Hyderabad Chapter Sports – 29 September 2018

AMCHAM’ Hyderabad Chapter Sports 2018 began with cricket and basketball on September 29th and 30th. Cricket matches were played at Vijay Anand Grounds, Babukhan Cricket Grounds and VBCC II. The basketball games were held at the premises of CA Technologies, a member of AMCHAM India. The weekend culminated with D.E. Shaw as the winner of basketball with Wells Fargo as the runners up.

CSR Committee Concall on Relief Work in Kerala – 28 September 2018

AMCHAM’s CSR Committee had a conference call under the chairmanship of Mr. Harish Krishnan, Managing Director, Public Affairs & Strategic Engagement, India & SAARC, Cisco Systems (India) on September 28th, 2018 to discuss the ongoing flood relief for Kerala. Mr. Krishnan had recently met with officials in the Chief Minister’s office and updated participants on the work underway. With limited NGOs working on the ground, members mentioned the following NGOs they have already partnered with: Oxfam, Akshaya Patra Foundation, Goonj, CAF, and Habitat for Humanity. It was decided that AMCHAM would collect information about the contributions members have made to rebuild Kerala and solicit interest in having an umbrella AMCHAM project that many companies contribute to, such as, sponsoring the reconstruction of a tower or building.

6th AMCHAM Healthcare Conference: Changing Landscape in Healthcare – Challenges and Opportunities – 28 September 2018

AMCHAM’s Hyderabad Chapter organized the 6th Healthcare Conference in Hyderabad on September 28th, 2018. Accessibility, quality, affordability and transparency are key tenets to strive for in healthcare. The ability to make each of these beliefs a reality lies not just with policy makers and physicians, but with investors, hospitals, insurance companies, researchers, pharmaceutical, medical devices, diagnostic and patient-care companies, all of whom make up the healthcare ecosystem. Given the context, the overall theme of the conference was “Changing Landscape in Healthcare: Challenges and Opportunities.” A focus on different domains was important to generate the right perspective and hence the focus of the conference was not limited to healthcare delivery models in isolation.

The conference began with a welcome address by Mr. Shashidhar Reddy, Chairman – Hyderabad Chapter, AMCHAM, followed by an address by Consul General Katherine Hadda, U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad, who was the guest of honor. The inaugural address was given by Dr. Subhash Khuntia, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory Authority of India. Session I focused on ‘Creating the Right Healthcare Delivery Modes: Services, Geographies and Quality.’ Mr. Satya Gottumukkala was the moderator for this panel with Dr. GN Road, Founder & Chairman, LVPEI, Mr. Hari Thalapalli, CEO, Call Health and Mr. Harish Krishnaswamy, COO, Tata Trust. Session 2 touched on ‘Healthcare Innovation – Disrupting Conventional Business Models.’ This was led by Mr. Ratan Jalan, Founder, Medium Consulting, along with Mr. Rajaram Sankaran, Director Strategy, Abbott, Mr. Rajendra Srivastava, Dean ISB and Mr. Manish Sharma, Senior Medical Director, PAREXEL and Mr. Hari Bhardwaj, Founder, eSahai. They shared diverse views on disrupting conventional business models and how innovation is the door for newer solutions. Session 3 dwelt on the subject of human resources – ‘The Unfulfilled Gap: Role for Skill Development and Quality.’ Led by Dr. Ambuj Chaturvedi a neurosurgeon from Medtronic along with Mr. Vaibhav Tewari, COO, Portea Medical, Mr. Srinivasa Rao, CEO, Apollo MedSkills and Mr. Satya Gottumukkala. The last session of the day concentrated on ‘Balancing Profitability and Affordability: Role and Challenges for Different Stakeholders.’ This was led by Mr. Ritesh Dogra, Partner, Medium Consulting, along with Mr. Manish Bajaj, VP, India Business, Dr. Reddy’s, Mr. Divya Prakash, Site Director, Medtronic, Mr. Ram Rangarajan, Director, Stryker Global, and Mr. Rahul Paith, COO/Director, DocOnline.

Delegates included entrepreneurs, start-ups, and mid to senior managers from different healthcare formats. Some of the delegates were quite senior and accomplished in their respective fields. There were around 150 participants. The takeaways of the conference would be summarized in the form of a white paper which would be circulated shortly.

           

Breakfast Meeting with Key Officers of the U.S. Consulate General, Chennai – 27 September 2018

AM’s Tamil Nadu Chapter organized a meeting with key officials from the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai on September 27th. The guest speakers included Consul General Robert Burgess, Mr. James Fluker, Principal Commercial Officer and Mr. Kent May, Consular Chief. The meeting began with Mr. Aubrey Daniels, Regional Director – Tamil Nadu Chapter, AMCHAM welcoming participants and officers from the Consulate. In his opening remarks Consul General Robert Burgess gave members a bird’s eye view of the recent happenings in Indo – U.S. relations. He added that the other interesting developments are the strategic partnership on Afghanistan, economic development through regional stability in South Asia, cooperation in the Indo Pacific region, working with the United States in keeping the maritime trade routes open and the freedom for the navy to navigate the sea in the area. The other important developments have been the growing partnership in science, technology and education. He went on to state that economic and commercial ties have strengthened with trade at $125 billion a year, two-way investment at $45 billion. He briefed participants on the outcomes of the recently held U.S. – India 2 + 2 Dialogue and emphasized the strength of the people to people connection between both countries.

In his remarks, Principal Commercial Officer, Jim Fluker, said that there are about 1,900 U.S. companies operating in India. He added that India was the lead partner in Indo-Pacific cooperation and that Commerce Secretary will lead a delegation of 100 companies for the U.S. – India CEO Forum to India. He mentioned the next big initiative ‘Trade Winds.’ the largest annual U.S. government-led trade mission headed to India during May 6th – 8th, 2019. Trade Winds would facilitate networking sessions with key industry contacts, schedule individual meetings with U.S. economic diplomats, gain first-hand market insight and solidify Indo-Pacific business strategy during the visit to India.

Chief of Consular Services, Kent May, in his address to members said that the mission post in Chennai was quite large with 45 U.S. citizens and over 200 Indian staff working at the Consulate. He requested members to inform all U.S. citizens working in their companies to register with the American Citizen Services section at the Consulate. Registrations could be done online at www.travel.state.gov. Mr. Kent May said that Chennai and India beat the trend of a downturn in visas issued globally. In Chennai the Consulate processed over 300,000 visa applications and the pan India figure was over 1.1. million. He also added that the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs will travel to India in October 2018 and will be visiting New Delhi and Chennai.

During the interactive session, Mr. Kent May addressed various visa questions. The meeting concluded with thanks by the Regional Director Mr. Aubrey Daniels to the officers of the Consulate and to the members who participated at this meeting.

 

Exclusive Closed Door Dialogue with Ambassador Kenneth I. Juster on U.S. – India Economic Relations – 26 September 2018

On 26th September 2018, AMCHAM India organized an exclusive closed door dialogue with Ambassador Kenneth I. Juster, U.S. Ambassador to India on ‘U.S. – India Economic Relations’ in Pune. Ambassador Juster shared an update on the U.S. – India 2+2 Dialogue and the economic relations between both countries.

The meeting commenced with welcome remarks by Mr. Mahesh Krishnamurti, Chairman – Western Region, AMCHAM and Managing Director, RGP India. Mr. Krishnamurti expressed that it was indeed a privilege for AMCHAM to have Ambassador Juster address captains of U.S. industries on the occasion. He shared the vision and overview of AMCHAM’s initiatives and activities in the Western Region and thanked Consul General Edgard Kagan and team for the great partnership that AMCHAM shares with the U.S. Consulate General, Mumbai. Through her address, Ms. Kaku Nakhate, Vice Chairperson, AMCHAM and President and Country Head, India, Bank of America N.A. highlighted the significant contributions being made by U.S. companies in CSR, the cutting edge leadership of companies in e-commerce as well as an overview of the U.S. – India growth story. Mr. Satish Nadiger, Managing Director and CEO, John Deere India Pvt. Ltd. shared a perspective of the role of U.S. companies in Pune and the growth of the city as a leading manufacturing and IT hub in India. He also spoke of the many initiatives of John Deere India Pvt. Ltd. including their technology centre and their partnership with the state government to create opportunities of employment and development for Indian farmers. The interactive discussion moderated by Ms. Kaku Nakhate brought forth issues of U.S. companies doing business in India. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks by Ms. Nakhate.

Interactive Session on How Artificial Intelligence Will Push Business Further– 24 September 2018

AMCHAM’s Eastern Region organized an interactive session on ‘How Artificial Intelligence Will Push Business Further’ at the Hyatt Regency, Kolkata on September 24th, 2018. The panelists included Professor Sudeshna Sarkar, Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, IIT Khargapur, Mr. Arnab Basu, Partner, PwC, leading the Technology Consulting Practice for PwC in India and part of PwC Global Technology Leadership team, and Ms. Namrata Dubashi, Partner McKinsey & Company, who leads the Eastern Region operations. Mr. Debdas Sen, Chairman – Eastern Region, AMCHAM and CEO, TCG Digital Solutions, moderated the session. Ms. Amada Kidwai, Regional Director – Eastern Region, AMCHAM, made introductions, Mr. Surajit Banerjee, a former Chairman and Eastern Region Executive Committee member gave welcome remarks and Ms. Birgit Holms, Eastern Region Executive Committee member gave concluding remarks.

The panellists briefly covered the history of artificial intelligence, a term which was coined as early as 1956, and spoke about AI’s popularity thanks to increased data volumes, advanced algorithms and improvements in computing power and storage. They spoke about early work which paved the way for automation and formal reasoning that we see in computers today, including decision support systems and smart search systems that can be designed to complement and augment human abilities.

As one of the most popular technologies, AI has a growing impact on companies of all sizes. They spoke about the influence and applications of artificial intelligence in healthcare, mobility, and financial services. They spoke about companies advancing this technology into products used on a daily basis. Just in its nascent stage, AI is yet to showcase its most exceptional applications in the product and service industry. They touched upon how AI has recolonized the healthcare industry and is one of the most promising technologies in the sector. They touched upon AI in mobility mentioning that Uber has already invested in assisted driving and is currently testing autonomous cars, which is an exceptional side of AI.

They discussed how AI is growing, and service-sector companies, as well as their industrial counterparts, will move to integrate this technology into their mechanisms. The future for companies working with AI assistance is going to be a bright one. While some felt that AI would affect how humans reacted to making quick and difficult decisions which would, in turn, diminish their gut feeling in the decision-making process, the general consensus was that AI is not here to replace us, as it augments our abilities and makes us better at what we do. Because AI algorithms learn differently than humans, they look at things differently. They can see relationships and patterns that escape us. This human/AI partnership offers many opportunities. It can bring analytics to industries and domains where it is currently underutilized. It also means that humans have to keep upscaling their skills. As one panelist said, there would not be any end to learning!