Aviation Committee Meeting – 30th November 2017

AMCHAM’s Aviation Committee met on November 30th, 2017 at the UTC office, Gurgaon. The meeting commenced with a welcome address by Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM India, and opening remarks by Mr. Palash Roy Chowdhury, Chairman – Aviation Committee, AMCHAM and Managing Director – India, Pratt & Whitney. The committee has formed four subgroups on 1) general aviation 2) innovation 3) skill development and 4) airport infrastructure and decided to focus on these four key areas in 2018. The other topics of discussion included the top priority states that could be engaged with, taking forward the committee’s agenda and the ‘WINGS INDIA 2018,’ the flagship event on civil aviation, which has been scheduled for March 2018.

Reception for Ambassador Mark Green, Administrator, USAID – 29th November 2017

Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM India, along with Mr. Vivek Vasishtha, Executive Director and Country Leader Government and Regulatory Affairs, IBM India and Mr. Anand Rishi, General Program Manager – Sirturo, Janssen Pharmaceutical of Johnson & Johnson, attended a reception for Ambassador Mark Green, Administrator, USAID, who was in India for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. The reception was held at the home of Mr. Mark White, Mission Director, USAID, on 29th November in New Delhi. Participants discussed ways to partner with USAID and learned about the development work happening in India.

Manufacturing Committee and Supply Chain and Logistics Committee Interaction with Government of Tamil Nadu Officials – 27th November 2017

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.

Manufacturing Committee and Supply Chain and Logistics Committee Joint Meeting – 27th November 2017

The second meeting of AMCHAM’s Manufacturing Committee under the chairmanship of Mr. Sanjay Koul, Chairman & Managing Director, Timken India Limited was a joint meeting with the Supply Chain and Logistics Committee under the chairmanship of Mr. Srinivasan Sarangapani, Director Operations, Timken Engineering and Research India, held on 27th November at the Madras Cricket Club in Chennai. Mr. Iqbal Sait, Chairman – Karnataka Chapter, AMCHAM, hosted the meeting.

The committees discussed plans for a joint event at the end of February that would feature senior government representatives and a couple panel discussions with possible topics such as DGFT or FCPA.

The committee meeting was followed by an interaction with Mr. Atulya Misra, IAS, Principal Secretary, Industries Department so it was decided to take up the following points with the Government of Tamil Nadu: clarity on the revised process for disbursing the incentives (as per MOU) under the GST regime, Tamil Nadu Business Facilitation Act and single window clearance, Pollution Control Board support and infrastructure related challenges. The Manufacturing Committee also decided to set up monthly conference calls on the 4 subgroups – DGFT, public procurement policy, Pollution Control Board and BIS.

ICT Committee Meeting – 22nd November 2017

A meeting of AMCHAM’s ICT Committee was held on November 22nd, 2017 in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by the Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Amit Sharma, Executive Vice President and President Asia, ATC India. Members discussed issues relating to the new Telecom Policy expected to be announced in 2018, M2M and cloud, telecom and IT products testing, and data privacy. Going forward, it was decided that AMCHAM would organize a roundtable discussion with DIPP and Invest India on ICT some time during the end of January/beginning February 2018. Members will be sending their inputs in advance so that the same could be forwarded to DIPP and Invest India for review and involve other concerned departments. Some of the major issues on which notes were requested from members were (i) regulatory issues, (ii) public procurement and PMA, (iii) ease of doing business, (iv) standards and testing, (v) light touch policies, and (vi) integration of future technologies. A roundtable with DIPP on specific company related issues in the ICT sector would also form part of the ICT Committee’s program.

Interactive Session with Mr. Robert L. Strayer, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber and International Communication and Information Policy, U.S. Department of State – 22nd November 2017

Members of AMCHAM’s ICT and Cyber Security Committees met with Mr. Robert L. Strayer, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber and International Communication and Information Policy, U.S. Department of State, for an interactive session on ICT and cyber security issues on November 22nd, 2017 in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by the Chairman of the ICT Committee, Mr. Amit Sharma, Executive Vice President and President Asia, ATC India. The Chairman of the Cyber Security Committee, Mr. Deepak Maheshwari, Director – Government Affairs, India & ASEAN, Symantec Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd., was also present.

Mr. Strayer sought inputs from the members on ICT and cyber security which he could discuss with the Government of India. He also said that these inputs would be useful for the next ICT dialogue which would be held some time in January 2018. Issues raised by members concerned delays in announcing policies by the Indian government, data protection, PMA, procurement guidelines, security testing and public procurement in cyber security products.