India celebrated its democracy this week with pomp, pageantry and a promise to share its prosperity with Canada as its unfolding success astounds the global market.
From cricket to Bollywood, a social contract to facilitate people mobility and the removal of impediments to allow B.C. forest product exports to a red hot housing market, educational opportunities and technology sharing, Canada is hoping to add a big chapter in the sub-continent’s growth story.
 “In these times of economic uncertainty, we can strengthen B.C.’s economy through the exchange of goods and services with India and by attracting investment capital,” said Attorney General Mike De Jong who is on a two week trip to India to pursue a number of specific objectives.
“We can stimulate innovation by collaborating with India in business sectors like energy, life sciences, information and communication technology,” he said after opening a B.C. Business Opportunity Office in Chandigarh, Punjab.
De Jong said British Columbia has deep and enduring ties with the people of the State of Punjab.
“This province is home to hundreds of thousands of individuals whose ancestry can be traced back directly to the Punjab.”
“This (office) will attract new business investment to B.C. and identify future skilled workers. We also believe that our presence in Chandigarh will positively augment the work being undertaken by our trade and investment office recently opened in Bangalore,’ said De Jong.
India, the world’s largest democracy, is a market environment with 1.1 billion people and growing. Trade between B.C. and India has doubled in the last 10 years and reached over $410 million in 2008.
The delegation includes MLA Dave Hayer, parliamentary secretary for multiculturalism; Abbotsford Mayor George Peary; and Abbotsford councillor Moe Gill, as well as representatives from Forestry Innovation Investment, the Province’s wood products marketing agency.
Ashok Das, India’s Consul General in Vancouver lauded the efforts of the B.C. government saying Canada has a special place in the heart of India.
“With the economic rise of India in the 21st century the entire world is looking at my country with respect and priority…we deeply appreciate the attention to India,” said Das, at a reception to celebrate India’s 61st Republic Day which was held on Tuesday at Vancouver’s Pan Pacific Hotel.
Kash Heed, B.C.’s Solicitor General, was the guest of honor at the event which featured performances by Shaimak Davar Dance Troupe and a fashion show.
Das urged B.C. companies to participate in India’s many infrastructure projects as pundits predict the nation will see an astounding 7 percent growth this year.
“Clean water technology, food processing, bio-technology are some of the promising sectors on which B.C. companies can focus on in India,” said Das.
He also said Canadian educational institutions should hold road shows to attract some of the over 160,000 Indian students who go abroad every year for higher education.
Canada now only has about four percent of the lucrative US$4 billion market.
Republic Day marks the date in 1950 when India’s new republican constitution came into effect. India gained independence from Britain in 1947, but went through a transitional phase when it was still classed as a dominion.
India also uses the occasion to showcase its latest military hardware acquired as part of a massive modernisation drive costing tens of billions of dollars.

India-Canada in the new decade

FOREST SECTOR
De Jong and his trade mission have already got India to agree to remove restrictions on wood imports from B.C. which opens the door for the local forest industry to cash in on the sub-continent’s red hot housing construction market.

ENERGY
Cash-rich Indian energy groups are looking to flex their new-found muscles with global acquisitions as the fast-growing country joins China in the hunt for vital resources, analysts say. Oil companies in Canada with proven reserves, could be attractive buy-out targets for Indian firms. Exploration opportunities are also being opened in India.

THE RIGHT TO VOTE
The one-million strong Indo-Canadian communities will likely be given the right to vote after the
Indian Prime Minister said that the Indian Passport holders living abroad could get voting rights by the time the next Lok Sabha elections are held in 2014. The Indian Disapora is estimated to be about 30 million. It sent home over US$52 billion since 1982.

CRICKET
Cricket matches of the IPL may be coming to Canada. If Indian Premier League chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi has his way, America will play host to its first IPL matches in the next 18 months.
“Canada already has good infrastructure and we will try and combine the two—US and Canada—and see if we can bring the IPL carnival experience as we did in South Africa to all the cricket fans there,” said Modi.

SOCIAL CONTRACT
Canada and India are working on a bilateral social security agreement to help Indian professionals work in Canada, avoid double taxation and help cross-border movement of people. In 2008, there were 7,500 temporary work permit holders from India who moved to Canada. The contract will also help in the portability of social security benefits.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Canada plans to send a team of about 380 athletes and officials to the Commonwealth Games in India. The Delhi Games represent the most significant preparation for Canadian summer sports athletes in the lead-up to the 2012 Olympics in London. Canada finished third overall at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, with a total of 87 medals. The 2010 Commonwealth Games, which are scheduled to be held in New Delhi between Oct 3 and Oct 14 will be the largest multi-sport event ever staged in India.

NUCLEAR DEAL
Canada is expected to ratify its nuclear cooperation pact with India when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attends the G20 summit in Ontario later this year. This deal is expected to help Canada’s ailing nuclear industry which employs about 30,000 people.

BOLLYWOOD
Toronto will become the first North American city to play host to the International Indian Film Academy Awards, regarded as the Oscars of the Bollywood world, when the event comes to town in 2011.
The 4 day event will take place between June 16th and 19th 2011. As well as the actual awards ceremony itself, the event will also feature an industry conference and a film festival. About 40,000 tourists are expected to descend on the city when the event comes to town, plus Toronto will gain massive world wide exposure as the ceremony will attract a TV audience of some 350 million viewers.