney over 16-17May.

TheForumtookstockof thestate of affairsin theAustralia-L1diabusiness sphere.The messagecameoutloudand clear: Australianbusinessneedsanudge along initsengagementwithIndia.

Bueformnacely,interestremainshigh.

Attendees heard froma variety of high-profile speakerssuchasIndianHigh Commissioner to Australia avdeepSuri, ConsulGeneralof lndiainSydneyB. Vanlalvawna,AustralianTradeMinister SteveCiobo,AustralianSpecialEnvoy for TradeAndrewRobb,former Premierof VictoriaTedBaiJJJieuand S\XfMinisterfor TradeStuartJ\yres.

Businessleaders includingAshokJacob, Lindsay Fox,NevilleRoach,PawanLuthra, Michael Kasprowicz,Di.lipChenoyand many morealso gave presentations and offered theirinsights.

Tophonoursattheawards eveningwere given to Infosys andDeakinUniversity for theiroutstandingcontributionsineach country.

DeakinUniversity,which received the OutstandingContribution by anAustralian Organisationin lndia,was the first international university toopen anoffice inIndia in 1996. Since then, it has invested $10million dollars,producedthousands of job-ready graduates and established numerous partnershipsbetweenacademia andindustry.

Technology consulting firm lnfosys, whichcookouttheawardforOutstanding Contributionby anIndianOrganisationin Australia,established itsAustralian presence in 1999 anddraws40percent ofits3100 strongworkforcefromthe local community.

DipenRughani,AIBC National Chair, waspleased toinaugurate these special awards created toacknowledge the exceptional contributions of companiesin advancingtheAustralia lodia relationship.

NevilleRoachAO recei\Ted theLifetime AchievementAward.Overanillustrious careerspanning many decades, evillehas been honoured by both theAustralianand Indiangovernments for his dedicationand commitment to fosteringbilateral relations.

Penelope Street, founder of Narrowcaster,received theWomenin BusinessAward. Narrowcasterproduces multilingualself-guided audiotours for fores,palaces and templesinIndia,helping visitorsexperience thecountry'srich culcuraJheritage.Sheba Nandkeolyar,AIBC NationalVice-Chair&Chairof Womenin

Business,wasproud tospearhead the first award acknowledgingthe contributionof successful businesswomenintheAustraliaIndia businessenvironment.

CricketAustraliareceived theSpecial RecognitionAwardfor contributionto Australia L1diaRelations for collaboration withits Indian connterparts in bringing the competition tomillionsofIndian fans.

Businesseswere also recognisedin categoriesincluding excellence in goods, servicesand invesonent sectors.

Cochlearwonthe Excellence in Goods Export for anAustralian Company toIndia Award.The company hasinvestedmore than$USlOmillion inIndia since beginning its operations and through innovationhas made hearingimplants more affordableand accessible to a greater number of people in India.

TataGlobalBeverages(fGB)wonthe Excellence in Goods Export for anIndian OrganisationcoAustralia.TGB hasbeen bringingunique IndianteatoAustralian consumerssince 1963 nnder thewellknown Tetley brand.

SMECwasawarded Excellenceinthe ServicesSectorfor anAustralian company in India.SJvfEChasdeliveredprojects to clients in Indiawithintransport, hydropowerand energy,waterand eiwironment and urban and social sectors since 1975.

Excellence in the Services Seccor for an Indian Organisation in Indiawasawarded toSPJain Schoolof GlobalManagemenr which uses innovative practices to delivers its educationservices acrosscampuses in Sydney,Dubai,MumbaiandSingapore. Logisticscompany Linfoxwas awarded Excellence in Invesanemby anAustralian Organisationin lndia.The company providesmodernsupply chainlogisticsin Indiaandemploys2500people. lewas awonderfuleveningof celebration spearheaded by AIBC'sNational Chair Dipen RughaniandVice ChairSheba I andkeolyar. InAIBC's 30" year, these awards demonstrate theprogresswhich Australianand lndian businesses have made incontributing to bilateral relations

High-techaircraftmanufacn1rerMahindra Aerospacewasawarded Excellencein lnvesm1ent by an lndian Organisation inAustralia.The companyhas bee.11 operating in Australiasince2010 and serves customersfrom30 countriesaround tl1e world fromitsAustralianbase.

TheGeorge lnstinue for Global Health wontheaward for Excellencein Research andDevelopment betweenAustralia and India for itsresearchandadvocacyworkto develop affordableandscalablesolutions toempower people to improve their health and hasbeen operatinginIndiasince2007.

Theindependent judgingpanel for the Awardsincluded highlyrespected business leaders Kumar Parakala,Di.lipChenoy, ik Senapati and was chairedby Grame Barty of Austrade.