AMCHAM’s Hyderabad Chapter held a virtual members meeting on January 27th to discuss the way forward and plans for the Hyderabad Chapter for 2022. Members were requested to give suggestions on areas to be addressed and topics of interest. Mr. Prakash Bodla, Chairman – Hyderabad Chapter, AMCHAM chaired the meeting and updated members on the GCC Summit 2.0 scheduled for March 11th in a hybrid format.

AMCHAM’s Karnataka Chapter hosted an interaction with Dr. E.V. Ramana Reddy IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, and Commerce & Industries Department, Government of Karnataka and Mrs. Meena Nagaraj IAS, Director, Department of Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka on January 21st. The objectives of the session were to understand companies’ experiences in Karnataka and support required from the Government of Karnataka, seek suggestions to further enhance the ecosystem in Karnataka and for the government to share policy reforms.

The session started with opening remarks and presentation on the Government of Karnataka key policies and initiatives by Mrs. Meena Nagaraj, followed by an address by Ms. Payal Satish, Regional Director – Karnataka Chapter, AMCHAM, followed by an open house session where companies shared information on their ease of doing business in the state and any suggestions from companies. Dr. E.V. Ramana Reddy gave closing remarks. The session was attended by AMCHAM member companies like Collins Aerospace, Morgan Stanley, Mastercard, Western Digital Company and others.

AMCHAM’s Karnataka Chapter Executive Committee held a meeting on January 20th virtually. The discussion centered on membership, AMCHAM’s priorities for 2022, National Executive Board elections for 2022-23 and upcoming events. The meeting was attended by members of the Karnataka Chapter Executive Committee.

AMCHAM participated in the U.S.-India ICT Working Group Meeting: Intersessional B2G Session on January 20th, virtually. Mr. Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India, Mr. Matt Murray, Senior Bureau Official, U.S. Lead, U.S. Department of State, industry associations, U.S. industry leaders and other dignitaries from both governments participated in the session. The discussions focused on technology collaborations between the United States and India, digital payments, telecom/ICT standardization, emerging technologies, the PDP Bill, and other topics. AMCHAM coordinated the segment ‘Discussion on Next Steps and How to Make ICTWG More Productive Going Forward’ along with USIBC and USISPF. Mr. Som Satsangi, Chairman – ICT Committee, AMCHAM and Managing Director, Hewlett Packard Enterprise India, cited the importance of bilateral relationships to both countries and the creation of separate sectoral groups to address industry concerns effectively. AMCHAM would compile the session inputs into an action plan for next steps.

AMCHAM’s COVID-19 Disaster Management Task Force members held a meeting on January 20th under the leadership of Mr. Ankur Malhotra, Chairman – COVID-19 Disaster Management Task Force, AMCHAM and Head, Corporate Affairs & CSR, Hewlett Packard Enterprise India. The following Regional Co-Chairmen for the task force were present:

Mr. William Blair, Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin India (Northern Region)
Dr. Ravi M. Bhatkal, Managing Director, Cookson India, MacDermid Performance Solutions (Tamil Nadu)
Mr. Chandrakant Nayak, CEO & Country President, Dow India (Western Region)

Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM welcomed members and invited members to share their experiences with the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID. Mr. Ankur Malhotra spoke of how tired humanity is of the pandemic which has led to carelessness and encouraged organizations to continue with the original vigilance we all had. Members shared their experiences with the unpredictable Omicron variant, about the importance of isolating oneself when unwell, the importance of testing and ways to support employees. The effectiveness of N95 masks over cloth masks was emphasized. Supporting vaccination efforts internally and also through CSR efforts to reach the marginalized was discussed. The task force would also facilitate knowledge sharing, recommendations from members, best practices and health information. The meeting was off the record and attended by more than 40 members.