Dr T Chandroo, Chairman of Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI)

SICCI Board Members

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

Good evening. I am very pleased to join you for today’s event. It is heartening to see everyone gathered here tonight in person.  This is the first time I am meeting leaders from the Federation of Singapore Indian Organisations (FSIO) since it was launched in October last year. I look forward to a meaningful dinner and engagement session with FSIO leaders.

We have seen promising signs of recovery, with the reopening of our borders and easing of domestic COVID-19 measures. For instance, Singapore and India’s bilateral trade in goods increased from S$19.8billion in 2020 to S$26.8 billion in 2021, an increase of about 35%.

At the same time, we must remain prepared and equipped to weather the challenges ahead, be it rising global inflation and energy prices, or the continued risk of supply chain disruptions.

Over the past two years, SICCI has played an important role in supporting business recovery and growth. I would like to acknowledge SICCI for your swift response when the pandemic first hit, including setting up a COVID-19 Taskforce to help your members navigate the various pandemic relief schemes and prepare them to pursue new opportunities when business conditions improved. In fact, FSIO itself was borne out of SICCI’s efforts during the pandemic to ensure a coordinated and responsive voice from Indian organisations to the government. Beyond our shores, when the pandemic hit India, you also rallied the community and partnered with the Little India Shopkeepers & Heritage Association (LISHA) to initiate the ‘India COVID Relief Fund’, raising more than $1 million and mobilising your network to deliver essential medical supplies in support of the humanitarian crisis in India.

Now, as Singapore resumes economic activities and reconnect with the world, our businesses and workers must be ready to seize new growth opportunities. One area we can collaborate on is the Green Economy. Both India and Singapore are making concerted efforts to address the climate change crisis in our respective countries and are committed to reduce our carbon outputs. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at COP26 India’s commitment to achieve net-zero by 2070 and highlighted the importance of financing and developing affordable climate technologies.

On our end, we announced our Singapore Green Plan 2030 in February 2021, which charts concrete targets over the next ten years and articulates our national agenda on sustainable development.

In this regard, Singapore and India can cooperate on upstream initiatives to accelerate research, development, and deployment of sustainable and low-carbon tech solutions. This can also be done through our recently signed Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Fields of Science, Technology, and Innovation, which provides Indian federal funding and support for projects approved under its ambit.

Another area where private sector-led initiatives can create win-win solutions for both our companies and people is in the Digital Economy, where India and Singapore can partner to build digitally inclusive communities.

One such example is the link-up of Singapore’s PayNow and India’s United Payments Interface. When completed, the link-up will allow PayNow users in Singapore to make instant cross-border transfers to UPI users in India, using the recipient’s UPI ID.

Trade Association and Chambers like SICCI have always been important advocates for businesses and industry transformation, and your role is especially crucial in today’s business climate. SICCI-FSIO can advocate industry transformation, the adoption of digital technologies, and grow awareness of emerging areas of collaboration between Singapore and India. The various member organisations of the FSIO have also been supporting businesses in their digitalisation efforts and helping them navigate various challenges during the pandemic. Keep up the good work, and I encourage you to continue championing the interests of your members and helping our Indian businesses grow from strength to strength.

On its part, FSIO can continue to actively engage youths with activities and programmes that help spawn new ideas, cross-share expertise, and develop bonds and friendships with people from different backgrounds. One good example is CATALYSE 2020, organised by SICCI and four youth organisations – Narpani Peravi Youth, SINDA Youth Club, Tamil Representative Council Youth Wing and Young Sikh Association. CATALYSE was a six-month initiative to encourage social entrepreneurship among the youth, and it was heartening to see the Indian community coming together to guide the 150 students on their entrepreneurship journey. I am sure that with the FSIO member organisations working together, there will be more of such interesting and meaningful initiatives, to bring together and develop the Indian youth community.

In closing, I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to SICCI and all the FSIO member organisations for your contributions and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Thank you.