Northern Region Council Executive Committee Meeting 19th May 2017

American Chamber of Commerce in India
Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India

Northern Region Council Executive Committee Meeting – 19th May 2017

The first meeting of AMCHAM’s Northern Region Council Executive Committee for the year 2017-18 was held on 19th May 2017, under the chairmanship of Mr. Varun Khanna, Managing Director, BD India, with Mr. Subrata Bagchi, Senior Managing Director, Protiviti India Member Private Limited, as Vice Chairman, in Gurgaon.

It was decided that the Northern Region Council would focus on the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Members will share best practices in healthcare, innovation, R&D and GST. The Northern Region Council will organize a program on GST titled “GST – Beyond Tax.” This would be held some time towards the end of July. The NRC will discuss issues relating to ease of doing business including RFPs and procurement.

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.

Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee’s Breakfast Meeting in association with PwC 25th May 2017

American Chamber of Commerce in India
Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India

Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee’s Breakfast Meeting in association with PwC – 25th May 2017

On 25th May 2017, the Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee met at the PwC office in Gurgaon for a breakfast meeting. This meeting was led by Ms. Ritika Ratti, Chairperson – Anti-Corruption and FCPA Compliance Committee, AMCHAM and Senior Director, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer & Head of Anti-Corruption, Walmart India. Mr. Rahul Lalit, Partner, Advisory, PwC, gave a presentation on the Impact of Bribery and Corruption on the APAC Region and Demonetization.

Mr. Lalit focused on Transparency International’s ranking of countries all over the world and their perceived level of corruption and it revealed that India ranked relatively high. He further went on to compare the Asia Pacific region and showcased the global corruption barometer which highlighted the percentage of people who thought the level of corruption has increased. The presentation included CMS India’s Corruption Study 2017 which focused on most corrupt states within India. Thereafter, the key reasons for paying bribe were discussed and it was concluded that it was observed similarly across states which included procedural, documentation related, payment evasion and dependency on service provider. He also touched upon the Ease of Doing Business in India and how India’s rank has improved to 130 in 2017 from 142 in 2014.

Members engaged in an interactive discussion post the presentation on what initiatives can be taken to curb corruption in India and ways to report corruption. Critical risk areas and remediation were also discussed and the participants expressed their views on the presentation. Ground realties may still be different from surveys and perceptions of people.

Post the presentation Ms. Ritika Ratti, Chairperson – Anti-Corruption and FCPA Compliance Committee, AMCHAM and Ms. Tanya Paul, Communications Director, AMCHAM requested members to give inputs for topics for future committee meetings. It was decided that the next committee meeting will be held in September after the Anti-Corruption and FCPA Compliance masterclass, which is to be held on 2nd August.

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.

25th Annual General Meeting

AMCHAM celebrated its 25th anniversary in New Delhi. The theme of this event was ‘The Future of U.S. – India Economic Synergy.’ Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General, CEO, AMCHAM India, gave the welcome remarks and presented the annual report to members. This was followed by remarks by Mr. Pratyush Kumar, Chairman, AMCHAM. The audited accounts for 2016-17 were presented by Mr. Atul Dhawan, Honorary Treasurer & Secretary, AMCHAM. Mr. Madhu Poomalil, Managing Director, D. E. Shaw India Pvt. Ltd, proposed the passing of accounts and Mr. Arun Kumar Jain, Managing Director, Fluor Daniel India Pvt. Ltd., seconded it. Ms. Ranjana Khanna announced the appointment of M/s Walker Chandiok and Co. LLP as the auditors for 2017-18. She also announced the election results of the new National Executive Board for 2017-18 which were ratified by members of the general body. Opening Session: Pathway to the Defining Partnership of the 21st Century Ms. Ranjana Khanna, set the tone for the session and introduced Mr. Pratyush Kumar, Chairman, AMCHAM India. She also shared some introductory remarks about the guest  speakers – Ambassador Lalit Mansingh, former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to the U.S.;  Ambassador Richard Verma, former U.S. Ambassador to India and Ambassador Meera Shankar, former Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Ms. Ranjana Khanna, introduced Ms. MaryKay Carlson, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S.  Embassy, and requested Mr. Pratyush Kumar, Chairman, AMCHAM India, to introduce Mr. Jayant Sinha, then Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Government of India, for the session on ‘The Future of U.S. – India Economic Synergy.’ Ms. Vanitha Narayanan, Immediate Past Chairperson, AMCHAM and Chairman, IBM India, in her closing remarks, mentioned that a silver jubilee was a significant milestone and said that the publication brought out on the occasion gave a retrospective look into the past 25 years of AMCHAM. Mr. Suresh Prabhu, (the then Union Minister of Railways), presently the Commerce and Industry Minister, GOI, delivered the keynote address during the luncheon session.

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.