AMCHAM 1 AMCHAM indexIndex 1. Chairperson Message 03 2. Director General CEO’s Report 04 3. National Executive Board 2018 - 19 07 4. Sectoral Committees 2018 - 19 10 5. Membership 2018 - 19 12 6. Analysis of Events Organized by AMCHAM during 2018 - 19 13 7. New Members 2018 - 19 14 8. Highlights of the Year 2018 - 19 16 AMCHAM Chairperson’s Message In the past year, there has been a convergence of views between U.S. and India, not only on global issues but also in their financial vision as both the countries are natural allies and partners in progress. In 2018 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) affirmed that India’s economy grew at the rate of 7.1 percent and that it will rise to 7.3 percent in 2019 reinforced by the constant recovery of investment and vigorous consumption, therefore, being the fastest growing major economy of the world. Following India’s economic reforms, the FDI from U.S.-based companies have exceeded $60 billion. In 2018, India saw one of the biggest strategic developments in the U.S.-India defense relationship. The 2+2 Dialogue was held for the first time with the Foreign and Defence Ministers, with talks committing to “strengthen defence ties further and promote better defence and security coordination and cooperation.” COMCASA, the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement, was finalized to enable greater interoperability between the two countries, thereby enhancing intelligence and information sharing. Both countries shared a vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific. The energy sector also saw growth with the launch of the Strategic Energy Partnership and U.S.-sourced oil and liquefied natural gas landed on Indian shores. I am happy to note that in 2018, U.S. – India bilateral trade grew to USD 126 billion. In 2018 India rose five spots from the 2017 position and was ranked as the 58th most competitive economy in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index. The report highlighted market size, innovation, business dynamism and a number of disruptive businesses as India’s greatest competitive advantages. India even jumped 23 positions in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index and is now ranked 77 out of 190 countries in 2018, becoming the top ranked country in South Asia for the first time portraying how India offers great opportunities for manufacturing companies. This year, the fourth U.S.–India Commercial Dialogue, which took place in New Delhi, is a testimony to the progress in the U.S.– India relationship. There was a mutual commitment to fortify trade and commerce ties and both resolved to leverage on common ideas, values and democratic structures to expand the commercial partnership. As per a recent report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S.–India bilateral trade has topped $87 billion in 2018, up from $73 billion in 2017. In fact, in 2018, Indian exports to the United States grew from $48.6 billion, while India’s imports from the U.S. increased from $25.7 billion to $33.1 billion. As I lay down my office as Chairperson of AMCHAM, I would like to convey my sincerest appreciation to the U.S. and Indian governments, particularly, the U.S. Embassy and the Consulates in India for their support. I wish to thank both the Vice Chairpersons, Mr. Arun Kumar, Chairman and CEO, KPMG in India and Ms. Kaku Nakhate, President & Country Head (India), Bank of America N.A., along with the entire National Executive Board for providing their time, knowledge and expertise in enabling me to carry out the responsibilities at AMCHAM. My special thanks to Mr. Atul Dhawan, Chief Strategy Officer & National Leader, Brand and Communications, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP, for being the Honorary Secretary and Treasurer. He guided the Chamber throughout the year in financial matters and to Mr. C. R. Dua, Chairman, Dua Associates, for his continued good counsel. The Regional Chairpersons actively participated and supported the activities of their regions successfully. Our sincere gratitude and appreciation for their leadership and engagement. Last but not the least, I would like to thank Ranjana Khanna, Director General and CEO of AMCHAM and the entire secretariat for ably carrying out their responsibilities to make AMCHAM the most representative chamber for U.S. companies in India. Krish Iyer Chairperson 3 AMCHAM Director General CEO’s Report 2018 - 19 This has been an eventful year in U.S.-India relations. The relationship has survived major challenges of possible sanctions – both Iran and CAATSA. The first 2+2 Dialogue was held on in September in New Delhi where the signing of the COMCASA agreement was announced. Senior U.S. government delegations visited India and met with AMCHAM members: Congressional Delegation led by Mr. William “Mac” Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman, House Armed Services Committee, Ambassador Kaidanow, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Lieutenant General Charles Hooper, Director, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Ms. Ellen Lord, Mr. Matthew Warren, Acting Director, International Cooperation, Mr. Mark Linscott, Assistant USTR for South and Central Asia, Mr. Gilbert Kaplan, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce, Ms. Manisha Singh, Assistant Secretary Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Mr. Thomas L. Vajda, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State, among others. The U.S. government delegation led by Ambassador Kenneth Juster comprising of Consul General Burgess, Mr. Alan Shaffer, DUSD for Acquisition and Sustainment, LTG Hooper, Director, DSCA, MG Fontes, Defense Attaché, U.S. Embassy, BG Sean Farrell, Air Force Security Assistance Command met with the U.S. industry participants for a closed- door roundtable and an industry networking reception at Aero India 2019. The annual door knock delegation to Washington took place in June, in which a record 21-member delegation from AMCHAM met with U.S. policy makers and government officials from various agencies, including USTR, USTDA, Department of Defense, The White House, and the Indian Embassy, among others. This year the delegation met with the Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State, the highest-level meeting during any door knock to date. Our interaction with the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and the Consulates across India is ongoing. Consuls General have interacted with our members in all regions. We are indeed grateful to the U.S. Mission for their input, feedback, continuous support and effective partnership. AMCHAM closely worked the Ministry of Commerce and Industry who created the U.S.-India Fast Track Mechanism for addressing challenges members faced. There were meetings with: Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Dr. Ajay Kumar, Secretary, Defence Production, Mr. Apurva Chandra, Director General (Acquisition) and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Mr. Rajib Kumar Sen, Economic Advisor and In-Charge, DOMW, Mr. Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, among others. In Bengaluru an interaction was organized with Mr. K.J. George Minister of State for Industries for IT & BT, Government of Karnataka. In partnership with Invest India, the Manufacturing Committee and the Supply Chain & Logistics Committee, organized a signature event ‘Enhancing the U.S. – India Economic Partnership’ which focused on manufacturing in 3 primary sectors --- future of mobility (heavy machinery and automotive), agriculture and food processing and electronic hardware and mobiles. The event also had a plenary session on supply chain and logistics. A white paper was prepared to take forward the agenda for these sectors with the GOI. An MoU was signed between AMCHAM India and CHT, MoPNG on 8th May 2018 for U.S.-India collaboration in the refining and petrochemical industry which has created the foundation for various initiatives in this sector. Members from the Medical Devices and Pharmaceutical Committees continued to engage with the Government of India on a 4 AMCHAM number of issues, like price controls, throughout the year and continued advocacy. Regarding Trade Margin Rationalization, which was proposed as an alternative to price controls by the government, has gained a lot of traction and they are considering implementing the same for medical devices after having started a pilot for oncology drugs. AMCHAM was invited to join the core committee formed by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) working on setting the standards for commonly procured items by the government and has been actively involved in providing comments to the core committee. The Supply Chain and Logistics Committee organized an industry visit to Dow India Technology Centre, an interactive session with experts from Invest India on ‘The Growth of Transportation, Infrastructure And MMLP In India’ in Gurgaon and a specialized workshop on Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) with Mr. Subhash Agrawal, Commissioner (NS-IV), Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House in Mumbai. AMCHAM’s newest committee, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, was launched in October 2018 in Mumbai by Consul General Edgard D. Kagan, U.S. Consulate General Mumbai. The agenda of the committee focuses on gender diversity, supporting the differently abled and LGBTQ advocacy. In celebration of the week of International Women’s Day, the committee organized ‘Balance for Better - Driving Gender Balance at the Workplace.’ The HR Committee focussed on future of work, policy issues, women in leadership roles, upskilling, capacity building, inclusion and diversity, job satisfaction and the need to build on to the culture of giving back for employees. A webinar was organized on ‘21 More Jobs of the Future’ and a best practice session was organized in Bengaluru. The 5th Anti-Corruption Compliance and Risk Management Master Class was organized by the Anti-Corruption & FCPA Compliance Committee with international speakers. The committee launched a book ‘Understand, Outmanoeuvre and Win Against Unethical Practices in Corporate India: Checkmate! Corruption’ in association with EY.