IJCCI felicitates winners of intercollegiate competitions

The Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IJCCI) organised a prize distribution ceremony for the India-Japan intercollegiate competitions’26 in the city on Wednesday.

Around 20 colleges participated in the essay-writing and speech competitions. “Both our competitions attracted more than 110 participants from city colleges. This encouraging response demonstrates the enthusiasm of students to explore international themes, understand another culture and engage with the growing relationship between India and Japan,” said S. Padmanabhan, president of IJCCI.

N. Ravi, Director, Kasturi and Sons Limited, said that India-Japan relations across many facets, including political, strategic, trade and investments, and culture, have been growing stronger over the years. He also described how the relationship had moved from a global partnership to a strategic global partnership.

“Japanese investments, the working of Japanese companies and assistance have greatly enhanced India’s technological, scientific and digital capabilities, improved competitiveness and enhanced skill levels,” said Mr. Ravi. “Over 665 student and faculty exchange programmes, technical cooperation and collaboration, and research programmes have been established between more than 128 universities in Japan and 257 universities in India,” he added.

Chief guest Takahashi Muneo, Consul-General, Consulate General of Japan, said that young Indians are not only the future of India-Japan relations but also the bridge that connects the two countries. “Japan has many opportunities for young Indians especially in areas such as engineering, IT, manufacturing and healthcare,” added him.

Avantika Chandrasekar of the University of Madras secured first place in the speech competition and Nedhiya Fathima S. of Velammal Engineering College won the first place in the essay-writing competition. The judges, K. Sivaramakrishnan and Sridhar Krishnaswamy, also spoke at the event.