July 2015

ICCC Newsletter

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce 924 The East Mall, Etobicoke ON M9B 6K1

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ICCC Newsletter May 2015

From the President's desk

Welcome to the glorious Canadian summer. The summer months give us all a respite from the long and often dreary winter that seemingly never end. Summer is the time when we all take a break, relax, unwind and enjoy some quality time with family and friends. I’m looking forward to ICCC’s classic golf tourney that is

scheduled for 23 July, 2015. You will see the details of the program in this newsletter. Over the years, the golf event has become a great meeting place for our stakeholders to take their business outdoors. I am sure that tradition will continue this year as well. I want to put on record my sincere gratitude to the Golf committee comprising Anil Shah, Pradeep Sood and Vikram Dua for working together to organize this spectacular tournament. Let me also emphasize that while summer is, indeed, time for a bit of relaxation, I and my new team of board members are going to find ourselves rather busy during the next couple of months. We have already allocated the portfolios for the new team; see the announcement following my message. Among the items on the agenda that we will be actively working on include:

Revitalizing ICCC committees

Strategizing with stakeholders to redefine ICCC’s core objectives

Planning process for the year It is my belief that as a Chamber we need to focus more on creating opportunities for our stakeholders. This means providing linkages to small entrepreneurs and professionals to be able to grow. It will be my endeavor to achieve this objective in a more focused manner. I invite you to share your ideas with me. Write to me at president@iccconline.org and help me give shape to a dream that we share – of turning ICCC into a robust business organization.

Sanjay Makkar

Sanjay Makkar

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Meet your new board

Sanjay Makkar, President

Jagdish Bajaj, Vice President- Program & Events

Pathik Baxi, Vice President-Corporate Secretary, Legal Affairs

Ginni Sethi, Vice President- Membership and Women Entrepreneurs & Professionals

(WEP) Committee

Arun Srivastava, Vice President- Finance and Sponsorship

Abu Bakar Noohujohn, Director-Membership

Ajay Tandon, Director-Affinity Program & Events

Kanwar Dhanjal, Director- Trade and SME

Pappur Shankar, Director-Energy & Mining

Article

RBI Makes Third Interest Rate Cut; Further Cuts Not Anticipated in near Term

By: Excel Investment Counsel Inc.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut

interest rates by 25 basis points on July

1, the third cut for the year so far.

Interest rates were previously cut on

January 15th and March 4th in an

ongoing push to spur investment and

growth in the Indian economy.

In announcing the rate cut, RBI

Governor Raghuram Rajan indicated

that he will delay further rate cuts until

an assessment of the monsoon season is

completed, disappointing some

investors who anticipated further cuts in

the near term.

As a result, Indian equities declined and

bonds fell slightly on concerns that the

reduction in interest rates would not be

enough to offset the impact of deficient

rainfall on economic growth.

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Incidentally, rainfall was less than

predicted in April, which may “lead to

an increase in prices of everything from

rice to vegetables,” causing an increase

in inflation, as “food costs account for

almost 50 percent of the consumer price

index,” says David Kunselman, Senior

Portfolio Manager with Excel

Investment Counsel Inc.

Kunselman adds: “The tone of the

central bank has cast doubts on the

possibility of further rate cuts in the

short term until rainfall improves.

Incidentally, the market has been

concerned about rainfall every year the

monsoon begins but these concerns

dissipate during the summer months

when the focus is less on rainfall. For

now, the market is not anticipating a

rate cut in August but we could see

another cut possibly at the end of

September or December once rainfall

improves.”

For more articles from Excel Funds please go

to: http://www.excelfunds.com/index.php/insights

Economic trends

Ontario’s manufacturing and exports in decline

According to a report released by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, Ontario’s

manufacturing-led economy is undergoing a major metamorphosis that has led to a

sharp decline in its exports and reduction in its market share in the United States.

The Ottawa-based centre concludes that Ontario also faces tremendous pressure to

maintain its productivity. During the 12-year period of 2000 to 2012, productivity grew

by a mere 0.5 percent annually. This compares extremely unfavourably to the preceding

period of 1987 to 2000, when productivity grew by 2 percent annually.

Emphasizing the strong and direct linkage between Ontario and Canada, the report

notes, “the province’s weak productivity growth has largely been responsible for

Canada’s overall poor productivity performance.”

It explains that the primary reason for this phenomenon is weak demand for what

Ontario produces, with the problem concentrated in the manufacturing and financial

services. Labour productivity in manufacturing fell to an average of 2.8 per cent a year

between 2000 and 2012, down from 3.6 per cent a year between 1987 and 2000.

The report identifies the following three as the main causes for lower productivity:

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Slower export sales and lost market share in the United States to China, Mexico

and South Korea

Recession in the United States

Rising value of the Canadian dollar in the early 2000s

No recession says Oliver, but rate cuts expected

Federal Finance Minister Hon. Joe Oliver emphasized early July that the Canadian

economy was not in recession. Statistics Canada released new data in late June that

indicated that GDP had contracted in each of the four months of the year (Jan-Apr).

Technically, economists declare a recession when an economy registers negative growth

for two consecutive quarters. The data for the second quarter (Apr-Jun) is not yet

available. The federal budget had estimated that the economy would grow at the rate of

at least 2 per cent in 2015-16. However, the numbers compiled by Statistics Canada

show that the economy in fact shrank by 0.1 per cent. Economists are of the view that

this slowdown will result in Bank of Canada implementing interest rate cuts probably as

soon as in July.

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June 2015 ACTIVITIES

June 05, 2015

Annual Awards & Gala Night 2015

2015 Award Winners with ICCC's board of directors

John Tory, Mayor City of Toronto was the Chief Guest at the 24th Annual Awards & Gala Night on Saturday June 06 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto.

Mayor John Tory said that he is working to manifold the relations with India and appreciated the recent visit of Prime

Minister Modi to strengthen the bilateral relations.

He applauded the chamber’s contribution in promoting the bilateral trade and commercial relations and shown his willingness to cooperate with India for developing smart cities.

Mr. Asim Ghosh, President & CEO of Husky Energy was the keynote speaker for the evening. While accepting the Corporate executive Award of the year from Dharma P Jain,

Mr. Asim Ghosh

Mayor John Tory

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ICCC’s President, he said that India is a hot market . . . a seductive place for people who think they can make a quick return from a pool of 1.2 billion consumers. While many other countries are at a similar level of development, India has a resource of intellectual and managerial capital still to be tapped, Ghosh said.

The Annual Gala and Awards Night is a marquee event where ICCC promotes trade and commerce between India and Canada and recognize the achievements of Indo-Canadians from all across Canada by way of an award presentation. Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s Advisory Board independently chooses the award recipients. In 2015, MNP, LLP was tasked with conducting due diligence of the nominations received.

The 2015 award recipients included a spectacular mix of community stalwarts, entrepreneurs, professionals, academics, and young achievers. The evening, replete with entertainment skits and speeches from VIPs, was attended by over 800 guests comprising the who’s who of the Indo-Canadian society.

The 2015 recipients of ICCC’s Annual Awards & Gala Night include:

Category Award Winner Sponsor

Female Entrepreneur Nisha Amin CIBC

Male Entrepreneur Prashant Pathak CIBC

Female Professional Neeru Gupta Excel Funds

Male Professional Manjul Bhargava Collins Barrow LLP

Young Achiever Hargurdeep Singh & Avish Sood

Courtyard by Marriott

Technology Achievement Rajiv Manucha TD Bank

Corporate Executive Asim Ghosh ICICI Bank

Humanitarian Jag Parmar Bromed Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Lifetime/Outstanding Achievement Venkatesh Mannar State Bank of India (Canada)

Member of the Year Avinash Mehra Air Canada

President's Award Frank Scarpitti Johnnie Walker

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June 10, 2015

Reception in Honour of H.E. Vishnu Prakash, High Commissioner of India to Canada

Indian Diaspora is the real ambassadors of India who are working hard to brand India in Canada said High Commissioner Vishnu Prakash while speaking at a dinner reception hosted by Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce on June 10, 2015.

He added that ICCC has played an important role in forging relations between India and

Canada for nearly four decades. Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Canada this year added new depth to relationship which has the potential for a strong economic partnership. Canada’s rich natural resources and sophisticated technological and educational base give us great promise to deepen our engagement. Canada can be a true partner in India’s infrastructure development, food security, energy security, science & technology, higher education and clean energy.

June 18, 2015

Drake’s INTELLIGENT HELP – Your One-Stop-Shop for HR Solutions

The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce organized an interactive session introducing Drake’s INTELLIGENT HELP HR Portal – Your One-Stop-Shop for HR Solutions on 18-June 2015 at the ICCC headquarters.

Ms. Maysa Hawwash, National Manager for INTELLIGENT HELP at Drake International, was the guest speaker.

From L to R: Sanjay Makkar, Dharma P Jain, Maysa Hawwash, Brij K Sharma

& Annie Singh

Sitting From L to R: Ginni Sethi, Asha Seth, Dipika Damerla, Rajni Tekriwal, Amrit Mangat Standing From L to R: Jagdish Bajaj, Hardesh Marwaha, Tony

Chawla, Dharma P Jain, H.E. Vishnu Prakash, Brij K Sharma & Sanjay Makkar

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She highlighted the importance of Human Capital as the biggest value driver for organizations. She also threw light on the key HR issues faced by SMEs and how the inability to manage these people issues causes a huge adverse impact on the organizations and their bottom line.

The event was marked by the introduction of the innovative Drake INTELLIGENT HELP portal that leverages Drake’s 60+ years of Talent management experience and modern technology, to help SMEs find answers to their specific people challenges in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The audience experienced a LIVE DEMONSTRATION of the INTELLIGENT HELP portal that gives ICCC member’s access to HR services and best practices needed to run their day-to-day business. ICCC members also have access to practical advice on critical people issues through free Drake white papers and webinars.

June 25, 2015

Sanjay Makkar elected as 27th President of ICCC

Sanjay Makkar was elected as 27th President of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) Thursday June 25 at the Chamber’s Annual General Meeting.

Six directors were also elected to the new board of the Chamber. These include one director from the outgoing board – Pathik Baxi, re-elected for a two-year term.

Five new directors elected are:

• Abubakkar Noohujohn • Ajay Tandon • Arun Srivastava • Kanwarjit Dhanjal • Pappur Shankar

Mr. Makkar, along with Jagdish Bajaj and Ginni Sethi are the other elected directors on the board, who were elected last year, and are in the middle of their two-year term. Speaking about his priorities, the new president emphasized that while the board will ensure continuity, it will be geared towards radically changing the orientation of the chamber.

“2015 will be a year of change,” he declared. Mr. Makkar said he would follow a three-pronged approach during his tenure as the Chamber’s President:

Governance & Transparency

Sanjay Makkar

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Robust financials

Broad based, inclusive growth

Mr. Makkar added: “The 2015 will be a year when the chamber’s leadership will work together with stakeholders and members to bring about better governance, make the operation completely transparent, work towards making the financials more robust and make the chamber’s composition more inclusive and broad based.”

June 26, 2015

The 2015 Transformation Awards Gala

Mr. Sanjay Makkar, the newly elected President of Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce attended The 2015 Transformation Awards Gala as a special guest. The gala event brought together business, community, as well as public sector leaders and innovators to discuss issues that affect our diverse communities, proffer solutions to challenges as well and to celebrate leadership, excellence and diversity.

June 27, 2015

Mr. Sanjay Makkar, President, Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce was felicitated by Mr. BV Nagaraj, BV Communication Canada at 11th World Kannada Cultural Convention, 2 day event held at Grand Victorian Convention Centre, Ontario, Canada from June 27 to June 28.

ICCC President Sanjay Makkar was felicitated by Mr. Nagaraju & others

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June 30, 2015

Meeting with Mr. Akhilesh Mishra, CGI

ICCC’s newly elected board led by its

President Mr. Sanjay Makkar met Mr.

Akhilesh Mishra, Consulate General of

India. Mr. Makkar discussed in details his

plans for the coming year and assured the

CGI that “chamber will be second to none in

promoting Canada India business

relations”.

Mr. Mishra emphasized the need to increase

Canada India commercial ties and said that

the reciprocal visits of two Prime Minister

will serve as milestones in strategizing the relations

between the two countries. Mr. Mishra discussed the

opportunities available in the sectors such as IT, energy, power, mining etc. He

expressed a keen desire to engage the big companies along with the small and medium

enterprises for doing business

with India. Collaboration and

cooperation in the education

sector is another area for

mutual understanding with

immense scope.

Mr. Makkar said that at

Chamber “we look forward to

many more interactions

between the Consulate and our

Chamber during your tenure.”

All the new directors were

present at the meeting.

ICCC President Sanjay Makkar with CGI Akhilesh Mishra

From L to R: Arun Srivastva, Abu Bakkar, Sanjay Makkar, Akhilesh Mishra, Kanwar Dhanjal,Pappur Shankar & Ajay Tandon

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UPCOMING EVENTS

23-July-2015 17th ICCC Golf Classic

For details please see www.iccconline.org

ICCC in news

http://suhaag.com/finance/iccc-annual-dinner-gala-celebrates-indo-canadian-a

http://southasiandaily.com/community/sanjay-makkar-elected-as-27th-president-of-iccc/

FOR ADVERTISEMENT IN NEWSLETTER Please contact Mr. Pawan Chankotra at iccc@iccconline.org, or by calling 416-224-0090 BECOME A MEMBER

Membership is open to any person who is in agreement with the objectives of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce.

The present membership represents a wide range of industries and professions.

The benefits of joining the ICCC include:

Professional and personal development through business and social networking Exposure to business and professional opportunities in Canada, India and

around the world Tickets to events at discounted member rates Invitations to selected free business programs An annual magazine Annual membership directory Opportunity to serve on various committees and be elected to the Board of

Directors Benefits through the Chamber's Affinity Program

To join ICCC as member please click here

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Know your Organization

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce is a 38-year-old organization with twin objectives of fostering bilateral trade between Canada and India and creating entrepreneurial and professional opportunities for Indo-Canadians. It is run by an elected board with the help of various committees involving member.

To know more about your organization, please visit: www.iccconline.org

SUGGESTIONS Your board is committed to make this esteemed organization member friendly, open, transparent, and truly a business organization working to achieve its mission and vision. Board is considering of: i) Publishing achievements of members in the upcoming issues of ICCC newsletter. Therefore, members are advised to send their achievements such as new position, additional qualification, awards etc. at iccc@iccconline.org. ii) Publishing articles on different topics involving trade, commerce, tax etc. Interested writers can send their articles (500 words) at iccc@iccconline.org iii) Starting blogs on Chamber's website. Send your resumes and subjects you wish to write a blog. iv) Constituting a newsletter committee. Those who have flare of writing, designing and passionate about this, send in their resumes at iccc@iccconline.org Board is there to steer this august body in the direction provided by articles and by-laws and ensuring that interest of various stakeholders is protected. Board invites your suggestions and opinions regarding future events, newsletter content, and ask you to get engaged more and more and participate in Chamber events. You are the true ambassador of Chamber and your board is working for you in. Please feel free in contacting any board member. Please feel free in sending your suggestions and recommendations at: president@iccconline.org or iccc@iccconline.org.

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