AMCHAM India, in partnership with the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai, organized an ‘Open House: An Interactive Evening with Mr. Subhash Desai, Minister Industries & Mining, Government of Maharashtra and Mr. Apurva Chandra, Principal Secretary – Industries, Government of Maharashtra’ on Friday, 7th April 2017 in Mumbai.

The event, which was well attended by senior leaders of U.S. companies, began with welcome remarks by Consul General Tom Vajda, Consulate General of the United States, Mumbai. This was followed by an overview by Mr. Gregory Taevs, Principal Commercial Officer (U.S. Consulate) on services of the Foreign Commercial Services and Mr. Adam Branson, Chief, U.S. Agricultural Affairs on the agriculture services.

Ms. Kaku Nakhate, National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM India and President and Country Head, Bank of America, through her address showcased the services, activities and initiatives of AMCHAM India. While welcoming the Hon’ble Minister she highlighted significant initiatives of AMCHAM’s Western Region, which included roundtables with Honb’le Chief Ministers (Maharashtra, MP, Gujarat) and senior representatives of the state government (MIDC, DIPP, JNPT). She also invited and encouraged U.S. companies that are not members of AMCHAM to leverage the important association and become members of AMCHAM! Last but not least, Ms. Kaku Nakhate invited participants to the forthcoming annual event on innovation and technology on 19th April, the Western Region’s signature event ‘India: 2017 & Beyond’ on 26th April and the 25th AGM of AMCHAM in New Delhi on 4th May 2017.

Mr. Apurva Chandra, Principal Secretary – Industries, Government of Maharashtra, began his address by commending AMCHAM’s notable efforts and support of connecting the American businesses to the state government. His address mainly highlighted various policies such as IT, retail, defense, logistics and warehousing and the planned revisions in the near future and the development projects in the state focused on AURIC – Aurangabad Industrial City Project.

Mr. Subhash Desai, Minister Industries & Mining, Government of Maharashtra, in his keynote address stated that he foresees a great future for co-operation between U.S. and India. He urged U.S. companies to utilize the services provided by Maitri-Maharashtra Industry Trade & Investment Facilitation Cell, which is an initiative by the Maharashtra Government to facilitate domestic as well as international investors to submit regulatory documents at a single location and a single entity. Hon’ble Minister Desai also touched upon the development projects in the state – the Navi Mumbai International Airport, Trans Harbour Link and the Mumbai Coastal Road. An engaging Q&A session answered several queries that were posed by the participants.

Ms. Surabhi Wahal, Regional Director – Western Region, AMCHAM, presented copies of AMCHAM’s CSR Compendium – Happily Going Miles for Their Smiles and Smart Cities: A Capability Deck of U.S. Companies in India to the Hon’ble Minister Shri Subhash Desai and Mr. Apurva Chandra and brought to light the contributions and expertise of AMCHAM members.

The event concluded with closing remarks by Consul General Mr. Thomas Vajda, who then invited the Hon’ble Ministers and the participants to an evening of networking.