National Executive Board Meeting

The fourth meeting of AMCHAM’s National Executive Board for 2020-2021 was held on March 25th virtually. Mr. Salil Anil Gupte, Chairman, AMCHAM and President, Boeing India chaired the meeting. Honorary President of AMCHAM, Chargés D’Affaires Edgard Kagan, U.S. Embassy, addressed board members on the importance and opportunities in the U.S.-India partnership and touched upon the Indo-Pacific. Mr. Amrit Singh Deo, Chairman – Cyber Security Committee, AMCHAM and Managing Director, FTI Consulting provided a briefing on cyber security policy. Mr. Adrian Mutton, CEO, Sannam S4 shared insights on leadership during disruption and interacted with board members.

Membership

By joining AMCHAM India, you become part of an active and dynamic Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India with a membership base of more than 400 American companies in India. AMCHAM is an important voice for policy advocacy, a critical source for business intelligence, a vibrant platform for networking and expanding your business.

U.S.-India Travel & Tourism Working Group Meeting

AMCHAM’s U.S.-India Travel & Tourism Working Group met over a conference call on March 19th. The discussion focused on the resumption of international business and leisure travel to the United States. Brand USA talked about the resumption of travel partners in pushing travel to the USA followed by Marriott and Hyatt sharing updates on the U.S. market. An interaction will be hosted in April/May 2021 for working group members with airline partners to share updates on services to the U.S. The attendees for the session included Ms. Sheema Vohra, Chairperson – U.S.-India Travel & Tourism Working Group, AMCHAM (Brand USA), Mr. Vikas Choudhery (Hyatt), Mr. Anup Taneja (Marriott), Mr. Ross Belliveau (U.S. Embassy), Mr. Shibu Mathews (U.S. Embassy), Mr. Anuj Razdan (FCM) and Ms. Payal Satish (AMCHAM).

Membership

By joining AMCHAM India, you become part of an active and dynamic Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India with a membership base of more than 400 American companies in India. AMCHAM is an important voice for policy advocacy, a critical source for business intelligence, a vibrant platform for networking and expanding your business.

Virtual Seminar on Expat Tax Considerations for U.S. Citizens in West India

AMCHAM’s Western Region, in partnership with the U.S. Consulate General Mumbai, hosted a webinar on ‘Expat Tax Considerations for U.S. Citizens in West India’ on March 19th. Over 250 participants attended the session that focused on U.S. tax return updates for 2020, bringing non-filing expats into current Internal Revenue Service (IRS) compliance (streamlined filing process), Informative Return – Form 5471 / Form 8865 / FBAR / Form 8938 / Form 3520 (gift form), expat-specific tax issues, PFIC implications and foreign mutual funds. The event opened with a welcome address by Ms. Surabhi Wahal, Regional Director – Western Region, AMCHAM. This was followed by remarks by Mr. Robert L. Batchelder, Chief Consular Section, U.S. Consulate General Mumbai who was accompanied by Mr. Josef Burton, Consular Information Unit Chief, U.S. Consulate General Mumbai. Through his remarks Mr. Batchelder shared important information on services and initiatives offered by the American Citizen Services at the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai. Expert speakers from H&R Block, Mr. Karan Sadarangani, Mr. Mitilesh Gaglani and Mr. Amit Patil made a comprehensive presentation on significant U.S. tax considerations for expats. Ms. Valerie Swope, Program Coordinator, AMCHAM shared an insightful overview on the American League – a networking initiative of AMCHAM India for U.S. citizens in the country. This was followed a Q&A segment. The meeting closed with closing remarks and vote of thanks by Ms. Surabhi Wahal.

Membership

By joining AMCHAM India, you become part of an active and dynamic Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India with a membership base of more than 400 American companies in India. AMCHAM is an important voice for policy advocacy, a critical source for business intelligence, a vibrant platform for networking and expanding your business.

Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World

On March 18th, AMCHAM’s Eastern Region, in partnership with Hyland Software and Amway, organized its annual panel discussion on ‘Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World’ which included diversity and inclusiveness. Ms. Amada Kidwai, Region Director – Eastern Region, AMCHAM made introductions, Mr. Gulshan Sachdev, Chairman – Eastern Region, AMCHAM and Managing Director, Quaker Chemical, gave the opening remarks and chief guest Consul General Patti Hoffman, U.S. Consulate General Kolkata, gave the keynote address. Concluding remarks and vote of thanks was given by Mr. Joydeep Datta Gupta, Vice Chairman – Eastern Region, AMCHAM and Partner, Deloitte Touché Tohmatsu India LLP. The moderator for the session was Ms. Charu Sehgal, Life Sciences and Healthcare Leader, Deloitte India, and panellist included Ms. Susan deCathelineau, Senior Vice President, Chief Customer Success Officer, Hyland Software, Inc., Mr. Chandra Bhushan Chakraborty, Vice President and Regional Head – East, Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., Ms. Kasturi Bhattacharjee, CEO, AlLabs and Datacore Systems and Ms. Aparna Banerjee, Managing Trustee, Amitie Trust.

Consul General Hoffman, in her address, spoke about how both regionally, and across the globe, women are at the helm of institutions carrying out effective and inclusive COVID-19 responses, from the highest levels of decision-making to service delivery. From vaccine researchers to public health officials to countless heroes on the frontlines, women are working around the clock to defeat COVID-19. This year she said, marked a historic milestone of women’s leadership — 232 years in the making — with the inauguration of the first woman Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. Vice President Harris is not only the first woman, but also the first African American and the first South Asian American to hold that position. CG Hoffman mentioned that for many in the United States, her election represents a significant step toward inclusive leadership. She said how progress for women has not come easily, and it could be difficult to sustain. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated barriers that have held back women—particularly women of color—for generations. Gender and racial disparities in pay continue. A disproportionate share of caregiving continues to fall on the shoulders of women and girls. And now, job losses due to COVID-19 have set women’s labor force participation back to its lowest point in more than 30 years—threatening the security and well-being of women and their families across the globe.

Mr. Chandra Chakraborty spoke about Amway’s role in fostering the large number of women who are business owners and employees, and about how the pandemic impacted businesses, especially women, and the changes that were put in place to handle the disruption. Ms. Susan deCathelineau of Hyland Software, discussed how it has emerged that women have had to bear the double burden of home and work due to the need to change to work from home. She shared some of the experiences her colleagues faced worldwide and discussed measures put in place to make the transition and blending of both easier.

Ms. Aparna Banerjee of Amitie Trust discussed her work with the LGBT community and highlighted how difficult it was for them during the lockdown as they were mostly from the marginalized and economically weaker section of society. Ms. Kasturi Bhattacharya of AlLabs and Data Core Systems spoke about technologies and the future of AI, IoT and machine learning and how in the last year it had accelerated the adoption of digitization at an unimaginable pace. She spoke about the huge surge of work from clients not only in India, but in the U.S. as well, and how coping between the time difference was a challenge for her employees, especially for those working from home. She discussed how her organization supported their employees during the lock down, especially women who came from extended families and where workspace was a big issue with children also having to do online lessons.

Membership

By joining AMCHAM India, you become part of an active and dynamic Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India with a membership base of more than 400 American companies in India. AMCHAM is an important voice for policy advocacy, a critical source for business intelligence, a vibrant platform for networking and expanding your business.

Western Region Committee Meeting

Members of AMCHAM’s Western Region Committee met virtually on March 16th, 2021. The meeting commenced with a welcome by Ms. Surabhi Wahal, Regional Director – Western Region, AMCHAM and remarks by the office bearers of the Western Region Committee, Ms. Kaku Nakhate, Vice Chair, AMCHAM and President & Country Head, India, Bank of America, N.A., Mr. Sarthak Ranade, Chairman – Western Region, AMCHAM and Managing Director – Janssen India, Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd. and Mr. Shailendra Jagtap, Vice Chairman – Western Region, AMCHAM and Managing Director & CEO, John Deere India Pvt. Ltd. The discussion included an overview of the Western Region initiatives, ideation on forthcoming events, signature event, advocacy issues, Pune working group and white papers. Ms. Rona Rathod, Chief, Political and Economic Affairs and Ms. Brenda Vanhorn, Principal Commercial Officer, U.S. Consulate General Mumbai, shared an overview of the recently held QUAD meeting and key developments in appointment of officials in the new administration. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks by Mr. Sarthak Ranade and Mr. Shailendra Jagtap to all members.

Membership

By joining AMCHAM India, you become part of an active and dynamic Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India with a membership base of more than 400 American companies in India. AMCHAM is an important voice for policy advocacy, a critical source for business intelligence, a vibrant platform for networking and expanding your business.

Virtual Tax Seminar for U.S. Citizens in Eastern and North Eastern India

AMCHAM, in partnership with the U.S, Consulate, Kolkata, hosted a webinar for U.S. citizens in the eastern and north east region of India on March 16th over Webex. The webinar focussed on U.S. tax return updates for tax year 2020, bringing non-filing expats into current Internal Revenue Service (IRS) compliance (streamlined filing process), informative return – Form 5471 / Form 8865 / FBAR / Form 8938 / Form 3520 (Gift Form) expat-specific tax issues and PFIC implications (foreign mutual funds). Speakers at the session from H&R Block included tax experts Mr. Karan Sadarangani, Mr. Mitilesh Gaglani and Mr. Amit Patil. The session commenced with Ms. Amada Kidwai, Regional Director – Eastern Region, AMCHAM giving the opening remarks and introductions, this was followed by remarks by Dr. David W. Warner, Consular Section Chief, U.S. Consulate Kolkata and Mr. Eric Chu, American Citizen Services Chief, U.S. Consulate Kolkata. The session by the H&R Block speakers was followed by Q&A. AMCHAM introduced the American League to participants, AMCHAM’s exclusive segment for American citizens to network with leadership of U.S. companies operating in India.

Membership

By joining AMCHAM India, you become part of an active and dynamic Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India with a membership base of more than 400 American companies in India. AMCHAM is an important voice for policy advocacy, a critical source for business intelligence, a vibrant platform for networking and expanding your business.