American Chamber of Commerce in India
Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India

Doing Business Under COVID19 Restrictions with Invest India – 9th April 2020

AMCHAM hosted a webinar for members on ‘Doing Business Under COVID-19 Restrictions’ in partnership with Invest India on April 9th. Over 45 members participated across several regions and shared questions that were addressed by Invest India. The webinar kicked off with welcome remarks by Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM, followed by a keynote address by Ms. Kaku Nakhate, Vice Chairperson, AMCHAM and President & Country Head, India, Bank of America N.A. The special address was given by Mr. Deepak Bagla, Managing Director & CEO, Invest India.

The webinar focussed on understanding initiatives of the Government of India wherein members could support. Members shared thoughts on how India could find its footing back in the global supply chain post the subside of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants heard from Invest India on the current state of affairs and how much Invest India had supported industry with challenges that have arisen out of the COVID-19 situation. Mr. Bagla mentioned that with the launch of the Business Immunity Platform, Invest India had already successfully resolved over 2,000 corporate challenges with an average resolution time of 4 hours. They ranged from challenges related to the supply of essential goods and services, logistics support, plant shutdown, customs issues, notifications and clarifications, amongst others.

Members sought clarification from the Invest India team if investments other than schedule VII accounted for CSR. Invest India team confirmed that corporates have shown keenness to drive social impact with their CSR initiatives (by earmarking around 25-30% of their CSR funds) and that they could reach out to the 289 tech incubators across India to channel their CSR funds into developing technology space and as also on around 90 COVID-19 management and relief repository. Invest India has also partnered with BIRAC to channelize CSR funds for COVID-19 solutions focused on diagnostics, vaccines and related interventions for controlling COVID-19. AMCHAM volunteered to get a consolidated list of all members who have supported the PM Cares Fund and share with Invest India to highlight the great support of U.S. industry in fighting this pandemic.

Ms. Kaku Nakhate and Mr. Harish Krishan, Chairman – CSR Committee, AMCHM and Managing Director, Public Affairs & Strategic Engagements, Cisco India & SAARC, volunteered to lead an initiate to connect to members and to look at initiatives to work together as a unified industry front and to navigate the correct resources to aim for meaningful contribution as well as in innovation platform support. Mr. Sanjay Koul, Vice Chairman, AMCHAM and Chairman & Managing Director, Timken India, gave the closing remarks and concluded the webinar with a vote of thanks.

Membership

By joining AMCHAM India, you become part of an active and dynamic Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India with a membership base of more than 400 American companies in India. AMCHAM is an important voice for policy advocacy, a critical source for business intelligence, a vibrant platform for networking and expanding your business.