The AmCham Annual Day 2016 was held on February 19, 2016 at HICC Hyderabad. The Chief Guest for the occasion was Mr. K T Rama Rao, the Minister for Information Technology, Panchayati Raj and MAUD, Government of Telangana. The Guest of Honor was Mr. Michael Mullins the Consul General of the U.S. Consulate Hyderabad. Mr. Jayesh Ranjan IAS, Secretary Information Technology, Government of Telangana, was also present.

At the event 15 American companies received awards for being winners and runners in the Sports Event that concluded on December 15th, 2016. Also, the 3rd AmCham Healthcare Conference position paper was handed over to the Minister at this event.

Employees from AmCham member companies like DST and Deloitte put up a dance program and an acoustic performance to enthral the audience. International Paper was one of the sponsor companies for this event.

Michael Mullins thanked AmCham for inviting him and was happy that K T R was the Chief Guest. He said Hyderabad branch promotes investment in the city and supports and advocates on behalf of its members. AmCham makes business to business ties a great prosperity for both U.S. and India. AmCham has been a great supporter of the growing U.S. business in Hyderabad. AmCham cares deeply and engages in all kinds of activities from CSR to sporting events to cultural programs. He continues to be amazed by AmCham’s leadership to make Hyderabad a great place to live, work and play.

The Companies Law Committee set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs recently issued its report suggesting many changes in the Companies Act, 2013. To understand some of the key aspects that impact foreign companies doing business in India, AMCHAM organized a call on 18th February 2016. The speakers were:

Mr. Vikas Vasal, Co-Chairman, AMCHAM’s Tax & Tariff Committee; and Partner, KPMG
Mr. Harinderjit Singh, Partner, PwC
Mr. Vijay Mathur, Chartered Accountant
Over 128 people participated. The presentations were followed by interaction with the participants.

The roundtable with the Minister of Commerce, Industries & Employment Smt. Yashodhara Raje Scindia and senior representatives of the Government of Madhya Pradesh, the last of the 3 sessions organized by AmCham India in partnership with Consulate General of United States in Mumbai, USIBC and EY (knowledge partner of the ‘Make in India’ event) commenced with CG Tom Vajda’s opening remarks ushering in the open discussion between the GoMP and American companies. This was followed by welcome remarks and introductions by Ms. Surabhi Wahal, Regional Director- Western Region, AmCham India, and Mr. Brandon Banner, Sr. Manager, Policy Advocacy, USIBC.

Smt. Yashodhara Raje Scindia began her address by acknowledging the opportunity to present the state of Madhya Pradesh to the American stakeholders present at the roundtable. Smt. Scindia dwelled on her experience in the state of Madhya Pradesh by stating the four strong L’s- leadership, labour, location and landmass, that make Madhya Pradesh a land of amplified business opportunities thus converging social and economic benefits. A presentation on investment opportunities in Madhya Pradesh titled ‘Madhya Pradesh – Heart of Incredible India’ was shared by Principal Secretary – Department of Commerce, Industry and Employment, GoMP Mr. Mohammed Suleman, which brought to light the geographical, financial, economical and judicial strengths of the state. Mr. Suleman also focused on the 4 main sectors for business in Madhya Pradesh: food processing sector, IT and ITeS, electronic hardware, manufacturing, urban development and renewable energy. The presentation concluded with Mr. Suleman stating that Madhya Pradesh offers ‘simplified solutions and amplifies opportunities.’

This was followed by a Q&A session moderated by Mr. Sukanti Ghosh, Co-Chair AmCham Western Region Committee, and Managing Director, APCO Worldwide India Pvt. Ltd., which was a time of experience sharing, solutions to business queries and presentation of ideas by both industry representatives and the state.

An exchange of contacts between the GoMP representatives and members of American companies brought the Q&A session to a close, with Mr. Ghosh thanking the participants for an engaging session.

CG Tom Vajda shared the vote of thanks with a hope of this meeting being a beginning of an ongoing dialogue. He also welcomed members to approach the U.S. Consulate, AmCham and USIBC as mediums to reach the government.

The roundtable with the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis and senior representatives of the Government of Maharashtra was well attended by member representatives of American companies across diverse industrial sectors. The session began with Consul General Tom Vajda welcoming the room on behalf of the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai. Ms. Surabhi Wahal, Regional Director- Western Region, AmCham India, made brief remarks on AmCham’s 500 active members engaged in smart city efforts and ‘Make in India.’ Mr. Brandon Banner, Sr. Manager, Policy Advocacy, USIBC, also shared his remarks on the keen interests of USIBC members in facilitating business in the State of Maharashtra.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis, began his address by thanking the U.S. Consulate, AmCham, and USIBC for making this initiative take fruit. He stated that the Government of Maharashtra engages dynamically and progressively across the industry. Mr. Fadnavis shared his fervor toward the smart city initiatives in Maharashtra, the state government’s plans for the MMRDA region — making it a powerhouse with efficient infrastructure that is integrated with a great backbone, the IT system. In the dialogue on smart cities and infrastructure, members were given a brief synopsis on CIDCO projects under the smart city initiative with a highlight on four focus sectors for any smart city, building basic infrastructure, urban mobility, strong IT backbone, solid waste/liquid waste management and water supply.

Mr. Sukanti Ghosh, Co-Chair AmCham Western Region Committee, and Managing Director, APCO Worldwide India Pvt. Ltd., moderated the roundtable and called upon leaders of American companies to take the opportunity to share their experiences as well as pose queries to the Hon’ble Chief Minister and representatives of the Government of Maharashtra. The session was truly an interactive and engaging session between business and government.

The roundtable concluded with Consul General Tom Vajda sharing a vote of thanks and stated his confidence that this meeting will act as a stimulant to a bright commercial relationship.

On the occasion of the ‘Make in India Week’ in Mumbai, AmCham India, in partnership with the Consulate General of United States in Mumbai, USIBC and EY (knowledge partner of the ‘Make in India’ event) organized a series of roundtable meetings with the Honb’le Chief Ministers and senior state representatives from the states of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The Roundtable with the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Dr. Raman Singh & Senior Officials from the Government of Chhattisgarh was the 1st of the three roundtables held on Monday, 15th February 2016.

U.S. Consul General, Tom Vajda, began the session by welcoming the Honb’le Chief Minister and the state representatives of Chhattisgarh, USIBC, AmCham India and the participants. CG Tom Vajda then welcomed Ms. Surabhi Wahal, Regional Director- Western Region, AmCham India, who through her remarks thanked the Government of Chhattisgarh for the opportunity to interface with AmCham members. Ms. Wahal also remarked on the smart city initiative that has been in progress with AmCham members and the Government of Chhattisgarh. This was followed by Mr. Brandon Banner, Sr. Manager, Policy Advocacy, USIBC, who thanked the Hon’ble Chief minister for taking the time to discuss opportunities for investment in Chhattisgarh.

Dr. Raman Singh, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh shared a brief keynote address presenting the promise that Chhattisgarh has to offer. To present this further, he invited Chief Secretary – Chhattisgarh, Mr. Vivek Dhand, to showcase a presentation titled ‘Credible Chhattisgarh.’ The presentation brought insight to the various facets of the state from its robust economic growth, its status as the best fiscally managed state, its GSDP and per capita income, and plan for the removal of poverty. It also highlighted the state’s current status and proposals for infrastructure in rail, road, air, water, electricity, agriculture and education. Mr. Dhand brought to light investment enablers in the ease of doing business and the focus sectors for business – food processing, engineering, defense, logistics and warehousing, IT and ITeS, renewable energy and apparels.

An open discussion moderated by Mr. Brandon Banner brought forth queries on skilled development and opportunities, proposals for the implementation of the smart cities initiative, ideas to develop education, focus on IT and even exporting energy from Chhattisgarh to other states.

The insightful roundtable concluded with CG Tom Vajda urging members to continue the open dialogue between business and government and looks forward to a follow-up meeting on investments in the state of Chhattisgarh. CG Vajda expressed gratitude to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Dr. Raman Singh and senior officials from the Government of Chhattisgarh, AmCham India, USIBC and the participating members for a fruitful and interactive morning.

On 12th February 2016, the Government of Andhra Pradesh hosted a smart city meet, in association with AmCham and U.S Commercial Service, in Visakhapatnam. The objective was to facilitate a dialogue on India-U.S. partnerships for the visiting U.S. trade mission delegation and for AmCham member companies. About 45 AmCham member companies participated in the industry-government meet. At the inaugural session, Chief Secretary S.P. Tucker explained in detail the investment opportunities in different sectors in the state. AmCham, represented by Program Director Shivani Raina, introduced the AmCham Infrastructure and Energy Capability Deck which functions as a rich resource base outlining the competitive and cutting edge technologies of 30 American companies with expertise, products, services, know-how and solutions in the field of infrastructure, energy and smart city domains.

Leading the U.S. trade delegation, Ambassador Richard Verma, in the inaugural session said that the U.S. government was also ready to extend its cooperation in the defense and manufacturing sectors. The year 2015 made the bilateral relations of the USA and India reach new heights and he hoped that 2016 would turn out to be year of implementation, he also said that trade between India and the U.S. is expected to reach $500 billion in future, from the present $100 billion.

The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh graced the occasion with his presence and witnessed the signing of an MoU between U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the Department of Municipal Administration on funding for drawing up a master plan for Visakhapatnam Smart City, and a consortium of three U.S. companies, comprising of AECOM, KPMG, and IBM. Under the agreement reached between the U.S. and Indian governments, the USTDA would be funding the preparation of a master plan for the smart cities of Visakhapatnam, Ajmer and Allahabad. In the first phase, USTDA would be funding $1.4 million for the master plan for Visakhapatnam.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Mr. Naidu pointed out that the Indian market provides plenty of opportunities for investment and invited the U.S. companies visiting the city as part of the smart cities infrastructure mission to India to invest in the state. Offering an investor-friendly atmosphere and administration, he said, that the government will facilitate the companies willing to work there. Mr. Naidu said Vizag would be developed into one of the finest smart cities in the country with the assistance of the U.S. offering great opportunities for the U.S. companies. Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana, Panchayati Raj Minister Ch Ayyanna Patrudu, HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Chief Secretary SP Tucker, Commissioner GVMC Pravin Kumar, MLAs, MLCs and a number of senior officials were present on the occasion.

Vizag is one of the 20 cities named by the central government last month under the first phase of the smart cities program.