On 27th November members of AMCHAM’s Manufacturing Committee and the Supply Chain and Logistics Committee met with Mr. Atulya Misra, IAS, Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Government of Tamil Nadu along with Mr. M. S. Shanmugam IAS, Additional Secretary, Industries Department and Mr. K. Balasubramanian, Deputy Secretary, Industries Department. From AMCHAM the meeting was led by Mr. Sanjay Koul, Chairman – Manufacturing Committee, AMCHAM and Chairman & Managing Director, Timken India and Mr. Srinivasan Sarangapani, Chairman – Supply Chain and Logistics Committee, AMCHAM and Director Operations, Timken Engineering and Research India. Mr. Iqbal Sait, Chairman – Karnataka Chapter, AMCHAM and Head of EMEA Operations, Saggezza India, was also present.

Some of the challenges discussed included the revised process for disbursing the incentives (as per MOU) under the GST regime, the Tamil Nadu Business Facilitation Act, compliance support, and infrastructure and operational challenges to manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu. The government gave an overview of the online portal for the Business Facilitation Act and offered another meeting with more details. Mr. Misra requested AMCHAM companies to advocate for the portal and wanted to learn about some of the best practices of companies operating in Tamil Nadu. He emphasized that the aerospace park was ready for investment. Mr. Misra offered to create a desk at the Guidance Bureau, in consultation with the consulate and AMCHAM, that could meet monthly to discuss industry challenges.

Representatives from APCO Worldwide, BorgWarner Morse Systems India, BTI Consultants, Caterpillar India, Deloitte, Ford India, Honeywell, and Modine Thermal Systems attended the meeting.