Focus: Amcham - Chairman's Message

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


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


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


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










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



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



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



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



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.


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.

Documents

Focus: Amcham - Chairman's Message