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American Chamber of Commerce in India
H I G H L I G H T Scontinued...
• Budget 2013-14 – what's in store, is it populist, reformist or burdensome
• Expect a better business climate in 2013
Dear Members:
Happy New Year! I wish you and your families a prosperous and healthy 2013.
Through the last quarter of 2012, Amcham’s efforts to promote business between India and the US continued. We organized several
meetings with representatives of important government offices to discuss issues and policies that directly and indirectly impact US-
India trade and business in India.
Amcham representatives in Mumbai and Bangalore met with Dr. Raman Singh, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. A delegation
comprising senior officials from his Government, including Minister for Commerce and Industry, Secretary, Commerce and Industry;
Managing Director, CSIDC attended the meeting.
December 2012 • Vol. II • Issue 6Focus: Outlook 2013 Amcham - The Voice of American Business in India
• Amcham christmas ball photographs
• Amcham welcomes new members
Raj JainChairman, Amcham IndiaManaging Director & CEO, Bharti WalmartPresident, Walmart India
Chairman'sMessage
continued from page 1
December 2012 Issue 6 • 03
NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD
National Executive Board – 2012-13
ChairmanRaj JainWalmart India
Vice ChairmanAniruddha LahiriSkytech Solutions Pvt Ltd.
Vice ChairmanR. RamkumarCognizant Technology Solutions
Hony. Treasurer Atul DhawanDeloitte Haskins & Sells
Hony. MembersBlair Parks Hall, Jr.U.S. Embassy
Judy R. ReinkeU.S. Embassy
Members Sanket AkerkarMicrosoft India Pvt. Ltd.
Dr. Narindra BachlausExxonMobil Company India Pvt. Ltd.
Sonjoy ChatterjeeGoldman Sachs (India) Securities Pvt.
Ajay Kumar DasTimken India Limited
Ambarish DasguptaPricewaterhouse Coopers Pvt. Ltd.
Rustom J. Desai Corning India & Telecom Operations
Zubin IraniUnited Technologies Corporation India Pvt. Ltd.
Rahul Johri Discovery Communications India
Kaku NakhateBank of America N.A.
Lowell PaddockGeneral Motors India Pvt. Ltd. Russell PareraKPMG
Madhu PoomalilD. E. Shaw India Software Pvt. Ltd.
Amit SharmaATC Tower Company of India Pvt. Ltd.
Atul SinghCoca-Cola India
Venkatesh ValluriIngersoll Rand (India) Ltd.
Laxmikanth VenkatramanBroadridge Financial Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.
Viswanathan AVisteon India
Ajay SinghaExecutive Director
Amcham members in Delhi met with Shri.
K.N. Shrivastava, Secretary, Ministry of
Civil Aviation, Government of India. The
secretary shared insights into some of the
key issues of concern for the aviation
sector in India.
Members also met with Ms. Jennifer Ness,
Attorney-Advisor, U.S. Patent &
Trademark Office (USPTO) in New Delhi to
discuss how Amcham can work with
USPTO to capture investors / innovations
in India. Amcham also held an interactive
and informative session with U.S.
Congressional Delegation comprising Mr.
Duncan Hunter, Mr. Adam Smith, Mr.
Todd Platts, Mr. Ron Kind and Mr. Brad
Miller on 16th October in New Delhi.
The U.S India Energy Cooperation
Program (E.C.P), in association with the
India Green Building Council, Gujarat
Chamber of Commerce, Confederation
of Real Estate Developers Association of
India and Gujarat Institute of Housing &
Estate Developers organized a workshop
on “Building a Business Case for Energy
Efficiency in Buildings” at Ahmedabad.
The workshop helped build awareness
a n d a u g m e n t c a p a c i t i e s f o r
imp lementa t ion o f the Ene rgy
Conservation Building Code(ECBC) in
Commercial Buildings in Gujarat.
A conference on ‘Ethics and Corporate
Compliance’ was held on 23rd October in
New Delhi. The conference was useful for
all in-house legal, governance, risk and
compliance professionals. In Bangalore,
an awareness session on case studies of
recent frauds reported at MNCs in India,
and key learnings from these so as to
avoid similar situations, was conducted.
The session also covered the impact of the
proposed Indian Companies Bi l l
requirements on fraud risk management
efforts at companies in India was
discussed.
Amcham continues to facilitate members
on US Visa Procedures. Ms. Julia Stanley,
Minister-Counselor for Consular Affairs,
US Embassy, addressed members of
AMCHAM India. Mr. Aubrey Daniels,
Regional Director (Chennai), Amcham
India gave a presentation on US Visa
Procedures
Ms. Margaret Hanson-Muse, Deputy
Commercial Counselor from the
American Embassy, New Delhi met with
Amcham members in Mumbai and
Hyderabad.
The much anticipated annual Amateur
Invitational Golf Tournament was held in
October last year with enthusiastic
participation of the members. The day-
long event held at Qutab Golf Course,
New Delhi, provided a great opportunity
to meet and network in an informal and
conducive atmosphere. A special word of
thanks for the sponsors of the event- Ford
India Ltd., Honeywell International (I) Pvt.
Ltd., EMD Locomotive Technologies,
Protiviti Consulting Pvt. Ltd. and Sikorsky
Aircrafts Corporations. The Hyderabad
Chapter’s annual Sports Event is also
underway- with good participation from
local members.
At Amcham, we are especially excited to
turn our plans into reality knowing that
we have the full support of our wonderful
members and our Board of Directors. In
fact, I’d like to dedicate the next year to all
of our members who wholeheartedly
participate in the Chamber events and
work on committees. I am certain 2013
will be stronger and more active because
of your commitment to work together for
the betterment of US-India relations.
04 December 2012 Issue 6•
The Union Budget to be presented in the
Parliament would be in the midst of one of
the most challenging times the world is
facing. The USA is dealing with the fiscal
cliff, Europe with an all pervasive crisis and
the rest of world bracing for a slowdown.
We in India need to come out of the
'perceived policy paralysis' and need to
present a Budget which will continue to
inspire investor confidence and help us
get back to the 6 per cent plus growth
trajectory.
The tax policies that are implemented and
followed go a long way in impacting
foreign investment in the country and are
an integral part thereof. As it happens,
some of the recent policy developments
have not gone down well with the
investors and have shaken their faith in
the efficacy of the Judicial System. The
ensuing Budget is likely to communicate
to the investing community that India is
willing to offer a stable and consistent tax
environment conducive for investment.
On the tax rate front, it is anticipated that
the corporate tax rate may remain
unchanged. However, the effective tax
rates for individuals may get softened.
Based on the market feelers and the
representations made by the industry
bodies and various stakeholders; some of
the key expected changes are as follows:
Committees Reports implementation
One of the key positive developments in
the recent past has been the setting up of
the Shome and Rangachary Committees
to address the various concerns that the
taxpaying community has. The Draft
Reports of the Shome Committee on
GAAR and on retrospective amendment
to Section 9 of the Income Tax Act have
been received very positively by the
taxpaying community. It is imperative that
the final reports of the Shome Committee
are placed in the public domain and, more
important, the recommendations acted
upon at the earliest. Similarly, it is
imperative that the recommendations of
the Rangachary Committee are placed in
the public domain and acted upon. If this
is not done urgently, there is a danger that
the deliberations of these Committees will
be perceived as one more symbolic
exercise with little result to show.
The Rangachary Committee has heard at
length the IT/ITES industry and has come
up with recommendations on resolution
of several disputes. It has also prescribed
Safe Harbour Rules. Apart from
implementing these recommendations, it
is necessary to ensure that other industries
too find a mechanism of dispute
resolution.
Taxation of dividends from overseas
Dispute resolution measures
Over the last few years, corporate India
has emerged as a fairly active global player
and Indian business houses have made
investments and acquisitions which do
India proud. The returns from these
investments, when brought into India,
suffer tax unlike domestic dividends
which are tax free in the hands of the
recipients. In the last Budget, the rate of
tax was reduced to 15 per cent. Such
dividends received out of tax paid profits
overseas and subjected to withholding
taxes in those jurisdictions, should not be
subjected to further tax in India on
remittance including under the minimum
alternate tax (MAT) provisions. Indeed,
the US example has shown that when
corporates are permitted to repatriate
dividends tax free, there is a significant
inflow of funds; inward remittance of
forex at this point of time would be a very
welcome step for our economy.
One of the key concerns of the taxpaying
community is the prolonged litigation, the
length of time it takes to resolve a dispute,
the need to make on account payments in
the interregnum, etc. The Dispute
Resolution Panel (DRP) and the Mutual
Agreement Procedure (MAP) in the
context of Direct Taxes have not proved
effective mechanisms in this regard. The
fact that multiple benches of ITAT/High
Courts give differing decisions has not
helped the cause of the taxpaying
community.
There could be a 'conciliation bench'
which can be approached by a tax payer
to help 'settle' tax disputes. This will
ensure that where a tax payer has already
got a favourable resolution of a dispute on
a matter, the dispute is not continued in
the later years as a matter of routine.
Similarly, non-resident tax payers can
focus on quantum of profits attributable
Sanjiv ChaudharyPartner, BSR & Company
Budget 2013-14 – what's in store, is it populist, reformist or burdensome
Mrugen TrivediTechnical Director, KPMG
December 2012 Issue 6 • 05
At the end
The Finance Ministry has already started
the exercise to prepare Budget 2013-14.
After announcing a slew of reform
measures to revive growth, the Finance
Minister has indicated that the Budget
2013-14 would focus on cutting wasteful
expenses and promoting investments.
The Finance Minister is aiming for a
growth higher than 5.5% in the next
financial year alongwith aspiration to
achieve fiscal deficit target between 5.3 to
4.8 percent of GDP. Further he is also
considering a big ticket reforms like DTC,
GST, GAAR, e tc . Whether the
forthcoming Budget would be popularist,
reformist or burdensome will decide
whether the expected reforms and
growth will be achieved.
to a Permanent Establishment or the
adjustment on a Transfer Pricing issue.
Industry has observed that the assessing
officers tend to display a revenue bias in
adjudicating tax disputes. This tendency is
pronounced in disputes relating to
indirect taxes. There is always pressure of
maximizing revenue since yearly targets
for collection of duties are assigned to
each such officer. This result in show cause
notice/demands getting confirmed even
when the same may be legally untenable
as is evident from the statistics of appeals
decided in favour of the Department or
against it. Therefore, some administrative
relief could be expected from the Finance
minister in this area.
The recent move by the Hon'ble Finance
Minister in reviving the move to introduce
the GST, sooner rather than later, is indeed
welcome. This will go a long way in
streamlining the economy and provide
impetus to the growth of our GDP. It is
imperative that this economic reform
which is critical to the growth of the
country be not a subject of party politics
and should be pushed forward at the
soonest possible.
Also, it is important that the framework of
GST should encompass the multiple taxes
currently levied at the state and local levels
and should subsume all of them.
A comprehensive service tax based on the
concept of a negative list of services has
been introduced with effect from 1st July,
2012. It is an important step towards
introduction of GST. However, it is noticed
that while the levy is universal in its
application (barring the negative list and
exemptions); there are restrictions on the
availment of Cenvat credit. This
dichotomy may get resolved.
Goods and Services Tax (GST)
CENVAT credit under the Service Tax
regime
Rationalisation of Import duties
Expanding the tax base and dealing
with unaccounted monies
Domestic Industry continues to suffer
from cost disadvantages on account of
higher local taxes such as VAT, Octroi,
entry tax as also due to higher cost of
financing and inadequate infrastructure.
It deserves a minimal level of protection to
compete with imported goods. The basic
customs duties could continue at existing
levels till such time a comprehensive
Goods and Services Tax is introduced and
the cost of financing is reduced to
competitive levels.
Given the continued focus of the
Government to tackle the black money
resulting in erosion of tax base, widening
of the tax base, capturing the funds
parked overseas, the Finance Minster may
introduce certain provisions to expand the
tax base.
enough to soften lending rates. Foreign
direct investment should pick up after the
government's recent efforts and we are
already seeing rekindling of foreign
investor interest in India, which should
help in attracting foreign capital. Finally,
setting up of the new Cabinet Committee
on Investment should help speed up
investment.
I expect the business climate in India to
improve as we get into 2013. There are a
number of reasons for that. First, global
growth is expected to stabilize and has
possibly bottomed out this year. Secondly,
with inflation peaking off, I would expect
the Reserve Bank of India to cut rates to
stimulate the economy. The RBI's CRR cuts
and open market operations should do
By Kaku Nakhate President and Country Head, Bank of America
Expect a better business Climate in 2013
06 December 2012 Issue 6•
In fact, Bank of America Merrill Lynch's
research team believes that the worse is
over for the Indian economy. Real GDP
growth should bottom out to 6.5 per cent
in FY14 from 5.5 per cent in FY13. In a
sense, we believe 2013 will mark the
beginning of the end of the long down-
cycle that began in 2008, just as 2002 saw
the end of the down-cycle of 1998-2003.
Our US economists ascribe a 60 per cent
probability to the possibility of a
resolution of the US fiscal cliff by April. In
such a case, US growth is expected to pick
up to 2.4 per cent in July-December 2013
from 1.3 per cent in January-June. Overall,
global growth should stabilize at 3.2 per
cent in 2013, slightly better than the 3.1
per cent in 2012. China too should see a
pick-up in growth to 8.1 per cent in 2013
from 7.7 per cent in 2012.
To support domestic demand, we also
expect the RBI to cut policy rates by 75
basis points in the January-June period. In
our view, inflation should come off to 7
per cent levels in early 2013 with better
rains dousing agflation, commodity prices
stabilizing globally and tight money
growth restraining corporate pricing
power at home. In fact, India's inflation is
really not as high as some lament – at 1.4
times growth, it is much lower than the
3.1 times in Brazil and 1.5 times in Russia.
I would also expect the RBI to improve
bank liquidity to enable lowering of
lending rates. We expect the central bank
to cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by an
additional 75 basis points by next
September and also buy government
bonds through open market operations.
This should improve the loan-deposit ratio
which is currently very high at 75 per cent.
Such measures should push deposit
growth up which at 12.8 per cent is
running significantly below loan demand,
which is growing at 16.8 per cent.
The government's measures to introduce
FDI in multi-brand retail, civil aviation and
p o w e r t r a d i n g e x c h a n g e a n d
broadcasting should improve FDI flows.
The Centre has also decided to introduce
legislation to introduce FDI in pensions up
to 26 per cent and the new banking bill,
which entails issuing new banking
licenses, will develop the banking sector
further as India still remains largely under-
banked. In any case, FDI has picked up to
US$18.7bn in the April-September period
of 2012 and to US$ 46.5bn in FY12 from
US$ 34.8bn in FY11 in the aftermath of
the global financial crisis.
The spate of reforms announcements are
rekindling investor interest in India and
helping attract foreign capital. We have
already seen FII inflows of US$22 billion
into Indian equities in 2012. Capital
market raisings have also picked up by
US$3.5 billion in the last 2 months, and
our research team estimates US$6 billion
of potential fund raising over next 4-6
months. FII investors in debt are now also
allowed to invest up to US$40 billion. We
expect the government to scale down
witholding tax to 5% from 20% in 2013
which will spur the debt market.
The newly const i tuted Cabinet
Committee on Investment to be headed
by the Prime Minister to fast track
infrastructure projects of Rs 10 billion
(about US$0.2 billion). It is said that
almost US$37 billion of road, power, coal
and mining projects are awaiting
clearance. The Committee will have the
authority to reduce delays in sanctioning
infrastructure projects which now take up
to two years.
From a medium term perspective, the
National Manufacturing Policy, the first of
its kind in India, aims to increase
manufacturing sector growth to about
12-14 per cent from just 2.5 per cent last
fiscal. Eventually the policy seeks to
increase the contribution of the
manufacturing sector to about 25 per
cent of our national output by 2022 from
the now stagnating 17 per cent.
So in conclusion, I expect to see the
business environment turning around
over the next few months. We are seeing
willingness at the Centre to effect change
and a slew of measures have been
announced over the last two months to
improve sentiment. These would begin to
yield results in 2013.
A M C H A M E V E N T S
08 December 2012 Issue 6•
DelhiMeeting of IPR Committee
Interactive session with Ambassador
Timothy J. Roemer (former U.S. Ambassador
to India)
Interactive Session with U.S. Congressional
Delegation
The IPR Committee meeting was held on October 8 at the
Microsoft office in Gurgaon.
Discussion were held on plan of activities for financial year 2012-
13 and DIPP’s Draft National IPR Strategy.
Mr. Tabrez Ahmad presented on IPR challenges in emerging
markets; security risks from software piracy; and Unfair
Competition Act, USA.
A presentation on ‘Copyright Amendment and its impact on key
sectors’ was made by Mr. Ameet Datta, Partner, Saikrishna &
Associates, and a presentation on ‘Parallel Import’ was made by
Mr. Akhilesh Kumar Rai, IP Head and Partner, AZB & Partners.
Former Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer met with select Amcham
members on October 10 in New Delhi and shared his views on
“U.S. Elections – A close race?”
Rep Duncan Hunter (Education & Workforce, Infra
&Transportation), Rep Adam Smith (Ranking Member, HASC),
Rep Todd Platts (Education & Workforce, Oversight), Rep Ron
Kind (Ways and Means), Rep Brad Miller (Financial Services,
Space & Technology) met with the Amcham Defense Committee
on October 16, and discussed the Indian defense business
environment, Indian partner company capacity and defense
trade.
Meeting with Shri. K.N. Shrivastava,
Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation,
Government of India
Interactive session on US Visa issues
Mr. Palash Roy Chowdhury, Chairman, Civil Aviation Committee
and Managing Director, Pratt & Whitney, Mr. Amber Dubey, Co-
chairman, Civil Aviation Committee and Partner & Head
Aviation, KPMG, Mr. Ajay Singha, Executive Director, Amcham
and Ms. Udaya Arun, Program Lead – Aviation, Amcham met
with Shri. K.N. Shrivastava, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation,
Government of India on October 16 at New Delhi. The Secretary
kindly shared insights into some of the key issues of concern to
the aviation sector in India. It was proposed to conduct a half day
Workshop on “Growth Opportunities in the Indian Aviation
MRO/Manufacturing Sectors” during early 2013.
Amcham organized a workshop on US Visa Procedures held on
Wednesday, October 17, at Westin Gurgaon. Ms. Julia Stanley,
Minister-Counselor for Consular Affairs, US Embassy, addressed
members of Amcham India.
Mr. Aubrey Daniels, Regional Director (Chennai), Amcham India
gave a presentation on US Visa Procedures .Heads of
Immigration / Global Movement / Travel / HR were invited for this
A M C H A M A N N U A L C H R I S T M A S B A L L
December 2012 Issue 6 • 09
A M C H A M A N N U A L C H R I S T M A S B A L L
10 December 2012 Issue 6•
December 2012 Issue 6 • 11
A M C H A M A N N U A L C H R I S T M A S B A L L
12 December 2012 Issue 6•
A M C H A M A N N U A L C H R I S T M A S B A L L
A M C H A M E V E N T S
December 2012 Issue 6 • 13
Interactive session to help them get acquainted with the new
policy and regulations regarding issuance of US Visas.
The 5th Amcham Amateur Invitational Golf Tournament took
place on October 20, at the Qutab Golf Course, Press Enclave
Road, New Delhi. This full day event included golf, lunch and
prize distribution over a cocktail reception.
Members of Amcham, senior dignitaries from the Government
of India, select invitees from US Embassy and Indian corporate
participated in the event.
Amcham Golf Tournament
This year, the annual event was sponsored by Ford India Ltd.,
Honeywell International (I) Pvt. Ltd., EMD Locomotive
Technologies, Protiviti Consulting Pvt. Ltd. and Sikorsky Aircrafts
Corporations.
American Chamber of Commerce in India (Amcham) organised
a Conference on “Ethics & Corporate Compliance” on October
23 at Hotel Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi. The conference was
supported by Foreign Commercial Services, US Embassy, India,
Conference on ‘Ethics and Corporate
Compliance
14 December 2012 Issue 6•
A M C H A M E V E N T S
Transparency International( India Chapter) and the BBG (British
Business Group).
Mr. R. Sri Kumar, Vigilance Commissioner, Central Vigilance
Commission of India gave the keynote address. Other speakers
included Ms. Margaret Hanson-Muse, Deputy Senior
Commercial Officer, U.S. Commercial Service, US Embassy, New
Delhi, Ms. Anupama Jha, Executive Director, Transparency
International (India) and Mr. Anand S. Dayal, Chairman –
Amcham’s Committee on Anti-Corruption (FCPA) Compliance.
KPMG, DuPont India and Dua Associates were the title sponsors
for this conference.
The Northern Region Council (NRC) of Amcham celebrated
Diwali on October 27 at ACSA ,U.S. Embassy, New Delhi. U.S.
Ambassador Nancy J. Powell was the Chief Guest. The event was
attended by a large number of Amcham members and U.S.
Embassy officials. The celebrations including lighting of candles,
dandiya dance, games and fun activities.
Mr. Amit Sharma, Chairman, NRC; Mr. Raj Jain, Chairman,
Amcham; and Mr. Harish Krishnan, Vice-Chairman, NRC,
welcomed the Ambassador and other guests to the festive
evening.
The event was facilitated by generous sponsorship support from
corporates.
Mr. Tabrez Ahmad, Chairman, Amcham’s IPR Committee, and
Attorney & Director, Public Policy – IP, Microsoft Corporation
(India) Pvt. Ltd., and a few other members met with Ms. Jennifer
Ness, Attorney-Advisor, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, on 2nd
November in Amcham office at New Delhi, and discussed how
Amcham could work with USPTO to engaged inventors and
advance innovations in India. This could be done through a study
which could be partly funded by USPTO and partly by Amcham.
Amcham hosted a Reception in honour of the newly appointed
Secretary General of FICCI, Dr. A. Didar Singh on November 8 in
New Delhi to welcome and take forward Amcham-FICCI
initiatives.
Amcham’s Diwali Celebrations
Meeting with Ms. Jennifer Ness, Attorney-
Advisor, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
Reception in honour of Dr. A. Didar Singh,
Secretary General of FICCI
MumbaiRoundtable Meeting with the Honb'le Chief
Minister Dr. Raman Singh, & Senior
Government Officials of the State of
Chhattisgarh
Workshop On the New US Visa Processing
System -GSS- Global Support Strategy for
Visa Services
Amcham organized an interactive meeting with Dr. Raman
Singh, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, on October 11 in
Mumbai. Dr. Singh was accompanied by senior officials from his
Government, including Minister for Commerce and Industry,
Secretary, Commerce and Industry; Managing Director, CSIDC
and other officials representing various Departments. During the
discussion Dr. Singh invited the U.S. companies to participate in
the Global Investors Meet and Exhibition 2012 to be held in Naya
Raipur from November 1 to 7, 2012. He also invited U.S.
companies to invest in the State of Chhattisgarh.
On October 22 ,Amcham in association with the US Consulate
General Mumbai organized a workshop which focused on the
revised US Visa Process and the Global Support Strategy for Visa
December 2012 Issue 6 • 15
A M C H A M E V E N T S
West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation Ltd.,
and State Vice President of Trinamool Congress. The discussions
were thought provoking and audience participation was high .
Amcham Eastern Chapter Chairman Mr. Aniruddha Lahiri,
members of the Executive Committee met with Margaret
Hanson-Muse, Counselor for Commercial Affairs, Embassy of
the United States of America and Janice A. Corbett, Regional
Director, Africa, Near East and South Asia, Office of International
Operations, Washington DC, on October 17 at the Oberoi Grand
Hotel.
The executive Committee meeting met on Novemember 7 and
was chaired by Mr. Aniruddha Lahiri, Chairman Amcham Eastern
Chapter and Vice Chairman NEB.
As a precursor to the “Credible Chhattisgarh- Global Investor’s
Meet”, a high-level government delegation led by the Hon’ble
Chief Minister, Dr. Raman Singh, met with Amcham members at
Meeting with Margaret Hanson-Muse,
Counselor for Commercial Affairs, Embassy
of the United States of America and Janice A.
Corbett, Regional Director, Africa, Near East
and South Asia, Office of International
Operations, Washington DC
Executive Committee meeting
Roundtable Meeting with the Honb'le Chief
Minister Dr. Raman Singh, & Senior Government
Officials of the State of Chhattisgarh
Bangalore
Services. Ms. Rosemary Macray, Chief, American Citizens
Services, U.S. Consulate General Mumbai made a presentation
on the new visa process and shared that the new process would
help support and simplify the US visa process. The presentation
was followed by a Q&A session.
On October 12, Amcham organised a seminar on Public Private
Partneship to highlight the importance of GOI PPP model and
suggestions for improving the business climate in India and the
eastern region. The Welcome address was given by Mr.
Aniruddha Lahiri, Chairman Eastern Chapter, Vice Chairman,
National Executive Board and President of The Chatterjee Group.
Professor Ranjan Das, Chairman and Chief Mentor; The Strategy
Academy: Professor of Strategic Management, IIM moderated
the discussion. The panellists were Ambassador Ronen, Mr.
Sonjoy Chatterjee, Chairman, Goldman Sachs (India) Pvt. Ltd.,
Mr. Subrata Paul, Chief Executive Officer, Bengal Aerotropolis
Projects, Ltd, Mr. Jaideep Ghosh, Partner, KPMG Advisory
Services Pvt. Ltd., and Col. Sabyasachi Bagchi, Chairman, The
KolkataPublic Private Partnership Seminar at the Taj
Bengal
16 December 2012 Issue 6•
A M C H A M E V E N T S
learnings from these to avoid similar situations within our
organizations. The session covered the impact of the proposed
Indian Companies Bill requirements on fraud risk management
efforts at companies in India. Amcham members had an
opportunity to interact and learn about some leading practices in
these areas.
The Amcham Diwali Celebration was held on Saturday,
November 10 at the Ballroom of the Taj West End, Bangalore.
There was music from the B-Town Beat, dance performances,
games, and activities for kids and prizes galore. The AMCHAM
Diwali Celebrations
the Hotel Leela Palace on October 4. Amcham members also
participated in a dinner hosted by the delegation.
A Congressional Delegation led by Congressmen Todd Platts and
Duncan Hunter, members of the House Armed Services
Committee (HASC) met with a cross section of Bangalore’s
Biotech and Pharmaceutical industry to get their perspective on
intellectual property rights on October 16. Amcham members
from GE Healthcare, Pfizer, 3M, Avery Dennison, Lifetech,
Herbalife, PwC, E&Y, Aris Global, etc. met with the delegation at
the Hotel Windsor Manor. Shri I.S.N. Prasad, Principal Secretary
to Government, Department of Information Technology,
Biotechnology and Science & Technology, hosted this meeting
from the Government side.
Amcham was the supporting partner for Bangalore IT.biz, the
Government of Karnataka’s flagship event held on October
17.Mr. Vikram Shah, President-Netapp Technologies and co-
chairman of the Amcham Karnataka chapter, participated on the
panel discussion at the prestigious CEO Conclave, titled
‘Transition in ICT: The Big Shift and India's Competitive Edge’,
which was held at the Vivanta by Taj, ITPB, Whitefield, Bangalore.
This was followed by a networking dinner.
Mr. Sandeep Baldava, Partner - Fraud Investigation & Dispute
Services, Ernst & Young conducted an awareness session on
November 7on recent frauds reported at MNCs in India and key
Interactive session with congressional
Delegation
Participation at CEO Conclave at Bangalore
IT.biz, Taj Vivanta, Whitefield
Session on Managing Fraud & Corruption
Risks in Current Environment by Mr.
Sandeep Baldava, Partner, Ernst and Young
A M C H A M E V E N T S
December 2012 Issue 6 • 17
members had a festive time with their families. Textron India,
Esterline, Herbalife, Prestige Golfshire, Marriott, Saggezza, UB
Group, Big Banyan, Nexus and Nas Home sponsored the event.
Amcham organized a session on recent Indian tax developments,
including the foreign asset reporting requirements; Provident
Fund contributions for International Workers and Social security
agreements; and Immigration developments on October 5 at
Hotel Taj Coromandel.
Mr. Alok Agrawal, Director, Tax and Regulatory Services, Ernst &
Young was the guest speaker for this event.
Amcham organized an interactive session on Sustainable Energy
– Path Forward on November 29 at Clive & Dupleix Hall, Taj
Coromandel . The meeting created awareness on the salient
features of the Solar Policy and highlight the significant risks and
opportunities of these regulations on businesses.
Mr. Sudipta Das, EY National Leader on Climate Change &
Sustainability Services & Mr. Mr. Swaminathan Krishnamurthy,
Director - Climate Change & Sustainability Services addressed
the audience.
Amcham organized a presentation on Tax Accounting Standards
on December 20 at Clive - Dupleix Hall, Hotel Taj Coromandel.
Mr. Bharath Nallappa, Associate Director, Ernst & Young & Mr.
Suresh Subramaniam, Partner, Ernst & Young were the speakers
for this event.
Ms. Janice Corbett, Regional Director of the U.S. Commercial
Services; Ms. Margaret Hanson-Muse, Deputy Commercial
Counselor from the American Embassy, New Delhi; and Mr.
James Golsen, Commercial Consul, American Consulate
General, Chennai, met and interacted with the Amcham
Execomm at the ITC Windsor Manor on October 19.
Chennai
Hyderabad
Session on recent Indian tax developments
Interactive session on Sustainable Energy –
Path Forward
Presentation on Tax Accounting Standards
Luncheon meeting with the new RSO and
Consular Chief of the U.S. Consulate
General
Established in 1992, the American Chamber of Commerce in India (Amcham India) is an association of American business organizations operating in the country.
Amcham India has around 500 members, spread across the nation. The Chamber enjoys a close relationship with the U.S. Embassy, which supports its objectives and helps in fulfilling them. The incumbent U.S. Ambassador to India is the Honorary President of Amcham.
Amcham’s principle objectives are to:
Promote activities that encourage
Mission
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AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN INDIA and stimulate investment by U.S. companies in the country.Support the business operations of its members.Encourage bilateral trade between India and the U.S.
These primary objectives are fulfilled by:
Providing a forum for U.S. – based business organizations to discuss and identify common issues, economic and commerc ia l interests in India and /or the U.S.Instituting Sectoral Committees which implement the primary objectives in their respective sectors.Reviewing policies and procedures in various sectors that affect the
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members as well as growth of foreign direct investment.
Amcham is affiliated to the following Chambers in the U.S.:
Chamber of Commerce of U.S.A in Washington, D.C.Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce (APCAC)Amcham’s in other countries.
Amcham’s National Secretariat is based in New Delhi with six Regional Chapters in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi , Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.
Affiliations
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Regional Chapters
American Chamber of Commerce in India
Tel : Fax : Email :Website :
Amcham India is now on twitter! Follow our daily tweets on https://twitter.com/AmchamIndiaPublished by
PHD House, 4th Floor, 4/2, Siri Institutional Area, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi - 110016, INDIA 91-11-2652 5201, 91-11-2652 5203 , [email protected]
www.amchamindia.com
Ajay Singha, Executive Director, Amcham IndiaShivani Raina, Deputy Editor, Amcham India; [email protected]
Divya Sethi, Program Lead, Amcham India; [email protected]
Amcham Welcomes New Members
Mr. Cliff OwensPlant Head
AAM India Manufacturing Corporation Pvt. Ltd.
A M C H A M E V E N T S
AhmedabadBuilding a Business case for Energy Efficiency in BuildingsThe U.S India energy Cooperation Program, (E.C.P), in association with the India Green Building Council, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India and Gujarat Institute of Housing & Estate Developers organized an interactive workshop on “Building a business Case for E n e r g y E f f i c i e n c y i n Buildings” at Ahmedabad on Nov 6, 2012. The Workshop aimed to build awareness and augment capacities for implementation of the Energy Conservation Building Code-ECBC in Commercial Buildings in Gujarat. E.C.P member companies AECOM, H o n e y w e l l , U n i t e d Technologies and Ingersoll Rand developed the technical content illustrating technologies and case studies for presenting a business case for green buildings for builders, real estate developers, planners ,architects and relevant implementing authorities of Govt of Gujarat. Dr. Prem Jain, Chairman , India Green Building Council, delivered the keynote address.