Business awards recognise Australia-India collaborations

InauguralA/BCAwards set to become a regularevent fosteringgreater trade ties

Businesses and individuals whohave madesignificant contributions to progress tradeand investmentbetween Australia andIndiawere recognisedwiththe inauguralAustralia IndiaBusiness CouncilTradeand InvestmentAwardsrecently.

The Awardswere pareof theEngaging with lndiaForum, heldby theAustralia lndiaBusinessCouncil and the Australian Financial Reviewin Sydney over 16-17May.

TheForum tookstock of thestate ofaffairsin theAustralia-L1diabusiness sphere.The messagecame out loudand clear: Australianbusiness needs a nudge along initsengagementwithIndia.

Bueformnacely,interest remains high.

Attendees heard froma variety of high-profile speakers suchasIndianHigh Commissionerto Australia avdeepSuri, ConsulGeneral of lndia in Sydney B. Vanlalvawna,AustralianTradeMinister

Steve Ciobo,AustralianSpecialEnvoy for TradeAndrewRobb, former Premier of VictoriaTedBaiJJJieuand S\XfMinisterfor TradeStuartJ\yres.

Business leaders including AshokJacob, Lindsay Fox,NevilleRoach,PawanLuthra, MichaelKasprowicz,Di.lipChenoy and many morealso gave presentationsand offered theirinsights.

Tophonours attheawards eveningwere given to Infosys andDeakin University for theiroutstandingcontributionsineach country.

DeakinUniversity,whichreceivedthe OutstandingContribution by anAustralian Organisationin lndia,was the first internationaluniversity to open anoffice in India in 1996. Since then, it has invested $10million dollars, produced thousands of job-ready graduates and established numerouspartnershipsbetweenacademia andindustry.

Technology consultingfirmlnfosys, whichcookouttheawardforOutstanding Contribution by anIndianOrganisationin Australia, established itsAustralian presence in 1999and draws40 percent ofits3100 strongworkforce from the local community.

DipenRughani,AIBCNationalChair, waspleased toinauguratethese special awardscreated toacknowledge the exceptional contributions of companiesin advancingtheAustralia lodiarelationship.

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

PenelopeStreet,founder of Narrowcaster,received theWomenin Business Award. Narrowcasterproduces multilingualself-guidedaudiotours for fores,palacesandtemplesinIndia,helping visitorsexperience thecountry's rich culcuraJheritage.Sheba Nandkeolyar,AIBC NationalVice-Chair &Chair of Womenin

Business,wasproud to spearheadthe first awardacknowledgingthe contribution of successfulbusinesswomenintheAustraliaIndiabusinessenvironment.

CricketAustralia receivedthe Special RecognitionAwardfor contribution to AustraliaL1diaRelations for collaboration withitsIndianconnterparts in bringing the competition tomillions of Indian fans.

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

Cochlearwon the Excellence in Goods Export for anAustralianCompany toIndia Award.The company hasinvested more than$USlOmillioninIndiasince beginning itsoperationsand through innovationhas made hearingimplantsmore affordable and accessible to a greater number of people in India.

TataGlobalBeverages (fGB) won the Excellence in Goods Export for anIndian OrganisationcoAustralia.TGB hasbeen bringingunique Indiantea toAustralian consumerssince 1963nnderthewellknown Tetley brand.

SMECwasawardedExcellencein the ServicesSector for anAustralian company in India.SJvfEChasdeliveredprojects to clientsinIndiawithintransport, hydropowerand energy,waterand eiwironment and urban andsocial sectors since 1975.

Excellence in the Services Seccor for an Indian Organisation in Indiawasawarded to SPJain School of Global Managemenr which uses innovative practices to delivers its educationservices acrosscampuses in Sydney,Dubai,MumbaiandSingapore. lewas awonderfulevening of celebration spearheaded by AIBC'sNational Chair DipenRughaniandVice ChairSheba I andkeolyar. InAIBC's 30" year, these awards demonstrate theprogresswhich Australianand lndianbusinesseshave made incontributingto bilateral relations

Logisticscompany Linfoxwas awarded Excellence in Invesanem by anAustralian Organisationin lndia.Thecompany providesmodernsupply chainlogisticsin Indiaandemploys2500people.

High-tech aircraftmanufacn1rer Mahindra Aerospacewas awarded Excellencein lnvesm1ent by an lndianOrganisation inAustralia.The company has bee.11 operating in Australiasince 2010 and serves customers from30 countriesaroundtl1e world fromits Australianbase.

TheGeorge lnstinue for Global Health wonthe awardfor Excellencein Research andDevelopment between Australia and India for itsresearchandadvocacy work to develop affordable andscalablesolutions toempower people to improve their health and hasbeen operatinginIndiasince2007.

Theindependent judgingpanel forthe Awardsincludedhighlyrespected business leadersKumar Parakala,Di.lip Chenoy, ik Senapati andwas chaired by Grame Barty of Austrade.