The Greater Cumberland Chamber of Commerce kicked off The New India -Tapping the Potential program at the Consulate General of India in Sydney. The program featured great insights into India’s growing economy as well as the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. The event brought together business leaders and politicians to explore India and Australia’s exciting trade agreement and new opportunities for India’s rapidly growing economy.
Opportunities for Local Businesses
President of the Greater Cumberland Chamber of Commerce, Immanuel Selvaraj, enjoyed the event and shared his positive feelings on it and how it empowered and informed small to large businesses.
“I think it was very good, we got the overall information. Specifically, a lot of the smaller businesses, everybody talks about the Australian trade agreement however, I don’t think the smaller businesses know how it affects them specifically in terms of opportunities.”
“So it’s very clear to me that these opportunities will come up only when they connect with other businesses and they talk.
“There’s dialogue, so these events like this sort of go towards opening up your eyes and giving that knowledge, and the next level now is to start connecting businesses from Australia and India so they can talk to each other and sort of get opportunities moving forward,” Selvaraj pointed out.
India’s Economic Influence
Consul General of India – Sydney Dr S. Janakiraman, emphasised the size of India’s economy and mentioned it is the 4th largest economy and poised to become the third largest in the future. He also spoke on India being Australia’s fifth-largest trading partner. Additionally, he pointed out that India has had huge economic growth due to higher government expenditure, monetary policy stimulus and strong private consumption.
Reductions to Tariffs and Trade Expansion
Mr. Niravkumar B. Sutariya, Consul (Commercial Representative CGI), discussed that the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement removes most tariffs between the two nations. He mentioned Indian tariffs will be eliminated on more than 85% of Australian goods exports to India. Additionally, he pointed out that under the agreement, Australia provides a zero-duty access to India on 96.4% of items.
Experts are expecting the A-IECTA to provide many benefits including giving a big boost to many sectors of the Indian economy especially in textiles, gems and jewelry, pharmaceuticals and open new paths for the Indian service sector and increase bilateral trade.
Real World Business Impact
Selvaraj highlighted how the trade agreement can benefit businesses in the Cumberland region. “For those who want to grow their businesses, one of the opportunities is number one look for companies in India which want to export into the Australian market and become local partners, that is one opportunity,” Selvaraj emphasised.
“The second opportunity is if you got a product here and if you think that product is something that will be suitable for the Indian market. You then look for Indian partners and you expand into the Indian market, so there are two-fold opportunities that will come out of this,” he added.
For Jaisarathi Ranganathan, CEO and Founder of 3VIMA PTY LTD, an Australian company focusing on AI and Robotics in construction, the Australia-India trade agreement is beneficial to his company. “We are very well placed in kind of both sectors. One, it’s Australian manufacturer equipment and Australian technology, of which you’re able to take to India,” Ranganathan highlighted.
“Secondly there’s large scale opportunity for raw materials in India as well which can be brought back into Australia for this purpose so we have a two way alliance that works very well and we just need to see how best we can leverage it,” he added
Ranganathan said the type of raw materials India can supply includes cement, concrete and products related to 3D printing. He spoke on the idea of sourcing machinery equipment and machinery parts manufactured in India.
Networking opportunities and Culture Exchange
Guests not only gained valuable insights and an opportunity to network but also enjoyed a cultural exchange over a variety of delicious complimentary Indian cuisine and drinks.
