On August 30th, 2019, as part of its Signature Lecture Series, AMCHAM India organized a roundtable interactive session with Mr. William Warshauer, President and CEO, TechnoServe on ‘Youth Employability Challenge in India and a Global Perspective on Solutions.’ The session began with a welcome address by Ms. Ursula Thakkar, Chairperson – Western Region, AMCHAM and Managing Director, Lubrizol Advanced Materials India Pvt. Ltd. Ms. Surabhi Wahal, Regional Director – Western Region, AMCHAM, introduced the speakers for the session and invited them to share their experiences and expertise on the topic.

The second meeting of AMCHAM’s National Executive Board for 2019-2020 was held on August 29th, 2019 in Hyderabad. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Phil Shaw, Chairman, AMCHAM and Chief Executive India, Lockheed Martin India. The agenda was taken up for discussion with participation from all members present. Mr. Anand Chidambaram, Chairman – Infrastructure and Smart Cities Committee, AMCHAM and Managing Director, Progress Rail, (Caterpillar Company) India, gave a presentation on the Infrastructure and Smart Cities Committee.

AMCHAM’s National Executive Board welcomed new U.S. Mission officials, Mr. Edgard Kagan, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy and Mr. Joel Reifman, Consul General, U.S. Consulate Hyderabad, and interacted with Hyderabad Chapter members on August 29th. Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM welcomed participants and Mr. Phil Shaw, Chairman, AMCHAM and Chief Executive India, Lockheed Martin India, made opening remarks and introduced Mr. Jayesh Ranjan (IAS), Principal Secretary – IT, Industries & Commerce, Textiles, Government of Telangana. Mr. Ranjan invited more investment from U.S. companies in Telangana and shared several success stories and opportunities.

Mr. Som Satsangi, National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM and Managing Director, Hewlett Packard Enterprise gave an overview of HPE’s digital village project in Telangana which focused on three key areas: education, health and e-governance. Mr. Jayesh Ranjan virtually launched HPE’s 3rd digital village in Jillela (situated at 130 kms from Hyderabad with population of approximately 3,400 people) and interacted with beneficiaries of the project through video conferencing.

Mr. Edgard Kagan, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy, in his remarks, emphasized the need for companies to come to the Embassy and Consulate early when they face challenges at a state level. He talked about some of the economic reforms and the U.S.’s continued optimism for India. He encouraged the chamber and companies to highlight their CSR activities. Mr. Shashidhar Reddy, Chairman – Hyderabad Chapter, AMCHAM and Vice President, Qualcomm India, gave an overview of AMCHAM’s activities in the Hyderabad Chapter and welcomed Mr. Joel Reifman, Consul General, U.S. Consulate Hyderabad. Consul General Reifman, in his remarks, expressed his enthusiasm to be in Hyderabad. He touched upon Indo-Pacific strategy and the investment that American companies have already made in the region. Participants introduced themselves and interacted with officials. The event was sponsored by Arcesium.

AMCHAM’s Tamil Nadu Chapter held a breakfast meeting on ‘How Academia and Industry Can Collaborate to Make in India and to Skill India’ on August 29th in Chennai. Mr. Balasundaram Radhakrishnan, Executive Director (Manufacturing) Chennai Vehicle Assembly and Engine Plant, Ford Motor Company, chaired the session, which featured guest speaker Prof. Dr. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. The meeting commenced with a welcome by Mr. Balasundaram Radhakrishnan, who set the tone for the meeting.

After members had introduced themselves, Mr. Balasundaram Radhakrishnan said that university-industry collaboration required careful management and could bring many benefits. These include a two-way flow of ideas: results can flow out to industry and they can also be in-bound to fuel research questions. For example, sometimes technical problems experienced at the cutting-edge of practice lead to new questions for science. He added that a combination of economic, business and technology factors have led to a steady rise in synergistic partnerships between industry and academia in India.

Dr. Bhaskar Ramamurthi began by responding to the comments made by members when they introduced their companies. He spoke of how the IIT’s in India have spurned research in many disciplines and have many patents, most of which have been commercialized. Dr. Ramamurthi said that as an administrator he spends a considerable part of his work day interviewing potential faculty. He said that the faculty at IIT have been given the freedom to pursue research and work with students to nurture them in the area of their specialization. He added that the institute has sixteen academic departments and a few advanced research centres in various disciplines of engineering and pure sciences, with nearly 100 laboratories organized in a unique pattern of functioning. A faculty of international repute, a brilliant student community, excellent technical and supporting staff and an effective administration has all contributed to the pre-eminent status of IIT Madras.

In his presentation Dr. Ramamurthi said that the 3 focus areas of research were: academic research to produce research papers for publication; translational research in the area of industry, space, defense and incubation; and transformational research which had a direct societal impact, disruptive improvement in housing, water, education, healthcare and energy. IIT Madras has over 2,000 ongoing projects, working with 500+ Indian companies, 100+ MNC’s and has filed over 195 patents. The Director said that IIT – Madras has established eight new centers of excellence, besides 15 such centers of excellence already functioning in the institute.

The Director also emphasized that IIT Madras is working with many leading companies and also has a research park to incubate startups working in diverse sectors such as auto and automotive energy, power, big data and analytics, mechanical engineering and design, telecom and networks, financial services, product engineering and design, ITES and consulting, bio medical devices, IP services, social enterprises, industry professional bodies, incubators, technology and policy, bio processes amongst others. He said that IIT Madras was open to collaborating with MNC’s and that there is space available in the IIT – Madras Research park for American companies to establish research centers.

During the interactive session the Director remarked that the role of academia is to impart knowledge and instill the quest of creativity and questioning. He added that it was the responsibility of industry to train engineers for the role they have been selected.

In conclusion Mr. Radhakrishnan said that, its high time now to reboot the India education system and joint initiatives by industry and academia would play an important part in plugging the talent gap in the years to come. Training individuals for the jobs of the future and allowing them to visualize what is possible today will not only make a difference in their lives but will enrich our communities now and for the future. The meet concluded with an insightful interactive session followed by networking.

On August 29th AMCHAM’s Eastern Region organized an interactive session over high tea at the Hyatt Regency Kolkata, with Mr. Joseph Pomper, Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs, U.S. Embassy, New Delhi, Ms. Amy Gradin, Vice Counsel, U.S. Consulate, Kolkata and the Consular team. This was Mr. Pomper’s farewell visit to Kolkata before he departs India.

Mr. Pomper said that the U.S.-India trade relationship has been growing exponentially in recent years; two-way trade between the United States and India in 2017 increased by $12 billion to $126 billion and the United States is India’s number one export destination. He said more than a million people travel between the countries annually. In FY 2018, over 1.2 million visas were adjudicated in the five consular sections across India. In FY 2018, over 235,000 people in India applied for U.S. visas via the interview waiver program.

Beginning September 1st, 2019, the U.S. Mission to India would begin to schedule interview waiver passport drop-off. Previously, applicants did not need to schedule an appointment to drop off their passports. This procedure applies to individuals renewing U.S. visas that have expired less than one year before and to applicants under age 14 or over age 79. He said the goal in implementing an appointment scheduling system for applicants dropping off passports for visa renewal was to improve customer service and reduce overall processing times. As a result of this change, the Embassy and Consulates anticipate being able to reduce the processing times from three weeks to 7-10 business days.

From September 1st, applicants eligible for interview waiver processing can schedule an appointment date via on the website, www.ustraveldocs.com and drop off their passport and visa application materials at one of the eleven Visa Application Center locations across India. He said that FAQs on the new Interview Waiver scheduling which was distributed at the meet could be shared amongst members.

Ms. Amada Kidwai, Regional Director, gave introductions, Mr. Shobhan Kumar, Eastern Region Executive Committee member of AMCHAM, gave the welcome address and Mr. K.P. Sengupta, Eastern Region Executive Committee member of AMCHAM, gave the concluding remarks and vote of thanks.

AMCHAM’s Karnataka Chapter held a meeting of the Executive Committee August 27th at the Goldman Sachs Office in Bengaluru. The success of past events was reviewed and new events for calendar year 2019 were discussed, among other chapter priorities.