Volume 19                Issue #07       July 2026

What We Owe the Country That Gave Us Everything

Dear Friends,

Before I turn to this month's theme, a short note of continuity. In June, I wrote about the ninety-day window ahead of September's Canada Investment Summit. We are still watching that window closely, out of gratitude for our country and a genuine wish to see it succeed, and will share a fuller update in the coming weeks. For now, I want to turn to something closer to home - and to some good news.

Most mornings this month, I have walked by the lake before the city wakes up. The water is still, the air is cool, and for a few minutes there is nothing to do but notice how fortunate we are. July is Canada Day month, and I have come to think of it, in my own mind, as a month of gratitude. When so much of the world feels as though it is coming apart at the seams, we are able to walk freely by a lake, raise our families in peace, build businesses without fear, and disagree with our governments without consequence. That is not ordinary. That is not something every generation, or every country, gets to take for granted.

I am grateful for it every single day. But gratitude that stops at feeling grateful is not really gratitude at all - it is nostalgia. Real gratitude asks something of us. It asks - what do we do with what we were given?

The Question Behind the Gratitude

Many of us who lead and support this Foundation came to Canada decades ago with very little beyond ambition and a willingness to work. This country gave us room to build - an education system that took our children seriously, a labour market that eventually recognised what we could do, a path to ownership and belonging that did not depend on who our parents were. That is the debt every one of us carries, whether we came in the 1970s or last year.

So, the honest question is not only "how grateful are we," but "are we making sure that the newcomer arriving today has the same shot we had?" That is a harder question, and I do not think the answer is a simple yes.

A newcomer today faces a housing market that has priced out an entire generation, and a credential-recognition system that too often treats a foreign degree as a formality rather than an achievement. If we are serious about gratitude, we cannot only look backward at what Canada gave us. We have to look forward at what we are willing to build for the person walking through the door today.

A Collective Responsibility, not a Community One

This is not a diaspora issue, and CIF has never framed it that way. It is a Canadian issue. Every generation of newcomers - Indo-Canadian, Filipino, Ukrainian, Nigerian, Italian - has strengthened this country's economy, its universities, its culture, and its standing in the world. Ensuring the next generation gets a fair shot is not charity toward outsiders; it is an investment in the Canada we all still get to inherit. This responsibility rests with elected representatives, employers, institutions, and long settled Canadians alike and it is one that CIF is committed to raising clearly and in a non-partisan manner across every forum available to us. (READ MORE)

Toronto, Ontario | July 15, 2026 — A stellar cast of internationally renowned domain experts will gather together in Toronto under the aegis of Canada India Foundation (CIF) on Sept 11, 2026 to discuss the most pressing challenge facing the world today - building a more inclusive, sustainable and prosperous society. CIF announced the details of the upcoming international conference, Global Inclusive Prosperity Forum (GIPF), at a press conference held on July 15, 2026 at the CIF office. The first of its kind to be held in Toronto, GIPF is expected to set a new standard and elevate the conversation and create fresh avenues to explore to strengthen inclusive growth. Many of the participants are leaders with decades of experience and seasoned and compelling campaigners in the topics chosen.

GIPF, a landmark international thought leadership summit, will bring together leaders from government, business, academia, civil society and the innovation ecosystem in a day-long event to present and share ideas through keynote addresses and panel sessions, highlighting today’s most pressing geopolitical, economic, technological and social challenges and engaging in collaborative dialogue on themes critical to inclusive prosperity. (Read more)

Team Canada Trade Mission to India

Building on the reset launched by Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Modi at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis—and reinforced by Prime Minister Carney’s subsequent visit to India—the Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, will lead a Team Canada Trade Mission (TCTM) to India from October 12 to 17, 2026, underscoring Canada’s strong commitment to expanding commercial relations.

The mission will build on the growing economic partnership and expansion of bilateral trade between Canada and India, while supporting the shared goal of doubling bilateral trade by 2030. It will help Canadian businesses expand in a high-growth market, highlighting strengths in the mission's priority sectors. (Read more)

For the first time since the great tragedy of Air India bombing that killed all 259 onboard in 1985, considered the worst terrorist attack to happen before September 11, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the premier agency overseeing Canada’s external intelligence, in a Facebook post, released on National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, June 23, directly placed the blame on the Khalistani extremists. For years, Canada has prevaricated and avoided taking any firm position on the issue due to domestic political calculations and the latest admission, though forty years too late, comes as a minor consolation for the victim families. (Read more.)

The much-anticipated India-EU Free Trade Agreement will be signed and sealed by year end, according to India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal. The agreement when it comes into force in the first quarter of 2027 will bring under its umbrella trade between India and the 27-nation EU with almost 93% of exports from India enjoying duty-free access. Currently, India and the EU account for 25 per cent of the global GDP and one-third (about USD 11 trillion) of the international trade (about USD 33 trillion). (Read more.)

India recently marked its entry into the elite club of nations hosting private companies that can successfully launch rockets into space with potential commercial applications. Skyroot, a Bengaluru-based start-up launched Vikram 1 that placed multiple technology demonstration payloads and postcards into a low earth orbit. What is considered a technology first is that the rocket engine that powered Mission Aagaman was 3D printed in India.

India’s First Hydrogen-powered Train Rolls Out

In its dramatic transformation to cut fossil fuel usage, India introduced its first fully hydrogen-powered train. Flagged off by India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the train will cover 89 km between Jind and Sonipat in the state of Haryana. Designed and manufactured in India, the new technology adds one more layer of renewable energy alternatives to Indian railways which is already 99% electrified. (Read more.)

India Now Hosts Half of the World’s Global Capability Centres

Despite the recent negative sentiments on the future of India’s software sector, there are fresh signs that these companies will weather the challenges of AI and adapt to become even more dominant. According to India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Seetharaman, India now hosts more than half of the world's GCCs. “Few countries in modern economic history have built an innovation ecosystem of this scale and sophistication in such a short period.” Already home to more than half of the world’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) India is building an ecosystem capable of supporting around 5,000 GCCs by 2030. (Read more.)

India Becomes the First Country in the World to Make Hydrogen Using Nuclear Energy

Indian nuclear scientists have achieved a world first by producing hydrogen using atomic energy. The facility, set up by the Department of Atomic Energy at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, uses high-temperature heat from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor to split water into hydrogen and oxygen through an indigenously developed process, marking a significant step in nuclear-assisted clean energy research. 

In a huge breakthrough, the US investigators have charged Lawrence Bishnoi, a gangster imprisoned in India, and his aide Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar for ordering the assassination of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. In a coordinated action named 'Operation Hardball,' the law enforcement agencies of the US, Canada and Europe arrested 24 persons 11 of them in California connected to three India-based transnational organised crime groups charged with a litany of criminal acts, including Nijjar's assassination. Canada-India relationship had suffered a huge setback following unverified allegations by former Prime Minister, Trudeau, on India’s involvement in the assassination. (Read more.)

Tata Electronics Pips Foxconn India in iPhone Production

Tata Electronics beat Foxconn by assembling $26.3 bn iPhones for exports surpassing the world’s largest contract maker of iPhones, Taiwan’s Foxconn in India. The data relates to the five-year period of 2021-26 as India advances its Production Linked Incentive program. Tata broke into the Apple supply chain by buying out Wistron’s India operations in 2023. iPhones worth $18.6 billion were sold in the Indian market during this period, reflecting strong demand growth. (Read more.)

India’s sprawling National Capital Region and Delhi will likely see a high-speed ultra modern rail system that would place it among the most advanced public transit systems in the world. The Regional Rapid Transit System or RRTS is an ambitious project still in planning stages, aiming to connect Delhi to cities around 150 kilometres away with a transit system that provides comfortable travel at average speeds of around 90 kmph. If the project goes ahead as planned, it will do much more than cut travel time. It promises to reshape the economies of western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, boost tourism, support industries, create new real estate hubs and reduce pressure on one of North India's busiest highways. (Read more.)

Canada is seeing an historic shift for our country — one that opens new opportunities for relations between Canada and India. Speaking at CANSEC 2026, Canada’s leading defence, security and emerging technology event, on May 27, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney said: “The very nature of war is rapidly evolving, driven by the proliferation of drones, autonomous systems, and weapons in orbit. Conflicts could emerge closer to our borders than before, and new weapons are reducing the distance that separates us from them. The world has changed, and Canada must change with it. That is why, six weeks after forming the government, we announced our ambitious plan to rebuild, rearm, and reinvest in the Canadian Armed Forces.” (Read more)

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday met Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand in Manila to review bilateral ties, with both leaders discussing ways to advance cooperation and implement the shared objectives set by the prime ministers of the two countries. The meeting took place on the sidelines of ministerial engagements linked to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), where Jaishankar also held separate discussions with his counterparts from the United States, China, Russia, Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand. The talks covered a range of strategic issues, including maritime security, defence cooperation and trade. (Read more)

Shobit Khandelwal

Founder & CEO, ShyftLabs & Carter

Shobhit Khandelwal is an entrepreneur and technology leader with a career focused on data, artificial intelligence, and large-scale digital transformation. He grew up in India in a family deeply involved in entrepreneurship and infrastructure development, an environment that shaped his interest in building systems, solving complex problems, and creating economic value through innovation. (Read more)

Kamal Bhardwaj

President, Lotus Funeral & Cremation Centre

Kamal Bhardwaj is a respected funeral director, educator, & industry advocate recognized for his leadership in advancing culturally sensitive bereavement care and shaping funeral service regulation in Ontario. As Principal, and President of Lotus Funeral & Cremation Centre in Etobicoke, Kitchener Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Kamal has built an industry-leading organization known for compassionate, personalized service and operational excellence. (Read more)

Sisi Chakrabarti, TEP, CLU, CHS, MFA-P, RFC.

Managing Partner, Advisory Money Strategies Inc.

Chanchal (Sisi) Chakrabarti is an accomplished financial services professional, estate planning specialist, and philanthropy advocate with more than 25 years of experience helping individuals, families, business owners, & charitable organizations navigate complex financial, estate, and legacy planning matters. (Read more)

Vishal Taneja, CLU, CHS, MFA-P, RFC

Partner, Advisory Money Strategies Inc.

Vishal Taneja is an accomplished financial services professional, estate planning specialist, and philanthropy advocate with more than 15 years of experience helping individuals, families, business owners, and charitable organizations navigate complex financial, insurance, estate, and legacy planning matters. (Read more)

Canada India Foundation continued its efforts to help create awareness in the community to donate to the Canadian Blood Services. Blood is always a critical element in healthcare with the power to save lives. CIF is encouraging members of the Indo Canadian community to be proactive and help in this crucial program. 

Click here to join today

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Disclaimer: This monthly e-newsletter is produced by the Canada India Foundation (CIF), a registered not-for-profit organisation with an aim to provide meaningful communication between its own board of governors and with a larger audience of policy makers and industry leaders. Views expressed by writers are their own and the CIF does not necessarily agree with them. We do not claim to provide any advice on any subject. Similarly, we are not liable for any misrepresentation or misleading claims made by an advertiser. Content provided in this newsletter is for general information purposes only.