AMCHAM’s ICT Committee met on August 8th at the HPE office in Gurugram under the leadership of Ms. Bhawna Agarwal, Chairperson – ICT Committee, AMCHAM and Country Head, Strategy and Growth, HPE and Mr. Venkat Sitaram, Co-Chairman – ICT Committee, AMCHAM and Country Head and Senior Director, Enterprise, Dell. The committee discussed the Digital Person Data Protection Bill 2023 in detail, which is set to become an act and would affect all entities collecting personal data, and deliberated upon the upcoming phase dedicated to creating rules and regulations. The committee also examined ways to enhance the uptake of information technology solutions, stimulate demand, and fortify local design, development and production across software, hardware and services.

Mr. Amitesh Sinha, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, during his address, provided a complete overview on the strategic steps and initiatives taken by the government to promote and accelerate growth of the IT manufacturing sector in the country. The meeting concluded with some key strategic steps to be taken – formation of a Data Privacy Working Group, formation of a Make in India Working Group and submission of a strategic direction paper on licensing of imports. From the U.S. Embassy the following officials participated: Mr. Phil Cummings, Deputy Minister Counselor for EEST, Mr. Travis Coberly, First Secretary for EEST, Ms. Kavleen Chatwal, Economic and Political Specialist, Ms. Nazneen Akbari, Technology and Trade Specialist, and Mr. Sudhir Kesharwani, Senior Commercial Specialist.