India Industries

India is the second largest producer of pulses and also a major importer of pulses, lentils and edible oils. Acute shortages and erratic monsoons plague the growth of the sector thereby making reliance on imports mandatory. 

Rising incomes and an affluent middle class has created a huge market for processed, high quality, premium food products including gourmet and processed foods. Improved palettes and higher disposable incomes are expected to keep demand high in niche areas.

India is the third largest domestic civil aviation market in the world. According to International Air Transport Association (IATA), India will displace the UK and become the overall third largest aviation market in 2025. The civil aviation industry in India has emerged as one of the fastest growing industries in the country during the last three years. As of March 2018, there are nearly 550 commercial aircrafts in operation in India.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) is going to invest Rs. 15,000 crore (US$ 2.32 billion) in 2018-19 for expanding existing terminals and constructing 15 new ones with the objective of improving and developing airport infrastructure to meet growing traffic demands. Also, domestic air traffic in India is expected to cross 150 million in FY19. Maintenance, Repair Overhaul (MRO), Airport related infrastructure and Services, Freight & Logistics, and Engineering & R&D Services are in high demand in India, given the government’s focus on building airport infrastructure in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

The cumulative total of the number of Indian students attending Canadian colleges and universities over the last year crossed 100,000 for the first time. Canada attracted 31,975 international students originating from India in 2015. That number rose to 52,890 by the end of 2016, and it had already reached 54,425 by October 2017.

Major Canadian Universities have a major presence in India at both the student recruitment level and the institutional level. New colleges and universities being set up are looking for collaborations and tie-ups in the STEM sectors and particularly for R&D. Faculty development and teacher training is another area which needs a huge boost in Indian market. Acute shortages of teachers severely impede the growth in the sector. The Indian government is trying to give a major push to vocational training and skills development. Courses are sought after in multiple areas like oil and gas, plumbing, masoning, hospitality, tourism etc.

The Indian telecom industry is the second largest in the world with a subscriber base of over 1.1 billion. India is the highest consumer of mobile data in the world and this will exponentially increase with the adoption of new technologies such as connected vehicles, Internet of Things (IoT) etc.

The IoT market in India is poised to reach USD 15 billion by 2020, accounting for nearly 5 percent of the total global market. Equipment and services still account for the major chunk of the capital expenditure undertaken by operators and system integrators. With the strong 4G rollout and government and operators talking about 5G, this sector will see continued investments by both Indian and International companies. Enterprise Solutions are a low proportion (15-25%) of telecom operator revenue today and there is a huge untapped potential within the enterprise market.

Infrastructure sector is a key driver for the Indian economy. The Government of India is expected to invest highly in the infrastructure sector, mainly highways, renewable energy and urban transport.

The launch of the ambitious 100 ‘Smart Cities Mission’ to make cities more livable and sustainable is one of the key projects of the Indian government with a focus on improving urban transportation and mobility by integrating smart technologies and solutions.

India and Canada have a long-standing MOU in co-operation in the road transportation sector with a focus on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and Road Safety. Transport Canada and Indian Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MORTH) have been under discussion to exchange knowledge/ expertise about road safety and explore Canadian expertise in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) under Canada- India Transportation working group.

India is the third-largest oil-consuming nation in the world. India imports around 80% of its total oil requirements and is the fourth-largest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) importer after Japan, South Korea and China, which accounts for 5.8 per cent of the total global trade.

In 2016, the country’s natural gas pipeline network spanned over 16,251 km in length and the proposed expansion of 30,000 km is envisaged by 2018-19. In light of mounting LNG production, huge opportunity lies for LNG terminal operation, engineering, and procurement and construction services.

India is already a refining hub with 21 refineries and expansions planned for tapping foreign investment in export oriented infrastructure, including product pipelines and export terminals. Foreign investors have opportunities to invest in projects worth US$ 300 billion in India, as India looks to cut reliance on oil imports by 10 per cent by 2022. Opportunity also exists in the development of City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks, which are similar to Delhi and Mumbai’s CGDs.