New High Commissioner
Mr. John McCarthy has taken charge
as Australia’s new High Commissioner in India. Born in Washington D.C. in 1942,
Mr. McCarthy was educated at Cambridge University where he received a Master of
Arts and a Bachelor of Laws degree. He is a Barrister-at law and practised in
London from 1965 to 1966. He worked with the New York Law Firm of Shearman and
Sterling from 1966 to 1967 and joined the then Department of External Affairs in
1968.
Mr McCarthy has served as
Australia’s Ambassador to Japan (2001-2004); Indonesia (1997-2000); the United
States(1995-97);Thailand (1992-94); Mexico (1985-87); and Vietnam (1981-83). He
has also served in Damascus, Baghdad and Vientiane as well as having had two
earlier postings in Washington.
From 1994 to 1995, Mr. McCarthy was Deputy Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
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Interactive Session with Mr. Phil Michell of ANZ Investment Bank
Mr.Phil Michell, (fourth from right)
General Manager and Head, Commodity and Trade Finance of ANZ Capital Pvt. Ltd.,
addressing the members
In an interactive session organised by the Chamber on December 3, 2004, Mr. Phil Michell, General Manager and Head, Commodity and Trade Finance, ANZ Capital Private Limited, along with Ms. Nitila Natarajan, Manager-Projects and Structured Finance, made an impressive presentation on the role of ANZ Investment Bank and the range of specialised services offered. Mr. Phil Michell and Ms. Nitila Natarajan explained that these services are in the form of Commodity Trade Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions, Cross Border Liaising , Industrial transport, Export Credit Agency etc. The Presentation was followed by a lively discussion and exchange of ideas.
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Australian Editor on a visit to India
Seen (R to L) Mr. S. Sunderarajan, Managing Director, ANZIT; Mr. Denis
McGee, Chief Technologist, ANZ; Mr. Malcolm Maiden, Associate Editor
of The AGE, Melbourne, and Mr. C. Sarat Chandran, Director of the
Chamber.
Mr. Malcolm Maiden, Associate Editor of The AGE, the well-known Melbourne Newspaper, was on a visit to Bangalore, Chennai and New Delhi as part of an All India tour to get an insight on the comparative economic performances of China and India on a number of key niche areas like technological capability, skill base, bandwidth and connectivity, export performances for industries like textiles and auto manufacturing and growth of software and hardware industries.
Mr. Maiden was accompanied by Mr. Denis McGee, Chief Technologist of ANZ Bangalore. On November 18, Mr. Maiden visited ANZ Infotech Technology and interacted with Mr. S. Sunderarajan, the Managing Director and senior Managers. Mr. Maiden also visited Infosys campus and called on Mr. B. V. Naidu, Director, Software Technology Park of India, Bangalore and Mr. Rajendra Hinduja, Executive Director of Gokaldas Exports, a leading exporter of garments.
Mr. Maiden accompanied by Mr. McGee and Mr. Sunderarajan travelled to Chennai on November 19 and visited Ashok Leyland and held discussions with Mr. Rajinder Malhan, Executive Director, Business Development on the relative performance of Auto Industries in India and China. Later, they also called on Mr. Mike Wood, Head, Actuary AMP Sanmar Assurance Co. Ltd. Returning to Bangalore Mr. Maiden was the guest at a Breakfast Meeting, which was attended by several CEOs of leading IT companies and these include Bob Hoeskstra of Philips; Mr. N. Krishnakumar of Mind Tree and Mr. Ghansyam Dass of Nasdaq.
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Victoria's ICT Mission to India
Ms. Marsha Thomson, Hon. Minister for Information and Communication
Technology seen at Chennai along with (L to R) Mr. C. Sarat Chandran,
Director of the Chamber; Dr. T.J. Rao, Hony. Consul General of India
in Melbourne; Mr. Vijay Susarla, Vice President, Australia-India
Chamber of Commerce, Melbourne; and Mr. Wayne Lewis, Director, ICT
Investment and Business Development of Victoria.
A high level 24-member Trade Mission from the State of Victoria led by the State's high profile and dynamic Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Hon. Ms Marsha Thomson, visited Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai in October and also participated in I.T. Com 2004 at Bangalore. At Mumbai, the Minister called on Mr. T C Venkatasubramanian, Chairman and Managing Director of EXIM Bank and later hosted a cocktail party, which was attended by leading entrepreneurs and senior professionals of the IT industry.
Members of the Victorian ICT Trade Mission seen along with the
officials of the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce at the Seminar.
The Minister was in Chennai on October 28 and 29 and met a large number of IT companies in South India over Cocktails on October 28 at Taj Coromandel.
Speaking on the evening, Hon. Ms.
Marsha Thomson stated that Victoria has already attracted eight
The Chamber organized a Seminar followed by one-to-one meetings on October 29, at Hotel Residency Towers, when some of the members from the visiting delegation made presentations on their activities, and expressed keen interest for seeking collaborations and partnerships with Companies in India.
The presentations were made by Mr. Paul Radford, CEO of CHARISMATEK Software Metrics; Ms. Anita Bowtell of Polaris Communications; Mr. David Keenan, Manager, Economic Development of City of Ballarat and Mr. R M Iyer, President & CEO of Business Intelligence Technologies Pty. Ltd.
Mr. Andrew Ferrington, Assistant Director, Multimedia Victoria, gave a perspective on the V Victorian ICT industry and its global connections.
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Visit of Premier of South Australia
Hon. Mr. Mike Rann, Premier of South Australia, at the Luncheon Meet. Others
seen are (L to R) Mr. G. Krishna Murthy, Chairman & CEO, Bharat Overseas Bank
Ltd; Mr. S. Muthukumaran, General Manager, Export-Import Bank of India; Mr. C.
Sarat Chandran, Director and Mr. N.C. Sarabeswaran, President of the Chamber.
Hon. Mr. Mike Rann, Premier of South Australia visited Chennai on October 18, 2004 and the Chamber hosted a Lunch in honour of the Premier and members of the Trade Mission that accompanied him.
Sharing his
observations on India and South Australia on the occasion, Mr Mike Rann said
that Adelaide, capital of South Australia, was judged "as the most competitive
and least beaurocratic city" on a study conducted by KPMG that covered 98 cities
and 11 industrialized nations. Mr.
Rann said that South Australia is an under-populated State and therefore
"Business people, skilled persons, professionals and students will find it
easier to migrate to South Australia than other States in Australia".
Mr. N.C. Sarabeswaran, President of the Chamber, welcomed the Premier and said that when the Chamber plans the next Delegation to Australia, a visit to Adelaide will be included.
The Premier also met the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Dr. J Jayalalithaa and said that the discussion covered similarities between Tamil Nadu and South Australia, particularly in IT, auto industry and film productions. "We also discussed issues relating to Water", the Premier added.
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Australian High Commissioner Addresses the Annual Day
Mr. N.C. Sarabeswaran, President of the Chamber, seen presenting a bouquet in
the form of a cricket ball to the Australian High Commissioner, Her Excellency
Ms. Penelope Anne Wensley, A.O. Dr. T.J. Rao, Hony. Consul General of India in
Melbourne looks on.
"Indo-Australian bilateral trade has grown impressively to 5.9 billion Australian Dollars and India today is the seventh largest export market for Australia", observed Her Excellency Ms. Penelope Anne Wensley, the Australian High Commissioner, addressing the 15th Annual Day Meeting of the Chamber held at Hotel Taj Connemara, on October 14, 2004. Nevertheless, the economic relations between the two countries were far below its potential, she added. Ms. Wensley noted a number of positive developments like the resumption of Qantas flights between Mumbai and Sydney, growing people-to-people contacts and emergence of education as a major growth area. There are about 20,000 Indian students in Australian Universities at present.
Information technology and biotechnology offered other two important sectors for cooperation Ms. Wensley, who will shortly be returning to Canberra after completing a three-year term in New Delhi, said that opportunities in tourism "still remains significantly untapped" and there are also some quarantine related issues covering import of food items.
Dr. T J Rao, India's very popular Hony. Consul General in Melbourne, felicitated the Chamber on its 15th Anniversary and said that the Chamber has emerged as a major platform for promoting Indo-Australian business relations. Mr. C Sarat Chandran, Director of the Chamber, mentioned that there has been a major upsurge in Indo-Australian business trends in recent past and this is reflected in the Chamber's growing membership and activities.
Earlier, Mr. N C Sarabeswaran, President of the Chamber, welcomed the High Commissioner and the Hony. Consul General and observed that India's low cost but technically competent work force could add value to Australia's natural resources.
Mr. B Natraj, Vice-President of the Chamber, proposed the vote of thanks. Later in the evening, the Chamber hosted a Dinner in honour of the High Commissioner at Hotel Taj Coromandel.
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Vocational Education - Western
Australia Expertise
Seen from (L to R) Mr. P. Gopalakrishna, Secretary of the Chamber, Mr. Rob
Meecham, Director - Business Development Directorate, Challenger TAFE, Western
Australia; Mr. N.C. Sarabeswaran, President of the Chamber; Ms. Coralie Morrisey,
Director - Training Delivery, West Coast College of TAFE, Western Australia and
Mr. K.V.V. Rajan, Senior Marketing Advisor, Western Australian Trade
Office-India, Chennai.
In a Seminar jointly organised by the Chamber and Western Australian Trade Office at Chennai on September 24, 2004, Mr. Rob Meecham, Director, Business Development Directorate, Challenger TAFE, Western Australia, pointed out that vocational education and training programmes provided the right climate to meet the need of industry and entrepreneurs. Mr. Meecham said that "Industry's involvement in the curriculum played a vital role in creating the appropriate talent relevant to the needs of the industry. TAFE (Technical and Further Education) is an Australian training and skills development institution present in several countries in the world and TAFE is now actively looking at opportunities for promoting their activities in India.
Ms. Coralie Morrisey, Director, Training Delivery, West
Coast College of TAFE, Western Australia, highlighted in her presentation the
importance of promoting a blend of flexible and customized training solutions
for industry, schools, local government and community.
Mr. N C Sarabeswaran, President, Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce, in his welcome address, observed that Australian qualifications would enhance our professional standards to meet the global competition. Mr. K V V Rajan, Senior Marketing Advisor, Western Australian Trade Office-India, Chennai, proposed the vote of thanks.
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Workshop on Marketing Skills for
Technical Executives
Mr. Vinay Piparsania, Vice President - Sales & Marketing, Ford India, addressing
the delegates.
To create an awareness in
Technical executives on the concept of strategies in approaching and winning
customers and sustain them, the Chamber organised a full-day Workshop on
September 16, 2004 at Hotel Taj Connemara, Chennai.
The Workshop organized in association with Export-Import Bank of India
saw outstanding presenta
Mr. S.R. Rao (right), Chief General Manager, Export-Import Bank of India,
receiving a memento from Mr. P. Gopalakrishna, Secretary of the Chamber.
Dr. M S Ananth, Director, IIT, Chennai, in a scintillating talk told the
participants how IIT turns out some of the most successful students in the
world. Mr. Ashok Anantram,
President, Business Development of Apollo Hospital Group, analysed the
importance of emerging new service industries like Health Care and Tourism. Mr. S
R Rao, Chief General Manager, Export-Import Bank of India, in an exhaustive
presentation backed by his wide experience, talked at length on the major trends
in project exports involving construction, turnkey projects and consultancy
services and focused on Multilateral Funded Projects overseas and the role of
Exim Bank in facilitating them.
The afternoon session was devoted
to presentations of some Case Studies. Mr. S Sunderarajan, Managing Director of
ANZ Information Technology Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, talked on ANZIT as an
experiment in successful offshore software development.
Mr. Vinay Piparsania, Vice-President-Sales & Marketing of the highly successful
Ford India, in his well-structured presentation, told the exciting story of the
Company in marketing of Auto Products.
He explained the formula of success of Ford India has been continuously evolving
products and brands. In the final presentation at the Seminar, Mr. Sampath
Kasirajan, the well known Textile Consultant, based in Melbourne, gave an
analysis of the challenges for Indian Textile Industry in the post-quota period
after 1 January 2005.
The broad range of themes and the
rich presentations added tremendous value to the participants. Mr. S Muthukumaran,
General Manager, Export-Import Bank of India, Chennai welcomed the Speakers and
the delegates and Mr P Gopalakrishna, Secretary of the Chamber, proposed the
vote of thanks.
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Mahindra City Makes Rapid Strides
Dr. J. Jayalalitha, Hon 'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, laid the foundation
stone for Software Development Centre of Infosys in Mahindra City on 25th
February, 2004. Others (L to R) : Mr. Arun Nanda, Executive Director, Mahindra &
Mahindra; Mr. Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, M & M; Mr. N.R.
Narayana Murthy, Chairman & Chief Mentor, Infosys and Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan, Dy.
Managing Director & Chief Operating Officer, Infosys.
Mahindra City, the emerging new industries hub, 45 km. Southwest of Chennai, is
a world of its own. With its well-laid roads, ready-to-use basic infrastructure
and lots of greenery, Mahindra City in Maraimalai Nagar, is India’s first fully
planned and integrated Business City and first Corporate SEZ promoted through a
private-public partnership model.
Set amidst 1400 acres of sylvan surroundings comprising of hills,
lakes and a reserve forest, it is the first-of-its-kind-venture encompassing
business, housing, leisure and retail zones.
More and more of India’s top
companies are converging on this new growth center to set up business
facilities. The information
technology major, Infosys Technologies Ltd. has acquired 129 acres for setting
up a software development center.
Mahindra City has signed an MoU with the Singapore based space provider Ascendas to build one million sft. for IT/ITES companies. Besides, they are in advanced stages of negotiation with some of the leading companies in the IT sector for requirements topping 150 acres.
Mr. B.G. Menon,
Chief Operating Officer Mahindra City
Next in the pipeline are the units of TTK Healthcare; Kryolan, a German cosmetic firm; Srinivasa Global Exports, a company engaged in garment exports; and an IT Park on the lines of the TIDEL park in Chennai. The IT Park of Ascendas, master planners of Mahindra City, will meet the needs of firms, which do not require a large area for their operations.
Mahindra City symbolizes the combined expertise of two giants from the
Indian Industry, the USD 2 billion Mahindra & Mahindra and Tamil Nadu
Industrial Development Corporation Ltd.
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Growing Equation between India and Western Australia
Ms. Sonia Grinceri, Regional Director, Western Australian Trade Office
in India, addressing the members. Seated (L to R) : Mr. C. Sarat
Chandran, Director; Mr. N.C. Sarabeswaran, President and Mr. P.
Gopalakrishna, Secretary of the Chamber.
Western Australia, which is aggressively reaching out to India in the
past few years, have seen a significant growth in the business
relations between the two regions. The major Corporate Groups from
India, Oswal Group and Aditya Birla Group have made substantial
investments in Western Australia.
These observations came from Ms. Sonia Grinceri, the dynamic Regional
Director of Western Australian Trade Office in India, at a meeting
organized by the Chamber in Chennai on June 21.
Western Australia is the first among the Australian States to establish its own trade offices in India. There are two today, one in Chennai and the other in Mumbai. Australia's state of the art mining technology, its enormous success in food industry, particularly in export of natural fruits and fruit juices, its highly developed sea food industry all have found synergies in India.
Western Australia is also a leader in Vocational Education and there are plans for the high profile TAFE ( Technical and Further Education) and institutions involved in high quality vocational training to enter India in partnership with Indian educational groups.
Ms. Sonia Grinceri also observed that Western Australia has entered into an arrangement with Sports Authority of India (SAI) for training of sports personnel in India.
Mr. C Sarat Chandran, Director of the Chamber, who recently led an 18-member Business Delegation to Australia, gave an overview of the Mission's experiences in Australia and said that India is becoming increasingly visible in Australia, and Australia seems to be discovering the potential of India and Indian business.
Mr. N C Sarabeswaran, President, welcomed the distinguished guest and Mr. P Gopalakrishna, Secretary of the Chamber, proposed a vote of thanks.
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Scaling new heights in Indo-Australian Business
Members of the Delegation seen together in Sydney
The Chamber's Mission to Australia has now become an annual feature. The Mission 2004 was more ambitious and covered lot more ground than the previous ones. Whereas the earlier Missions lasted one week and covered two cities, this time the visit extended to ten full days from May 15 to May 25 and covered three cities - Perth, Melbourne and Sydney and in each of these places, a full range of programmes consisting of seminars, networking sessions, visits to business sites and one-to-one meetings awaited the delegates. Every such Mission has been a building block to bring Australia and India closer and strengthen business ties between the two countries.
Perth
The Delegation's first stop was Perth. The activities here were coordinated by the high profile Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia (CCIWA), in association with the Department of Industry and Resources. The programme began with a briefing session on Monday, May 17 held at the CCIWA, which turned out to be a very productive brainstorming session. Mr Phil Nixon, Chairman, International Trade Committee, CCIWA, welcomed the Delegation and observed that there is a special relationship between India and Western Australia as both are Indian Ocean rim countries. Mr. Keith Seed. Director-Trade Services, explained the activities of the Chamber and said that the two Chambers could identify areas, where they can interact in close cooperation with each other. Mr. John Nicolaou, Senior Economist (CCIWA), made a presentation on the Australian Economy, which was followed by an analysis of Australian Market by Ms Clare Taylor, Trade Officer. Mr. C Sarat Chandran, Director of IACC, who led the Mission, introduced the delegates and thanked CCIWA for the warm hospitality the delegation received in Perth. A lively discussion followed to identify the promising areas where Australia and India could collaborate. Among the potential industries, fruits & vegetables and dairy products are the areas, where Australian technology for processing, packaging and storage could add tremendous value to Indian agro industries. It was also felt that organisations like TAFE (Technical and - Further Education) could help India's vocational education. Of particular interest to Indo-Australian Chamber was the Kwinana Skill Centre, where CCIWA working along with Western Australian Industry has created a very successful project for skill development with an industry focus.
The briefing session was followed by a trade session where representatives of over 45 Western Australian companies interacted individually with the delegates to explore possible business associations. At Perth, the delegation was guest to a dinner hosted by Ms Sushma Paul, Honorary Consul for India in Perth, in association with the Australia-India Chamber of Commerce. The evening proved a lively one and members of the delegation had an opportunity to interact with a number of Indian expatriate businessmen and professionals. The delegates also attended a dinner and networking session organised by Australia-India Business Council.
Perth programme concluded on the evening of May 18, and its success owes a great deal to Mr. K V V Rajan, Senior Marketing Advisor of Western Australian Trade Office in Chennai, who was present in Perth throughout the Mission.
Melbourne
The delegation arrived in Melbourne on the afternoon of May 19 and spent the next following three days in the city. The activities started with a visit to IMPEX Trade Fair. Later in the evening, the Australia-India Chamber of Commerce, based in Melbourne, hosted a dinner for the visiting team. The evening provided an opportunity for the delegates to interact with the Melbourne-based Indian business community. The dinner was also attended by Dr. T J Rao, India's widely respected Hony. Consul General in Melbourne.
On the morning of May 20, the South East Melbourne Manufacturing Alliance (SEMMA) arranged a breakfast meeting when presentations were made on the business opportunities in the city of Greater Dundenong, which is one of the fastest growing regions in Victoria State. Those who spoke on the occasion included Ms. Sandra George, representing City of Greater Dundenong, Mr. Paul Downg, Executive Officer of SEMMA and Mr. Douglas Maxwell, Managing Director of Steel & Lincoln Foundry (VIC) Pty Ltd. In the afternoon, several delegates visited the Australian Trade Centre (ATC) and its Showcase of Australian export products. Mr. Craig Cherry, Managing Director and Mr Bruce Esler, Export Development Manager of ATC, took pains to explain how Indian importers could benefit from ATC's extensive data base on Australian suppliers in a variety of high quality products.
The highlight of the Melbourne programme was a well planned and very useful interactive session with Mr. David Thomas, General anager, and his colleagues at Tendersearch, an organization which offers services related to tendering. Tendersearch describes itself as "Your complete tendering Resource Centre" in relation to an extensive range of tenders released in Australia. Tendersearch specialists continuously collate and update information on tenders, quotes, expression and registrations of interest from around the world.
The delegation had detailed discussions with Mr. David Thomas, Mr. Ted Brown and other members of the Tendersearch Team. The discussions were focused on how these services could be of use to Indian companies interested in Australian business opportunities and may want to respond to many of the tenders.
The Melbourne part of the Mission concluded with a sightseeing trip on May 22, before the delegates took the flight to Sydney.
Sydney
A busy and event packed programme awaited the delegates in Sydney. The programmes began with a relaxed and enjoyable sightseeing trip around Sydney, followed by lunch on a cruise on Sydney waters.
The business part of the activities started on the morning of Monday 24, with an interactive session at "Greater Western Sydney Trade and Investment Centre". Western Sydney is Australia's fastest growing region representing 10% of Australian economy. Mr Greg Evans, Director of Greater Western Sydney Economic Board, welcomed the delegates and made a presentation on the economic profile of Western Sydney and the investment opportunities in the region.
Prof David Lamond of the Sydney Graduate School of Management, provided an introduction to the School of Management and the Asia business connection. The delegates were then taken on a bus tour to the business sites of Paramatta, a fast growing hub for services, manufacturing, shipping in the Western Sydney region. The visit covered Harris Farm Markets and Lincraft, a major Chain Stores and also Business Park, a part of Sydney Olympic Park. The site visit provided the delegates a first hand view of the Australian market for a range of products including textiles, homeware and farm products.
The major event of the Sydney programme was the high profile and well attended Seminar and networking Session organized by the Australia India Business Council (AIBC) in association with Australia India Chamber of Commerce in New South Wales, held at the impressive Conference Hall of the NSW Department of State and Regional Development on the evening of May 24. It was a lively session and more than 50 NSW-based businessmen and professionals participated in the event and many of them were from the expatriate Indian community. Among those who spoke on the occasion were Mr. Neville Roach, Chairman of AIBC, Mr. M Ganapathi, India's most popular Consul General in Sydney, Mr. Robert Krakowiak, who has intimate knowledge on Indian consumer market, Mr. Les Baxter of IDP Education, Mr. Rony Kurian, who presented a Case Study of exporting apples to India and Mr. David Gottlieb, Project Coordinator of Australia-India Young Leaders Programme. Mr. Sarat Chandran in response made a presentation on the evolving trends in Indo-Australian business.
The Seminar was followed by a networking session, which provided an opportunity for the delegates to interact with the participants, exchange notes and in many cases fix follow up meetings.
The evening brought to a close an event filled and highly rewarding 10-day visit to Australia. Many of the delegates stayed back for a few more days to complete their engagements and to follow up on some of the business leads generated during the earlier days.
At the end of it all, there were tired faces, but the sense of satisfaction among the team was unmistakable at having discovered a world of opportunities and some new friendships.
Indian Business Delegation to Australia – 2004
| Mr. C Sarat Chandran | Director, Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce( Leader of the Delegation ) |
| Mr. Seenivasan Anandh | Tea Taster, Bharathi Tea Factory, The Nilgiris |
| Mr. Ashok Kumar Anchalia | Sr. Advisor, Surana & Surana International Attorneys, Chennai |
| Mr. K Pugazhendhi | Chief Executive, K P International, Chennai |
| Mr. S Ganesh | Marketing Manager, K P International, Chennai |
| Ms. Charu Gupta | Director, J J Consultants Pvt Ltd., New Delhi |
| Ms. Jessy Jacob | Proprietrix, Jessy Jacob Associates, Bangalore |
| Mr. Mohan Jacob | Chief Executive, Barton Trust, Bangalore |
| Mr. Aejaz Ahmed Khan | Managing Partner, Overseas Marine Export, Chennai |
| Mr. K Senthil Kumar | Marketing Manager, Priya Handloom, Karur |
| Mr. T S Natarajan | Principal Consultant, HRJS, Chennai |
| Mr. N R Pai | Chief Executive, Aspinwall & Co Ltd., Kochi |
| Mr. K G Prem | Partner, A-Tex Home Collection, Karur |
| Mr. B Kamala Seeralan | Chief Executive Officer, Motherland Tea Plantation (P) Ltd., The Nilgiris |
| Mr. Nedumaran Senthil | Tea Taster-cum-Marketing Officer, Sterling Tea Factory, The Nilgiris |
| Mr. S Sathyanarayanan | Director, Sanco Trans Ltd., Chennai |
| Mr. K Prasanna Kumar Shetty | Managing Director, City Info Services (P) Ltd., Bangalore |
| Mr. S Vijayakumaar | Senior Vice-President, Sherpa Business Solutions, Chennai |
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Workshop on Wasteland Development : Role of Corporate Sector
In an effort to broaden the
scope of its activities and to bring Australian technologies relevant to India,
the Chamber organized a high profile Workshop on the application of Australian
know-how for wasteland development in India with a special focus on Tamil Nadu.
The Workshop was organized in association with M S Swaminathan Research
Foundation (MSSRF), the Government of Tamil Nadu and the University of Sydney
and jointly sponsored by NABARD and Bharat Overseas Bank Ltd. The inaugural
address by Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman of MSSRF turned out to be a defining
presentation. He pointed to the successful reclamation of wasteland at the
Jordan Valley in Israel and Imperial Valley in California. He recommended the
Corporate Groups to come forward and set up genetic gardens and extend greater
support to Self Help Groups. He also suggested innovative policy initiatives
like the Gujarat Government Scheme for individual farmers to reclaim their own
wasteland as part of food for work programme. He commended the ITC Ltd. which
agreed to adopt one lakh villages nationwide for wasteland development. 
Prof. Kevin Parton, Dean and Campus Director and Prof. David Goldney, visiting Professor, Faculty of Rural Management, The University of Sydney, Orange, made presentations on Australia's experience in wasteland development through community centered land care management. Mr. R Rajagopal, I.A.S., Special Secretary, Agriculture Dept., Government of Tamil Nadu, said that land was not merely an economic asset, but an emotional property for large section of farmers. Ms. C K Gariyali I.A.S, Chairperson and Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women Ltd. (TNCDW), said it planned to seek the help of NGOs as an instrument of interface between Women's Self Help Group under a programme for cultivation of neem, cashew, mushroom, flowers etc on degraded land.
ITC's success on social forestry was explained by Dr. H D Kulkarni, Deputy General Manager, while Mr. S K Vettivel detailed the progress made in the past few years by the TNCDW or CAFARD, a voluntary organization in cultivating Jatropha and Cashew in degraded land.
The Workshop's main thrust was to evolve an effective policy on wasteland development. It was clear that this involved some trade offs and compromises between -
economics and ecology
a technical view of development and a social economic focus, and
a corporate led model and a community led model
Earlier, Mr. N C Sarabeswaran, President of the Chamber, welcomed the participants and Speakers and observed that the Chamber looks forward to working closely with M S Swaminathan Foundation and the University of Sydney in creating a model for Wasteland Development, which could be recommended to the Tamil Nadu Government. The technical session was followed by a lively panel discussion with all speakers and Dr B F Hulagur, General Manager, NABARD, under the Chairmanship of Dr. M Velayudhan, Director, MSSRF. The panel addressed queries of Corporates and Industrial Houses interested in Wasteland Development programmes. The Workshop concluded with a vote of thanks by Mr. P Gopalakrishna, Secretary of the Chamber.
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Indian Fashion Guru pays Tribute to Australia
In a spectacular ceremony in Bangalore on 13 March, Indian fashion couturier Mr. Hemant Trevedi, received the Australian Alumni High Achiever Award for 2004 from IDP Education Australia, India and the Australian Alumni Association, India. Mr. Vinod Kaul, Executive Director of Fashion Design Council of India, presented the award to Mr. Trevedi.
The Australian Alumni High Achiever Award was launched in 2003 by IDP Education Australia, India, and the Australian
Alumni Association, India. It recognises the achievement of an Indian graduate from any Australian education institution, who has made an outstanding contribution to the Indian industry and society.Mr. Hemant Trevedi has been conferred this award in recognition and appreciation of his exemplary contribution to the Indian fashion industry as an editor, academic, choreographer, fashion stylist, visualizer and consultant. His trend setting designs have placed India on the international map, making him one of India's most sought -after designers. This 43-year old fashion designer has clad some of the most beautiful women in India, including several former beauty queens.
After completing his senior secondary education at Applecross in Perth, he did a Diploma in Fashion Design at Western Australian Institute of Design also in Perth. He was the first male student to graduate in the history of the college. "I'm happy and grateful that IDP has chosen me for the High Achiever Award. "I owe much of my success to the training and education I received in Australia", Mr. Trevedi said with a lot of passion.
The function was attended by representatives from the corporate sector, education ministry, local education institutions, representatives from nearly 20 Australian institutions, the media and Australian alumni. The live fashion show showcasing Mr. Trevedi's collection, and the telecast of the video recordings of messages from his family in Perth as part of a presentation titled "Milestones" –were some of the highlights of the event.
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Workshop on "Packaging for Successful Exports"
The Workshop on Packaging for Successful Exports held under the auspices of the Chamber on February 19 at Hotel Taj Connemara, Chennai, attracted overwhelming participation and lively interaction.
The lead presentations were made by Dr H B N Murthy, the renowned packaging expert and practicing Consultant. Mr. G B Reddy, Deputy Director of Indian Institute of Packaging and Mr. G M K Raju, Chief Executive Officer, and Ms. Vasudha Narasimhan, Export Manager of ITC Ltd., were the other speakers.
Dr Murthy, in the first presentation of
the day, talked of the fundamentals of packaging, packaging systems and current
practices, and prepared a check list to be followed. Mr Reddy saw packaging as
an integral part of the Company’s marketing strategy and spelled out the various
elements of a successful packaging approach. He also talked with specific
reference to packaging for sea food and spices, and analysed the role of
eco-friendly packaging material.
Talking of emerging new technologies in Packaging and
Labelling, Ms. Vasudha Narasimhan talked of holograms, barcodes, radio frequency
and several other fraud detection and security enforcement measures. Ms. Narasimhan also emphasized the need to tailor for storage, transportation
systems to market considerations and environment regulations.
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In the afternoon session, Dr Murthy explained how to design an export worthy
packaging cost effectively, minimising waste and also talked on packaging issues
and regulations in major countries.
The last session was an Open House in which Dr Murthy answered questions on a
wide range of sessions covering diverse products from engineering to cosmetics,
leather and food.
Earlier, Mr. Sarat Chandran, Director (Business Development) of the Chamber,
welcomed the Speakers and the Workshop ended with a vote of thanks by Mr P
Gopalakrishna, Secretary of the Chamber.