The AMCHAM Energy Committee met on October 12th to welcome Dr. Amit Paithankar, Vice President – Advance Design Center & Managing Director, South Asia, Emerson as the new Chairman for the Committee. Mr. Amitabh Kumar, Program Director, AMCHAM, thanked Ms. Preetha Nair, former Chairperson of the Energy Committee and Head, True North Venture Partners for her leadership over the last two years, on behalf of the committee. He also acknowledged the support given by Mr. Mahmoud Jardaneh (MJ), Energy Attaché, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Embassy in organizing the pre-recorded message from Dr. Andrew Light, Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy for the Clean Energy Session at AMCHAM’s 29th AGM on September 2nd.

Ms. Aileen Nandi, Honorary USG Chair – Energy Committee, AMCHAM, and Minister Counselor, Commercial Affairs, U.S. Embassy gave opening remarks followed by remarks from Mr. Chirag Baijal, Co-Chairman – Energy Committee, AMCHAM, and Chairman & MD, Commercial HVAC, Carrier India. Thereafter, Dr. Amit Paithankar set the scene, given the revamped and relaunched U.S.-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) with an enhanced focus on decarbonization. Members discussed various low-carbon pathways underpinned by emerging and established technologies on the supply and demand side in developing an agenda/framework for the committee’s activities over the next 6 to 12 months. These included energy storage, carbon capture, carbon recycling through advanced biofuels and enhanced oil recovery, sustainable aviation fuel, methane abatement through thermal imaging cameras and aerial surveys to detect and fix leaks, low GWP refrigerants as also natural gas/LNG, nuclear, energy efficiency with a focus on the India cooling action plan (ICAP) and energy-efficient buildings, grid management and optimizing the cost of capital in deploying technology and pilot projects.

Members felt, while renewables (solar and wind primarily) will lead decarbonization in electricity, which accounts for 30% of the emissions, the remaining 70% which comes from industries such as steel, cement, pulp and paper, chemicals, aviation, etc. will require a balanced and pragmatic approach for maintaining energy security and affordability. Policy support was seen as fundamental in achieving the successful deployment of clean energy. The Chairman invited specific suggestions, issues and concerns from members to develop the agenda and enable policy advocacy with respective ministries and through government think tanks that impact policy development.

Nuances of Indian Tax Filing for U.S. Citizens in India – What You Need to Know AMCHAM, as part of its initiatives for the American League, hosted a virtual session on ‘Nuances of Indian Tax Filing for U.S. Citizens in India – What You Need to Know,’ in partnership with expert speakers from PwC on October 14th. The session targeted U.S. citizens living in India to understand basic income tax provisions for working in India with sources of income in/outside of India. The session covered important topics and updates on Indian tax filings including residential status, deemed residency and taxability in India, overview of key taxation provisions under various heads of income – salaries, rental income, capital gains and income from other sources, claim from double taxation relief/income exclusions, exemptions and deductions available, reporting of assets and liabilities, including foreign assets, type of income tax return forms applicable, timelines, interest and penalties for belated and non-filing and key practical challenges due to the pandemic. This was followed by Q&A and information sharing on the American League with attendees. The speakers from PwC India included: Mr. Kunal Wadhwa, Partner, Mr. Ravi Jain, Subject Matter Expert and Mr. Vikas Narang, Subject Matter Expert. The session was attended by over 100 U.S. citizens.