Tremendous opportunities for local entrepreneurs with India - HC

INDIA's High Commissioner to TT Arun Kumar Sahu says there are tremendous business opportunities for local entrepreneurs in India.

Sahu pointed to specific areas including tourism, information technology, agriculture, renewable energy, food processing, textiles, bio-technology, medicine and automobile manufacturing.

He also alluded to the many scholarships being offered annually and encouraged nationals to take up the offer to go to India to do their first degree to doctorate.

Opportunities available out of India for local businesses were explored during a webinar with the Arima Business Association, Greater Tunapuna Chamber, San Juan Business Association and The Supermarket Association, last week.

Sahu said before the pandemic some initiatives were explored but with the new emerging reality innovative ways of doing business in a virtual world must now be considered.

He said the office of the High Commissioner is ready to facilitate local entrepreneurs as many Indian industries are looking towards TT and the rest of the Caribbean as a hub for establishing IT centres, pharmaceutical and other industries in this region.

He noted the contribution of India as a major supplier of pharmaceuticals to the rest of the world during this pandemic and felt it was time TT got into the act to explore pharmaceutical manufacturing.

He said with TT being one of the biggest economy in the region, it has to think of how it can utilise its own geographical presence to do business with other companies around the world, particularly with Indian businesses which stands for quality and has the lowest prices.

Sahu also saw potential for companies involved in the renewable energy sector as well as viable economic possibilities in the setting up of desalination plants.

He said he would be very keen if companies here would be interested in agriculture, food processing and bio-technology.

Sahu is also looking at some kind of collaboration between Indian research institutes and the University of the West Indies which he promised to explore when covid19 measures eases up.

With respect to tourism, Sahu said there was enormous potential and encouraged entrepreneurs to consider sector-specific tourism such as medical tourism, religious tourism, sport tourism, adventure tourism, wellness tourism, among others.

Based on India’s weather patterns and the fact that there are over 22 languages spoken in his country, with only about 40 percent of the people speaking Hindi, he said this has to be done in consultation with people involved in this sector..

In terms of religion, he said although India is the bedrock of Hinduism, some of the oldest churches exist in that part of the world, along with the most divine Islamic structures and Buddhist corners. Sahu said he has also been encouraging people to visit TT and the rest of the Caribbean.

“There is immense potential for anybody who is interested in sport tourism. Cricket is a big thing, but it remains confined only to the IPL and CPL and test matches.”

He said India provides the best training at its national and private academy for children under 16 and 19, recalling shortly after his arrival in Trinidad, two girls, one under 16 were sent to one such academy and had a lifetime experience in cricket.

“That is the future of West Indian cricket.”