AMCHAM was invited to a sit-down lunch event with Mr. Drew Schufletowski, Honorary National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM and Minister Counselor for Economic, Environment, Science, and Technology, U.S. Embassy, on June 21st along with other attendees from USISPF, CII, IUSSSTF and IIT Delhi to discuss areas of collaboration between industry and research institutions in India to drive the iCET agenda. The discussion covered the relevant areas of defense, semiconductors, AI and quantum as well as the role Indian startups can play to make the best of the technology offerings from American companies. Mr. John Speaks, Deputy Minister Counselor for Economic, Environment, Science and Technology, U.S. Embassy and Ms. Ann Mason, First Secretary, Economic, Environment, Science, and Technology, U.S. Embassy assured continued monitoring of this extremely relevant partnership between U.S.-India to identify opportunities for collaboration and future prospects. Ms. Swati Samaddar, Director, AMCHAM participated in the discussions.

The meeting concluded with Santosh Kulkarni, the Co-Chair of the GCC Committee, providing a comprehensive summary of the discussions held and encouraging active participation and interaction from all members.

The annual AMCHAM India door knock delegation to Washington DC was led by AMCHAM’s Chairman, Mr. Som Satsangi, SVP and Managing Director, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, India from June 12^th – 16^th, 2023, right before the visit of Prime Minister Modi to the U.S. The main purpose of the door knock was to inform U.S. policy-makers on issues impacting U.S. investments in India.

AMCHAM India’s door knock whitepaper provided an industry perspective on India’s economy while highlighting some of the key sector-wise industry related challenges faced by U.S. companies operating in India. The delegation also distributed a whitepaper from AmCham Nepal this year.

The delegation met with 18 offices and 8 Senators and Representatives (or their staff), in addition to meetings with think tanks and important professionals that shared their views on the bilateral relationship in the current geopolitical scenario.

The main topics of discussions with government officials included:

• Emerging opportunities in the initiative of Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET)
• Possibility of a free trade agreement between U.S. and India
• Opportunities in co-production and co-development
• Ways to expedite the non-International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)
• Supply chain resilience
• IP challenges in healthcare
• S.-India education and skilling cooperation
• Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) in multilateral fora
• Reducing dependence on China for semiconductors
• Overall security partnership in the Indo-Pacific
• Net zero commitments
• Clean energy technology opportunities
• S.-India Strategic Trade Dialogue
• Developing a robust trade and investment partnership
• Support on how to make India a MRO hub (maintenance and repair overhaul)
• Need to sign Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA)

On Monday morning, June 12th, the door knock officially kicked off with an informal internal briefing followed by an interaction with India experts from think tanks, hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), with Mr. Richard M. Rossow, Senior Adviser and Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies, CSIS, Dr. Josh White, Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Dr. Irfan Nooruddin, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center and Professor; Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Professor of Indian Politics, Georgetown University, Ms. Aarya Nijat, Program Director, South Asia, Center for International Private Enterprise, Ms. Mona Dave, Senior Program Officer, Asia, National Endowment for Democracy, Mr. Aryan D’Rozario, Project Assistant, East-West Center in Washington, Mr. Sanjay Kathuria, Global Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center, Mr. Yatin Jain, Program Coordinator and Research Assistant, Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies, CSIS, Mr. Akshat Singh, Research Associate, Chair in U.S. – India Policy Studies, CSIS, Ms. Oorvi Budhwar, Program Coordinator, CSIS and Mr. Gaurav Sansanwal, Associate Fellow, CSIS. In the afternoon the delegation met with Mr. Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State along with Ms. Nancy Izzo Jackson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for India and Mr. Paul Stahle, Economic Unit Chief, Office of Indian Affairs, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. This was immediately followed by a meeting with Mr. Ramin Toloui, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State who was joined by Ms. Shelly Atkinson, Senior Advisor, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, Bureau of Political – Military Affairs and Mr. Steve Lang, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Information and Communications Policy. Day one concluded with a meeting with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mr. Tim Dill, Military Legislative Assistant.

On June 13th, the delegation split into 3 groups for parallel meetings. Part of the delegation met with Ms. Reta Jo Lewis, President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Export-Import Bank of the United States while others met with Mr. Rick Duke, Deputy Special Envoy for Climate and Mr. Vinay Chawla, Senior Advisor, Climate Finance, Office of Special Presidential Envoy for Climate while the 3rd group met with Mr. Robert Helfant, Assistant Director for International Relations, Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) and Mr. Andrew Lake, India Country Portfolio Director, DSCA. In the afternoon, there was a meeting with Senator Todd Young (R-IN) who was joined by Ms. Nancy Martinez, Policy Advisor, Mr. Isaac Jalkanen, National Security Counsel, Office of Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) who was joined by Mr. John Brasher, Legislative Assistant and Mr. Sean Conner, Legislative Aide and lastly, a meeting with Representative Ami Bera (D-CA).

On the morning of June 14th, the delegation interacted with Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) and Mr. Daniel Gerig, Legislative Director, Office of Senator Daines. This was followed by a meeting at the U.S. Capitol with Senator Mark Warner, Co-Chair, Senate India Caucus (D-VA) and Mr. Zach Lewis, Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Warner. The whole group met with Mr. Alan F. Estevez, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce and his colleagues Mr. Greg Capella, Deputy Under Secretary, Bureau of Industry and Security and Mr. Matthew Borman, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Industry and Security. The delegation split again for parallel meetings with Mr. Sebastian Wigley, Legislative Assistant, Office of Representative Young Kim (R-CA) and a meeting with Mr. Michael MacHarg II, Legislative Aide, Office of Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC).

Day four, June 15th, began with an interaction with Ms. Enoh Ebong, Director, U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) who was joined by her colleagues Ms. Verinda Fike, Regional Director for the Indo-Pacific and Mr. Kevin Toohers, Indo-Pacific Manager. For the first time the door knock delegation met with officials from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Mr. Ari Leifman, Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks, Ms. Minna Moezie, Senior Patent Attorney, Office of Policy and International Affairs, Mr. John Cabeca, U. S. Intellectual Property Attaché for South Asia, U.S. Embassy, Mr. Rahul Das, Patent Attorney, Office of Policy and International Affairs, Ms. Ann Chaitovitz, Attorney-Advisor, Mr. Vu Nguyen, Attorney-Advisor (Enforcement), Office of Policy and International Affairs and Ms. JoEllen Urban, Senior Trade Advisor, Office of Policy and International Affairs. In the afternoon the delegation met with Mr. Brendan Lynch, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (Acting), South and Central Asian Affairs and Ms. Emily Ashby, Director for South and Central Asia, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative followed by an interaction at the White House with Mr. Sean Wilson, Director of International Space Policy, National Space Council. The delegation interacted with Ms. Pamela Phan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia, Global Markets, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce and Ms. Aileen Nandi, Executive Director for Asia, U.S. Department of Commerce, among other Department of Commerce officials. The day concluded with a briefing and networking reception at APCO Worldwide with Ambassador Tim Roemer, former U.S. Ambassador to India and Mr. Dan Scandling, Lead Government Relations Practice, APCO Worldwide.

On June 16^th, the delegation returned to the White House for an interaction with Mr. Edgard Kagan, Special Assistant to the President, Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, National Security Council. This was followed by a separate interaction with Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher, Senior Director for South Asia, National Security Council, Mr. Anthony Renzulli, Director for India, National Security Council and Ms. Helena Fu, Director for Technology Alliances, National Security Council. To close the day, aerospace and defense companies had an interaction at the Pentagon with Mr. Steven A. Ruehl Sr., Director of Policy and Programs for the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, U.S. Air Force.

The last door knock engagement was held on June 20^th with a small group of delegates who had an interaction with Mr. Peter Hearding, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Policy, International Affairs and Environment, Federal Aviation Administration and Ms. India Pinkney, Executive Director, Policy, International Affairs and Environment, Federal Aviation Administration.

AMCHAM India Door Knock Delegation 2023

1. Som Satsangi, SVP and Managing Director, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, India (Chairman, AMCHAM)
2. Salil Gupte, President, Boeing India (Vice Chairman, AMCHAM)
3. Kaku Nakhate, President & Country Head, Bank of America (National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM and Chairperson – D&I Committee, AMCHAM)
4. William L. Blair, Vice President and Regional Executive Asia & India, Lockheed Martin (National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM and Co-Chairman – Defense Committee, AMCHAM)
5. Ramesh Kaza, SVP/Senior Managing Director, State Street Bank & Trust (National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM)
6. Ashmita Sethi, President & Country Head, Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies Corporation India Private Limited (Chairperson – Aviation Committee, AMCHAM)
7. Anand Vijay Jha, Managing Director – Government Relations, Blackstone Advisors India Private Limited
8. Alain Garcia, Vice President, Global Business Development – India, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, The Boeing Company
9. Abhijit Sarkar, Executive Vice President, Dastur Energy Inc.
10. Tabrez Ahmad, Group Director GA, Asia Pacific and Japan, Dell Technologies
11. Anubhuti Kaul Bhrany, Senior Director and Head of Policy & Government Affairs, India, Flex
12. Andrew J. Quinn, Head of International Trade and Policy, GE HealthCare
13. Jyotsna Ghoshal, Enterprise Lead, Government Affairs & Policy, India; Global Lead, International Forums, Johnson & Johnson
14. Rajesh Ranjan, Director – Government Affairs and Public Policy, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd.
15. Samit Ray, Regional Director Government Affairs & Public Policy, Raytheon Technologies Corporation
16. Lax Chepuri, CEO, Technogen Inc.
17. Ajit Shah, Chairman, FlexTecs Nepal Private Limited (Chairman, AmCham Nepal)
18. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM India
19. Valerie Swope, Program Coordinator, AMCHAM India
20. Udaya Arun, Director, AMCHAM India

AMCHAM’s Hyderabad Chapter recently held a session on June 15^th, in collaboration with EY, focused on the Apprentices Act of 1961. Mr. Puneet Gupta, Partner Advisory Services, EY India, was the guest speaker. He provided a comprehensive overview of the evolution and institutional framework of the act and elaborated on the act’s defining aspects, such as the eligibility and categories of trades. Additionally, Gupta presented a comparative analysis of the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) versus the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS), highlighting the employer aspects and challenges associated with each. To further enhance the participants’ understanding, Mr. Gupta shared real-life case studies related to the act and discussed the way forward for its implementation. Throughout his presentation, he emphasized the meaning, objective, and applicability of the Apprentices Act, providing valuable insights for attendees.

AMCHAM India participated in a track 1.5 dialogue on the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) on June 13^th. Mr. Ajit Doval KC, National Security Advisor, Government of India and Mr. Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor, Executive Office of the President of the United States shared their views on the opportunities for collaboration between the U.S. and India under iCET and encouraged industry to build trusted technology partners by building technology value chains and supporting co-development and co-production.