Canada India Foundation

Origin

The idea of an organization that would harness the collective influence of the Indo-Canadian community and Canadian friends of India to promote the development of public policies aimed at stronger ties between Canada and India, was mooted by a number of prominent Indo-Canadians based in Greater Toronto, in 2007. The discussion resulted in the incorporation of Canada India Foundation, a non-profit corporation, whose membership would be based on invitation and include industrialists, senior executives and top tier professionals, with track record of achievement as well as passion for Canada-India ties. Its first initiatives were the organization of a Gala with Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper and India's former President Abdul Kalam as chief guests and the creation of the CIF Chanchlani Global Indian Award. Initial members of the Foundation came from the Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver areas, with the objective to have representation in all provinces of Canada, and also to have an Indian presence.

Mandate

Canada India Foundation has taken a leadership role in fostering support for stronger bilateral relations between Canada and India, greater engagement of the Indo-Canadian community in Canadian politics and public policy and increasing awareness of the changing face of India.

1) CIF works to foster support for stronger bi-lateral relations between Canada and India. Through active participation in the public policy debate and active engagement with Parliamentarians, CIF positions the need for a strategic partnership between Canada and India as critical to Canada's future

2) CIF works towards raising the profile of Indo-Canadian community by facilitating:

- Participation by qualified members of the community in the policy-making and the legislative process, - Engagement with federal and provincial legislators in areas such as immigration, professional accreditation and security - increased representation of the community within crown agencies, government boards and judicial and quasi-judicial tribunals

3) CIF takes an active role in increasing the awareness of Canadians about the changing face of India, and the promotion of Canada's interest in India.

Governance

CIF is managed by a Board of Directors. The number of Directors in the Board is decided for each term by the full membership. The number of directors for the 2015-2017 term is 11. The Directors appoint Officers of the corporation, namely Chair, Vice-Chair, National Convenor, Secretary and Treasurer. The Chair and National Convenor in consultation with the rest of the Board are responsible for establishing the directions of the organizations and approving initiatives for any year. All operational aspects of the Foundation are managed by the Executive Director, appointed by the Board. The Board is elected for a 2-year term.

The following is the list of Chairs and National Convenors who have served CIF since its inception:

2007-2009 Chair: Surjit Babra ; National Convenor: Ajit Someshwar

2009-2011 Chair: Ramesh Chotai ; National Convenor: Aditya Jha

2011-2013 Chair: Barj Dhahan ; National Convenor: Rahul Shastri

2011-2015 Chair: V.I. "Lucky" Lakshmanan ; National Convenor: Laj Prasher

2015-2017 Chair: Ajit Someshwar ; National Convenor: Anil Shah

Kalyan Sundaram is the Executive Director. He has been serving in that capacity since 2009.

Initiatives

As a public policy organization, CIF has engaged in dialogue with leaders in the Government to understand the policy perspectives of the Government and to provide input where appropriate. CIF has met and held discussions with Canadian and Indian national and regional ministers, the Canada India Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group, High Commissioners of Canada in India and India in Canada and others in public and private sector. CIF was privileged to organize three visits by India’s former President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, including a meeting with Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper. CIF Members have accompanied Prime Minister Harper on both his delegations to India, in 2009 and 2012.

CIF instituted the first Award of its kind to honour one individual of Indian origin, whose accomplishments make the entire Indian diaspora proud. The Canada India Foundation ("CIF") Chanchlani Global Indian Award, which carries a cash prize of $50,000 towards a charity of the recipient’s choice, has been presented to Sam Pitroda, Tulsi Tanti, Ratan Tata, Deepak Chopra and N.R. Narayana Murthy. Both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Abdul Kalam were honoured guests at CIF’s first Award Gala. In addition, CIF and its Charter Members have helped establish and support India-focused studies in Canadian universities.

CIF organized 2 visits by Dr. Kalam to Canada, in 2008 and 2010. A compilation of his talks, titled "Prosperity and Peace for the Twenty-First Century", was published in 2012 by CIF.

Canada India Forums

One of Canada India Foundation's main initiatives is the organization of theme based Canada India Forums, highlighting specific sectors of opportunity for Canada and India to collaborate, both in trade and in non-trade related areas such as research, social policies etc. To-date, Canada India Foundation has organized 4 Forums:

Canada India Energy Forum (2009) - Toronto;

Canada India Mining Forum (2010) - Toronto;

Canada India Agriculture and Food Processing Forum (2012) - Vancouver and Saskatoon;

Canada India Infrastructure Forum (2014) - Ottawa and Toronto

Canada India Healthcare Summit (2015) - Toronto

The Forums bring senior public and private stakeholders from both Canada and India together to dialogue and make policy recommendations that can be implemented by the two countries for mutual benefit.