ISSUE 10 • FEBRUARY 11, 2021 IN TORONTO Newsletter of the Consulate General of India, Toronto

72nd Republic Day Celebrations

A Flag hoisting ceremony was held at the Consulate premises on occasion of the 72nd Republic Day. Consul General Apoorva Srivastava unfurled the National Flag. The event was streamed on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for public participation. Click here to watch the celebrations.

1 IQ - India Trivia Quiz IQ (India Quiz) was organized on 30th Jan in association with QuizWorks. Questions on India – culture, heritage, famous personalities, science and technology, sports, geography, cuisine, business and economics, books and literature were covered. Top 5 winners were awarded prizes among the 48 participants.

Congratulations to our top 5 winners: #1 - Anshul Punetha #2 - Krishna Dash #3 - Sripad Joshi #4 - Rushabh Shah #5 - Ashok Tak

Republic Day Celebrations by Community Organisations

RANA, Sanatan Mandir Cultural Centre and Arya Samaj Markham Vedic Cultural Centre Consul General Apoorva Srivastava joined Republic Day celebrations of Rajasthan Association of North America (Canada), Sanatan Mandir Cultural Centre and Arya Samaj Markham Vedic Cultural Centre. CG also offered her condolences on the passing of Shri Amar Erry, Presidesnt of Vedic Cultural Centre, Markham.

Celebrations at Prince Edward Island Indo-Canadian Association of PEI & Kerala PEI Cultural Association organized 72nd Republic Day celebrations at Charlottetown City Hall, Prince Edward Island. Mayor Philip Brown delivered his greetings on the occassion.

Celebrations at Manitoba Celebrations at New Brunswick Consul General Apoorva Srivastava joined celebrations Association of Indo-Canadians Fredericton celebrated of Manitoba Hindu Seniors Inc on 30th January and India's 72nd Republic Day virtually with Mayor Mike delivered her Republic Day greetings to all the O’ Brien joining the celebrations. members.

Celebrations at Nova Scotia Indo Canadian Association of Nova Scotia celebrated India's 72nd Republic Day virtually with organization members presenting songs and cultural performances to mark the occasion. Consul General Apoorva Srivastava also delivered greetings on the occasion.

CURRENT NEWS 2 Panorama India Republic Day Celebrations

With the support of the Consulate General of India, Toronto, Panorama India virtually celebrated India’s 72nd Republic Day on Sunday, January 31st, featuring over 9.5 hours of cultural and celebratory programming. Several Dignitaries & Celebrities sent in greetings to mark the occasion. The different segments included 12th Annual Panorama Indian Idol Competition, Senior Spotlight Segment, Folk Dance, Art Competition and Two legends one night with celebrity guests and L.Subramaniam.

Indian Idol Competition

The Grand Finale of the 12th Annual Panorama Idol 2021 was held with the top three Adult Contestants and the top three Junior Contestants competing for the coveted winner spot.

Junior Competition Winners Adult Competition Winners

Rachna Venkatesh (Winner) Pruthvi Pramod (Winner) Vyas Satish (Winner) Vidhi Sharma (First Runner-up) Susrika Dey (Runner-up) Shruti Vinod (Second Runner-up)

Folk Dance

The Folk Dances of India segment which featured traditional folk dances from across India consisted of submissions from artists from all the community groups throughout GTA.

Two legends one night

“Two Legends One Night” featured an exclusive chat with the power couple from the world of music and art, Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam and Dr. L Subramaniam.

Click here to watch all the performances.

CURRENT NEWS 3 Art Competition

150 children participated in the Panorama live digital Art Competition for various age categories from Kindergarden to Grade 9. based on various themes like Superheroes of India, Indian National Bird, Indian National Flower and Indian National Flag.

Ganishka Kapoor Eesha Bharathi Vemuri Reayan Rangarajan Kaavya Hegde First Place First Place First Place First Place

Category: Kindergarden - Grade 2 Category: Grade 3- Grade 5 Category: Grade 6 - Grade 8 Category: Grade 9 - Grade 12

Yoga for Wellness - Session 4

Announcement - SPAM CALLS

It has been brought to the notice of the Consulate that some fraudsters are spoofing Consulate General of India’s telephone lines to make calls aimed at cheating people, impersonating officials of the Consulate General of India. This is to confirm that no officials from the Consulate make any telephone calls seeking personal information from any Indian or foreign nationals. The Consulate General of India hereby advises members of the public not to entertain such suspicious telephone calls made in the name of Consulate General of India. They are also advised not to reveal any personal information or transfer any money in response to such calls. Click here to Read more.

CURRENT NEWS 4 VANDE 165 flights of Vande Bharat Mission BHARAT MISSION 165 special flights as on 10 February, 2021 under Vande Bharat Mission from Toronto to different destinations in India have facilitated the return of more than 39,400 passengers. 116655

Collaborative Innovation & Entrepreneurship Workshop on New India

As part of the 72nd Republic Day celebrations, Consul General made a presentation on 29th January, 2021 on India’s accomplishments at a workshop jointly organized by Bharat Centre of Canada and University of Canada West. She highlighted various facets of India and showcased the transformational changes being witnessed in political, economic, cultural, investment and tourism fronts. The workshop was attended by over 300 students.

CURRENT NEWS 5 Meeting with CGPA, Pharmexcil and IPA

On 2 February 2021, Consul General organized a virtual roundtable meeting between Canada Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA), Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) and Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA). The discussion focussed on ways to increase bilateral trade in pharma sector between two countries.

Launch of Canada India Virtual Healthcare Summit

On 3 February 2021, Consulate General of India, Toronto together with Canada India Foundation (CIF), Toronto Rehab Institute – University Health Network (TRI) and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) announced the holding of the next Canada India Healthcare Summit 2021 (CIHS 2021). The Summit will be held virtually on May 20-21, 2021. The themes of the Summit will be Pandemic Response and Post-COVID Healthcare, Biotechnology and Artificial Intelligence. The event will feature the CIF/Kite Institute Powerplay Pitch competition for innovators and start-ups in the healthcare sector.

Punjab-Ontario Virtual Conference Highlights of Union Budget 2021

On 5 February 2021, Consul General delivered a keynote On 6 February 2021, Consul General delivered address at Punjab-Ontario Virtual Conference organized special remarks at a special session on “Highlights by Impact Media and Events Group. She elaborated on of Union Budget 2021” organized by Indo Canada multifaceted relationship between Punjab and Ontario Chamber of Commerce and SBI Canada. Consul and highlighted a wide array of opportunities that can be General highlighted the key features of the budget explored to scale up and strengthen the ties between the and the opportunities that it creates as the country two sides. recovers from the pandemic and pursues the path of rebuilding and revival.

CURRENT NEWS 6 Budget 2021-22 lays a strong foundation for the new decade; is a key step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat: PM Modi In his remarks following the presentation of Union Budget 2021-22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that this year’s budget was built on the initiatives of Atmanirbhar Bharat. He added that the budget was aimed at strengthening Sankalp of Nation First, Doubling Farmer’s Income, Strong Infrastructure, Healthy India, Good Governance, Opportunities for Youth, Education for All, Women Empowerment and Inclusive Development. He emphasized that the budget has given special emphasis on health, sanitation, nutrition, pure water etc. and there is dedicated allocation for infrastructure creation, asset monetization and disinvestment among others. The budget has also pushed incentives for public private partnership in many areas. He further added that budget has made ample allocations to cushion the country from the shocks of the past year, prepare the country for an investment-led growth in the present and pave the path for a greener and sustainable economy in the future. Click here to read summary of budget.

Bookfield India REIT IPO: Raises USD 233 million from anchor investors

The global investment firm Brookfield’s Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)’s IPO (Initial Public Offer) opened for subscription on 3 February 2021 at a price band of Rs. 274 to Rs. 275. The firm (an affiliate of Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management) raised USD 233 million from anchor investors, where 6.21 crore units were subscribed at a bid price of Rs. 275 per unit. The anchor investors included financial institutions such as HDFC AMC, SBI Life, Tata AIG, HDFC Life, Kotak Mahindra AMC, and Bajaj Holdings, among others. The company owns a portfolio of four office parks located at Noida, Kolkata, Gurugram and Mumbai with a size of 14 million square feet. Click here to read the article.

India's vaccine production capacity is best asset IMF projects impressive 11.5% growth rate world has today, says UN chief for India in 2021

Calling for India to play a major role The International Monetary fund (IMF) has in global vaccination campaign, projected an impressive 11.5% growth rate for United Nations Secretary-General India in 2021, which will make the country the only Antonio Guterres termed the major world economy to register a double-digit vaccine production capacity of India growth on account of stronger than expected as the "best asset" that the world recovery, strong GST collections & good has today. UN chief's statement agricultural growth. With the latest projections, comes amidst India’s support of India regains the tag of the fastest developing over 5.5 million doses of economies of the world followed by anticipated coronavirus vaccines to growth of China at 8.1 per cent in 2021, followed neighboring countries. Click here to by Spain (5.9 per cent) and France (5.5 per cent). read the article. Click here to read the article

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