Future Workforce and Evolving Skills in the Post COVID-19 Era: A Panel Discussion – 30th June 2020

AMCHAM’s Eastern Region organized a panel discussion via webinar on ‘Future Workforce and Evolving Skills in the Post COVID-19 Era’ on June 30th. The panellists for the session were, Consul General Patti Hoffman, U.S. Consul General in Kolkata, Mr. Narayanna Ramaswamy, Managing Partner, KPMG Eastern India, Mr. Madhavan Vilvarayanallur, Partner, KPMG India and lead for the education sector (future workforce), Mr. Chaitanya Sreenivas, Chairman – HR Committee, AMCHAM and Vice President HR & HR Head India South Asia, IBM and Mr. Gulshan Sachdev, NEB Member, AMCHAM and Managing Director, Quaker Chemicals India and Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM…

ICT Committee Meeting with Commercial Section, U.S. Embassy – 19th June 2020

A meeting of AMCHAM’s ICT Committee with the Commercial Section of the U.S. Embassy was conducted on June 19th. It was attended by Dell, HP, HPE, Intel, IBM and AT&T. The meeting was a closed door session and follow up from the ICT and Cyber Security Committee meeting. Members spoke at length about trade barriers, National Procurement Policy issues by DPIIT on June 4th 2020, Government e-marketplace, Make in India products, preferential market access, WFH mandates issues by DoT and the delay in the implementation of policies such as National Digital Communication Policy.

It was deliberated and discussed that despite of American hardware and semiconductors being one of the key drivers to ensure smooth functioning of business and running of essential services such as healthcare, banking, education, ICT penetration continues to be low in the country. Thereby, it would be important to ensure that the supply chain for ICT products continued to remain functional and resilient. Mr. Gregory Taevs, Deputy Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, U.S. Embassy, provided his perspective on the trade barriers between the countries. It was unanimously decided that a compilation of all the issues would be taken up during bilateral talks. A submission from AMCHAM highlighting the issues would be submitted to authorities such as DPIIT, PMO, Ministry of Commerce, GeM and MeitY.

Western Region Committee Meeting – 19th June 2020

A virtual meeting of members of AMCHAM’s Western Region Committee was held on June 19th. Mr. Sudhir Shenoy, Chairman – Western Region, AMCHAM, welcomed members and shared an overview of the valuable initiatives being taken by AMCHAM, in partnership with regional members, to support and work along with the Maharashtra state government and it’s associates during the challenging times of COVID-19. The agenda also included discussions on best practices, ongoing events, ideation and collaboration on forthcoming events and last, but not the least, the leadership of the committee for 2020-21.

Interaction with Mr. Hari Marar, Managing Director & CEO on Innovations & Steps Taken for Safe Business Travel Post COVID-19 by Bengaluru International Airport – 19th June 2020

AMCHAM’s Karnataka Chapter organized a virtual interaction with Mr. Hari Marar, Managing Director & CEO, Bengaluru International Airport on June 19th. Bengaluru Airport has stood out among airports in India among the swift innovation that has been introduced for safer travel of passengers. The interaction covered the new introductions of sanitization, no touch checks, screening and other swift introductions by the airport.

Bangalore Airport has reported zero COVID positive cases and has been a best in class example for other airports in the country and outside India. Mr. Sanjay Koul, Vice Chairman, AMCHAM and Managing Director, Timken India, gave opening remarks and moderated the conversation. The webinar was attended by leaders and representatives from companies like Aryaka Networks, Hewlett Packard, Synopsys, First American, Hickey & Associates and others.

Interactive Session with USAID – South Asia AgTech Hub for Innovation (SAATHI) – 18th June 2020

The Agriculture and Food Processing Committee of AMCHAM organized an interactive session with USAID – South Asia AgTech Hub for Innovation (SAATHI) on June 18th. Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM welcomed panellists and participants and spoke about the importance of technology in agriculture especially in the post COVID era where technology is becoming the most essential ingredient for survival. Mr. Simon George, Chairman – Agriculture & Food Processing Committee, AMCHAM and President, Cargill India, spoke about the performance of agriculture as a sector and also how the food processing sector was proving to be the necessary catalyst in its better performance. He pointed out the need of greater agricultural reforms required especially post the pandemic. He also said that science and technology would play a bigger role in the future and would help in elevating farmers’ lives.

Mr. Nehal Sanghavi, Senior Advisor for Innovation and Partnership, USAID/India, expressed his gratitude towards AMCHAM and enumerated various successful engagements with AMCHAM members like the Corporate TB Pledge, water and sanitation work, etc. Mr. Nirat Bhatnagar, Partner, Dalberg and Director – SAATHI, mentioned how innovation in agriculture was quickly catching up and SAATHI could help in escalating these innovations. He also spoke about how India could be used as a spring board for entering into other South Asian countries. Mr. Girish Aivalli, Chief Executive Officer, SAATHI gave a comprehensive presentation on the working of SAATHI. SAATHI’s core service offerings include South Asian partnerships, investment facilitations and business and agri projects advisories. They engage across the entire agribusiness ecosystem from pre harvesting to post harvesting as well as innovations and ancillary activities. The webinar concluded with a vote of thanks by Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM.

Northern Region Executive Committee Meeting – 17th June 2020

A virtual meeting of AMCHAM’s Northern Region Committee was held on June 17th, 2020. Mr. William Blair, Chairman – Northern Region, AMCHAM and Vice President and Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin India Private Limited, welcomed members and shared an overview of the valuable initiatives being taken by AMCHAM in partnership with regional members to support and work along with various state government in north India. He called upon members to do a reality check of the current situation being faced in the wake of COVID 19 so as to refresh ourselves with challenges and possibilities at hand in order to make our actions more impactful.

He advised that we must consider taking the initiative of providing a platform to members to ideate on getting comfortable with the “new normal” and sustainably re-energize businesses. He called upon all to grasp the positives of the situation at hand and work towards increasing positivity through them. The agenda also included discussions on best practices and ongoing events, as well as ideation and collaboration on forthcoming events.