Farewell for Hyderabad Chapter Executive Committee Members 21st June 2018

American Chamber of Commerce in India
Apex Chamber of US Industry in India

Farewell for Hyderabad Chapter Executive Committee Members – 21st June 2018

AMCHAM’s Hyderabad Chapter had a farewell for a few of its committee members who were leaving back to the U.S. Mr. Shashi Reddy, Chairman – Hyderabad Chapter, AMCHAM, from Qualcomm, hosted the luncheon farewell.

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.

Annual Door Knock to Washington DC 2018 17th – 21st June 2018

American Chamber of Commerce in India
Apex Chamber of US Industry in India

Annual Door Knock to Washington DC 2018 – 17th-21st June 2018

The annual AMCHAM India door knock delegation to Washington DC was led by AMCHAM’s Chairman, Mr. Krish Iyer, President & CEO, Walmart India, from June 17th – 21st, 2018. The main purpose of the door knock was to inform and sensitize U.S. policy-makers and Law Makers on issues impacting operations of US Companies  in India. The delegation interacted with many of the important players in the economic relationship and other key decision-makers.

This year, AMCHAM, with knowledge partner KPMG in India, published The U.S. – India Dynamic – Prospering Together, a knowledge document to leave behind with U.S. government officials during the door knock. The document provided an industry perspective on India’s economy, the U.S. – India dynamic and highlights some of the key industry related challenges faced by U.S. companies operating in India across sectors.

The topics of discussions with government officials included:

  • U.S – India Defense partnership
  • Potential for a Congressional study group on India
  • Recognition and appreciation for ease of doing business reforms in India
  • GSP review process
  • Threats to U.S. national security from the S-400 air defense system deal
  • Potential ramifications of CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act)
  • Data localization requirements
  • Cloud Act
  • Testing requirements on imported electronic products in India
  • Balance of power concerning China
  • How to decrease the trade deficit
  • Tariffs on IT and price controls on medical devices
  • U.S. – India ICT Dialogue
  • India’s

On Sunday evening, June 17th, the delegation met for an informal internal briefing and was joined by Mr. Patrick Santillo, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, U.S. Embassy, who provided insights on the history of the U.S. – India economic relationship.

On Monday 18th June, the door knock officially began with an interactive session with Mr. Chris Padilla, Vice President, IBM Government and Regulatory Affairs, hosted at the IBM office. This was followed by an interaction with India experts from think tanks, in partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Some of the participants in the discussion included Mr. Kartikeya Singh, Deputy Director & Fellow, Wadhwani Chair in U.S. – India Policy Studies, CSIS, Mr. Ray Vickery, Senior Associate, CSIS, Ms. Cara Abercrombie, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Mr. Sadanand Dhume, American Enterprise Institute, Mr. Sanjeev Joshipura, Indiaspora, Mr. Ramki Krishnan, India Rapid Reaction Cell, U.S. Department of Defense, Mr. Irfan Nooruddin, Georgetown University India Initiative, Mr. Travis Coberly, U.S. State Department, Ms. Noor Sclafani, U.S. Department of Commerce and Ms. Caitlin Brophy, East-West Center, among others.

The delegation met with Ambassador Jeff Gerrish, Deputy United States Trade Representative, who was joined by Ms. Rachel Morris, Senior Advisor to the Deputy United States Trade Representative, Mr. Mark Linscott, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asian Affairs, and Mr. Brendan Lynch, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia. Next, the delegation met with Mr. Gilbert Kaplan, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce and Ms. Diane Farrell, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia, U.S. Department of Commerce. The day concluded with an interaction with Mr. Thomas Hardy, Director, USTDA, Ms. Verinda Fike, Regional Director for South and Southeast Asia, Global Aviation Sector Team Lead, USTDA and Ms. Dianne Quebral, Director of Public Engagement, USTDA.

On Tuesday June 19th the delegation went to the Pentagon for a meeting with Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. Later there was a meeting with Representative Ami Bera (D-CA). Then the delegates headed to the State Department for a meeting with Ambassador Tina Kaidanow, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, who was joined by Mr. Lee Litzenberger, Senior Advisor, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State and Ms. Laura Till, Asia Team Lead, Office of Regional Security and Arms Transfer. The next meeting was with Mr. Tom Vajda, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asia, U.S. Department of State and his colleagues. The delegation met with Mr. John Sullivan, Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State. The final meeting for the day was with the following officials from the State Department’ Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs: Mr. Steve Lang, Deputy U.S. Coordinator for International Communications & Information Policy, Ms. Ruth Berry, Deputy Director for Bilateral & Regional Affairs, International Communications & Information Policy and Mr. Alex Greenstein, Senior Advisor, International Communications & Information Policy.

On the morning of Wednesday, June 20th, the delegation went to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House for a meeting with Mr. Vishal Amin, Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Executive Office of the President. This was followed by another meeting at the Pentagon with Ms. Heidi Grant, Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, U.S. Air Force. Part of the delegation met with Representative Vicky Hartzler (R-MO). The day concluded with a meeting at the Embassy of India with Ambassador Santosh Jha, Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr. Puneet Kundal, Minister – Commerce, Mr. Arunish Chawla, Minister – Economic and Mr. Nilkanth Avhad, Counsellor – Economic.

The delegation met with Ms. Caroline Wadhams, Senior Policy Advisor, National Security and Veterans’ Affairs from Senator Mark Warner’s office, followed by a meeting with Mr. Larry Calhoun, Chief of Staff for Representative Ted Yoho and Mr. Hunter Strupp, Staff Director, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives. The delegation met with Representative Henry Cuellar (R-TX) and his staff. From the office of Representative George Holding (R-NC), Co-Chair, Congressional India Caucus, the delegation met with Mr. Curtis Rhyne, Deputy Chief of Staff/Legislative Director. Next the group met with Mr. Everett Eissenstat, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs, The White House, who was joined by his colleagues Mr. Clete Willems, Special Assistant to the President for International Trade, Investment and Development and Mr. Andrew Rollo, Director for International Trade and Investment, National Security Council. The door knock officially concluded after a meeting with Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL).

AMCHAM India Door Knock Delegation 2018

  • Krish Iyer, President & CEO, Walmart India (Chairperson, AMCHAM)
  • Kaku Nakhate, President & Country Head (India), Bank of America N.A. (Vice Chairperson, AMCHAM)
  • Pratyush Kumar, President, Boeing India (Past Chairman, AMCHAM)
  • Phil Shaw, Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin India (National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM)
  • Palash Roy Chowdhury, Managing Director – Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies Corporation India (National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM)
  • Nikhil Khanna, Managing Director, BAE Systems India (Services) Pvt. Ltd. (Co-Chair – Defense Committee, AMCHAM)
  • Vivek Vasishtha, Executive Director and Country Leader – Government and Regulatory Affairs, IBM India Pvt. Ltd.  (Co-Chair – ICT Committee, AMCHAM)
  • Abby Pratt, Vice President, Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed)
  • Bradley Schoener, VP of Innovation, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instruments (AAMI)
  • Neal R. Montour, SVP Growth & Strategy, Belcan LLC
  • Rebecca Karnak, Sr. Director, Global Public Policy, Dell
  • Lisa Schroeter, Global Director of Trade and Investment Policy, The Dow Chemical Company
  • Prateeksha Sharma, Manager – Public Policy and Government Affairs, Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd.
  • Barry Liden, Vice President, Government Affairs, Edwards Lifesciences
  • Pradeep Udhas, Office Managing Partner – West, KPMG in India
  • Harold Chase, Legislative Director, NSF International
  • C. Sampathkumar, Director, PAR Formulations Pvt. Ltd.
  • Samit Ray, Director Government Affairs & Public Policy, United Technologies Corporation India
  • Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM India
  • Valerie Swope, Program Coordinator, AMCHAM India
  • Tanya Paul, Communication Director, AMCHAM 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.

HR Core Committee Meeting 12th June 2018

The HR Core Committee Meeting was held on 12th June 2018 at the Leela Palace. Opening remarks were given by Mr. Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, Chairman – HR Committee, AMCHAM and Executive Director – India, Cognizant. He spoke about the policy issues, future of work, women in leadership roles, upskilling, capacity building, inclusion and diversity, job satisfaction and the need to build on to the culture of giving back for employees.

The discussion focused on potential topics for this year and the ideal work plan moving forward. It was decided to request committee members for their suggestions on topics that interest them and accordingly 2 or 3 workstreams will be chalked out. Consequently, there will be one annual signature event by the end of the year to showcase the committee’s progress.

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.

Capacity Building in the CSR Ecosystem 12th June 2018

American Chamber of Commerce in India
Apex Chamber of US Industry in India

Capacity Building in the CSR Ecosystem – 12th June 2018

AMCHAM’s CSR Committee organized ‘AMCHAM’s Signature Series: Capacity Building in the CSR Ecosystem’ that brought together key stakeholders of the Companies Act — policymakers, corporates, NGOs, social and developmental impact agencies, for cross-sectoral panel discussions that identified and addressed challenges, opportunities and avenues for capacity building in CSR. The day-long event was held on June 12th in New Delhi and supported by platinum sponsor Cisco, silver sponsor Coca-Cola India and knowledge partner Goodera.

Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM introduced the speakers in the inaugural session. Mr. Harish Krishnan, Chairman – CSR Committee, AMCHAM and Managing Director, Public Affairs & Strategic Engagement, India & SAARC, Cisco Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd., in his opening remarks gave an overview of the CSR Committee initiatives and set the tone for the program. Mr. Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, Chairman – Tamil Nadu Chapter, AMCHAM Executive Director – India, Cognizant, spoke about why companies exist and how to cultivate a culture of purpose and giving. Ms. MaryKay Carlson, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy, in her keynote address, highlighted the ways U.S. industry partners with organizations and government on projects to provide sustainable solutions for health, sanitation, education, etc. Mr. Vinay Pratap Singh, Deputy Commissioner & District Magistrate, Gurugram, outlined the opportunities for American companies to take up CSR projects in Gurugram. Dr. Sameer Sharma, Director General & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, in his special address, encouraged companies to avail the services offered by the IICA. Ms. Ranjana Khanna closed the session by presenting each speaker with the CSR commemorative book ‘U.S. Companies Partners in India’s Inclusive Growth.’

In session 1 ‘Fireside Chat on the CSR Landscape and Sectoral Opportunities,’ Ms. Richa Bajpai, Founder and Co-CEO, Goodera and Mr. Murugan Vasudevan, Head, Social Innovation Group, Cisco – South Asia, discussed corporate CSR strategies, incubators and innovation and how companies need a CSR team to be effective.

Session 2 ‘Processes and Opportunities in Capacity Building: A Look at Challenges and Opportunities NGOs Can Harness’ was moderated by Ms Richa Bajpai with panellists Ms. Neelam Makhijani, Country Director, ChildFund India, Ms. Pritha Venkatachalam, Partner, Bridgespan and Mr. Deepak Prabhu Matti, Global Head, Outreach (Employee Volunteering Program), Cognizant. The frank discussion brought to light many misconceptions in the CSR ecosystem by both corporates and NGOs.

Session 3 was a ‘Masterclass Highlighting Capacity Building in the CSR Ecosystem.’ Mr. Mark White, Mission Director, USAID/India, Ms. Shubha Sekhar, Director CSR & Sustainability India & South West Asia, The Coca-Cola Company and Mr. Narendranath Damodaran, Executive Director, Pradan. The speakers highlighted the way their organizations work in partnership with others, decide CSR strategy and even find the best talent available in the NGO sector.

The last session was themed ‘Nurturing Meaningful and Scalable Partnerships for CSR’ moderated by Mr. Harish Krishnan, Chairman – CSR Committee, AMCHAM with a keynote address by Mr. Ramanan Ramanathan, Mission Director of the Atal Innovation Mission, Niti Aayog. Panellists Ms. Joyeeta Das, Program Manager, Corporate Citizenship, IBM India, Mr. Nikhil Pant, Managing Partner, Shaktishi and Ms. Gouri Gupta, Associate Director, Central Square Foundation engaged in an interactive conversation with one another and the audience. The session focused on how to scale CSR projects and connect them to government initiatives. Mr. Harish Krishnan in his closing remarks, summed up the program and encouraged members to actively participate in the CSR Committee.

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.

Defense Committee Meeting 11th June 2018

AMCHAM’s first Defense Committee meeting for year 2018-2019 was held on 11th June 2018 in New Delhi. The committee discussed and agreed upon the work plan identified by the core group for 2018-2019 for the committee. The upcoming Defense Committee meeting dates were also identified in addition to the short term and long term agendas to be taken up by the committee. The committee also had a long chat on upcoming USG defense visits and status of many USG defense policies.

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.

Breakfast Meeting on Capacity Building for CSR Managers 8th June 2018

American Chamber of Commerce in India
Apex Chamber of US Industry in India

Breakfast Meeting on Capacity Building for CSR Managers – 8th June 2018

AMCHAM’s Tamil Nadu Chapter held a breakfast meeting focussed on capacity building for CSR Managers with guest speaker Mr. Sugata Roy, Communication Specialist, UNICEF, Chennai, on Friday, June 8, 2018 at Hotel Westin Velachery, Chennai. The meeting began with a welcome to participants by Mr. Aubrey Daniels, Regional Director – Tamil Nadu Chapter, AMCHAM, who stressed the importance of CSR and stressed the enactment of the CSR component in the Indian Companies Act 2013 was path breaking. UNICEF has been partnering with the private sector entities in strengthening the CSR interventions.

UNICEF’s partnership has been primarily in the areas of capacity development, innovations and knowledge management for achieving results for children. In Tamil Nadu, UNICEF has provided technical support to CSR interventions focusing on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), early childhood development, child nutrition and life skills development of adolescents. Apart from child centric CSR interventions, UNICEF has also engaged with private sectors in promoting child rights and business principles in improving the value chain and sustainable business practices.

Mr. Sugata Roy made a presentation emphasizing the emerging areas for CSR interventions in early childhood development to give young children, especially the most deprived, the best start in life and to expand access to effective and essential development services. Mr. Roy said that CSR interventions could influence change at three different levels: policy level; institutional level and at the community level. He added that by providing an enabling environment for children, the ‘rights of the child’ such as right to survival; right to development and the right to participation can be ensured. According to UNICEF, despite being one of the five developed states of India, where the state had adopted progressive child and women policies, many children are deprived of basic services and lack protection from violence, exploitation and abuse.

Mr. Sugata Roy said that UNICEF would like to partner with corporate businesses and bring about a change in business practices to respect and support children, leverage resources for children, enable businesses to influence government on social policies, program innovation and public advocacy to bring results for development of the less fortunate children of society. Mr. Roy clarified that UNICEF was not vying to take a share of corporate CSR funds, but to be a change agent in ensuring that CSR funds are well spent by businesses with accountability and also proper acknowledgement for the company. The meeting came to an end with an interactive session with all participants.

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.