International Trade committee  India is a major service provider to the world as far as the IT sector is concerned. I would say the CEPA would bring both countries closer. There would be more exchanges of services both ways because Indian companies are now looking at investing in Canada on a large scale, apart

International Trade committee  Minaean has set up a base in India, and has invested in excess of $5 million in setting up these plants for production of modular buildings and prefabricated structures. When we entered the Indian market in 2001, there were 32 rupees to a Canadian dollar. Today there are 52 rup

International Trade committee  The Indian currency is very tightly controlled but a very open currency that is tied to the inflation governing the country at present.

International Trade committee  It did change. It was brought to the awareness of the public and the media. As you all know, India has the strongest media, being the largest democracy in the world. It did become more stringent. For the buildings that collapsed during that earthquake, the developers were put beh

International Trade committee  Unfortunately, no. India only allows lumber used for furniture. Lumber, because as I addressed the cost structure, if using.... BC Wood did put up their showroom in Bombay. We were a part of the inauguration. They tried their best for a good four years to enter the market, but ap

International Trade committee  I don't as such, because the standards that are being followed locally there are very similar to those being followed here. They are all governed by the international codes, which Canada follows, as does India. India, being a Commonwealth country, is very much following the Briti

International Trade committee  I suppose that's a tough question to answer. When Minaean first entered the Indian market during the earthquake in Gujarat in 2001, one of the delegates was from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which had already signed an MOU with the housing board in New Delhi to i

International Trade committee  We are talking here about how quickly an agreement would be put in place and then followed thereafter. Unfortunately, in India it all depends, state to state. In early 2000, Maharashtra state was considered to be the most aggressive state. Today it is one of the last ones, wher

International Trade committee  I would say yes, and basically it was the approval process. Getting the approval from the state government of that particular section—MHADA in Bombay—was a tiring process. Something we should have had within 30 days would take us practically 90 days. That was one of the major pro

International Trade committee  Primarily, Mr. Sandhu, what we have faced is that although the government and quite a few state governments have announced a single-window system for getting an approval process through, it takes its own time in getting these processes through. Quite often, more importantly, the

International Trade committee  My background, just for a minute, has been in shipping and trading since the year 1985. I moved to Canada in 1994. In terms of past exports, I did some trading in commodities, exporting yellow peas to India from here, tying in with the farmers and exporters out of Saskatchewan. I

International Trade committee  I hear you fine and loud and clear, sir.