Business

Canadian exporters need to find India’s sweet spots

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Globe and Mail via Indian Economic Business News

India accounts for less than 1 per cent of Canada’s trade and investment, according to official estimates. Yet, India accounts for 7 per cent of the world economy today. It is expected to rise to 11 per cent by 2030 and to 18 per cent-almost one-fifth-of the world economy by 2060, according to OECD estimates. So how do more Canadian companies actually start taking advantage of opportunities in fast-growth markets such as India? A good starting point is to identify sectors of the Indian economy that land in the “sweet spot” – they are sizable, dynamic, fast-growing, and present relatively few barriers to Canadian businesses. A new Conference Board study, “The Hottest Markets for Canadian Companies in India,” finds many fast-growing, sizable, profitable, dynamic sectors. So the study’s final list of hottest markets includes only those fast-growth sectors that are relatively open to Canadian business. The final list includes eight Indian service sectors, 10 manufacturing sectors, and eight resources or agricultural sectors. In many of these hot markets, Canada has demonstrated international commercial strengths. These industries include: infrastructure and related activities, the auto sector and supply chain, services. The challenges in India are tremendous, but so are the long-term opportunities. India’s growth prospects are far above the meagre rates seen in Canada’s traditional trade partners. With a free-trade deal in the works, and an investor protection agreement negotiated (though on hold on India’s side), Canada has started toward removing barriers for its companies in India.

Indian IT companies set to be hit as Canada tightens visa norms for foreign workers

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Globe and Mail via Indian Economic Business News

Canada has joined the US in tightening the visa regime for foreign workers, a move that could be detrimental for Indian IT service companies with operations in that country. Seen by experts as a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction to the recent controversy surrounding iGate and Canadian bank Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), the move is set to increase the time and costs associated with procuring a temporary work permit. The Accelerated Labour Market Opinion (ALMO) programme, a fast-track immigration programme to secure a temporary work permit in two weeks, has also been suspended. Indian companies will now have to revert to the Labour Market Opinion (LMO), a time-consuming process, compared with H1B visa regime in the US. A LMO is an authorisation that a recruiter has to obtain from the Canadian state, if a job has to be offered to an Indian. Moreover, the employer has to prove that it had advertised for the position across Canada, but was unable to find a qualified Canadian to do the job. The latter is what makes it time-consuming. Moreover, a new fee will be imposed on employers when they apply for an LMO. In addition, the Canadian Government also intends to increase work permit fee from the present $150. However, it has not specified the quantum of the rise. In its third change, Canada has also disallowed a rule allowing companies to pay temporary foreign workers 15 per cent less than prevailing wages for high-skilled positions, and five per cent less for low-skilled ones.

Hilton aims to have 50 hotels in India by 2016

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: The Times of India via Indian Economic Business News

Hilton accelerated its pace of expansion outside its home market in the US after Christopher J. Nassetta, President and Global CEO, Hilton Worldwide, came on board in 2007, soon after private equity giant Blackstone purchased the chain. At that time, around 85% of Hilton’s pipeline was within the US. It’s changed since. Currently, more than 60% of its pipeline is outside the US. In the last six years, Hilton opened more than 1,100 hotels globally. Hilton entered India through a brand franchise agreement with Oberoi Hotels in 2004. Four years later, it charted out its own growth path, striking franchise and management contracts with Indian property owners. Nassetta said the chain, which currently operates 12 hotels with 2,000 rooms in India, has lined up another 20 hotels with 3,500 rooms which will open doors to guests in the next eight months. “Our target is to have 50 hotels by 2016,” said the Hilton chief, adding that almost all the Hilton brands, except its timeshare brand Hilton Grand Vacations, would dot the Indian skyline. The 94-year-old chain owns 10 brands such as Waldorf Astoria, Embassy Suites and Homewood Suites by Hilton. Of these, only four brands are present in India, operating in the upscale and mid-market space. The company is getting into the luxury segment with the launch of the 250-room Conrad in Bangalore shortly.

India’s gemstones market to double to $3.6 billion in 5 years: Gemfields

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Indo Asian News Service via Indian Economic Business News

The coloured gemstones market in India is expected to double to $3.6 billion in the next five years, Gemfields Plc, the world’s leading precious stones miner, said. “$1.8 billion is the total size of the coloured gemstone market in India. We are expecting a growth of 20 percent every year for the next 10 years,” Rupak Sen, Gemfields India regional marketing director- Asia, said. According to Sen, India’s gem and jeweler market was estimated at $30 billion and out of which the market share for all categories of coloured gemstone was almost 6 percent. London-based Gemfields mines mainly emeralds in Zambia, but recently ventured into rubies, processed in Mozambique. The company auctions rough stones in Singapore.

 

India says it plans to double renewable energy sources by 2017

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Thomson Reuters via Indian Economic Business News

The Indian government recently said it planned to double its renewable energy capacity by 2017. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that India would ramp up its use of wind, solar and biomass energies in the coming years. “It is proposed to double the renewable energy capacity in our country from 25,000 MW in 2012 to 55,000 megawatts by the year 2017,” he said at the Fourth Clean Energy Ministerial conference in New Delhi.”We have set ourselves a national target of increasing the efficiency of energy use to bring about a 20 to 25 per cent reduction in the energy intensity of our GDP by 2020.” Mr. Singh said that a low carbon strategy was necessary for sustainable growth. Mr. Singh, however, said these non- conventional sources of energy had reduced in price but were still higher than dirtier, more conventional sources of power, like coal. It will soon be the second-largest contributor to increasing global energy demands, accounting for 18 percent of the growth. Despite intense sunshine throughout the year, India has little solar capacity and much of its solar hardware is manufactured abroad. Mr. Singh said that that needs to change. “India is potentially a large market for production of such (solar) equipment and it is also a potentially competitive, attractive production base for supplying other countries,” he said at the conference.

More reforms coming in 2-4 months: Chidambaram

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Indo-Asian News Service via Indian Economic Business News

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has ruled out the possibility of early elections and said the government will take more reform initiatives in the next two-four months in a bid to boost economic growth and contain deficit and inflationary pressure.“We will continue to take small significant steps. We will also take forward some big ideas. India’s economy will continue to reform,” Mr. Chidambaram said at The Economist’s India Summit organised by the UK-based economic magazine recently. Mr. Chidambaram said the government will push for the passage of major reform regulations, like land and insurance bills, in the ongoing budget session of parliament.The finance minister said the government would need support from the main opposition party to get the bills passed in parliament.“There are many more executive actions that have to be taken, some of these executive actions we will take in the next 2-4months,” Chidambaram said. In the last one year, the government has taken several initiatives to push forward reform process. The steps include cutting subsidies on petroleum products and liberalizing overseas investment norms for retail, aviation and some other sectors. The finance minister said he was hopeful to keep fiscal deficit below 4.8 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the current financial year.

Anand Sharma launches 21 new textiles parks

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Press Information Bureau via Indian Economic Business News

Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma launched 21 New Textile Parks approved under Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP). These new parks take the total number to 61 parks as 40 Parks were sanctioned earlier. The Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks (SITP) has been instrumental in development of wide range of models for green field clusters from a 1000 acre FDI driven integrated cluster, to a 100 acre power loom cluster and a 20 acre handloom cluster. Under the scheme, 61 parks have been sanctioned-40 projects were started in the 11th Five Year Plan and another 21 projects are to be implemented in the 12th Five Year Plan. Out of the 40 parks sanctioned earlier, a total of 25 Parks are already operational. Most of the balance Parks are expected to be completed during this financial year. The estimated employment generation is over 10 lac persons with total estimated investment of Rs. 27, 562 crore. Out of the 21 new parks, six are in Maharashtra, four in Rajasthan, two each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and one each in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tripura, Karnataka, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.

Government boosts incentives to give exports a leg-up as growth picks up for 3rd month

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Hindustan Times via Indian Economic Business News

The government on April 18th announced a host of measures to boost India’s exports including sops to special economic zones (SEZs). The initiatives announced by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma as part of the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) are aimed at pushing exports which declined by 1.76 per cent to USD 300.6 billion during 2012-13 and pushed up the trade deficit to USD 190.91 billion. These included easier land requirement norms, simpler exit options, cheaper credit and tax breaks for import of machinery. The new rules for SEZs will allow IT firms to claim tax breaks by moving offshore work to such duty-free enclaves. The earlier requirement of minimum 10-hectares for such campuses has been done away with and IT SEZs can now be set up if the these are spread across at least 100,000 square metres in seven major cities including Mumbai, Delhi and NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Kolkata. For category B cities, IT companies can set up SEZs even in a smaller built-up area of 50,000 square metres and for remaining cities in only 25,000 square metres. In view of the acute difficulties in aggregating large tracts of uncultivable land for setting up SEZs, the government also halved the minimum land area requirement to 500 hectares for multi-purpose SEZs and to 50 hectares for sector-specific SEZs. It has also been decided to permit transfer of ownership of SEZ units, including sale of units. Exports in March 2013 stood at $30.8 billion (Rs.1,69,400 crore), compared to $28.8 billion ( Rs. 1,58,400 crore) in the same month of the previous year. Imports dipped by 2.87% to $41.16 billion in March, leaving a trade deficit of $10.31 billion-down from $13.5 billion in March last year.

Economy to grow at 6.4 percent in 2013-14: PM panel

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Indo-Asian News Service via Indian Economic Business News

The Indian economy is expected to grow at 6.4 percent in the current fiscal against the estimated 5 percent expansion registered in the previous year, the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Panel said. “The economy has bottomed out and we will achieve higher growth of 6.4 percent in the current financial year,” Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council chairman C. Rangarajan said recently. He said agriculture sector growth is likely to increase to 3.5 percent 2013-14 as compared to the estimated 1.8 percent growth in the fiscal ended March 31, 2013. The growth of manufacturing sector is likely to increase to 4 percent in the current financial year as compared to 3.1 percent in the previous year. The services sector is estimated to expand by 7.7 percent in 2013-14 as compared to 6.6 percent growth projected for the previous fiscal. Mr. Rangarajan said growth would accelerate further if the government expedites clearance for major projects. “If we take action for speedy implementation of projects we can achieve the higher rate of growth quickly even in the short-term,” he said. According to the panel’s estimate, the country’s main inflation is expected to be at around 6 percent in the current financial year as compared to the estimated 5.96 percent at the end of the financial year 2012-13. Mr. Rangarajan said moderation in inflation would give scope for monetary policy easing by the central bank. The central bank has been maintaining tight monetary policy for the last three years to contain inflation.

Dhoni’s ‘Vishnu avatar’ lands him in legal tangle

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Hindustan Times

An advertisement that depicts MS Dhoni as Lord Vishnu has landed the Indian skipper in legal trouble. An activist has filed a case against him in a Bengaluru court, alleging Dhoni had ‘denigrated’ the Hindu god in the advertisement in a business magazine. The case was registered under section 295 of the IPC — injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion — on a complaint that said that by posing as Lord Vishnu, holding several things including a shoe in his hands, Dhoni had hurt “religious sentiments.”

The court will take up the case on May 12, when the complainant’s statement will be recorded.

Chit fund scam: Man killed, 8th suicide reported in WB

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Mumbai Mirror

KOLKATA: The tragic fallout of the multicrore Saradha chit fund scam in West Bengal escalated on Monday with the first case of murder being reported in the state after eight people committed suicide. The eighth suicide happened on Sunday night.

A director of Hello India, a chit fund company, was found murdered at his residence in Hooghly district.

Jayanta Sarkar, 48, was allegedly killed with a sharp weapon on Sunday night, the police said. The attack was the first reported case of murder in connection with the Saradha scam.

On Sunday, the 60-year-old father of a chit fund company agent ended his life in North 24-Parganas district. The police say he was distressed over his son’s inability to repay money to investors.

Jagadish Roy, father of Bidhan Roy who was the agent of Anex Chit Fund, was found hanging at his home at Rishi Bankim Gar colony at Sodepur on Monday, the police said.

Steel imports to remain a hot issue for India

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Business Standard

The speed at which China built steel capacity has left the rest of the world bewildered

Overcapacity and production more than the market can absorb at rates remunerative for suppliers have remained principal concerns for the world steel industry since the 2008-09 global financial meltdown, the members of which still keep flying. In the first quarter of this year, the world steel production at 388.696 million tonnes (mt) clocked a growth of 2.3 per cent over the corresponding period of 2012. In contrast to growing production restraints in most parts of the world, Asian steel output in the first three months of 2013 advanced on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis by 6.4 per cent to 259.8 mt. The speed at which China built steel capacity has left the rest of the world bewildered. Once again the progress in Asia’s production so far this year is largely on account of the world’s second largest economy.

China’s production growth when steel prices remain under pressure and capacity lay off in particularly high-cost centres continues, is not endearing the steel goliath to others. The first quarter steel production in the European Union was down 5.4 per cent to 41.5 mt, while North American output slid 5.7 per cent to 29.7 mt. This led an official of consulting firm Wood Mackenzie to tell Reuters that “most of the world is in decline, but the steel industry in China isn’t disciplined in the way Europe might be”. He thinks with Chinese production remaining “persistently high,” steel prices cannot but remain under pressure leading to margin erosion for producers everywhere. The issue is why should China be courting criticism of other producing nations and still stick to growing steel production. Moreover, near-term industry outlook is not at all encouraging. An official of ArcelorMittal credits China for building a “fearsome low-cost steel industry”. At the same time, some spirited house cleaning operation notwithstanding, the Chinese industry is still left with a good amount of high cost and polluting capacity.

That China supports its steel industry and steel products exports by way of subsidies is widely known and resented. The subsidy issue comes to the fore at regular intervals as China will have scrap with countries alleging dumping of steel products by it to the detriment of local producers. What, however, should not be lost sight of is that an industry with China’s capacity is a massive provider of employment in steel mills, upstream mines, downstream value-adding enterprises and tertiary sectors. More than half the steelmakers in China are government owned. Neither Beijing nor the provincial authorities are ready to risk economic disorder and social unrest by withdrawing life-sustaining government support to steel mills. The ArcelorMittal official says, “We are mesmerised by China, but if you look at its steel industry, despite its rise, 92 per cent of steel companies are trading at a loss.” Rising cost of energy and finance is steadily robbing Chinese industry of the status of a low-cost producer. Steel mill wage bill too, is spiralling. And this is happening when world steel demand grows slowly.

In case China sustains steel production at the first quarter rate, then it will end the year with an output of 768 mt against 716.5 mt in 2012. In its short range outlook, World Steel Association says steel use in China in 2013 should rise by 3.5 per cent to 668.8 mt. This is to leave China with an exportable surplus of nearly 100 mt. A point of concern for India, which already is a net steel importer: We should also keep an eye on Japan where softening of yen has significantly improved export competitiveness of its steel. At the same time, “conditions in Europe will remain under pressure in spite of acceleration in production discipline. We, therefore, expect southern European steelmakers to increase their presence in export markets,” says an analyst with Metal Bulletin. In this context is to be seen SAIL Chairman Chandra Shekhar Verma’s observation that “Steel imports will remain a hot button issue for India as long as the world will have much surplus capacity and producers in many places will be in some desperation to export extra metal with them.”

India’s March steel production at 6.86 mt shows a y-o-y rise of 6.5 per cent. However, production rise in this year’s first quarter at 19.826 mt was 2.8 per cent more than in the corresponding period of 2012. Production rises here are due to more and more capacity coming on stream from new projects and existing mill expansion. In fact, this will remain the trend as the country targets a steel industry of the size of 180 mt to 200 mt by 2020. As we go forward, large capacities on account of SAIL, Tata Steel, Vizag Steel and others will get commissioned in close proximity. But will local demand be growing at a rate to ensure that the steel industry will not at any stage be left with much surplus capacity. To go by the observations of Tata Steel Managing Director Hemant Nerurkar and SAIL’s Verma, steel demand in an emerging economy with its focus on infrastructure development should be more than tracking the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate. A six per cent GDP growth in 2013-14 should, therefore, translate into Indian steel use growing at double last year’s 3.3 per cent.

 

US, UK, and Canada woo leisure travelers from India

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: The Economic Times

Many Indian families will be visiting their kin in the US this summer; or parents will be visiting campuses where their children are studying. But the US commerce department, along with big tour operators in India, has been working towards making US an independent leisure destination for Indian tourists, rather than just visits to friends and relatives or VFR, as that segment is called.

“Following President Barack Obama’s tourism plan launched last year, we have initiated many business-to-business and people -to-people initiatives to make the US a friendlier destination for tourists from India. This includes simplification and fast-tracking of the visitor visa process and granting of multiple entry 10-year visas,” a senior official at the US embassy told ET Magazine.

Uncle Sam woos visitors

An interesting trend is that different states of the US are making efforts to woo Indian tourists independently. An example is Visit Florida, an organisation that opened an office in India recently and estimates that around 58,000 Indians travelled to Florida during 2012, which was a 16% increase over the previous year.

“India is one of the top source markets for us. We intend to showcase popular cities like Miami, Orlando, and Kennedy Space Center. We also plan to launch a Florida specialist programme for the travel trade,” says Tracy Vaughan, director, international sales and marketing of Visit Florida. Theme parks, beautiful beaches, endless entertainment, and culinary and shopping options are some of the reasons that make Florida an attractive travel proposition for Indian families.

Brand USA, the initiative to encourage international visits to the US and to grow its share of the global travel market, is set to launch a big campaign in India in to showcase, among other things, specific destinations such as Niagara Falls, Disneyland and California and Las Vegas.

Through its Visit USA Committee (Vusacom), the US government has been reaching out to tour operators, hoteliers, airlines and destination management companies in India. “The US has always been a big destination for business, education and visiting friends and relatives. But with the new initiatives, which were unveiled about 18 months ago, we have been seeing a growth in the segment of free and independent travellers too,” says Ashwini Kakkar, executive vice-chairman of Mercury Travels and chairman of Vusacom in India. These are people who are in the mid- to high-end range and can be differentiated from the kind of travellers who would go only to Bangkok or Dubai for shopping holidays. They are much bigger spenders, he adds .

According to Kakkar, the steps taken by the US government to simplify B1 and B2 visas — for tourist and business visitors — have given a boost to US-bound travel. Some 660,000 B1 and B2 visas were issued in India in fiscal year 2012. In 2013 there has been a 20% upswing over the previous year so far.

Being a sport

Like the US the UK, too, has been running campaigns in India to change the perception of the country to that of a leisure destination from one just for family visits.

“Last year, in the run up to the Olympic Games we had unveiled a huge promotional campaign. From India we are looking at sports tourism centred around football, cricket and other niche segments such as film tourism or visits to Bollywood-related locations,” says Keith Beecham, overseas network director, VisitBritain.

Specific regions of the UK, too, are working with Indian tour operators to attract bigger numbers of tourists from India. Wales, for instance, is hoping to see a large number of Indian visitors for the ICC Champions Trophy in June. “The tournament builds on Cardiff’s strong track record as a city that can host truly global sporting events and will guarantee fantastic entertainment for cricket fans,” first minister of Wales Carwyn Jones said.

“With global travel becoming an integral part of the Indian lifestyle, countries such as Canada, the US and the UK enjoy strong appeal. Theme parks are of great interest and have led to increased number of visitors to Disneyland. In the UK, major sights such as the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace are on most visitors’ itineraries,” says Vishal Suri, deputy COO tour operating, Kuoni India.

Another conventional destination, Canada, too, is seeing a shift from Indian travellers visiting friends and relatives to leisure travellers. Visitors in the VFR category are adding on vacations such as an Alaska cruise or an adventure trip to Canadian Rockies.

The state of British Columbia, which has a large population of people of Indian origin, is likely to see a growth of about 10% in the number of visitors from India in 2013. “The trend we are seeing is an increase in independent travellers. We are receiving requests for self-drive itineraries, which is great as BC is a very easy destination to enjoy by driving oneself,” says Clare Mason, manager, Destination British Columbia.

India’s IT exports resilient despite difficult times

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: The Economic Times

DUBAI: India’s IT exporters have demonstrated resilience by surviving the difficult market conditions of recent times, a senior industry official has said.

Kamal Vachani, Hon. Regional Director of Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) for the Middle East, said India’s export of computer software and services during 2012-13 is estimated to have registered a growth of 10.26 per cent over 2011-12.

“In value terms, export of computer software and services during 2012-13 is estimated to be USD 75 billion, up from USD 68 billion estimated in 2011-12”, said Vachani.

With an objective to give a visible momentum to enhancing IT & ITES exports from the country, ESC has created a unique brand for Indian software and services companies in 2001 – INDIASOFT International IT Exhibition & Conferences, Vachani said in a statement.

According to him, the main focus of INDIASOFT events has been to enhance the opportunities for Indian software companies in emerging and established IT markets across the world. ESC has organised 12 editions so far.

Commonwealth meet in Sri Lanka ‘accommodates evil’, Canada says

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Times of India

LONDON: Canadian foreign minister John Baird has condemned the decision to allow Sri Lanka to host the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in November as “accommodating evil”.

Baird spoke out after his Commonwealth counterparts in London on Friday agreed to press ahead with the meeting despite strong criticism over Colombo’s human rights record.

“We’re appalled that Sri Lanka seems poised to host CHOGM and to be chair-in-residence of the Commonwealth for two years,” the Canadian minister told Guardian newspaper late Friday.

“Canada didn’t get involved in the Commonwealth to accommodate evil; we came to combat it. We are deeply disappointed that Sri Lanka appears poised to take on this leadership role.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said Canada will boycott the November 15-17 meeting unless Sri Lanka investigates suspected war crimes including the alleged indiscriminate killing of civilians by government troops in the climax of the civil war in 2009.

Commonwealth secretary-general Kamalesh Sharma said Sri Lanka had not been on the formal agenda at Friday’s talks but said it had been discussed, and there was no opposition to November’s meeting being held in that country.

It was a “collective decision”, he told a press conference afterwards, adding: “No member of government has indicated remotely that it wishes to change the venue.”

Sharma said the Commonwealth was working with President Mahinda Rajapakse’s regime to address international concerns.

And he said he believed Colombo subscribed to the principles of human rights, democracy and rule of law laid out in the Commonwealth charter signed by Queen Elizabeth II last month.

“All member states subscribe to the same principles and values equally,” he said.

“Interacting with them on many fronts — as I have been doing at all levels — I am fully persuaded that they are sincere in subscribing and following those values.”

Ladakh incursion: China expresses readiness to work with India deal with differences

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Times of India

BEIJING: China on Sunday took note of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remarks over PLA’s incursion into the Depsang Valley and said that it is willing to work with New Delhi to deal with differences while maintaining peace at borders and forging strategic cooperative partnership.

“We have noted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement,” a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry said.

“The two sides have been in communication through the working mechanism for consultation and coordination on boundary affairs, border meetings and diplomatic channels for a solution to the incident in part of the western section of the China-India border,” the statement said.

According to the statement, the reaction was in response to a question over Singh’s remarks that Chinese troops incursion into the Depsang Valley in Ladakh can be settled through talks.

Singh told media in New Delhi on Saturday that India does not want to “accentuate” the situation in the wake of the recent Chinese incursion in Ladakh and is working on a plan to resolve it.

“We do have a plan. We do not want to accentuate the situation. We do believe that it is possible to resolve this problem. It is a localized problem. I think the talks are going on,” Singh said.

China had denied that its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers had pitched tents in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector in Ladakh amounted to trespass and violation of the line of actual control (LAC).

The Chinese statement said “we stand ready to work together with India to properly deal with differences and maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas in a bid to boost the healthy and stable development of China-India strategic and cooperative partnership.”

It said “while actively developing friendly cooperation in recent years, China and India have committed themselves to settling disputes including the boundary question through peaceful negotiation and preventing the disputes from affecting the development of bilateral relations”.

The two sides are currently trying to resolve the issue through border consultation mechanism inked last year even as external affairs minister Salman Khurshid is due visit Beijing on May 9, which officials said would be followed by new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visit to New Delhi.

Samsung to start manufacturing Galaxy S4 in India soon

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: The Hindu Business Line

New Delhi, April 28: Samsung India today said it will soon start manufacturing its flagship high-end smartphone Galaxy S4 in India.

“We are planning to start manufacturing of S4 soon at our Noida facility,” Samsung Mobile and Digital Imaging Country Head Vineet Taneja told PTI.

He, however, refused to share any timeframe by when the production will start. The Noida facility is manufacturing about 35-40 million phones annually, including 12 smartphones such as Galaxy S3.

The company currently imports the recently launched Galaxy S4 from South Korea.

Sensing huge demand for Galaxy S4, the company is also looking to double the high-end smartphone (above Rs 20,000) market size in India, which is currently contributing around 10-12 per cent of the overall smartphone market.

The Galaxy S4, which is packed with newer imaging features as well as ‘gesture-control’ technology, has a five-inch full HD super AMOLED touchscreen, 13 mega pixel rear and 2 mega pixel front camera and supports 3G networks.

Although Samsung is the market leader in smartphone market in India, competition from Apple, BlackBerry and Nokia has put pressure on it to add new software features to maintain its lead.

According to research firm IDC, the overall mobile phone market in India reached about 218 million units in 2012, growing 16 per cent year-on-year.

Of this, 16.3 million units were smartphones, but the category saw a growth of about 48 per cent. Samsung was the leader in the quadcore and 5-inch plus screen size models, IDC added.

The demand for smartphones is expected to be around 34-36 million units this year.

Globally, Samsung had 30.3 per cent share of the smartphone market (with sales of 215.8 million units) in 2012, while Apple had a 19.1 per cent share with sales of 135.9 million units, according to IDC.

India’s super-rich club shrinking

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Times of India

LONDON: The good news is India is home to 109 billionaires with an average net worth of $1.7 billion each. The bad news, however, is that compared to last year, India has seen the largest fall in super-rich population in the world.

Compared to last year, India has 485 fewer super-wealthy individuals, followed by China which lost 265 and Japan which lost 210.

The country’s super-rich club — those worth at least $30 million — has 7,730 members with a combined worth of $925 billion. Among them, the largest chunk is of the ultra high-net worth individuals (UHNWIs) who are worth $30 million to $49 million.

They make up 45.7% of the total UHNW population in India with a combined fortune of $125 billion or 13.5% of the total wealth of the India’s ultra affluent.

This is significantly higher than most of its immediate neighbours — Pakistan (310 super-rich), Bangladesh (85) and Sri Lanka (60), or most other Asian countries like Singapore (1,305), Indonesia (785), Thailand (625) and Malaysia (780). Only Japan (12,830) and China (11,245) have more super-rich people than India.

Wealth-X’s “World Ultra Wealth Report” shows the world’s UHNW population grew by 0.6%. The growth rate of the global billionaire population, however, outstripped that growth rate by expanding at 9.4%.

There are 2,160 billionaires globally with a total wealth of $6,190 billion. This group of billionaires, representing the top 1.2% of the world’s UHNW population, controls 24% of the total fortune attributable to the ultra- wealthy. On average, these billionaires are worth $2.9 billion each.

Why Buffett is bullish on stocks: A Q1 letter to clients

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

By Dan Richards, Visiting Professor at Rotman School of Management

Introduction

Since 2008, I have posted templates to serve as a starting point for advisors looking to send clients an overview of the year that just ended and the outlook for the period ahead.

Advisors have told me they’ve received a great response to these letters and the templates rank among my most popular articles – that’s especially the case given today’s uncertainty.

This letter has three components:

  1. An update on performance
  2. Perspectives on today’s macro challenges from Warren Buffett’s most recent letters to investors
  3. Your recommendations for the period ahead

 

The first quarter in review: Why Warren Buffett is bullish on stocks

As we enter the second quarter of 2013, I’m writing to summarize markets developments since the start of the year and to share my thoughts on positioning portfolios for the period ahead. First though, a quick recap of the first quarter of 2013.

At the end of March, U.S. stock markets crossed the all-time high reached in October of 2007. This was due to an exceptionally strong performance to start the year following the agreement by U.S. Congress in early January to avoid the “fiscal cliff” that would have required dramatic reductions in spending and risked throwing the U.S. back into recession.

Three things worth noting about first quarter performance:

  1. Driven by a strong start in January, global markets were up by almost 9% in the first quarter, led by gains in the United States of over 10%. One word of caution: Last year global markets were up by 12% in the first three months before giving back almost all of those gains in the second quarter, in large measure due to concerns about Europe.
  2. On the topic of Europe,  in spite of recent headlines about the bank crisis in Cyprus and continuing issues in Greece, the European market was up by 7% (in local currency) in the first three months of 2013. While Cyprus and Greece got the headlines, the large bulk of Europe’s economic performance will continue to be driven by the larger countries.
  3. Canada continued to underperform the United States and global markets. Since the beginning of 2010, the Canadian market is up by about 15%; in that same time the United States is up by roughly 50%.

 
Here’s how first quarter performance looked:

Monthly Returns - Local CurrencyCanadaU.S.EuropeEmerging MarketsWorld Markets
January 20132.2%5.3%5.1%1.0%4.9%
February 20131.5%1.3%0.9%0.0%1.2%
March 2013-0.6%3.8%0.9%-0.8%2.3%
Q1 20133.1%10.7%7.1%-0.2%8.6%

Returns to month end, all in local currency, including dividends

 

Warren Buffett’s view: Stocks still offer value

Warren Buffett is generally considered the greatest investor of all time. From 1966 when he began running Berkshire Hathaway to the end of 2012, the overall U.S. stock market (including dividends) has returned an average of 9.4% annually. That means that $1000 invested in the US market in 1966 was worth just over $74,000 at the end of 2012. During that same time, the book value of Berkshire Hathaway increased by almost 20% per year, twice the U.S. market return. The result: That same $1000 invested in Berkshire Hathaway’s book value would have grown to over $5 million.

That’s why Warren Buffett’s views are worth heeding. And that’s also why his annual letter to investors is awaited each year with such anticipation. Three key messages in this year’s letter:

1. Invest in “wonderful”  businesses

Buffett is known for saying that he’d rather buy “a wonderful business at a fair price than a fair business at a wonderful price.”  He’s written in depth about the competitive insulation that makes for a great business. (In another well-known turn of phrase, he’s said that he wants to buy businesses “so wonderful that an idiot could run them, because some day an idiot will.”

In this year’s letter, Buffett touched on Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in American Express (of which he owns just under 14%) as well as Coca-Cola, IBM and Wells Fargo, his other three big holdings in which he owns between 6% and 9%. In all four cases, he increased his stake in 2012; he quotes the Mae West line that “too much of a good thing is wonderful.”

2. Look past today’s uncertainty

Buffett addressed the uncertainty that preoccupies many members of the media and which has dampened the willingness of American business to invest. He points out that uncertainty has been a constant in the United States since 1776; the only variable is whether people ignore the uncertainty (which typically happens in boom times) or fixate on it.

Buffett continues to express confidence in the resiliency of American business, just as he did in his famous New York Times article in the fall of 2008 titled “Buy American I Am” that appeared close to stock market bottoms during the uncertainty in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

3. Stay in the game

In this year’s letter, Buffett addressed the temptation to, in his words “try to dance in and out (of the stock market) based upon the turn of tarot cards, the prediction of so-called experts or the ebb and flow of business activity.”
He went on to say that since the long-term outcome of investing in stocks is so overwhelmingly favourable “the risks of being out of the game are huge compared to the risks of being in it.”

In an interview that followed the release of his letter, Buffett reiterated his view that given that at some point interest rates will inevitably rise, stocks of quality businesses continue to offer good value relative to bonds, even in the face of the run-up in equity prices since last summer. He also repeated his skepticism about owning bonds saying that today “the dumbest investment is a government bond.”
 

What this means for your portfolio

In my email at the end of last year, I outlined some guiding principles in my approach to building client portfolios, three of which I repeat here.  I’d be pleased to discuss these guidelines at our next meeting.

1. Time to rebalance: Adhering to your plan

In light of stock valuations and the risk in bonds, early last year we recommended that clients increase equity weights to the upper end of their range. Given strong stock performance since the mid-point of last year, that has worked out well and we continue to advise that clients hold their maximum equity weight.
But strong performance by stocks means that today some clients are above the top of their equity allocation. In those cases, we have been recommending reducing equity weighting to bring portfolios back within their guidelines. Regardless of what happens to markets in the short term, barring a significant change in your circumstances, you should stick to your investment parameters.

2. Diversifying portfolios

When building equity portfolios, I’ve always advocated strong diversification outside Canada. This helped my clients through most of the 1990s, then hurt them in the decade after 2000, then helped them again in the past three years.

Going forward, I have no idea whether the Canadian market will do better or worse than global markets, but I do know that we represent fewer than 5% of investing opportunities around the world. In addition, because of our resource focus Canada’s market will tend to be more volatile over time than those of the U.S. and yes, even Europe.  For those reasons, I continue to recommend geographic diversification of stock portfolios.

3. Focus on dividends and cash flow

The final principle relates to the role of cash flow from investments. Amid the uncertainty surrounding economic growth and equity returns, I continue to place priority on the cash yield from investments. While the headlines talked about US markets hitting new highs in March, investors who reinvested their dividends saw their account values exceed the 2007 peak significantly earlier.

Dividends on stocks in selective sectors continue to make these stocks attractive. When it comes to equities, we do have to be increasingly discerning, however; in some traditional high-dividend sectors stocks that pay steady income are expensive by historical standards and show signs of stretched valuations.

Indians break another ceiling in Canada as Bharat Masrani is appointed CEO of top bank TD Trust

Indians break another ceiling in Canada as Bharat Masrani is appointed CEO of top bank TD Trust

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: News East West

TORONTO: Finally, an Indian-origin person is becoming CEO of Canada’s top financial institution.

Bharat Masrani, who is in charge of the bank’s US personal and commercial banking operations, will take over as the CEO of TD Trust – which is Canada’s top bank – from Nov 1.

It will be the first time that a person of Indian origin becomes the head of a bank in Canada. Currently, Sarabjit Marwah , who is the number two in Scotiabank in Toronto, is the highest-ranking Indian in corporate Canada.

But 56-year-old Bharat Masrani will now be the top Indian in corporate Canada when he takes the reins of the country’s top bank.

Masrani, who has been with TD Trust since 1987, started his career as a Commercial Lending Trainee where he rose to Account Manager, Commercial Accounts in 1988. He progressed through a number of positions and responsibilities before assuming the role of Vice President and Head, Corporate Banking Canada.

In 1996, he was appointed Vice President and Country Head for India and then to Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance and Co-Head in Europe in 1997.

In 1999, Bharat also served as Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of TD Waterhouse Investor Services in Europe. Prior to his current position, Bharat was Vice Chair and Chief Risk Officer, Corporate Office, TD Bank Financial Group.

Bharat Masrani, who earned his Bachelor of Administration with Honours in 1978 and then his MBA in 1979 from York University’s Schulich School of Business, currently lives in Portland, Maine, with his wife Shabnam and two children.

“As we look to the future, the Board is confident that Bharat’s leadership, breadth of experience and global business insight will serve him well,” TD Trust chairman Brian Levitt said in a statement on Wednesday.

Outgoing CEO Ed Clark said, “Bharat brings a continuity of strategy, culture and values. I am extremely confident in the future of TD.”

The TD Board opted for Masrani for the top job because of his excellent execution of his boss Ed Clark’s strategies in the US where acquisitions of many banks, including those of Commerce Bancorp for more than $8-billion and some Florida banks, made TD Trust as one of the top ten banks in the US. In fact, the bank has more branches in the US (over 1,300) than in Canada (1,100).

Harper Government Drops India From List Of ‘Preferential Regime’, Increases 3% Import Tax

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: International Business Times

Amid negotiations for Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries, Canadian federal government this month decided to increase the tax on goods coming from India recently.

While announcing its budget, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty last week said that from January 1, 2015 onwards, its government will impose an extra three percent tax on goods coming from India.

India was one of the 72 countries that the Canadian government decided to drop out from the list of “general preferential regime” which offers lower tariff for export.

Canada introduced the special tariff system in 1974 to offer preferential market access to the list of developing countries.

Other than India, Canada removed Indonesia, South Korea, Israel, Mexico and Argentina and other BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa from the special tariff deduction list.

However, the government decided to retain some of the India’s neighboring countries- Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka under the list of lower tariff imposition.

According to Stephen Harper’s government, the decision was based on the economy status criteria set by the World Bank.

Though India was excluded from the favorable list, it is believed that the removal from the list won’t  impact India’s export if the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries is signed in time.

“Both governments have targeted to complete the agreement by the end of 2013. If that’s the case, clearly any potential impact of the removal from GPT (General Preferential Tariff) becomes irrelevant,” Business Standard quoted  the Former Canadian High Commissioner to India and Incoming President of the Canada-India Business Council Peter Sutherland, as saying.

The two countries have vowed to conclude the CEPA by end of this year. In an email sent to the International Business Times last February, Canadian government’s spokesperson Jennifer Chiu said that Canada could produce almost 40,000 new jobs once the CEPA was tabled.

The latest and the seventh round of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement talks between the two countries was held in New Delhi February.

Fix education so we don’t have people without jobs, conference told

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: MetroNews

Canada must fix its educational system to ensure that a looming demographics shift doesn’t leave result in a “people without jobs and jobs without people” scenario, experts warn.

“The demographic time bomb that’s ticking is getting louder and louder,” said John Manley, president and CEO of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, which hosted a conference on the issue in Toronto on Monday.

“There’s a mismatch between the training and education that’s being offered, and the jobs that are being created.”

The influence of the postwar baby boom generation has long been known, but the potential impact is staggering. According to Rick Miner, former Seneca College president, by 2036 those under the age of 15 and over the age of 65 will represent 65 per cent of the Canadian population, compared with 44 per cent in 2010.

“That means nearly two-thirds of the population will be over 65 or under 15, compared to the population working full-time. That’s frightening,” Miner said.

These demographic changes can be mitigated by getting more people into the workforce who have been traditionally under-represented including immigrants, aboriginals, women, those with disabilities, those in their early 20s and older workers.

Miner also believes there also needs to be a revamp of post-secondary education, where institutions must work together.

He noted high school students sometimes do an extra year to get into a particular university program. And even after university, some graduates can’t find work so they return to do a community college program — meaning it can be as many as six or seven years of schooling, post-high school.

Others at the conference also cautioned that preparing students for the jobs of tomorrow is difficult, especially given that 25 per cent of today’s jobs didn’t exist 30 years ago.

Linda Hasenfratz, chief executive officer of auto parts company Linamar Corp., added that young people are often encouraged to study something they love, with promises they’ll find a job in the end.

“It doesn’t always work out that way,” Hasenfratz said, adding sometimes they discover they studied what they love, but they can’t get a job that gives them the level of income they want.

She believes more training needs to be done in secondary school, where students can be exposed to skills used by carpenters and machinists as a building block for learning.

They might then choose a skilled-trades apprenticeship or community college to become an engineering technologist, or university to become an architect, based on initial exposure to carpentry, she said.

Others also warned that job demands can fluctuate dramatically so governments and educational institutions must react carefully to deal with shortages. For example, teachers were desperately needed, so more teacher training spots were added. But now universities continue to graduate new teachers even though there are few job openings.

CAW economist Jim Stanford added that the top three jobs of the future are truck driver, retail clerk and health care assistant.

“We should be realistic about where the jobs are,” he said, adding if society needs truck drivers, those jobs need to be valued with appropriate wages and working conditions.

“There is a cultural bias against blue-collar occupations against the idealized white-collar occupations,” he added.

Looking for India’s Zuckerberg

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: The Economist

A pioneer in outsourcing but a laggard in the internet era, can India become a leader in mobile technology?

Information technology has been a mighty force for good in India. Its first tech revolution began 30 years ago, when a few engineers came up with the unlikely idea of doing back-office IT work for far-off Western firms. Today that outsourcing industry is a capitalist marvel. It has annual sales of $100 billion, mostly from abroad, and these export earnings have been vital in a country with a weak balance of payments. Millions of good jobs in India have been created. Young Indians have seen that globalization creates winners. India’s reputation in the world has changed, too: Bangalore’s shining IT campuses have become as famous as the Ganges and the Gandhis.

Yet India has been a comparative failure in terms of innovation over the past decade. You might have expected India’s many advantages (the English language, abundant engineers and a thriving diaspora in Silicon Valley) to pay off spectacularly on the internet. But only a few start-ups have made clever technical innovations that have been sold abroad. And at home e-commerce is in its infancy, with sales only 6% of China’s. Thanks to lousy infrastructure, useless regulation and a famously corrupt telecoms sector, the web is available to only 10% of Indians, many of them squinting at screens in cafés.

India boasts no big internet firms to compare with Chinese giants such as Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent, nor start-up stars like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Instead, it has seen a succession of false dawns, from its version of the dotcom bubble in 1998-2002 to more recent hype over deal-of-the-day websites and text-based cricket updates. In 2010-11 lots of start-ups raised cash, but they have struggled since. Venture capitalists grumble that their returns have been poor. The original emerging-market tech pioneer has fallen behind in the internet era.

Feeling luckier

Catching up should be a priority for India—not least because its outsourcing champions are now reaching middle age. As the wages of India’s engineers rise, its IT industry cannot rely for ever on doing straightforward work cheaply for foreigners. The good news is that India now has a chance to lead again; the bad news is that this opportunity relies in part on Delhi’s bureaucrats not messing it up.

Optimism springs, first, from a healthy stock of young entrepreneurs (see article). Many have gained valuable experience working in America or for multinational firms. Many are battle-hardened through previous ventures that flopped, from dairy farms to bowling alleys. As in California, failure is no longer frowned upon in India. New firms such as Flipkart and Redbus are adapting Western e-commerce models to deal with India’s rickety logistics and cash-based economy. They are transforming mundane areas such as bus tickets, and opening up scores of smaller cities to modern retailing. Tens of millions of people are benefiting as a result.

The second change is the mobile internet. India’s fixed-line system may be abysmal, but cheap smartphones and fast wireless networks are rapidly spreading. India is poised to leapfrog the era of the personal computer and go straight to the mobile-internet age. Already a quarter of internet traffic is from phones, compared with a seventh worldwide. E-commerce sites are getting a surge in activity from phone-users.

But this budding revolution needs clever regulation. Outsourcing boomed in part because it avoided government: the product was exported through global networks. The mobile internet needs capital, payment systems, and wireless capacity. In all three areas the government is in the way.

The e-commerce industry appears stymied by the same restrictive rules on foreign investment that have bedevilled bricks-and-mortar retailing. Only a fifth of Indians have credit or debit cards—and using them online is a nightmare, again thanks to regulations (India could learn a lot from Africa’s use of mobile money). And India needs more and better wireless networks; some big players such as Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, have been tempted in, but the telecoms regime is a tangle of overcomplicated rules and graft.

India has the talent to lead in the mobile internet, as it did in outsourcing. But so long as Indians struggle to get a signal or to make payments, the revolution will be held back.

Peter Sutherland, Canada’s Former High Commissioner to India Announced as Incoming President & Chief Executive Officer of the Canada-India Business Council

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: PRWeb

Mr. Sutherland’s senior government and private sector experience an asset as free trade negotiations between Canada & India (CEPA) near completion.

The Canada-India Business Council (C-IBC) is pleased to announce that as of April 1, 2013, Peter Sutherland, the current Vice-Chairman of C-IBC and former High Commissioner to India will become the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council.

Mr. Sutherland is taking over from Rana Sarkar, the outgoing President and CEO. Mr. Sarkar held this role for four years and is joining KPMG in a strategic advisory capacity. He will continue to serve on C-IBC’s Board of Directors.

Mr. Sutherland has a long history with the Council, having spent five years as its Vice-Chairman. He comes to this role following a distinguished diplomatic career that included service as Canada’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, High Commissioner to India and as a senior executive dealing with international business and investment in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Most recently, Mr. Sutherland has been a Senior Advisor at Aird & Berlis LLP where he counseled Canadian companies on doing business in India, the Middle East and other parts of Asia.

“I applaud Peter’s broad and extensive knowledge of India and I know he will do a first class job as the incoming Chief Executive of the C-IBC”, said Don Stewart, Chair of the Council, “I thank Rana for his many contributions to C-IBC and look forward to having his continuing contribution to the Board.”

“Under the leadership of Roy MacLaren and Rana Sarkar the C-IBC has grown in size, stature and leadership since my days as High Commissioner in New Delhi. With the support of the Council’s many stakeholders, I look forward to strengthening its position as the pre-eminent voice of business in Canada-India relations,” said C-IBC’s incoming President and CEO, Peter Sutherland.

Contact & Interviews:
To arrange to speak with Peter Sutherland about his leadership vision for the Canada-India Business Council, the state of Canada-India relations and/or the opportunities ahead, please contact:

The Canada-India Business Council
Emily Hamilton, Communications & Research Coordinator
T: 416-214-5947 x26
E: ehamilton(at)canada-indiabusiness(dot)ca

About the Canada-India Business Council:
The Canada-India Business Council (C-IBC) was founded in 1982 by the Bank of Nova Scotia, Bombardier and the late Thomas Bata. For almost 30 years, C-IBC has been the leading, bi-national member driven association dedicated to the sustained growth of trade, investment and services between Canada and India. C-IBC works to assist Canadian organizations by offering knowledge, experience and insight on bilateral trade and investment opportunities. With over 100 members, the C-IBC represents the leading companies in the Canada-India business corridor.

The C-IBC is governed nationally by a Board of Directors which is comprised of senior executives from Canada’s leading organizations as well as leaders from both small and medium-sized enterprises. C-IBC is headquartered in Toronto with operations in Delhi, Vancouver and Montreal.

For more information, please see: http://canada-indiabusiness.ca.

Canada supports Safe Drinking Water Project in India

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Connect – Canada in India

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Québec non-governmental organisation (NGO) SOPAR are working with Indian NGO Bala Vikasa on a unique project to provide safe drinking water, in a cost-effective manner, in many villages in Andhra Pradesh, India. With the first plant installed two decades ago in Gangadevipally, Canada has supported Bala Vikasa in setting-up over 250 such water systems. A noteworthy recent development on the project has been the use of Any Time Water machines, which dispense 20 litres of water by swiping a card at the machine, similar to the principle of an automated teller machine (ATM).

India launches Canadian satellites

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Connect – Canada In India

Two Canadian satellites were launched on board Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) PSLV-C20 rocket from the spaceport at Sriharikota, India, on February 24. The Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) NEOSSat is the world’s first experimental microsatellite designed to detect and track space objects, debris and satellites, and, Canada’s Department of National Defence satellite Sapphire is Canada’s first dedicated operational military satellite. Team Connect spoke with CSA on their latest satellite and the cooperation with India, check it out!

Canada’s Minister of State for Tourism in India

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Connect – Canada In India

Maxime Bernier, Canada’s Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), led a tourism delegation to India, from February 25-28 to promote Canada as a destination of choice for Indian travellers and highlight Canada’s bilateral relations with India. During his visit, Minister Bernier met with his counterpart, Dr. K. Chiranjeevi, India’s Minister of State, in Delhi, and, attended Focus Canada–India 2013, hosted by the Canadian Tourism Commission, in Jaipur. Minister Bernier also led a discussion on ways India and Canada can work together to facilitate travel and trade between the two countries.

Imax sets its sight on Bollywood and India’s audiences

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: BBC News via Indian Economic Business News

With 689 movie theatres in 52 countries, the large-screen cinema operator Imax has emerged as a truly global player in the world of films. The Canadian company has yet to conquer India, home to the world’s second largest film industry after Hollywood. More than a decade after first entering India, there are still just four Imax theatres in India. And even as the company guns for growth, their number is expected to barely hit double digits by the end of this year. Mr Gelfond said it is difficult to compete in a country with as strong a cinema culture as India’s In India, Bollywood films that are often low-budget are shown all over the country, often in small, local cinemas where tickets cost $2-3. This makes it much harder to sell an altogether different entertainment proposition that costs five times as much or more, he says. Imax’s latest India strategy is much more comprehensive than its previous ones. At its core is a partnership with Bollywood production company Yash Raj Films Studios to shoot Dhoom 3 in the Imax format, in an effort to build on the success of blockbusters Dhoom and Dhoom 2.

Canada-India research centre builds healthier communities

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada via Indian Economic Business News

Communities in Canada and India will be the first to try out new technologies related to water quality, infrastructure and public health, owing to the new India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability (IC-IMPACTS). The centre was announced in November as the winner of the Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence competition, an NCE initiative introduced in the 2011 federal budget. “Canada needs to be connected to an international supply of ideas, research, talent and technologies in order to prosper in an increasingly competitive global environment,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper in announcing the competition results. “This new Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence will build stronger bilateral research ties and create valuable learning opportunities while generating positive economic and social benefits for both countries.” Major Canadian and Indian universities, as well as various private and public sector partners in Canada and India, will pool their expertise in IC- IMPACTS’ efforts to develop and implement better ways of providing safe drinking water, building sustainable and affordable infrastructure, and preventing and treating diseases in the two countries.

Canada at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit

Canada India Education Council (CIEC)

Source: Consulate General of Canada, Chandigarh via Indian Economic Business News

Canada’s participation at the 2013 Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS), January 31 – February 2, included delegations from the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Québec. The Premier of Manitoba, Greg Selinger, delivered the keynote address at a panel discussion on “Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change and Mitigating Emissions of Greenhouse Gases and Associated Co-benefits” on February 2. The Québec delegation included Minister of International Relations Jean-François Lisée and Minister for Industrial Policy and the Banque de développement économique du Québec Élaine Zakaïb. Former Premier Jean Charest also attended the event. DSDS, an annual event organized by India’ The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), is an international platform for exchange of knowledge on sustainable development.