AMCHAM’s Eastern Region Executive Committee held the third meeting of the year on September 22nd in Kolkata under the leadership of Mr. Atanu Mukherjee, Chairman – Eastern Region, AMCHAM. The meeting opened with ratifying the minutes of 2nd Eastern Region Executive Committee meeting held on July 31st, 2023. The meeting objective was to finalize the focus area for the annual session planned on November 20th. The suggested theme of the session would be India’s vision of achieving a $5 trillion economy. Speakers would talk about the outcome of the recently held G20 Summit and major focus of U.S.-India collaboration. Speakers would also delve into how to reduce the regional imbalances, keeping in mind the focus on the economic development of North Eastern states. AMCHAM would work on the concept note and identify prospective speakers. Members also showed their concern about the visibility of the chamber in the region. Several recommendations come up including a friendly golf tournament involving senior bureaucrats, officials from the U.S. Consulate and other important people in the city. Increasing AMCHAM membership for the region was highlighted. The meeting concluded with thanks to the Chair.

An initiative of the CSR Committee, AMCHAM’s 7th CSR Conference: Impact of Climate Crisis was held on September 21st over Webex. Ms. Valerie Swope, Program Coordinator, AMCHAM welcomed participants and introduced speakers. Mr. Harish Krishnan, Chairman – CSR Committee, AMCHAM and Managing Director & Chief Policy Officer, Cisco Systems, India & SAARC, in his opening remarks set the tone for the session highlighting the importance of climate commitments. He encouraged participants to ask questions during the sessions and challenge ideas of how to sustain an inclusive and regenerative future for all.

Session 1: Importance of Climate and Role in CSR was moderated by Mr. Aaron Schubert, Deputy Director, Indo-Pacific Office, USAID with Mr. John Holm, Senior Vice President, Partnership Development, PYXERA Global and Ms. Sumi Mehta, Vice President, Environmental and Climate Health, Vital Strategies. The panel discussed regenerative and equitable transition for corporates, how to counterbalance the power dynamics at play, desire for true systems change, intersection of health and climate, air pollution, protecting vulnerable populations and using data to set priorities and measure benefits of actions taken. Examples of partnerships in the climate arena with USAID around the world were shared. Ideas on the circular economy and how supply chain leaders can identify and prioritize opportunities to apply circular economy principles were shared.

In Session 2: Innovative Ways of Funding Climate Impact, Mr. Peter Tavernise, Climate Impact and Regeneration Lead, Cisco Foundation Climate Initiative and Director, Chief Sustainability Office, Cisco gave a presentation on ‘Climate Impact & Regeneration Portfolio.’ In terms of capital needs, he spoke about access and affordability to underserved markets, blended finance solutions for nature-based and indigenous solutions and catalytic grants. He also shared specific success stories of blended finance and investment partners from Cisco’s grant portfolio. He shared his expertise about how to push for collaborative sustainability and climate action with vendors and his experience in designing a climate investment strategy. 

Both sessions included a Q&A segment with participants. In concluding remarks, Mr. Harish Krishnan, Chairman – CSR Committee, AMCHAM, thanked the speakers for their wisdom and gave some hope that together, organizations, corporations and people, together, can make a difference. Private sector has the potential to scale climate mitigation operations. The conference was made possible by event partner: Cisco.

AMCHAM hosted a U.S. defense industry interactive session with Ms. Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, U.S. Department of Defense on September 18th in New Delhi. Ms. Udaya Arun, Director, AMCHAM welcomed the Under Secretary and briefly introduced participants while thanking the event partner for the evening, RTX. Mr. Alain Garcia, Chairman – Defense Committee, AMCHAM and Vice President, Global Business Development – India, Boeing Defense Space & Security gave a brief overview of the defense sector in India. Under Secretary Shyu, in her opening remarks, shared details of the way forward planned by both governments in further collaborations between U.S. and India in critical and emerging technologies (iCET). She also mentioned the role of having stronger startups and SMEs pipeline was crucial. Mr. Samit Ray, Co-Chairman – Defense Committee, AMCHAM and Deputy Vice President – Government Affairs & Public Policy South East Asia, RTX moderated the session. The discussions with members covered key technological strengths that need to be harnessed for defense R&D, focus areas of U.S. and India priorities, and how both governments plan to address challenges and regulatory hurdles to facilitate cross-border collaboration in defense technology R&D. The role of collaboration to foster national security and economic development was discussed while including involvement of academia, industry, and government. Best practices case studies from successful international defense technology partnerships were also discussed. Dr. Dana Johnson, Director, International Outreach and Policy, OUSD (R&E), U.S. Department of Defense, Col Erica Hass, Military Assistant to USD (R&E), U.S. Department of Defense and RDML Michael Baker, Defense Attache, U.S. Embassy, among others, joined the session.

On September 18^th, AMCHAM’s Electronics Manufacturing Committee welcomed the new Secretary, Mr. S. Krishnan, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. The significant contributions to the electronics industry, including job creation, investment, and ecosystem development by U.S. industry was discussed. The Secretary acknowledged AMCHAM’s role and committed to working with industry to explore collaborative ideas to build greater momentum in electronics manufacturing in the country. AMCHAM appreciated the Secretary’s attentive approach to industry concerns and look forward to working with his team.

The Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee organized AMCHAM’s 10th Anti-Corruption Compliance and Risk Management Master Class: Ten Years of the Ever-Changing Face of Compliance on September 15th at Hotel Aloft, Aerocity, New Delhi. Ms. Komple Sharma, Director, AMCHAM welcomed dignitaries and participants. The opening remarks were given by Mr. Gaurav Ajmani, Chairperson – Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee, AMCHAM and Associate General Counsel, Business Conduct & Ethics, Amazon Seller Services (P) Ltd. and Ms. Bhawna A. Ranganadhan, Co-Chairperson – Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee, AMCHAM and Sr. VP & Deputy General Counsel, Legal Compliance, Genpact.

The first session, a masterclass on ‘Employees: Your Biggest Asset or the Biggest Threat?’ featured speakers Mr. Gaurav Ajmani, Chairperson – Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee, AMCHAM and Associate General Counsel, Business Conduct & Ethics, Amazon Seller Services (P) Ltd. and Ms. Bhawna A. Ranganadhan, Co-Chairperson – Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee, AMCHAM and Sr. VP & Deputy General Counsel, Legal Compliance, Genpact. They discussed the ACFE report to the nations which mentioned that 42% of the analyzed frauds were detected in time and more than half of the tips came from employees. New trends post COVID like moon lighting, ghost employees, breach of confidentiality, cyber frauds and other frauds in the recruitment processes were discussed. The speakers explained the Donald Cressey fraud triangle through the lens of opportunity, rationalization, pressure and capability. Ways to prevent fraud were highlighted such as trainings, creating policies and procedures, tone from the top, detection mechanism and response mechanism.

The second session was a panel discussion on ‘Evolution of TPRM: What it Was, What it Is and What it Will Be?’ with panelists Ms. Manu Bal, Head of Legal, Compliance and Corporate Affairs, Beam Suntory India, Dr. Gunjan Singh, Director – Compliance, Stryker India and Mr. Avneesh Chopra, Head (Legal) and Company Secretary, Valvoline Cummins Pvt. Ltd. (India) with Mr. Aakash Sharma, Partner, Financial Advisory, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP as the moderator. The session gave a comprehensive view of how third-party risk management (TPRM) has transformed over time, the current state of the practice and insights into what the future may hold in this critical area of corporate risk management. Speakers shared valuable insights into the evolving landscape of TPRM including critical elements of TPI Risk Management, on-boarding and off-boarding, shared best practices and the scope of work for TPIs. It also provided insights into what the future holds for TPRM, considering factors such as evolving regulations, technological advancements and global trends in compliance and risk management.

In the third session on ‘India’s Corruption Barometer: Past, Present & Future,’ Prof. Madhu Bhalla, Chairperson, Transparency International India explored the evolution of corruption laws in India. Prof. Bhalla, in her address, gave the historical background of anti-corruption laws in India and also covered the role, duties and accountability of a public servant. Specific laws under the Indian Penal Code, Article 15 of UN Convention, G20 Delhi declaration section on bribery and anti-corruption, Lokayuktas, Lokpals, etc. were discussed during the session.

Mr. Arpinder Singh, Global Markets and India Leader, Forensic & Integrity Services, EY, in the fourth session on ‘Conducting Investigations in Cyber Age,’ shared some market trends and updates in the regulatory framework (DOJ) and followed up with some DOJ opinion requests. Mr. Singh conducted a simulation exercise through illustrative case studies which highlighted ethical dilemmas faced by a compliance professional. He touched upon the thumb rules to conduct an effective investigation that included maintaining a level of professional scepticism, ensuring investigation and supporting documents were legally tenable, fair and objective conduct, ensuring investigations were in sync with companies’ policies and internal compliance framework and always maintaining confidentiality.

The next session was a panel discussion on ‘Digital Personal Data Protection Act: Impact on Businesses’ with Dr. Ruchi Agarwal, VP – Legal Compliance & DPO (India), Genpact, Mr. Shobhit Chandra, Counsel, Khaitan & Co., Mr. Ratnil Chauhan, Counsel, Khaitan & Co., Mr. Ashwini Agarwal, Head of Supplier Anti-Corruption, Nokia and Ms. Anushka Sharda, Partner, Khaitan & Co. as the moderator. The panel opened with the journey of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 and key definitions. The panel discussed India and the extra-territorial scope of the act, grounds for processing personal data and concepts around privacy notice. The panel also discussed the novel concept of the consent manager, key compliances for data fiduciaries and rights and duties of the data principal in the new act.

The sixth session featured a fireside chat with Mr. Ravi Sethi, Assistant Legal Attaché, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Embassy and the Chair and Co-Chair of AMCHAM’s Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee. Mr. Sethi explained the important role the FBI plays in addressing contemporary challenges, especially related to the business world. He also provided insights into how the agency adapts to changing circumstances and emerging risks.

The last session was a panel discussion on ‘Intersection of ESG & Compliance.’ The panelists were Mr. Seshadri Govindan, Head – Ethics & Compliance, 3M India, Ms. Vasudha Sharma, Vice President (Legal), Accenture, Ms. Malini Gulati, Senior Legal & Compliance Counsel, Boston Scientific, Ms. Piya Haldar, Chief Compliance Officer, Honeywell India and Mr. Sachin Salian, HCCO, Janssen India and Asia Pacific Regional Director. It was moderated by Mr. Inderjeet Singh, Partner, Financial Advisory, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP. The session highlighted the evolving role of ESG factors in corporate governance and risk management and the importance of integrating ESG considerations into developing the overall compliance strategy. The discussion provided a profound understanding of how ESG and compliance intersect to drive sustainable business practices.

Mr. Gaurav Ajmani, Chairperson – Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee, AMCHAM and Ms. Bhawna A. Ranganadhan, Co-Chairperson – Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee, AMCHAM concluded the master class by thanking the esteemed speakers, engaging audience and valuable event partners: Deloitte, EY and Khaitan & Co.

AMCHAM’s Tax, Tariff & Regulatory Affairs Committee commenced a webinar series on ‘Deciphering the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.’ The first session of the educational series was conducted on September 14th. Since interpretation and elucidation of various aspects of this act has emerged as a call for requisite and compelling attention, the session offered an opportunity for members to listen to experts and seek clarifications. The interactive session was well attended and proved to be a healthy transfer of information. The expert panelists at the webinar were Mr. Rajiv Chugh, Partner and National Leader – Policy Advisory and Specialty Services, Ernst & Young and Mr. Lalit Kalra, Partner – Cyber Security, Ernst & Young. The session was chaired by Ms. Garima Pande, Chairperson – Taxation, Tariff & Regulatory Affairs Committee, AMCHAM and Partner & National Leader Global Compliance & Reporting, E&Y India.