Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce

Montréal Ottawa Toronto Hamilton Waterloo Region Calgary Vancouver Moscow

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Focused on Success

As the exclusive legal sponsor of the

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce,

Gowlings’ mandate is to build and support

international business relationships while

fostering the growth of a strong Canadian

economic environment.

For more information, please contact:

P.A. Neena Gupta, Partner [email protected]

Toronto Waterloo Region

(416) 862-5700 (519) 575-7501

Sun Life Financial isonce again pleased to continue

our support of theIndo-Canada Chamber of Commerce

by sponsoring theFemale Entrepreneur of the Year

award.

Congratulations!

HKMB International Insurance Brokers is Canada's

largest privately-held commercial insurance broker.

From offices in Toronto and Vancouver, we provide a

full range of risk management and insurance services

to a diverse client base located across Canada and

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For more information visit www.hkmb.comOr contact: Sean Duggan, Partner416 597 46031 800 232 [email protected]

advocating our clients' interests

HKMB is proud to be a member of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and to

sponsor the 2007 Professional Female Award.

E D i T O R ’ S N O T E

India now represents about 0.5 percent of Canadian exportsand less than one percent of Canadian imports. Canadianforeign direct investment (FDI) in India is similarly at lowlevels. India is currently the destination for less than half ofone percent of Canada’s total FDI outflows. Current bilateraltrade stands at a meager $ 3.6 billion.

Such is the state of play as I edit this annual magazine.Our work is cut out for us.

Outgoing ICCC President, Ajit Khanna has thrown down thegauntlet with his $ 10 billion by 2010 challenge.

This magazine aspires to encapsulate the activities and achieve-ments of the 2006 – 07 Board of Directors and attempts toinfluence the agenda of the new Board of Directors that will bein place June 28, 2007. Such is the wonder of democracy andthe transfer of responsibility. Canada and India are fortunateto share in the maturity of this system, ably emulated by thisesteemed Chamber for 30 years.

This magazine is an important document for all members andthe Board of Directors. This year, an inclusive process wasadopted from design, layout, theme, editorial to advertising.This magazine is the handiwork of a 15 person committee.All credit is due to them. Pitfalls and mistakes, if any, are onmy account!

As you will read through the magazine various views areexpressed that talk to how the ICCC can continue to do more.The following areas encompass where the ICCC will ideallyfocus to help achieve the $10 Billion by 2010!

• Increase visibility in both Canada and India• Enhance bilateral Investment• Human Capital Mobility and Visa Issues• Leveraging the Indo-Canadian Community

30 years is a significant milestone. As the ICCC matures andassumes greater importance coupled with the resurgence ofIndia as a dominant global player, we can expect to see eachyear as a major milestone in the near future.

Regards,

Atul AhujaDirector and ChairMarketing and Communications Committee

PublisherIndo-Canada Chamber of Commerce

EditorAtul Ahuja

Art Director & Production Co-ordinatorLeena Goomber

Ad Co-ordinatorThecla Mathias

Contributing WritersAbhilash BhachechAjit JainBal KrishnaGeetika BhardwajGurmukh SinghPrithi YelajaRenu MehtaSatish MehtaVineesh Sandhir

Cover Design ConceptAjit KhannaLeena Goomber

Graphic Design & PrintingLG Vision Designs Inc.

The Indo-Canaada Chamber of Commerce publishes theAnnual Magazine every June. Letters to the editor, orrequests for reprints should be sent to the ICCC office.

45 Sheppard Ave. East Suite 900North York ON M2N 5W9416 224 0090 | 416 224 0482 | 1 866 873 ICCC(4222)F | 416 224 0089 | [email protected] | www.iccc.org

The information contained herein is based on sourcesbelieved to be reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed.Reasonable effort has been made to determine the accura-cy of information received. Readers are advised to seekappropriate legal/financial advice prior to relying on anyinformation contained herein.

A D V E R T i S E R S ’ i N D E X

Bromed Pharmaceuticals

Canaccord

Chrysler

CIBC

Excel Funds

Gowlings

HKMB

IBM

ICICI Bank

Jaipur Development Group

Jet Airways

National Post

OMNI Television

RBC

Rogers

Sears

Scotiabank Group

Skylink Group of Companies

State Bank of India (Canada)

Sun Life Financial

TD Bank Financial Group

Telus

i C C C S P O N S O R S

Official Corporate SponsorRBC Financial Group

Industry SponsorsChrysler Gowlings OMNI Television Telus

Award SponsorsLifetime / Outstanding Achievement AwardBromed Pharmaceuticals

Humanitarian AwardState Bank of India (Canada)

Male Entrepreneur AwardTelus

Female Entrepreneur AwardSun Life Financial

Professional Male AwardHKMB

Professional Female AwardSkylink Group of Companies

Technology Achievement AwardIBM

Young Achievers AwardTD Bank Financial Group

Corporate Executive AwardRBC Financial Group

President’s AwardCIBC

Member AwardRogers

VIP Reception Sponsor: Antex Designs Inc.

Magazine & Bulletin Sponsor: Jet Airways

Magazine Co-Sponsor: Sears Canada

Entertainment Sponsor: Scotiabank Group

Website Sponsor: Imex Systems Inc.

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President’s Message

Message from the Prime Minister

Message from the Prime Minister of India

Message from Minister of International Trade

Message from Premier of Ontario

Message from the Mayor of Toronto

Profile of Chief Guests

Award Recipients

Advisory Board

Board of Directors

Committee Annual Reviews

India Canada Trade Corridor

30th Anniversary: Reflections of a

‘Regular’ ICCC Member

The Presidents

Hall of Fame

Year in Review

iNS iDE

Our mandate remainsthreefold:

• To promote tradebetween Canada andIndia with supportprovided to and receivedfrom various levels ofgovernment

• To increase businessnetworking opportuni-ties for our members,our sponsors and ourpartners &

• To showcase the talentof our community andact as a catalyst to raisethe awareness of theissue surrounding foreigncredential recognition.

We delivered on allthree counts.

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Our vision remains tobecome the “Go-To” organ-isation for Governments,Industry, Entrepreneursand for the membership,when it comes to tradebetween Canada and India.A lot of work has alreadybeen done to make thisvision a reality. Much morestill needs to be done.We partnered with variousmainstream and globalChambers including theCanadian Chamber ofCommerce, the OntarioChamber of Commerce,the Toronto Board of Trade,the Halifax Port Authorityand the Italian, Portugueseand Chinese Chambers tobuild awareness.

We have also strengthenedour relationships withthree key India-basedorganisations – CII, FICCIand ICBC. They will bewell represented at ourGala on June 16th. Ourquest to appoint anExecutive Director hastaken longer than antici-pated but I am hopefulthat by the time you arereading this, it would havematerialized. As you willsee when you review thismagazine, our events werefocused on our objectivesand are helping to realiseour vision.

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As I sit and type this note, it amazes me that it hasalready been two years since I assumed the role ofPresident of The Indo Canada Chamber of Commerceand its dedicated Board of Directors and the very sup-portive members. A thoroughly enjoyable term comes toan end for me. A term that taught me so very much.There will always be a debt of gratitude in my heart andin my mind for those that overwhelmingly supported meand afforded me the benefit of the doubt to introducenew ideas and initiatives. These ideas helped us buildthe ICCC over the past two years to a powerhouse ofknowledge for the members it supported and the out-side organizations that relied on it for advice. My specialthanks also to the esteemed Advisory Board fortheir guidance.

In my message last year I said that the first year of anynew “job” came with a huge learning curve. The pastyear however, was the “building” year. The board and Iworked hand in hand to deliver focused programs in cho-sen sectors that provided value to our members andexposure for our sponsors.

We also donated proceeds from our Holiday Dinner andDance to the Sick Kids Hospital's Herbie Fund and toSleeping Children Around the World.

This year's golf tournament proceeds will help TrilliumHospital and will also help to rase funds for the ICCCBuilding Fund and our India House initiative. All thisand an increased Operating Budget!

GROW ENGAGE PROSPER

We stayed true to our theme of Grow, Engage andProsper and embraced the values of Trust and Teamwork.Oh we had our differences! But, we emerged from thosediscussions as a stronger team.

GROW:Our efforts over the past two years have been to growour membership, grow our sponsor base and grow ourawareness. Our quest to be national in scope was given aboost with the addition of the Calgary Business Council.

Efforts are under way to bring Vancouver (B.C.),Winnipeg and possibly Halifax into the fold. I am veryhappy to report that we now have the highest member-ship number ever!

ENGAGE: We wanted to make sure that the members that join ourorganization stay with us and help us grow while theygrew themselves – a win-win. I am thrilled that our attri-tion rates are at an all time low – a sure sign of memberengagement. This was achieved through conducting sur-veys and brain storming sessions with our members todetermine their wants and needs and in turn providingprogramming that was more relevant to them than everbefore. It was also achieved through enhanced communi-cation with them via our monthly E-bulletins, our nowpopular 2nd Wednesday of the month networking eventsand the virtually daily emails!

PROSPER: We have created value for our members and our support-ers through focused programming and relevant initia-tives. Some initiatives that were unique, included oursupport of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority in itslobbying efforts to the Federal Government to reducethe unfair landing fees and in turn our collective workwith GTAA and Jet Airways to introduce a direct flightto India in light of Air Canada’s decision to terminateits direct flight. Another such initiative was our drive toraise awareness of the Foreign Credential Recognitionissue. The Free Trade Agreement between India andCanada was addressed by Prime Minister StephenHarper in his speech at our Annual Gala last year andthe greater ease in obtaining Canadian Visas in India wasalso lobbied at our gala. We are appreciative of the sup-port that was extended to us by both the ruling partiesand commend Mr. Emerson’s visit to India recently.Finally, a couple of “feel good” initiatives that I am trulyproud of. One was the linking up of our organizationwith the Mentor Partnership Group.

P R E S i D E N T ’ S M E S S AG EAjit Khanna

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I became a mentor last year and I can tell you that it wasa great feeling that I got when the individuals I men-tored found rewarding jobs and began to feel valued. Iencourage you to join this organization. Its just a clickaway on our web site - www.iccc.org.

The $10 Billion dollars by 2010 challengeThere is never an argument when one makes the state-ment that the trade between Canada and India is notwhere it should be. In 2006 total trade grew 26% over2005 but was a meagre $3.6 Billion.

I feel very strongly that a target must be established.An aggressive, yet an achievable target. Hence, the$10 Billion challenge!!. The 26% growth was achievedwith relatively little effort. Everyone that has an inter-est in growing trade between the two countries mustcontribute in a meaningful way to achieve, what I feelis not an impossible target of 40% annual growth overthe next 3 years.

What a celebration it will be when we hit that $10 Billionmark. We cannot wait any longer and we must work veryhard to identify the sectors, industries and initiatives inboth the countries that will get us to that target. Weneed to ELIMINATE BARRIERS and ACCELERATETRADE.

Knowledge ExchangeAny organizations, especially one that relies on volun-teers such as ours needs to have a knowledge sharingand transfer mechanism in place. We need to constantlyshare knowledge with many others to ensure a smoothtransition when responsibilities are reassigned or peoplemove on. As was the case in 2005-2006, we continued toappoint committees and task forces to carry out variousactivities thus replacing the single owner model. Byensuring that all committee members were well versedin our vision and understood our strategy, we were ableto rely on these volunteers and committees to deliverquality programming that was relevant to our member-ship. The diversity of their views helped us immenselyin growing the organization last year. Organization thatrely on volunteers are more dependant on exchangingknowledge to ensure smoother transitions. We continuedto appoint committees and task forces to carry out vari-ous initiatives versus the single owner model to help inthe transfer of expertise.

These committees were well versed in our vision andunderstood our strategy. ICCC in turn derived the bene-fit of their diverse views.

EventsWe were strategic in the topics we chose for our sched-uled events. Examples of targeted events include theRound Table with Minister Emerson held last year toidentify and then eliminate the roadblocks that preventaggressive growth in trade between Canada and India.We accompanied Premier McGuinty and his delegationto India and organized two roundtables in India to gaininsight on the initiatives that would support exponentialtrade growth. We also took a delegation on the occasionof Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non resident Indian day) toDelhi and for the first time we were granted a Canadasession. It was one of the best sessions of PBD!! Many ofus worked hard at making these events truly successful.I thank our fellow board members and Confederation ofIndian Industry (CII) - our partners in India as well asthe Consul General and the Govt of India for the sup-port they all provided.

Thank You

In closing, let me once again thank all of you for lettingme lead the organization, for the trust you bestowed onme, for the friendship you extended and for the adviceyou all gave me! My social life is in for a huge adjust-ment. I must now try to reacquaint myself with Rekha,my supportive and adorable wife of 37 years. I will beable to devote more time to my Sears family as well.

I am really looking forward to spending a little moretime with my son Adhish, his wife Cheryl, my daughterAmbika and her dog J.T. and with grand daughtersChantelle and Danica Simran. I would not be truthful ifI did not say that I will miss the interaction that thisrole in the ICCC provided me. I will always be there tosupport this extraordinary organization and speak withpride when referring to it.

Thank you, Merci Beaucoup and Namaste.

Ajit KhannaPresident, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce

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M E S S A G E S T O i C C C

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P R O F i L E O F C H i E FG U E S T S

Mr. Kamal Nath is the Minister for Commerce and Industry with Cabinet Rank. Heis a member of the Congress Party, which leads the United Progressive Alliance(UPA) government.

Mr. Kamal Nath took over as the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry on May 24,2004. His tenure as the Commerce & Industry Minister has witnessed major tradepolicy initiatives. For the first time, a comprehensive Foreign Trade Policy (2004-09)has been announced laying out a coherent roadmap with a twin focus on exports aswell as employment. India’s merchandise exports rose to around US $ 80 billionregistering over 24% growth in 2004-05 over the previous year. Major bilateral tradeinitiatives have been taken with countries like China and Pakistan and there has beensignificant progress in the area of regional trade agreements. On the multilateral tradefront, India has played an active and constructive role in the finalisation of the WTOFramework Agreement of July 2004 and hosted the G-20 meeting in New Delhi con-solidating the G-20 alliance.India has entered the full product patent regime witheffect from 1/1/2005 with the passage of the Patents (Amendment) Bill 2005, whilemajor FDI policy initiatives have been taken such as allowing 100% FDI under theautomatic route in the construction-development sector.

Mr. Kamal Nath has a keen interest in welfare issues, particularly tribal uplift and ruraldevelopment. He is also President of the Board of Governors of the Institute ofManagement Technology, Ghaziabad; Chairman, Madhya Pradesh Child DevelopmentCouncil; and Patron, Bharat Yuvak Samaj (Youth Wing of All India Bharat Seva Samaj).

David Emerson was first elected in 2004 as the Member of Parliament for VancouverKingsway, and has previously served as the Minister of Industry for the Government ofCanada. In his current portfolio, Minister Emerson is responsible for Canada’s overalltrade policy.

Before entering politics, Mr. Emerson held several senior positions inthe private andpublic sector. He was the President and CEO of Canada’s largest lumber company,Canfor Corporation. He was Chairman and CEO of Canadian Western Bank andPresident and CEO of the Vancouver Airport Authority.

Minister Emerson also served as Deputy Minister of Finance and later the DeputyMinister to the Premier of British Columbia. He is also a former President of theB.C. Trade Development Corporation, and has strong ties to the business communi-ty in Vancouver.

Mr. Emerson attended the University of Alberta, where he obtained bachelor’s andmaster’s degrees in economics, before earning his doctorate in economics fromQueen’s University. He lives in Vancouver with his family.

The HonourableDavid L. EmersonMinister of InternationalTrade and Minister for thePacific Gateway and theVancouver – Whistler Olympics

SHRI KAMAL NATHMinister of Commerce &Industry, Government of India

2007 Lifetime/OutstandingAchievement AwardDr. Budhendranauth Doobay

Dr. Doobay was born in Guyana on August 26th 1940and moved to Canada in 1975.He is the eldest of 6 chil-dren. As a leader, Dr. Doobay is a kind and respectableindividual who has gained trust and respect through hisvarious roles in Canada and other parts of the world. Hehas enriched the lives of many whether in his medicalfield or as a community leader.

With his vision and commitment to extend knowledge toall ages, the first Montessori school – VOW academy ofLearning was opened in September 2005 with children2 1/2 years to 5 years old. Dr. Doobay has headed manyfundraising events to provide disaster relief throughoutthe world. He spearheaded fundraising events for theTsunami and Pakistan disaster and raised funds for theflood victims of Guyana. In addition, he opened the firstIT school in Guyana in August 2005 where children canhave the benefit and use of computers.

He has traveled throughout Canada to meet with leadersto raise awareness of spirituality among our young peo-ple. Because of his dynamic leadership and accomplish-ments, Dr. Doobay was the first South Asian to beawarded the “Order of Ontario” for his contributions toCanadian Society. He has been honored in 2002 with theGolden Jubilee Medal which was created to commemo-rate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth.

2007 Humanitarian AwardDr. T.D Dwivedi

The Freedom from Poverty Foundation was founded inMontreal in 1993 by Professor T.D. Dwivedi, ProfessorEmeritus at Concordia University, and his son Dr. S.Dwivedi, Chief of Anesthesia, Santa Cabrini Hospital.

Their mission is to improve the quality of life for theimpoverished people of Uttar Pradesh, one of the poor-est states in India, by providing access to education andhealthcare to the less fortunate so they can break out ofthe cycle of poverty.

Specifically, they aim to educate children and adults, toprovide health-related services for all ages, and to runmobile clinics in the remote areas of Uttar Pradesh.Since 1988, they have succeeded in building two schoolswith 10,000 graduates as of 2004 and their mobile clinicshave treated over 40,000 patients.

Their current project is to build and maintain a Multispecialty Charitable Hospital in Ayodhya, India. TheHospital will assist in filling the medical needs in thearea of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. The Ram JanakiCharitable Hospital will offer: •325 beds for short stay•25 beds for intensive health care needs •20 beds foremergencies •6 operating rooms •3 delivery rooms. 30%of beds will be reserved for those who can afford to pay.The money raised by those services will provide a streamof revenue to support the daily costs of the hospital.

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• Assistant Clinical Professor in Surgery atMcMaster for over 20 Years

• Well Respected Cardiologist, Teacher anda Leader of the South Asian Community

• Order of Ontario

• Founder- Freedom From Poverty Foundation

• Fellow- Royal College of Physicians andSurgeons Canada

• MDCM – McGill University

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2007 Male Entrepreneur AwardBhim D. Asdhir

Bhim is the President and CEO of Excel FundsManagement Inc. He founded Excel Funds in 1986, aniche mutual fund company focusing on the markets ofIndia and China.

Bhim got his B. Math from the University of Waterloowith a double degree in Actuarial Science andComputer Science. Having completed the early part ofhis education in India and subsequently in Canada,Bhim gained a unique and diverse educational back-ground, that has served him well in all his endeavors.Early in his career, Bhim was inspired by the opportuni-ties within the Asian markets, he recognized that thesemarkets would be a positive long term investment anda great alternative for the Canadian investor. Followinghis dream to be an entrepreneur, Bhim left the actuarialfield to pursue his vision.

He appears frequently as a speaker on ROBTV, CNBC,Bloomberg and has been referenced and featured fre-quently within the global press, the Indian press anddomestically within the Financial Post, the Globe andMail and the Toronto Star to name a few.

Bhim plays an active role within the community sup-porting various charities and organizations both in Asiaand North America. He recently participated in theBreast Cancer Run for Cure and the Sleeping Childrenaround the World Charity.

2007 Female Entrepreneur AwardManishi Sagar

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Manishi Sagar holds a Masters Degree in History, and isthe President and CEO of the Kinderville Groupemploying more than 350 people in Quebec, Ontarioand Nova Scotia. She is the founding Principal and aMember of the Board of The New Canadian PublishingCompany and Savantsoft Technologies. Manishi is listedamongst Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women by theRichard Ivey School of Business and WXN. She is ranked32nd by Profit magazine and the Rotman School ofBusiness amongst Canada's Top 100 Women

Kinderville was established in 1990 and since then hasgrown to own, manage and operate several children'sdaycare centres and private schools in Quebec, Ontarioand Nova Scotia in Canada. Employing 400 profession-als, Kinderville and its affiliates are Canada's leadingbusiness group.

In 2000, Kinderville became the first company of itskind in the world to obtain an ISO 9002 registration.

In 2000, Kinderville was awarded the best businessaward by SODER and has been ranked in Canada's top100 companies in Profit Magazine's W100 for severalyears, coming in at number 32 in 2005 and 2006.

Manishi has been on the board of directors of severalcharitable organizations. She established the Manishi &Pradeep Sagar bursary in perpetuity for Eastern Studiesat Marianopolis College, Montreal. She also establishedthe Kinderville scholarships for disadvantaged schoolchildren in Montreal.

• President and CEO Excel Funds Management Inc.

• Propelled Excel Funds to grow over 200%last year

• Under his vision, The Excel China Fund wasthe top performing Mutual Fund in Canadafor 2006

President and CEO of Kinderville Group

• Kinderville : First group of its kind to get anISO 9002 quality Certification

• Kinderville ranked in Profit magazine’sFastest Growing Companies in Canada

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2007 Professional Male AwardMr. Raj Anand

Mr. Raj Anand is a partner at WeirFoulds LLP and ahighly respected member of the legal community. Hehas authored over 50 articles and chapters in severalbooks on diverse emerging legal, social and politicalissues in Canada and abroad. He is also a speaker oncutting- edge legal strategies and advocacy in importantCanadian public issues.

Mr. Anand practices in the areas of human rights, consti-tutional and administrative law, labour relations, civil lit-igation, professional negligence and discipline. He is aformer Chief Commissioner of the Ontario HumanRights Commission and presently acts for complainantsand respondents before the Ontario and CanadianHuman Rights Commissions. He has acted as a Board ofInquiry under the Ontario Human Rights Code and thePolice Services Act, as Co-Chair of the University ofToronto Tribunal and as counsel to a number of adminis-trative tribunals. Raj has spoken and written on diversesubjects including trial, appellate and administrativeadvocacy and human rights. He graduated with theDean’s Key in 1978 from the University Of TorontoFaculty Of Law. He served in 1986-1987 as a Task Forceto the Ontario Government on the Law ConcerningTrespass to Publicly-used Property as it Affects Youthand Minorities. In 1997, he was the first recipient of theAdvocates’ Society Award of Justice. His experience asan adjunct professor includes “The New AdministrativeLaw” (2000 and 2006) in the LL.M. programme atOsgoode Hall Law School and "Diversity and the LegalProfession" at U of T's Faculty of Law.

2007 Professional Female AwardSheila Kumari Singh

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Sheila Singh is currently a PhD candidate at theUniversity of Toronto and an MD from McMasterUniversity. She is currently involved in Cancer StemCell research in Human Brain Tumors.

Sheila has been an achiever all throughout her academicand professional Career. Sheila was the 1st prize winner,University of Toronto William J Horsey NeurosurgicalPrize, awarded in recognition of outstanding accomplish-ments in neurosurgical clinical research and for the con-tribution to the advancement of the field. She was alsoawarded the Chisholm Memorial Fellowship by theUniversity of Toronto in 2002 and the Miriam NeverenMemorial Award in 2002 as well. Sheila was chosen bythe Toronto Star as “one of nine” People to watch in2005”. She was also profiled by TV Ontario in theirHealth and Science Show and profiled by the HamiltonSpectator 2005.

Sheila is a visiting speaker and supporter of BRAIN-CHILD, a support group of families of children withbrain tumor. She has attended and spoken at variousconferences and fundraisers in Toronto and Sudbury.Sheila also volunteers at CAVEAT , an anti violenceorganization in Burlington, Ontario.

• Partner- WeirFoulds LLP

• Chief Commissioner – Ontario HumanRights Commission ( Jan 1988- June 1989)

• Advocates Society Award for Justice(First Recipient, 1997)

• Chosen by Toronto Star as one of nine “ People to Watch in 2005”

• 1st prize winner, University of Toronto Horseyprize in recognition of outstanding accomplish-ments in Neurosurgical Clinical Research

• Innovative research in the field ofNeurosurgery

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2007 Technology AwardDr. Nishith Goel

Dr. Nishith Goel is the Founder and President of CistelTechnology, listed as one of the Deloitte and TouchéCanadian Technology Fast 50 companies.

Dr. Goel’s company Cistel provides IT and engineeringconsulting services to Government and private-sectorclients across North America and India. Cistel wasawarded multi-million dollar contracts with the Federalgovernment such as correctional services Canada, forprofessional services and infrastructure support. Thecompany has been profitable and debt free throughoutthe entire company history. During the first three yearsof operations, annual revenues increased 300% each year.For the past two years, annual revenues increased30% each year. The company received the ISO 9001certification in 2003. Cistel technology under the guid-ance of Dr. Goel is researching and developing a light-weight intelligent VoIP system that can be configured,installed and managed with minimal effort and cost. TheVoIP system will dynamically configure complex parame-ters and provide a web application where users with notechnical expertise can easily configure extensions.

2007 Young Achievers AwardAnkit Kapur

Ankit is the current president and founder of Vayu WindEnergy, a company dedicated to providing residentialhome-owners, already connected to the power grid, withthe means to become net-producers of green energythrough wind-energy power solution. Vayu energy helpscurrent residential homeowners to independently meettheir own energy needs through renewable and environ-mentally friendly wind energy. Vayu energy is on track tobe selling and installing 50 wind turbine units for resi-dential customers in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area)within the next 12 months.

Ankit completed his B.Sc. with a major in Physics andMathematics with a minor in Chemistry from MountAllison University, New Brunswick. He was awarded aGold Medal for research work on cold plasma productionas well as a silver medal for a study on the thickeningagent pectin. Ankit was on the Dean’s list achievementthroughout 2002-2005 academic semesters. Ankit hasbeen a high achiever throughout his schooling years.He was accepted into an elite Cambridge programdesigned for high school students to study during thesummer months at Cambridge under the instructionof their professors. He was a keynote speaker at theOrganization of American States (OAS) SustainableDevelopment Committee meeting in Ottawa.

• Founder and President – Cistel Technology

• Co-Founder ChiL Semi conductor

• Cistel Technology named in the Deloitte andTouché North American Technology Fast 500

• Founder and President – Vayu Wind Energy

• Vayu Energy – An industry trend setter in cus-tomized wind energy services

• Keynote speaker at the Organization ofAmerican States( OAS) SustainableDevelopment Committee meeting in Ottawa

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2007 Presidents AwardSubha Rajan (Tampi)

Subha Rajan has a Masters degree in Arts and Literatureas well as Political Science and History. She also has adiploma from the American University in Cairo and hastaught in Egypt, Liberia and Nigeria. Subha has selfless-ly worked with the handicapped in Africa, a leperscolony in Monrovia and with the aborigines in CentralAustralia.

She has been looking after the Canada desk at the CII(Confederation of Indian Industry) for the last five yearsand has helped to promote trade and industry betweenCanada and India. Subha has worked closely with ICCCin promoting activities between the two countries. Shewas instrumental in signing a MOU between CII andICCC. She has led several missions to Canada.

Subha has won several awards including Dadha BhaiNaroji Millennium Award for Woman of the Millennium,The Bharat Nirman award and the Human RightsAward.

2007 Corporate Executive AwardBharat Masrani

After joining TD in 1987, Bharat progressed throughvarious positions and responsibilities before assumingthe role of Vice President and Head, Corporate BankingCanada. In 1995, he was appointed Vice President andCountry Head for India and then Senior Vice President,Corporate Finance and Co-Head in Europe in 1997. In1999, Bharat served as Senior Vice President and ChiefExecutive Officer TD Waterhouse Investor Services(Europe). During his tenure in this role, TD Waterhousebecame the largest discount broker in the U.K. It wasalso during this time that Bharat led joint venture setupsin Luxembourg, India, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Bharat returned to Canada in 2002 and was appointedExecutive Vice President, Risk Management, TD BankFinancial Group in May 2003. During this time, he led ateam charged with a complex mandate of reducing TD’soverall exposure to the Telecom and Utilities sectors –quickly, efficiently and with maximum possible returnsfor TD. On November 1, 2005, Bharat was named ViceChair and Chief Risk Officer, centralizing the risk-basedcontrol functions of Risk Management, Audit, Legal andCompliance under his mandate.

Bharat’s ability to manage highly complex issues to reso-lution contributed to TD Bank being recognized as anindustry leader in the risk management community.Effective March 1, 2007 Bharat assumed his current roleas the President and CEO of TD Banknorth, the corner-stone of TDBFG’s U.S. retail operations.

•President and CEO , TD Banknorth

•Past Chairman, Risk ManagementCommittee, Canadian Bankers Association

• Schulich School of Business, InternationalCouncil Advisory Member

• Worked with the handicapped in Africaand Lepers Colony in Monrovia

• Overseeing the Canada desk at CII for5 years

• Winner of the Dadha Bhai NarojiMillennium Award for Woman ofthe Millennium

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2007 Member AwardDr. Geetha Ramesh, Alberta

Geetha is a visionary and leader, not only professionallyin the environmental engineering sector, but also as adedicated community builder and a volunteer. Geethaheads the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce –Alberta Council.

Geetha is a scientist by profession. From a young age sheloved community service. She used to gather kidsaround her house and provide them free tutoring servic-es. She then extended this to the poor kids in her com-munity. She still continues to do this in various ways.During the wake of South East Asia Tsunami that tookplace on Boxing Day 2004, she helped people from dif-ferent parts of the world. She has started an internation-al aid program for the poor and needy children in Indiathough INCA in Chennai her home-town, calledUdhavum Ullangal. This is a free home for orphan chil-dren and helpless aged citizens organized by a team ofretired people from various organizations. Geetha hashelped to lead several community events in Calgary,including Multicultural Gala Night, an annual eventheld at the Jack Singer Concert Hall, GlobalFest,Canada Day, Festival of Lights, South Indian Culturalshows, Stampede Breakfasts.

Geetha is currently the Manager for Risk Assessment atWorley Parsons in the Calgary Office. She has a Ph.D inEnvironmental sciences.

•Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce-Alberta Council

• Manager for Risk Assessment-WorleyParsons

• Founded an International Aid Program forPoor and Needy Children in India

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Taanta GuptaVice President, Communications, Rogers Cable Inc. Taantastarted her communications career as a radio reporter work-ing Parliament Hill for the Selkirk News Bureau. Prior to this,she was the Executive Director for the Rick Hansen NationalFellow Program at the University ofBritish Columbia.

Navin DaveNavin,C.A., CMC is the Canadian Managing Partner for theRegions practice for KPMG. Prior to moving to Toronto,Navin was Area Managing Partner for the West, andManaging Partner for KPMG India. His key areas of experi-ence lie in strategy development and execution. Navin hasbeen very active with Canadian Chamber of Commercesince 2003.

Manoj PunditFounding partner of Chitiz Pathak LLP, a business law firmbased in Toronto’s financial district. Manoj acts as counsel ona wide range of corporate and securities transactions. Heholds directorships and senior officer positions with publiclytraded and private companies. Manoj is also a foundingdirector of Canadian Coalition for Democracies.

Brad LambertBrad is the head of Real Estate Banking in Ontario for RBCRoyal Bank. Brad has been with RBC for over 32 years,having worked in a variety of roles in Alberta, B.C. andOntario. Brad joined the Advisory Board in 2005, and alsosits on the Board of Operation Springboard.

Rizwan JamalAs Senior Vice President of Marketing, Rizwan brings 11 yearsof telecommunications and marketing experience to his role ashe leads a national team dedicated to providing best-in-classmarketing programs, including marketing communications,marketing intelligence, marketing operations, product market-ing and related functions. He joined Clearnet Communicationsin 1998, prior to the TELUS acquisition, and has held increas-ingly senior roles within the organization. Prior to beingappointed Senior Vice President, Rizwan held the position ofVice President of Channel Operations where he oversaw thecompany’s expanding national network of consumer productand service distribution channels, including corporate stores,dealer and retail partners, as well as direct sales. Rizwanholds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Systems DesignEngineering from the University of Waterloo.

Mitali DeDr. De is the Associate Dean of Business: AcademicPrograms and a Full Professor in the School of Business &Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University and an AdjunctProfessor in the Department of Systems DesignEngineering, University of Waterloo. She holds a Doctoraldegree in Systems Design Engineering from the Universityof Waterloo, Canada, a Masters degree from IIT, Madrasand is an Associate of the Institute of Canadian Bankers.Dr. De has received numerous NSERC (National Sciencesand Engineering Research Council of Canada) grants. Shewas also chosen as the Canadian Resource Faculty by theCanadian Consortium of Management Schools to head inter-national workshops on Environmental Management sup-ported by CIDA. She received the 2006 Award for FemaleProfessional of the year, by the Indo-Canada Chamber ofCommerce (ICCC).

Arjun JasujaMr. Arjun (Andy) Jasuja is CEO and Chairman of SigmaSystems Group, a global leader in the area of InformationTechnology products and services for the fortune 500 compa-nies. Sigma’s suite of service management products is in useat major Cable, Wireline, Wireless and Satellite companiesworldwide. Mr. Jasuja was a recipient of the Ernst & YoungEntrepreneur of the Year – Finalist Award for 2001, and of theIndo Canada Chamber of Commerce Technology AchievementAward for 2002. Mr. Jasuja holds a Master’s Degree inSystems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo,Canada, and a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineeringfrom the Institute of Technology, Varanasi, India. He has beenawarded the Fellowship of Institute of Canadian Bankers wita Gold Medal.

Ramesh ChotaiMr Ramesh Chotai is the President of BromedPharmaceuticals. Born in Northern Uganda, Ramesh pur-sued his education in Britain. Completing his training as aPharmacist in the UK and Switzerland he joined ICIPharmaceuticals in Kampala, Uganda. He came to Canadain 1972. Starting as a Pharmacist/Manager at an OshawaPharmacy, he has built a very successful group of compa-nies that manufacture and distribute medical and healthcare products around the world. Community builder and aphilanthropist, he is President of the Hindu Mandir andCultural Centre. Ramesh is the Vice-Chairman of CanadianMuseum of Hindu Civilization & Diwali co-chairperson ofTrillium Health Centre. He received the ICCC’s 2004President’s Award.

A D V i S O R Y B O A R D2 0 0 6 – 2 0 0 7

Ajit Khanna – PresidentAjit is Senior Vice President, Off-Mall Sales, Sears Canada Inc.,and has extensive experience in the retail industry spanning26 years with the Company. He has served on the AdvisoryBoard of the ICCC for three years. Ajit graduated fromSt. Stephens College, Delhi University, and migrated toCanada in 1975.

Sunil Jagasia – VP & Corporate SecretarySunil is the founder and CEO of Total Freight Solutions Inc. Hiscompany provides road, rail,ocean air and inter-modal trans-portation worldwide. The company is also engaged in ware-housing and logistics solutions for its customers. Sunil hasover 20 years experience in both management and operationsin North America, Europe and Asia.

Harjit S. Kalsi – VP, TreasuryHarjit is the Chief Financial Officer of the Skylink Group ofCompanies. He has a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) and a CGAdesignation and over 20 years experience in the government andcorporate sectors.

Abhilash Bhachech – V.P. Membership Growth &EngagementAbhilash has been a member of ICCC for nearly 15 years.Currently, Abhilash heads the ‘Financial Services TechnologyDivision’ in the Office of the Superintendent of FinancialInstitutions (OSFI), the Federal prudential regulator of banksand insurance companies in Canada.

Sangita Birla – Director, MembershipSangita Birla has helped clients achieve financial success forover 7 years. She works with a private wealth management firmTaggartGALT in managing and implementing professionaladvice in the areas of tax, legal, estate, financial and invest-ment planning.

Neena Gupta – Director, Legal AffairsNeena Gupta's practice is focused on employment and humanrights law. She also has a wide variety of experience in theOntario Human Rights Code, the Pay Equity Act and the OntarioEmployment Standards Act. She is on the board of directors ofthe Ontario Bar Assistance Program, JVS Toronto and is anactive member of the Canadian Bar Association.

Arun Mehra – Director & Chair, Montreal CouncilArun is Vice President of Universal Paper Export Co Ltd, a leadingexporter of pulp and paper products active in over50 countries around the world.

Vinay Khosla – Director, Small & MediumEnterprises (SME)Vinay is a CA and Senior Tax Manager with SB Partners LLP, aleading professional services firm. He specializes in tax plan-ning and consulting on mergers and acquisitions, estates andtrusts, corporate reorganizations and divestitures, creditorproofing, income tax appeals and other domestic and offshoretax minimization strategies.

Sreekaanth Isloor – Director, AdvocacyWith more than 25 years of success in technical and manage-ment consulting, Sree Isloor has a distinguished track recordin assessing complex business issues, developing key strate-gies and implementing solutions in sectors including telecom,utilities, power systems, insurance, government and e-com-merce.

Atul Ahuja – Director, Marketing and CommunicationsAtul Ahuja, alumnus of the Shri Ram College of Commerce andthe Oberoi School of Hotel Management (both in New Delhi,India), has spent 18 years primarily in the Financial Servicesand Information technology Sectors. Atul has been in Canadasince 1995. He is currently Senior Director at Intelligroup, Inc.

Aditya Jha – Director, TradeAditya is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of OsellusInc., Canada., Osellus Asia Pacific Company Ltd., Thailand, a soft-ware product company. Prior to this, he had co-founded anotherIT firm called Isopia, which was sold to Sun Microsystems in 2001and also worked as General Manager, eBusiness at Bell Canada.

Pradeep Sood – Past PresidentPradeep Sood is the founder and CEO of OutSource Process Inc.(OSP), a globally oriented company based in Toronto, servingsmall and medium sized enterprises, OSP analyzes and reinventsprocesses to create optimal efficiencies. He also heads XactScribeInc., a transcription company that uses digital technologies andoffshore facilities to provide voice-to-text services for the medical,business and legal professions.

B O A R D O F D i R E C T O R S2 0 0 6 – 2 0 0 7

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iCCC Membership Committee– Abhilash Bhachech, VP, Membership

The past year marked a steady consolidation andimplementation of many initiatives to grow ICCCmembership. Good old hard work, persistence inretaining existing members and gaining membership,one member at a time held us in good stead.

Some of the building blocks for membership growthwere established in 2005-2006. These included an on-line membership survey, focus group and a strategy formembership growth consistent with the theme ofGrow-Engage-Prosper; as well as a substantive archivalof overdue membership records. The start of the year(July 2006) saw the membership number drop to a lowof 800. The basic goals articulated following the AnnualGeneral Meeting in 2006 for the Board, were to:

1. Establish and implement a plan of action toincrease the ICCC membership by 15% to reach920 by the end of June 2007. This meant:

a. Taking steps to increase the membershipbase

b. Retaining members (increaserenewals/reduce overdue memberships)

2. Assign specific responsibilities to a group ofvolunteers comprising a “Membership TaskForce” with appropriate support from theICCC Board and other Committees.

Going forward, we took several steps to review andaddress membership growth challenges. These stepsincluded:

• Encouraging bulk memberships with a special intro-ductory discount of 10%.

• Promoting memberships in ICCC councils, at monthlynetworking events, ICCC special engagements etc.

• Establishing the ICCC Calgary Council in late sum-mer of 2006 – this opportunity itself added 25+ mem-bers to the ICCC membership

• Setting up ICCC information booths in Windsor andCalgary to explore opportunities for local participationor new memberships; as well as exploring interest inthe ICCC Councils in Winnipeg, Halifax andVancouver.

• Seeking new members by launching an on-line eventregistration and eliciting interest of prospects

• Customized letters for membership dues recovery

• Offering limited-time multi-year renewal options tooverdue members

• Clean-up of membership database to cull overduememberships

• Developing multi-tiered Corporate Membershipofferings for different segments

In April 2007, the Board approved the launch of thefollowing Corporate Membership options:

• Corporate Member (Basic): Remains as-is for smallercorporates

• Affiliate Membership: Aimed at larger corporate mar-ket/peer Chambers of Commerce/GovernmentAgencies/Trade Bodies etc.

• “Enterprise Partner”: Targeting publicly listedcorporations, multi-national corporations, large multi-partner, multi-location professional organizations ofAccountants and Lawyers

Building membership is a journey and not a destination.We are now touching one of the highest-ever levels withnearly 900 ICCC members. But again, there are highertargets to reach, more prospects to contact and morevalue to create and offer to our members. More is yet tocome! After all, we are only 30-years old.

C O M M i T E E A N N U A LR E V i E W S

31

With high-powered speakers from the Consul-General of

India's office, Export Development Corporation,

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

and the Alberta government, attendees got an intense and

practical briefing on the enormous economic opportuni-

ties for Alberta businesses in India. Not surprisingly,

much of the focus was on the oil and gas industry. India

has need of Canadian expertise in resource extraction.

I have also had fruitful and insightful discussions with

members of the Ottawa and Montreal councils. We are on

our way to arriving at a federal model that works for all

members, regardless of geography.

Sponsorship

One of my key objectives this year has been to encourage

our sponsors to have closer ties with the ICCC. Our

sponsors have superb ties throughout Canada and global-

ly and we wish to leverage off their strengths. Financial

support is only one aspect of the relationship. The ICCC

is recognized as a professional and well-respected busi-

ness organization and our sponsors are eager to engage

with us to assist our members to prosper. In addition, a

number of new sponsors have joined ICCC.

Quebec Council– Arun Mehra, Director

The ICCC-Québec Business Council hosted a numberof events over the past year. Highlights include the 6thAnnual Charity Golf Classic held on July 17, 2006. Allproceeds raised were donated to the Montreal Children’sHospital and the Freedom from Poverty Foundation, aregistered charity building a much-needed hospital inIndia. Total proceeds were $21,000 raised from our gen-erous sponsors and supporters. In September of 2006,the Council partnered with the Québec Government tohost a delegation of 30 leading educators from India.These delegates met with a number of their counter-parts from many Québec universities such as McGill andUniversité de Montréal.

IT Committee– Abhilash Bhachech, VP, Membership &

Information Technology

The IT Committee organized two events of significance

covering the themes of Outsourcing and Customer

Relationship Management (“CRM”).

ICCC’s IT Committee teamed up with the Centre forOutsourcing Research and Education (CORE) andorganized a panel discussion on “Outsourcing Offshore:A Canadian Perspective". Against the backdrop of ever-increasing outsourcing of business processes offshore,the key imperative for the panel was to encapsulate theunderlying trends and scale. The panel provided a forumfor discussing the potential impact on a major organiza-tion, business owner, professional, consumer or anemployee! The event, held on Oct. 25, 2006, was oneof the largest IT events with 100+ participants.

On Nov. 22, an IT event explored how industry leadersleverage marketing automation to deliver substantialrevenue growth and lower costs. Group. The theme was“Tackling the ‘last mile’ of Marketing Automation” – pre-senting case studies, tools and techniques for successfulend-to-end CRM strategy for improved productivity,retention and financial results. The event showcased twoCanadian companies – Arcus, the technology providerand Nikon Canada – a client. Presenters included GrantLarsen, Vice President- Sales, Nikon Optical CanadaInc., Michael Branch, Chief Technology Officer, ArcusSystems and Merril Mascarenhas, President, Arcus. Theevent attracted about 50 attendees and was highlightedby lots of questions from an engaged audience.

Legal Affairs & SponsorshipsCommittee– Neena Gupta, Director, Legal Affairs

& Sponsorship

Multi-City Model

This year, it has been my keen pleasure to see the robust

growth of the Calgary council of the Indo-Canada

Chamber of Commerce. On November 9th, 2006, I

attended a workshop on Alberta Business Opportunities in

India that was co-hosted by the ICCC's Calgary council.

32


Networking amongst the educators in both countrieshas developed into stronger ties between Indian andCanadian universities and will help to enable studentand knowledge exchanges in the future.

The Council has also been active in implementing theMulti-City Model that ICCC has designed with the ideaof empowering its various member-cities to grow fromtheir current level. This has provided the QuébecBusiness Council with the necessary autonomy to effi-ciently run its own events while still benefiting from theresources of a national Chamber.

In April 2007, a round table meeting was organized witharound 25 interested members participating. TheCouncil presented the accomplishments to date and alsodiscussed its vision of the future. A succession plan wasput in place and a newly formed Council is excited tocontinue to grow the Chamber’s activities in Québec.

Marketing and CommunicationsCommittee– Atul Ahuja, Director and Chair, Marketing

and Communications Committee

This committee is tasked with communicating theChamber's objectives, priorities, activities and accom-plishments to the Membership and Society at large.Also tasked with Marketing, the mandate extends topromoting the Chamber's contributions to it members,Government, Corporate and other agencies.

This has been a defining year for the Marketing andCommunications committee. The fillip given to theChambers visibility in mainstream Canadian and inter-national media has been unprecedented.

As an example, for the first time in the history of theICCC, a monthly Bulletin has been sent to theMembers. Additionally, prompt coverage of ICCC eventshas been communicated to members and to the Press.

Media coverage and membership touch points in the last12 months have been approximately 400 times.

This has provided, both the ICCC and it sponsorsimmense value and outreach to the membership andsociety at large.

ICCC events have been promoted well and attendanceat events including the regular monthly networkingevents have been greater than expected.

Having raised the bar substantially, it is hoped that thenew Board of Directors will build on this base to betterthe frequency and quality of Communications emanatingfrom the Chamber.

Multi-City Operations Committee– Harjit Kalsi, VP, Finance & Administration

With the presence of strong communities all acrossCanada, the Chamber continues to envision stronggrowth in major cities from coast to coast. To that endwe encourage members in the community to take moreinterest in the Chamber’s activities thereby increasingmembership.

Following up on the multi-city initiative started last yearto empower our members across Canada to “thinknationally – act locally”, a Multi-City Protocol has beenput in place. This protocol outlines operating guidelinesfor the Business Councils. Financial support through arevenue-sharing program has been established. TheChamber also lends support using its resources andexperience in event planning. This has resulted in theBusiness Councils having more autonomy, both financialand operationally.

The Chamber has been actively encouraging and pro-moting its Business Councils in all parts of Canada toengage members by holding seminars and businessforums on topics and interests that are relevant to mem-bers in the local community. These forums will also pro-vide them the membership to network locally.

This model has been extended to the existing BusinessCouncils in Ottawa and Montreal. Calgary BusinessCouncil was established this year and is also benefitingunder this operating protocol. Various members of theBoard of Directors of the Chamber have visited thecities and are encouraged by their enthusiasm and opera-tions. The Chamber has also had expressions of interestfrom members from Windsor, Halifax and Vancouver toestablish Business Councils in the respective cities.

33

Small & Medium EnterprisesCommittee– Vinay Khosla, Director & Chair SME

The mandate of the Small and Medium Enterprise(SME) Committee is to help promote and advance theinterests of the ICCC’s SME members and to helpthem maximize their potential. During 2006-07 theSME committee initiated several events:

1. Arranged for two speakers at the Indian Instituteof Technology annual alumni meeting.

2. In partnership with the Ontario Chamber ofCommerce, e-hosted the first ICCC Webinar onnavigating your imports and exports effectivelyacross the Canada-US border

3. Continued the Bizgrowth series of workshopsdedicated to SME training. Topics included:“Developing Super Sales Systems” and“Generating Free Publicity for your SmallBusiness”.

4. Hosted “Breaking Down the Walls: The DigitalMedia Revolution” where we had the pleasure ofhearing the secrets behind the success of Canada’snext disruptive high tech company, QuikplayMedia Inc. from their CEO, Raja Khanna. EricGross, a senior Partner with Gowling, LafleurHenderson LLP also provided his insights onbusiness and intellectual property law.

5. Liaised with the Ministry of Small Business andEntrepreneurship to coordinate future initiativesfor the ICCC’s SME members.

We look forward to continuing to work with our mem-bers to better understand their needs and enhance thevalue of their ICCC membership during ’07/’08.

Young Professionals’ Committee– Harjit Kalsi, VP, Finance & Administration

Coming off its 2006 Member of the Year Award, the2006-2007 year has been a busy and challenging one forthe Young Professionals’ Committee. The currentCommittee focussed a lot of its attention in developingguidelines and roadmaps for future members to followand in ensuring continuity as most of its members makeway for new faces.

The Young Professionals’ Committee also delivered highquality events as before. In September, 2006, the YoungProfessionals partnered with Operation Eyesight to hostan evening with Dr. Gopa Kothari, renowned ophthal-mologist and social worker from Mumbai. The event washeld at the Toronto Hilton and was attended by mem-bers of the Indo-Canadian community and the public atlarge. The Young Professionals’ Committee would like tothank Operation Eyesight for the opportunity.

In March 2007, the Young Professionals’ Committeeheld an open house at the Waterfall Lounge in Torontoto encourage new members to join the Chamber and topromote Canada’s growing relationship with India. Thisevent was partly sponsored by two outgoing members ofthe Committee out of their own resources. ThemedIndia: Now and Beyond, the event was an overwhelmingsuccess and was graced by the first President of theChamber, Kishore Doshi, who took time out of hisschedule to share stories about the growth of theChamber to its present position.

The Young Professionals’ Committee continues to lookahead to an eventful year. Although most of its dedicat-ed members are making way for fresh faces, it is expect-ed that the new infusion of youth will continue to steerthe Committee in an able manner.

34


Membership/Events Committee– Sangita Birla, Director Membership/Events

During the earlier part of the year, I had the privilege tocollaborate in membership initiatives. We successfullydeveloped initiatives that resulted in growing member-ship nationally while retaining existing members. Thoseinitiatives included spearheading member focus groupsand coordinating membership drives which widenedinterest and achieved our objectives.

As the Events Director, It was exciting for me to launchthe first “2nd Wednesday Networking Event” at a localToronto pub. Since its inception, our turnouts and feed-back have been phenomenal. This event provides ourmembers with a monthly opportunity to meet eachother and other members of our affiliated Trade andgovernment organizations.

Our last Holiday Dinner and Dance was the biggestseller we have had! Not only was December 16th a fun-filled night of dancing, entertainment and amazing food,it gave the Chamber an opportunity to donate the pro-ceeds of the night to two wonderful children’s charities.A special thanks to my committee Aby Jalota, SumitAhuja, Raman Sreedhar and Kundan Joshi among others,who helped make the event a resounding success!

In addition to the many events I have worked at coordi-nating, turnouts for the dinner honouring PremierDalton McGuinty, the interactive dinner discussion withHonourable David Malone, High Commissioner ofCanada to India and the cocktail reception for theHalifax Port Authority were very warmly received by ourchief guests and our membership at large. The successof all events allowed for the Chamber to showcase itsability in arranging outstanding events.

Thanks to all of our members for a fantastic year! And Ilook forward to seeing all those familiar and new to theChamber at our upcoming annual gala this June!

ICCC Advocacy Committee– Sreekanth Isloor, Director, Advocacy

Advocacy committee furthered the cause of ForeignNationals Accreditation in various forums.

• Member of the committee met with Ontario Ministerof Citizenship and Immigration Mike Colle and thenFederal Minister of Citizenship and ImmigrationMonty Solberg and supported their efforts for settlingthe immigrants. Special emphasis was placed on pro-fessionally qualified immigrants coming to Canada andfacing problems.

• The Advocacy committee met with Minister Colle’sstaff in providing ICCC ideas on the bill for ForeignNationals Accreditation

• Furthered the cause of engineers by arranging theone-year mandatory Canadian experience before theyget the license. Organizations like LaFarge agreed tohire engineers without the PEO license. Once theseengineers pass the PEO examination and have theone year experience - they could get the license.

• Negotiated the preferred price for academic equiva-lencies with World Education Services (WES) forpeople coming through the ICCC. Obtained asubstantial discount.

Advocacy Committee and the President communicatedICCC concerns to the President and CEO of Air Canadaabout termination of flights to India. In addition, thecommittee provided explicit support to the GTAA tosecure Jet Airways flights between Toronto and India.

Advocacy Committee developed ICCC business case forthe Board of Directors to approve resources and budgetto mount a significant Canadian presence at the PravasiBharatiya Divas (PBD) in New Delhi. The business caseearned approval to conduct a “Curtain Raiser” eventsponsored by ICCC in New Delhi on the eve of PremierDalton McGuinty’s visit to India.

Facilitated Toronto Mayoral Election Debate focused onissues of relevance. ICCC collaborated with Businesschambers representing Portuguese Canadians, ItalianCanadians and Chinese Canadians.

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Caldwell-CIM-ICCC Ad-REV 6/5/07 2:22 PM Page 1

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i N D i A C A N A D AT R A D E C O R R i D O R

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Annual bilateral trade betweenCanada and India has grownastronomically over the last15 years. In 1992 it was shy of800 million dollars, it currentlystands at over 2.5 billion dollars.Yet, the two countries have along way to go.

What 3 things must we do toeliminate the barriers that we facein promoting trade between Canadaand India?

We should have a free trade agree-ment with India and I believe thetwo governments are working onthat. This is very important to pro-tect intellectual property.

As a general area, there is lack ofinformation and knowledge aboutIndia and people in Canada do notunderstand the size of the market.As well, the complexity of the mar-ket that India is not one market butmany markets – one in rural Indiaand the other is urban India. Thereis a need to spend time in under-standing each market and thendeciding where your particular prod-uct or business area fits in.

In India, things move slower andthere is a need to bring changes inrules and regulations faster.

Even though India is a priority part-ner for Canada, Canada is not on thepriority list for India.

What 3 things must be doneto Accelerate Trade. You couldidentify product or sectors orregulatory things.

The level of interaction should beincreased between leaders of bothcountries. Also there should be CEOlevel forums between India andCanada. Trade delegations are morefanfare and more contact needs tobe established between businessesthat are actually involved.Delegations of small medium busi-nesses should increase and thereshould be more assistance for busi-nesses in both countries by theChambers of Commerce.

Canada needs to diversify its tradeportfolio. It is the largest tradingpartner with the US and it is alwayshealthy for any economy to have adiverse trade base. India is a verylarge market growing at more than8 per cent annually for many years.Its middle class is huge with tremen-dous spending power who aredemanding media, consumer goods,branded and lifestyle products. Thisis an area where Canada can make ahuge impact. India is going to playan increasingly central role in theglobal resources market as a majorconsumer and importer of energy,minerals and metals. This trend willsignificantly influence global energyand commodity markets as well asthe global environment.

As compared to Australia and the U.S,Canada has been slow to make a markto attract studentsto study in Canada.There is no cohesive strategy by theUniversities. Canada can use distanceeducation programs for the educationhungry population of India by provid-ing courses through the web, etc.

Other areas can be infrastructure,mining, environment and pulp andpaper. For instance, many papermills in Quebec and NorthernOntario are shutting down everyday, but if they tap into the Indianmarket, they will find a lot of scopefor business. For instance, in India,the newspaper readership is goingup while it is going down in NorthAmerica. This creates a hugedemand for pulp and paper thatCanada can provide.

Report By:Renu Mehta, Indian Express


Two years ago when I asked a promi-nent Indo-Canadian politician whyIndia does not figure prominently inthe Canadian scheme of things, hesaid the problem was with India. Hesaid when he emphasized the impor-tance of better relations between thetwo countries during his meetingswith Indian leaders and officials inNew Delhi, they just dismissed theidea. “They told me that Canada isnot a significant player for them. Itis they (Indians) who are dismissiveabout the relationship. Even in thisfast-changing world, Indian policiesare still UK and US-centric,'' he said.

To achieve the $10 billion targetof bilateral trade by 2010, weshould work on eliminating thefollowing three things:

1. We should prevail upon Canadato end its nuclear embargo onIndia. Though the ban doesn'thave any bearing on India'snuclear program now, it certainly

is an emotional issue for Canadians because they were thefirst to enter into nuclear dealswith India and felt betrayed whenNew Delhi conducted thefirst nuclear test in 1974, andthen in 1998.

2. Since more Indian immigrantscome to Canada than any othercountry each year, we should pre-vail upon Indian policy-makers toeliminate indifference/apathytowards Canada.

3. We should work on free tradeagreements, lower tariffs and mostfavored nation status for eachother.

Having eliminated these barriers,we should take the following threesteps to accelerate bilateral trade:

1. More people-to-people contacts.Which, in turn, need better avia-tion connections between the two

countries. Which, in turn, need anaccord on the lines of the Indo-US “Open Skies'' agreement of2005. Sad to say, Air Canada hasjust stopped its direct flights toIndia.

2. Like Indian Americans, Indo-Canadians should have variouslobby groups and a caucus to pro-mote Indian interests in Ottawa.

3. Better media contacts to createawareness about our countries.As of today, no big Indian mediaoutlet has a full-fledged corre-spondent in Canada.

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Report By:Gurmukh Singh,Media Correspondent

Celebrating30 years of success.

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the National Post would like to congratulate the Indo-Canada

Chamber of Commerce on their 30th anniversary.

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*Print subscription delivery is from Monday to Saturday. Offer is limited to readers who have not had a National Post subscription in the past 45 days. Valid only where home delivery is available.This 30-day complimentary subscription offer can not be combined with any other offer. Limited to one complimentary subscription per household. Offer valid until August 31, 2007. A BETTER READ.

40

Canada India:Boosting Economic Ties

The economic emergence of India holds importance forCanada and its business community. Since India com-menced its significant reform process in 1991, the coun-try has moved from a closed economic approach to onewhich is increasing open and engaged. Known forBuddha and Mahatma Gandhi who gave the world mes-sage of love, non-violence and peace, the country stillfaces many economic, social and political challenges, andneeds Canadian knowledge, technology, expertise andinvestment to resolve them.

India is not just being rediscovered – it already has beenfound by Canadian competitors. Royal Bank of Canada(RBC), Bombardier, Magna, Scotia Bank and Sun Life ofCanada and many others have realized the importance ofIndia. For Canadian firms, India will present opportuni-ties for lower cost production, R&D, outsourcing busi-ness processes and investment opportunities.

India’s unity in diversity intrigues westerners. A sub-continent stretching from the snow capped Himalayas tothe tropics, India holds a lot of promise for Canadianinvestors. With more than one billion people, and GDPgrowth of 9 percent, India has opened its doors to theworld. A land in which the operative descriptors in 2007are emerging, optimistic, rising, poised and transforming.The early explorers sought a way to India in search ofsilks and spices. In 2007, a new mission of exploration isunderway as businesses from around the world come toIndia for opportunities.

It is not just the world coming to India. India itself isreaching out. Its companies like Wipro, Satyam, Tata,Aditya Birla Group, Reliance, Ranbaxy, Jet Airways areexpected to become global giants.

The largest-ever Canadian Trade Mission was led byOntario Premier Dalton McGuinty that visited India

in January this year. More than 35 business agreementswere signed, which clearly shows that India is now being increasingly recognized by Canadian companies as one\of the most attractive destinations in the world today.

Not just for trade and investment, but also for cuttingedge R&D, especially in engineering, and for the fullrange of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), right fromcall centers and tech-support to the most sophisticatedfinancial services, auto parts, pharmacy, and of courseinformation technology.

The McGuinty visit, followed by Canadian TradeMinister, David Emerson’s visit have provided a boost totrade and investment. The Foreign Investment Protectionand Promotion Agreement between the two countries sexpected to be finalized by the end of this year.

With Canadian exports to India over Can. $ 1 billion in2006 and sustained Indian economic growth close to9 per cent, the time is ripe for Canadian companies tolook for business opportunities in India.

Canada should sign a Free Trade Agreement with Indiathat will help to boost trade ties between the two coun-tries says RL Narayan, High Commissioner of India toCanada. More visits have been exchanged at the minis-terial and senior official levels and in the private sectorover the past two years than in the whole of the last10 years.

As both countries are committed to boost trade andinvestment, as also cooperation in science & technology,including environment-friendly technologies, it hasresulted an increase in two-way trade that has reachedover C$ 3 billion in 2006, a 22 per cent increase overthe previous year, and what is striking, from theCanadian point of view, is that, for the first time,Canadian exports to India have crossed C$ 1 billion.Trade is also being extended to non-conventional areas:oil and gas, civil aviation, agro-processing, infrastruc-ture, and even animation.


Report By:Bal Krishna,The Press Trust of India, Toronto

41

It is true that the Canadian businessestablishment has been slow to rec-ognize the benefits of engaging withIndia, but the information andawareness gap is being narrowed andthat on both sides.

The Canadian focus had been and is,perhaps understandably, on the hugeUS market, but then India-Canadatrade, or for that matter Canada’strade with any third country, is notexpected to supplant the US-Canada trade of C$ 2 billion plus perday, but to complement it. TheIndo-Canada Chamber of Commerce(ICCC), various level of governmentand affiliated trade organisationshave played an important role ineducating Canadians about the ben-efits of engaging with India.

“The India Advantage”, writtenabout at length in the Westernmedia, especially the businessmedia, of late – with Time,Newsweek, the Financial Times ofLondon, Business Week, the LondonEconomist, and even Foreign Affairsrunning detailed cover stories on“The Rise of India”, “The NewIndia” etc. As the renowned interna-tional business consultant JohnHagel III had noted in his recentbook “The Only Sustainable Edge”,Indian companies are constantlymaking “rapid, incremental innova-tions” in the way they handledassets, produced and marketedgoods, and used technology to createnew services, creating a level of cus-tomer satisfaction that RogerMartin, the Dean of Canada’s topbusiness school, Rotman, has called

“a user experience that surprises anddelights”.

As for the November 2005 Scienceand Technology (S&T) Agreementsigned between the two countries, itis a very practical framework meantto act as a conveyor belt, to carry theresults of lab R&D to the marketplace. Projects approved under itwould be funded by a corpus of C$13.5 billion, set up with equal con-tributions from both sides. Thisagreement would help India benefitfrom Canadian expertise in the mar-keting of R&D results, and would,hopefully, lead to joint ventures andstrategic tie-ups of benefit to bothcountries.

On the legal side, Canada and Indiaalready have a comprehensiveAgreement on the Avoidance ofDouble Taxation and Prevention ofFiscal Evasion, and are currentlyworking on a Bilateral InvestmentPromotion and ProtectionAgreement that would complete thisframework and provide the necessaryconfidence to investors on bothsides. Narayan has also been makingspecial efforts to get the topCanadian banks, such as the RoyalBank of Canada and the Bank ofMontreal, to set up shop in India,since this would help small andmedium Canadian companiesincrease their comfort level vis-à-visIndia and overcome any apprehen-sions they might have about enter-ing unknown territory. Indian banks- whether the State Bank of India orthe ICICI , and soon the Bank ofBaroda and the Punjab National

Bank – are/would be regulars on theCanadian banking scene, facilitatingthe flow of trade and investmentfrom India to Canada. The ExcelFunds Management Inc. set up byIndo-Canadian Bhim Asdhir thatinvests in equities in India andChina has been providing excellentreturns to investors.

Already, major Canadian companiessuch as the engineering consultancyfirm SNC Lavalin, the aerospacemajor Bombardier, Sun LifeInsurance, Bell Helicopters, etc.have been doing good business inIndia for a long time. Their ranks arenow being swelled by the likes ofMagna, the second largest auto partsmanufacturer in the world and RBC.Other Canadian firms looking toIndia are from the telecom, anima-tion, agro-processing, environmentaltechnology and health services fields– this last including medicaltourism, where Canadian interest isjust beginning to surge. There arealso niche areas like plastics, highfashion, and now higher education.

Oil and gas is a new sunrise sectorfor bilateral investment. After NikoResources of Alberta, in a 10:90partnership with RelianceIndustries, had struck the largestnatural gas find in the year, 2002,deep off-shore of the KrishnaGodavari basin in SoutheasternIndia, and another Calgary firm,Canoro, had found oil inNortheastern India, Canadian inter-est in exploring for oil and gas inIndia had gone up substantially.

India had also established a frame-work for cooperation with the AlbertaResearch Council to improve the datarepository concerning the Indian sed-imentary basins, and India is alsocontemplating investments in theAlberta oil sands. Sales of Canadianoil and gas equipment to India andCanadian eagerness to secure techni-cal personnel from India are otherpotentially important areas.

In environment technology, whereCanada is a world leader, the twocountries are planning to establish aHi-tech Forum for bilateral coopera-tion. Agro-processing is another pri-ority sector, with the Indian middleclass increasing by leaps and bounds,a corresponding rise in the demandfor packaged food products, and alsogiven that while India is a worldleader in milk, fruits and vegetableproduction, the processing percent-ages are still in single digits.

Civil aviation, given the boom indomestic air travel in India and thesurging demand among Indian pri-vate sector airlines for aircraft main-tenance and related services, alsooffers great potential for coopera-tion. Airport maintenance, flightmaintenance, pilot training and salesof flight-related equipment like sim-ulators by Canada to India. If aCanadian firm were to secure a BOOor BOT contract for building a medi-um-size, about one million passen-gers a year, airport on a Greenfieldbasis (from scratch) in India, and getit running smoothly, many repeatorders are bound to follow.

The Canadian side is also increasing-ly interested in cooperation in high-er education, particularly in rapidlyexpanding the number of Indian stu-dents studying in Canada. But here,they themselves have created amajor road block, with an overlyrestrictive and time-consuming visaregime. The wait times are too longand the rejection rate is too high,especially seeing that Canada facesstiff competition in this regard notjust from the US but also fromAustralia and New Zealand, the UKand even the EU countries. If it isserious about expanding ties withIndia in higher education, Canadawould have to do something aboutthis problem, which in fact extendsto business visas as well and is, asIndian businesspersons complainwith justification, fast becoming anon-tariff barrier.

Finally, while Canadian investmentin India is well below potential asyet, the prospects for the future aremuch brighter. As for Indian invest-ment in Canada, it has increasedrapidly in recent years - in IT, wherepractically all the Indian softwaremajors are present in Canada, phar-maceuticals, with Ranbaxy marketingits own patent drugs here, mining,oil and gas, auto parts and financialservices. Indian companies have oflate made major acquisitions inCanada, with VSNL taking over the$ 285 million Tele-globe and invest-ing another $ 30 million plus in it,and the Aditya Birla Group, whichalready had two pulp and paper millsin New Brunswick, acquiring

Canada’s top BPO firm, MinacsWorldwide. These deals have height-ened the profile of Indian businessin Canada.

To sum up, while the present level oftrade, investment and overall busi-ness interaction between Canada andIndia are way below potential, thetrend is for strong expansion in thenear future. The recent change ofgovernment in Canada has notaffected this in any way, withConservative Prime MinisterStephen Harper havinglaid out a detailed roadmap forbilateral cooperation in a recent let-ter to Indian Prime MinisterDr. Manmohan Singh, who is due topay an official visit to Canada in2007. For Canada and India, oldfriends and sister democracies, theirrelationship is truly set for a take-off.

42

A Conversation with Azim Premji

Fresh from ringing the opening bell on the New YorkStock Exchange, Azim Premji flew into Toronto earlierthis year to tell a rapt audience of business leaders andacademics his bullish plans for Canada.

That people listen so attentively when Premji speaks isno surprise. At 61, the founder and CEO of WiproTechnologies is the fourth-richest person in India and25th in the world according to Forbes magazine. His per-sonal fortune is estimated at $14 billion (all figures U.S.).

Wipro, based in Bangalore, is India's third-largest soft-ware exporter and counts Nortel, Alcatel and CiscoSystems among its clients.

Holding court around a boardroom table at King and BaySts., Premji opined on the global shortage of softwareprofessionals and the China-India race for slices of theinternational IT pie.

Wipro, with a market capitalization of $25 billion and65,000 workers in 45 countries, is a latecomer to Canada,Premji admits. It has had an office in Windsor since1992, but mainly to serve U.S. clients who account for60 per cent of revenue. Operations have recently beenscaled up north of the border, with an additional 350employees and a new sales office in Toronto.

"We have largely missed the bus here and we have tocatch up. Canada is probably more open to business thanthe U.S.," Premji says. "We've been late coming herebecause we were concentrating too much on the U.S.,but there are large companies here, so Canada willbecome more important to us."

It's easier to get work visas here, he told the session,put on by the Schulich School of Business and theIndian consulate.

Regarding concerns on this continent about job losses tolower-cost labour markets, which became a big issue dur-ing the most recent U.S. Congressional election, Premjisays: "What I've realized about the Western world is theylove liberalization as long as it doesn't affect them."

The American political debate propelled "India Inc."into the spotlight - which was actually "a huge brandbuilder" for the country, he adds.

Global delivery of services is a given today, and it'sspreading, involving everything from biotechnologyand pharmaceutical research to architectural models,says Premji.

Wipro is sitting on $1 billion in cash and is aggressivelylooking to acquire medium- to small-sized businesses inEurope (especially Germany) that provide IT supportfor engineering, health care and energy firms.

But there are challenges ahead, including China, withits lower wages, and fierce competition for talentedworkers in the IT service industry. Wipro has offices inShanghai and Beijing, with a third planned, to serviceglobal customers.

China is a late starter in the outsourcing industry, andlacks "middle management and project management tal-ent, which Indian companies have, says Premji, "But theChinese are smart people and I believe China will beserious competition for India going forward. We shouldnot just sit back and say, `They cannot speak English.'It can be learned. It's a global language."

With an annual revenue growth rate of about 33 percent, competition is fierce for talented workers globallyin the IT services industry. Attrition runs around 12 to15 per cent in India, with the best and brightest staffwooed by rival companies with signing bonuses andimmediate wage hikes of up to 30 per cent.

43

Report By:Prithi Yelaja, Toronto Star(Reprinted with permission – Torstar Syndication Services)


The West, in particular,faces a serious shortage ofscience and engineeringtalent because fewer stu-dents choose to studythese subjects, Premjibelieves. However, Chinaand India - which graduate430,000 engineers a year -have an edge.

Next to medicine, thestudy of engineering isdrawing the best minds inIndia. "Countries like Indiaand China have a cultureof math, so students arevery comfortable with thesubject," he says. TheAzim Premji Foundationhelps foster that knowl-edge at the primary schoollevel, providing teachercoaching, as well as com-puters and software train-ing in local languages toenhance learning for threemillion children in 15Indian states.

"We're not doing it fromthe point of view of themcoming to work for us inthe future. We're doing itfrom the point of view ofgetting those kids inschool and learning, espe-cially helping the girl childto get more activelyengaged in school ratherthan sitting at homebabysitting her siblings,"Premji says.

In 1966, Premji was study-ing engineering at StanfordUniversity when he wascalled home to India to runthe family vegetable-oilbusiness after his father'ssudden death.

After IBM left India in thelate 1970s, creating a vacu-um in the IT sector,Premji collaborated withthe Indian Institutes ofTechnology to launchWipro in 1980.

"I perceive myself as a per-son who has had a lot ofthe right breaks in life. It'simportant to have belief inyourself and have a single-minded objective," saysPremji, who is the personi-fication of modesty - healways travels economyand turns off the lightswhen leaving a room.

"Life is a constant racewith yourself. You neverfully achieve what you setout to do."

Report By:Satish Mehta, ConsulGeneral of India, Toronto

Underpinned by sharedvalues such as democracy,rule of law, open, liberaland multi-cultural soci-eties, India and Canadahave enjoyed good rela-tions. These relations havereceived fresh impetusand new content in recentyears with growing focuson economic cooperationfor which considerablespace and opportunitieshave been created withthe rapid growth of theIndian economy.

With a growth of over 6%in the last 15 years andover 8% in the last fouryears, India is emerging asa major global centre forservices and, increasingly,for quality manufacturedproducts. India’s stronggrowth has spurred itsappetite for naturalresources, technologies,know-how, equipment andcapital. Canada, with itsabundant naturalresources, recognizedstrengths in many areas oftechnology, and a steadyand sizable market, isattracting Indian business-men. Not surprising there-fore that interest amongthe business communities

of the two countries toseek closer relationship ison the rise. The results arepredictable - bilateraltrade grew by over 25% in2006 touching a recordC$ 3.6 billion. Sustainedgrowth in trade could beexpected as India’s manu-facturing sector diversifiesand expands, adding highvalue and more sophisti-cated products to its port-folio. The benefits toCanadian businesses havebeen even more –Canadian exports to Indiagrew by 54% in 2006. Thegrowing interest in eachother’s economy is mani-festing into long-termcommitment and partner-ship through investments.Indian companies haveinvested billions of dollarsin Canada in pulp mills,BPO, telecommunications,aluminum, value-addedsteel, pharmaceuticalsand so on. In 2007 alone,Indian acquisitions inCanada have alreadytouched C$ 8 billion andhappily this interest is notlimited to large companiesonly.

cont . . . on page 47

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3 0 t h A N N I V E R S A R Y :R E F L E C T I O N S O F

A ‘ R E G U L A R ’I C C C M E M B E R

So what do you say about someonewho is turning 30 and going strong?Sure many happy returns of the day,happy birthday, all the best et al areall appropriate. Nothing wrong withthese sentiments but still some-what passé. Moreover, it is quiteawkward to talk about someonebeing 30 years old when the subjectis but a corporate entity of somekind – something created by fillingout forms and paying fees and get-ting a name like The Indo-CanadaChamber of Commerce; ICCC, forshort. Again, love and affection havenothing to do with it – just conven-ience of not repeating a mouthful ofwords except for formal occasions.

At 30, ICCC possibly means differ-ent things to different folks. To ahandful of folks who conceived thisentity, it possibly means the comingof age of an institution, which30 years ago, was just an opportunityto meet and try out something new.Rightfully so, after 30 years – this issomething to be proud of and toreminisce about. To many, who hadthe privilege and the challenge ofbeing President – it possibly means alot more. ICCC was the platform tolaunch their individuality, career,leadership potential and their socialstanding – albeit all of this at signifi-cant sacrifice of personal and familytime in the pursuit, conscious orotherwise, of establishing yet anoth-er building block for ICCC!

Let’s put this reflective idea on itshead. For once, it is more pertinentto invite the reflections of a member,someone christened as a ‘Regular’one. For once, this need not be andis not a write-up by the Founders orthe Presidents of ICCC. After all,over the years they have had goodopportunity to be recognized, pho-tographed, quoted, misquoted and

debated. The notes that follow areon a simpler note – those reflectiveof this ‘regular’ ICCC member.

Who is this ‘Regular’ member? Donot go by the name and backgroundof the scribe. There are many, manymore. The real ‘Regular’ member isone of several hundreds in ICCC.These are the individuals who havetouched upon ICCC and vice-versa,whose professional or social liveshave been touched by ICCC, insome way shape or form. By ourcrude estimates – there are upwardsof 3000 individuals who have come,left and better still, stayed on asmembers with – regular, life or cor-porate commitment. But ‘Regular’members nevertheless!

On reflecting, the Regular memberis the core strength of the Chamber.This is the individual referred to as agrassroots participant. Like many ofthe ilk – the Regular member cameto Canada from many corners of theglobe. Most likely from the Indiansub-continent, the professional land-ed immigrant, the entrepreneur, theaccountant, the engineer, the ITprofessional, the job-seeker, the jobtransferee, the retiree, the studentfrom US and/or Canada and likemany other Indo-Canadians born,bred and brought up in Canada.ICCC membership in a large meas-ure now comprises of several Regularmembers younger than ICCC.

Together, these ‘Regular’ membershave done a lot for and with theICCC over the past years. To reflecton just a few, annually they havebeen an integral part of ‘ExpandingHorizons’, ‘Celebrating 25 Years’,‘Crossing New Thresholds’, ‘ForgingNew Alliances’, ‘Connecting PeopleCharting New Courses’ and also‘Tapping Roots Seizing

Opportunities’. These are annualreminders of where ICCC has comefrom or where it is heading – but themessage means a lot more. It reflectsthe collective thought and the dis-tinctive characteristics of the ICCCmembers in context of the time.

As Dylan sang, ‘the times they area-changin’ and, how times havechanged? Many of us Regular mem-bers, several years older than ICCC,remember the times where theAnnual Gala (minus the Awards)would consist of about 100 gettingtogether in suburban restaurant/ban-quet rooms with names like Mughalor community library auditoria tomeet and have food – catered by amember-owned catering enterprise.The AGM was the finale as well.Business suits were typical andnational dress (Indian) was certainlyan option one year. The ChiefGuest? – well, not quite sure ifthere was anyone from the nationalscene at the Gala in any of the yearsuntil the mid-nineties.

Nostalgia yes, but this is not a caseof “things were better then”. It isnow really gratifying to see as aRegular member, an assembly ofnearly 1200 in arguably the largestconvention location in Canada,black-tie, formal elegance, main-stream corporate sponsorships et alhost the Prime Minister of Canadaand recognize the excellence withinthe community. There were butmodest write-ups in the TorontoStar (rare), event-based coverage(India Abroad) and an occasional TV(ATN, multicultural channel) inter-view in special circumstances.

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By:Abhilash Bhachech

It is nice to see the sea-change – mainstream media cov-erage national and international and special editions.

There were times when the ICCC President picked upfaxes from a rental mail service, dictating messages andpersonal communications and reminding overdue mem-bers to pay up and keep the ICCC going. Through thecourse of years in the 80’s and 90’s, events meant host-ing business/trade delegations or an invited political orbusiness speaker, quite interesting though modest. Theprocess involved reacting to an opportunity, getting thepresenter, venue and sponsorship organized and thePresident, the Committee and ICCC membership leadscalling up prospects to boost the event attendance. Thisis a far cry from now where we have an event of a differ-ent kind - every 2 weeks or less. These include network-ing events, Committee events, special events, web-based communications, web-based registrations, TV cov-erage and so on. Again, full-time staff and a properICCC office infrastructure now support a lot of this! Aswell, the ICCC Councils in Montreal, Ottawa andCalgary are engaged in the process.

On a more realistic reflection, “Plus ça change, plus c’estla même chose”, it is a case of “the more things change,the more they stay the same” (yes, ICCC can be mod-estly bilingual). What has remained the same is the spir-it of volunteerism, aspirations to grow (yes, engage andprosper, as well), strong member participation, someegos, some sensitivity with a lot of individual commit-ment, frugality but with a hard-nosed desire on doingthings right and spending money wisely. Things have notchanged much over 30 years. Members volunteer,debate, influence, question, deride, compare but moreoften than anyone can remember – for a better ICCCand to convey a sense of having arrived in the main-stream as individuals and as a community.

It is not cliché to re-affirm that an institution is onlyas strong as its members. ICCC’s growing stature, thestrength of its sponsorship base, the successes of its pastand the potential of its future emerge from you andI – the members of the ICCC. We, together have theinstitutional memory, collective experience, and aboveall, the willingness to continue grassroots participationto launch newer initiatives. We have matured but areforever youthful and nimble, at 30.

cont . . . from pg 45Even medium sized Indian companies are investing inCanada. As a recent report by the Conference Board ofCanada has brought out, investments contribute toenhanced trade.

The growth in trade and investments is being more thanmatched by growing partnership in the services sectorthrough creative leveraging of respective strengths.Canada is emerging as an important base for majorIndian IT companies such as Tata Consultancy Services,Infosys, WIPRO, Satyam, iFlex, iGate and Polaris, just toname a few. And this is not a one-way street – Canadianconsulting companies such as CGI, LEA Associates andSNC Lavalin have a strong presence in India. The suc-cess of these companies will undoubtedly inspire others.

So should we sit on our laurels, content and satisfied?Certainly not. In my assessment, this is just the firstchapter of a wonderful and mutually beneficial partner-ship. More could and should be expected. But to fullyrealise the potential the governments of the two coun-tries and the business communities will have to worktogether. We will have to choose some sectors which arelow hanging fruits such as auto components, IT andcommunications, pharmaceuticals, bio-technology, food-processing and infrastructure, and, through tailor-madesector-specific approaches work to produce results. Weshould also start looking beyond our two economies andcollaborate in Third country markets in areas such asinfrastructure projects through a consortium approach.After all our companies are executing projects individual-ly in other countries, so there is no reason why theywould not benefit by cooperating.

What could be the next steps? First and foremost, wewill have to bridge the information gap and sensitize thebusiness communities of the opportunities that exist inthe two countries. This would require a concerted pub-lic-private partnership in which the media would have tobe a close partner. Another important step would beregular exchange of delegation visits and participation ineach others' trade fairs and exhibitions, which provide avery useful platform particularly to small and mediumenterprises. We will also have to find creative ways toleverage the knowledge and contacts of the Indo-Canadian community, which can serve as a bridgebetween our two countries. Indo-Canada Chamber ofCommerce, with a proven track record and a strongmembership base, is well placed to play a growing andpro-active role in our common endeavor to take India-Canada economic relations to the next level.

47

49

P R E S i D E N T S

1977–78 • 1979–80Kishore C. Doshi

1978–79Homi Billimoria

1980–81Mike Flecker

1981–82Bakul Joshi

1982–83Harshad Patel

1983–84Suresh Goswamy

1984–85Vinu Vasani

1985–86Rajeev Jain

1986–87Rasik Morzaria

1987–89Sat P. Chopra

1989–91Benny Lobo

1991–93Ajit Someshwar

1993–94Manoj Pundit

1994–96Hari Panday

1996–98Raj Kothari

1998–00Ravi Seethapathy

2000–01Rakesh Goenka

2001–03Kris Krishnan

2003–05Pradeep Sood

2005–2007Ajit Khanna

photounavailable

photounavailable

photounavailable

photounavailable

H A L L O F F A M ELifetime / Outstanding Achievement Award

1992Shan Chandrasekar

1993Dr. Ranjit Kumar

Chandra

1994Dr. Prasanta Basu

1995Satya Poddar

1996Dr. Sudi Devanesan

1997Nalini Stewart

1998Hon’ble Herb Dhaliwal

1999Dr. Bhausaheb Ubale

2000Hon’ble Ujjal Dossanjh

2001Dr. Balbir S. Sahni

2002Dr. Naranjan S. Dhalla

2003Dr. C. Sen Gelda

2004Dr. M. N. Srikanta

Swamy

2005Dr. Chandrakant

P. Shah

2006Ben Sennik

2007Dr. Budhendranauth

Doobay

51

1992Dr. Kappu Desai

1993Nurjehan N. Mawani

1994Sunera Thobani

1995Vim Kochar

1996Keshav Chandaria

1997Bonnie & Fred

Cappucino

1998Anup Singh Jubbal

1999Bahadur Madhani

2000Dr. Cassim Degani

2001Dr. Shiv L. Jindal

2002Hussein Kanji

2007Dr. T.D. Dwivedi

2003Shree Mulay

2004Gary Singh

2005Dr. Abhijit Guha

2006Rahul Singh

H A L L O F F A M EHumanitarian Award

H A L L O F F A M EMale Entrepreneur & Female Entrepreneur

Award

1992Santokh Singh

1992Om Arora

1993Rai Sahi

1994Asa Johal

1995Navin Chandaria

1996Surjit S. Babra

1997K.C. Vasudeva

1997Kiran Kataria

1998Madan Bhayana

1998Deepa Mehta

1999Krishan Singhal

1999Seema Narula

2000Kashmiri Lal Sood

2000Nilufer Mama

2001Steve Gupta

2001Neena Kanwar

2002Bill Malhotra

2002Razia Nathani-Suleman

2003Nirmal Mussady

2003Afsana Amarsy

53

2004Bob Dhillon

2004Dr. Dhun Noria

2005Mr. R. K. Bakshi

2005Ms. Rani Advani

2006Gyan Chand Jain

2006Rashmi Rekha

2007Bhim D. Ashdir

2007Manishi Sagar

H A L L O F F A M EMale Entrepreneur & Female Entrepreneur

Award

2006Nadir Mohamed

2007Bharat Masrani

H A L L O F F A M ECorporate Executive Award

H A L L O F F A M EProfessional Male & Professional Female

Award

1992Satinder Lal

1993Haroon Sidiqqui

1994Sabi Marwah

1995Kunjar Sharma

1996Dr. Salim Yusuf

1997Trichy Sankaran

1998Clarence J. Chandran

1999Dr. Rama Bhatt

2000Dr. Ramachandra

Munikoti

2000Shobha Khetrapal

2001Ramesh Khosla

2001Naseem Somani

2002Professor Vern Krishna

2002Dr. Lalitha Shankar

2003Dr. Salim Daya

2003Lata Pada

2004Virendra K. Jha

2004Suhana Meharchand

2005Dr. Tad Murty

2005Dr. Veena Rawat

55

H A L L O F F A M EProfessional Male & Professional Female

Award

H A L L O F F A M ETechnology Achievement Award

2006Prof Asit K. Biswas

2006Dr. Mitali De

2007Mr. Raj Anand

2007Sheila Kumari Singh

2002A. Jasuja

2002V. Chanchalani

2003Sunil Kumar Sethi

2004Aditya Jha

2005Mr. Dipak Roy

2006Dr. Sankar Das Gupta

2007Dr. Nishith Goel

56

H A L L O F F A M EYoung Achievers Award

1993Rochan Sankar

1994Akaash Maharaj

1995Manisha Bharti

1996Aashna Patel

1997Sanjay Nath

1998Aziz Hurzook

1999Emmanuel Sandhu

2000Dilnaz Panjwani

2001Anita Gahir

2002Manisha Bawa

2003Shahmeer Ansari

2004Rahul Raj

2005Ms. Manjit Minhas

2006Ravi Sood

2007Ankit Kapur

57

H A L L O F F A M EPresident’s Award

1993Paul Fernandes

1994Amar Erry

1996Ajit Jain

1997Rajiv Bhatia

1998Dr. Menaka Thakkar

1999Rohinton Mistry

2000Firoz Rasul

2001Hon’ble Maria Minna

2002Hon’ble Mobina Jaffer

2007Subha Rajan (Tampi)

2003Dr. Colin D’Cunha

2004Ramesh Chotai

2005Ms. Ratna Omidvar

2006Rajesh Subramaniam

H A L L O F F A M EMember Award

1992Raymond Christian

1993Gordan Pohani

1994Hira Joshi

1995Reema Duggal

1996Rajiv Bhatnagar

1997Ravi Seethapathy

1998Pradeep Sood

1999Rashmi Brahmbhatt

2000Rakesh Goenka

2001Suresh Thakrar

2002All ICCC Members

2003Sampat Poddar

2004Sudarshan Jagannathan

2005Mr. Anil Shah

2006YP Committee of ICCC

2007Dr. Geetha Ramesh

photounavailable

59

Y E A R i N R E V i E WJ U N E 2 0 0 6 – M A Y 2 0 0 7

June 10th 2006, Annual Awards Gala, Metro Toronto Convention Centre

The annual gala, represents the flagship event for ICCC,an occasion to meet, greet, and network with fellowICCC members and to mingle with the political who'swho and the business luminary. More importantly, thegala is an annual celebration of success and contributionby prominent Indo- Canadians in various endeavors -business, enterprise, profession, philanthropy, technolo-gy, youth and lifetime achievement. Continuing this tra-dition for the 15th successive year, ICCC awarded11 prominent Indo-Canadians at its 2006 gala.

An audience of nearly a thousand joined in what was acelebration of Indo-Canadians to the Canadian mosaic.The ICCC gala reached new heights with HonorablePrime Minister Stephen Harper attending this event asICCC's Chief Guest. Prominent among the invitedguests were MP Diane Finley, MP Deepak Obhrai, vari-ous M.P.P.’s, the High Commissioner of India to Canada,H.E. Shyamala Cowsik, Mayor Hazel McCallion, JohnTory, Consuls-General from UK, Israel, Nepal and Mr.Satish Mehta, Consul General of India. Others thatjoined were Michael Goldbloom, Publisher, The TorontoStar and David Asper, Publisher of the National Post.

Speaking at the awards gala Prime Minister Harperrecalled that this was the third opportunity for him to bepresent at an event sponsored by ICCC including hispresence at an event hosted by the ICCC's BusinessCouncil in Ottawa. In his address that was listened towith rapt attention by the audience, Mr.Harper covereda wide range of themes - accreditation of foreign creden-tials, immigration, contribution of Indo-Canadians andthe threat of terrorism to Canadian values.

July 21, 2006, 8th ICCC Annual Golf Classic

This event is held every year to collect funds for theconstruction of India House. India House is envisionedto provide services and information to help acceleratetrade and investment between Canada and India.

India House gives Canadian business the opportunity tobetter understand India and help provide access to theIndian market.

Sept.16, 2006, 5th Annual Cricket Tournament,Sunnybrook Park Cricket grounds, Toronto

The quadrangular tournament comprised, Excel FundsXI, Royal Bank XI, Rogers, XI and State Bank of IndiaXI. Rogers XI was the winner of the tournament.

Minister Mike Colle, Ontario Minister of Citizenshipand Immigration, Ben Sennik, President of CanadianCricket Association, Satish Mehta, Consul General ofIndia and Ajit Khanna, President ICCC were present togreet players and their families.

It was a fun-filled festive day and tents had been set upon the field. Food was cooked at the ground. At the endof the evening prizes were awarded, followed by cock-tails inside the Pavilion.

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Oct. 23, 2006, Canada – India Business Roundtable, Ryerson School of Business

ICCC held a Canada-India Business Roundtable inconjunction with the Dept. of Foreign Affairs andInternational Trade (DFAIT).

The objective of the roundtable was to explore ways ofstrengthening the Trade relationship between Canadaand India. 90 people attended the event.

Minister David Emerson (Minister of InternationalTrade) attended the round table and was impressed bythe recommendations he received from the attendees.The focus areas of the roundtable were:

1) Market access for Canadian Goods and Servicesin India

2) Two-way foreign direct investment between Canadaand India

3) Government support in assisting Canadian businessin India

4) Canada's role in addressing infrastructure needsin India

5) Labor mobility between Canada and India, and6) Future objectives for the evolving Canada-India

Trade relationship

On the topic of visas Mr. Khanna indicated “we mustmake visas easier to obtain. This is not a red herring! Itcreates perceptions and if we create a positive percep-tion, we will win at attracting trade and entrepreneurs.”Mr. Khanna also reiterated the Foreign CredentialRecognition agenda of the ICCC.

October 25, 2006, Offshore Outsourcing event

ICCC’s IT Committee teamed up with the Centre forOutsourcing Research and Education (CORE). A paneldiscussion was organized on “Outsourcing Offshore:A Canadian Perspective”.

Oct 30, 2006, Mayor’s Debate, Velma Rogers AuditoriumICCC co-Hosted Mayoral Debate for candidatesStephen LeDrew, Councilor Jane Pitfield and MayorDavid Mayor. The debate was arranged in cooperationwith the Italian, Portuguese and Chinese Chambersof Commerce.

Nov. 2006, SME Event: Bizgrowth “Developing Super Sales Systems”

ICCC teamed up with BizLaunch to conduct a"Supercharge your Sales Systems" workshop. RogerPierce from BizLaunch briefed members on severalstrategies relating to improving and developing salessystems to increase the bottom line of any business.

Dec. 8, 2006, A Passage to India, Sheraton Centre

December 16, 2006, Annual Holiday Dinner & Dance, Sagan Banquet &Convention Centre

H.E. David Malone, Canadian High Commissioner toIndia, attended a round table organized by the ICCCat the for an intimate group of entrepreneurs, academicsand professionals. The High Commissioner spent over3 hours answering questions about India as well astelling the audience about his experiences in Indiasince July.

The Holiday Dinner Dance was a roaring success onmultiple fronts.

Approximately 300 guests were in attendance.

The ICCC decided to donate part of the proceeds fromthis event to two children's charities- Sick Kid's HerbieFund and Sleeping Children Around the World.

Jan 2007, Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Canadian HighCommission, New Delhi

ICCC hosted a reception and dinnerwhere 150 ICCC delegates, CII &ICBC invited guests, the HC DavidMalone, David Mckinnon and manyother high commission officialsattended. Also present was Mr. PeterNesbitt of EDC. One of ICCC'smandates - Canada-India Corridortrade was the focus of Ajit's address.Trade between the 2 countries isonly $3 Billion with Ontarioaccounting for $1 Billion of that. Hechallenged the assembled to set anaggressive goal of 5 billion in theshort term and 10 billion by 2012.

Tapping our roots and seizing theopportunities seemed to be themantra of the night. David Malonespoke of growing exports over thepast year and he too encouraged astronger engagement of the diaspora.

Feb.7, 2007, International Strategic Forum of Toronto,Fairmont Royal York, Toronto

The ICCC partnered up withInternational Strategic Forum ofToronto and various other Chambersof Commerce to bring "The GreatTransition," an Inaugural BusinessConference dinner to launchToronto's first Global EconomicConference.

February 13, 2007, Dinner with Premier McGuinty,Sheraton Centre, Toronto

Premier McGuinty discussed hisrecent trade mission to India. It wasa great opportunity to get latestinformation on the Canada-Indiarelations, bi-lateral trade, and thefuture economic outlook for the twocountries.

February 22, 2007, Business Reception, BroadcastCentre, Toronto.

The Indo-Canada Chamber ofCommerce jointly with The Port ofHalifax and Canada-India BusinessCouncil organized a businessreception.

ICCC Donates to Hospital for Sick Children andSleeping Children Around the World.

The Indo Canada Chamber ofCommerce, donated $ 3000 to theHerbie Fund at the Hospital for SickChildren and $ 3000 to SleepingChildren Around the World, in a cer-emony held at the Hospital for SickChildren.

ICCC Welcomes High Commissioner of India

The Indo Canada Chamber ofCommerce, in a breakfast reception,welcomed the High Commissioner ofIndia to Canada, Mr. R.L. Narayan.

Speaking at the breakfast Mr.Narayan reiterated the potential thatexists to grow trade between Canadaand India specifically in theInfrastructure sector. ICCC PresidentAjit Khanna said that more needs tobe done by Industry and Governmenton both sides. According to him,India is growing at a rapid pace andeven if nothing was done tradebetween Canada and India wouldgrow. Ajit, talked about his vision ofgrowing trade between both coun-tries at 40% a year taking it to the$ 10 Billion mark by 2010 from theexisting level of $3.6 Billion.

ICCC Delegation to Meet PM Harper

On March 1, 2007, Sunil Jagasia,Vice President and CorporateSecretary, The Indo CanadaChamber of Commerce (ICCC), leda delegation of ICCC members, AjitSomeshwar, Anil Shah, RameshChothai, Mukesh Gupta, AnandAgarwal and Kasi Rao to Ottawa tomeet with Prime Minister StephenHarper and attend a roundtable withMinister Emerson, on his upcomingInfrastructure Mission to India.

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