"We want to partner with India in R&D and marketing"

The Canadian province of Quebec was in India to work on a partnership for the future to Indian Inc. Leading the delegation, Ministry of Economic and Regional Development, Quebec Assistant Deputy Minister, Marc Ferland spoke about its objectives of coming to India and how a country like Canada can strengthen its IT activity with Indian companies.

What are the areas where India and Canada can partner in general and Quebec in particular?

We are looking forward to partnering with India within three prime areas - the multimedia industry, the IT industry and the biotechnology industry. Within Quebec, there are nearly 3,500 people working for 275 companies in the multimedia sector.

Quebec alone employs more than 1,40,000 people in IT working for close to 5,000 IT companies. We have generated close to $5.5 billion in terms of exports to the US. Indian companies looking forward to developing alliances for the US market can look towards setting their base in Quebec and formulate partnerships with our companies in the areas of R&D and marketing. 

Why is there a lack of partnership between Indian and Canadian companies despite India sharing a very good business relationship with lots of US companies?

Indian companies started to work closely with the US because of the huge market for IT services and products. Whereas, we don't have that kind of huge market, but the cost of living and operating company's operations is quite on the lower side when compared to the US.

We already have big companies like Ericsson, Nortel. So now is the ideal time for Indian companies to set up base in Canada and partner with global companies on various fronts of R&D and marketing. This can help them in further cutting their operating cost and they will be very close to US-based customers as well.

What kind of incentives are you going to provide for Indian companies?

We have designed a website that provides all the needed information for companies planning to set up bases in Quebec. 

There are incentives being given by the government on various fronts like land, energy, electricity and high-speed connectivity. Close proximity to the US and lower operating costs are the two benefits of setting up operations in Canada

hat kind of response have you seen from the Indian IT and biotechnology sector so far?

We are getting great response from the Indian IT as well as biotechnology sector. In the coming months we are expecting a good number of Indian companies to start their Canadian operations and work in tandem with some of the best Canadian companies.

With bioinformatics being the new paradigm that could offer cures for diseases, Quebec is keen to develop expertise in this area. India, with its well-recognized skills in IT, is seen as a good talent pool to attract talented youngsters to migrate. An estimated 30,000 Indians migrate to Canada annually but only a small number head for Quebec, with Toronto and Vancouver as the preferred places of residence. To facilitate more flow of information about Quebec, we are exploring possibilities of opening a country office in India, and hope that India will do the same in the near future.

ZIA ASKARI

NEW DELHI