Index Contents

Index

President’s Message..........................................................................................................................................4

From the Secretary General’s Desk ..................................................................................................................6

Happenings at IACC ...........................................................................................................................................7

Trade Opportunities with IACC ......................................................................................................................28

Trade Opportunity from USA.............................................................................................................................. 28

Trade Opportunity from INDIA ........................................................................................................................... 28

US investments in India...................................................................................................................................29

Cisco to invest $1.7 billion in India this year; to partner Centre’s digital drive ......................................................... 29

New York City based Rockefeller Foundation to set up 1,000 mini power grids across rural India ........................... 30

Bill Gates Backs Impact Investor Unitus Seed ...................................................................................................... 30

India’s Investments in U.S................................................................................................................................32

Tech Mahindra buys US Company for $240 million .............................................................................................. 32

Aurobindo wins Natrol bid with $132 million ........................................................................................................ 32

Indo-US Corporate News.................................................................................................................................34

Microsoft to use ‘white space’ tech for free internet in India ................................................................................. 34

CCI gives nod to Mylan-Abbott merger ............................................................................................................... 34

Delaware headquartered DuPont introduces technology solution to tackle fake pesticides sale ............................ 35

After Google and Microsoft, IBM to woo online start-ups ..................................................................................... 35

'Rs 299 corner': Google gears up for Great Online Shopping Festival .................................................................... 36

Made-in-India KTM Duke 390, RC 390 heads to America: Launch price starts at $4,999......................................... 38

Huge demand for cars will turn around Ford's fortunes in India: President Nigel Harris .......................................... 39

Massachusetts based Dunkin's Donuts Introduces Chickpea, Saffron, and Chili to their menu ............................... 40

Oregon based Columbia Sportswear to open 25 stores in India by April 2015 ........................................................ 40

Oracle Signs MoU with ICT Academy of Kerala to help students develop IT skills .................................................. 41

Global hotel chains eye secondary, tertiary markets in India................................................................................. 42

In the News: .....................................................................................................................................................44

'Infra sector to be main focus area for Indo-US commerce ties'............................................................................. 44

U.S. President Barack Obama to be chief guest at Republic Day celebrations ....................................................... 45

Chuck Hagel understood India's value, opened US military for Sikhs..................................................................... 45

India and United States Joint Statement on the Trade Policy Forum..................................................................... 46

Ex-Im Bank Chairman Hochberg Visits India to Promote Made-in-America Exports .............................................. 49

Wonderful moment in Indo-US ties: US Senator .................................................................................................. 50

Enrolment of Indian students in US up by 28%: Report ........................................................................................ 51

India Signs MoU with USA on Setting-Up Infrastructure Collaboration Platform ................................................... 52

Narendra Modi has turned India into a magnet: McKinsey CEO Dominic Barton ................................................... 53

Third Meeting of Indo-US Science & Technology held.......................................................................................... 54

Obama opens US borders to more talent from India ............................................................................................ 54

Community leaders hail Verma's nomination as India's US envoy ......................................................................... 56

Calendar of IACC Events for 2014 ....................................................................................................................57

Indo-US Trade Statistics...................................................................................................................................61

2014: U.S. trade in goods with India .................................................................................................................... 61

2013: U.S. trade in goods with India .................................................................................................................... 61

India – US Trade Analysis ................................................................................................................................62

International Buyer Program, 2014 Trade shows ...........................................................................................63

How to reach us: ..............................................................................................................................................64

President’s Message

Dear Member,

There are many positive developments that have unfolded in recent days that can impact the Indo -US economic partnership. Foremost is the conclusion of the Indo-US Food Security agreement, which can herald the earliest signing of a trade facilitation agreement under the WTO. After a long spell of impasse, the multilateral trade negotiations will be resumed in the right earnest. The bonhomie at the G20 meeting in Brisbane, where India was an active participant, is an indication of the resolution of the WTO contracting parties to forget the past and seize the opportunities that are unfolding in world trade. The coming months will witness some solid initiatives in this regard. A related development is the consensus reached by the US and China to limit the emission of greenhouse gases. The pledge by the US of USD 3 billion towards Green Climate Fund (GCF), in particul ar, signals the importance that is being accorded to climate change. India’s hope is that the GCF will be increasingly committed to enabling developing countries like India to access state-of-the-art technologies to abate pollution. Education is emerging as a sector that is further strengthening the bilateral relationship between India and the US. The enrollment of Indians in the US schools, colleges and technical institutes has gone up by 28 percent. Indian students make up the second largest foreign contingent in the US after China, contributing to a sizeable portion of its revenue for the sector. Yet, the cherished goal of India to emerge as a regional hub for education, despite its huge network of schools of higher learning still remains to be a far cry. Our cooperation in education sector has to show more seriousness in terms of exchange of faculties and sharing of information and networking among the top universities. There is no denial that some of the leading universities in US have expressed their desire to have off campuses in India to cater to the educational needs of not only Indians but also for the students from the developing world, who cannot afford higher cost in the US cities. Legislations that bar setting up of such institutions must be amended to take the conversation forward. Recently, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stressed the need for accelerating India’s services exports to offset the increasing deficit in the merchandize trade. He had identified some low lying fruits like healthcare, legal services, research and development, financial services etc. which can be easily and conveniently tapped to up the services exports from the country. At the same time, India’s traditional strength in IT and ITES has to be consolidated since this segment was the first to be exploited and has catapulted services exports from the country from a few million dollars some two decades back to US$ 151 billion. The government should address some of the irritants like visa regulation to enable India to accelerate the services exports to the US.

IACC has been taking regular initiatives in creating newer ideas and approaches for cementing the India -US economic cooperation. The recently concluded India-US Economic Summit ferreted out many new ideations that can be put to practice in many areas including energy, tourism, education, manufacturing sector etc. Across our regions, we are engaging in newer conversations on hot topic issues such as infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, CSR, and inviting more and more delegations to India. Significantly, there is a new found enthusiasm in the Indian economic landscape. Many new policy initiatives have been unveiled. FDI regime is being increasingly liberalized. Newer schemes like Make in India, Digitizing India etc. are being implemented. The Indian industry has considerable stake in that. To tap that potential, we need state -of-the-art technologies, huge resources and capabilities. In such things, the US is our natural partner. This message IACC has to take to the nation through its well-crafted sensitization programs, workshops, and seminars so that we can remain ahead of others in espousing the cause and importance of the Indo-US economic partnership.

Asoke K. Laha National President, IACC

From the Secretary General’s Desk

Dear Members,

An investment of over $ 1 trillion is needed for toning up the Indian infrastructure sector in the next ten years or so. The resource requirement will be much higher if we are to go by the importance assigne d by the new dispensation for this sector. This is reflected in some ambitious announcements like speedy introduction of bullet trains, creating four transport corridors, developing urban transport like metros, and light rail, smart cities, and the unprece dented focus on power generation. Domestic resource constraints are many. For instance, huge resources are being planned for education, health, river cleaning, cleanliness drive, Jan Dhaan Yojana, etc. Therefore, it is necessary that we seek investments from abroad. Infrastructure proposals should be attractive, gestation period low and return on capital adequate to motivate investors to bring in the capital. Going by the past trend, FDI in India is mostly directed to the services sector, followed by cons truction, and the rest is miniscule spread across various sectors. We have to change this trend. Infrastructure should be a vertical that fits the bill for foreign investors. In the past, many knee jerk exercises have been carried out to attract investment in infrastructure, such as sovereign guarantee of minimum returns on investment in the power sector, opening up of various segments like construction, township for foreign investor participation, relaxation of landholding rights for certain investments, etc. But the results are not adequate, going by the flow of investments into the segment. Against this backdrop, IACC’s forthcoming Infrastructure Summit assumes importance. A delegation from the State of Texas led by Ed Emmett, the top elected official of Harris County and an internationally renowned authority on transportation and logistics, Mr. Tom Kornegay, the longest serving Executive Director of the Port of Houston Authority, Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis and IACCGH President and Executive Director will be attending the summit. Importantly, Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Urban Affairs is the Chief Guest for this Summit. We expect both Indian and US Stakeholders to participate and ferret out the policy framework that is needed for catalyzing investment into the sector. IACC will host this delegation from the State of Texas, US, led by Ed Emmett in Mumbai as well. In December, IACC will host another delegation led by Mr. Wilfred Muskens, Deputy Secretary, Office of International Business Development, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Pune. I invite you to read this issue of the Newsletter, and pay particular attention to our list of upcoming events. We have an interesting line-up of events in sectors such as Infrastructure, International Trade Development, Finance, Taxation & Corporate Affairs, CSR, and Agriculture. We look forward to your active participation in all our initiatives pan India. As always, your suggestions and comments are welcome.

With regards, Atul Vyas, Acting Secretary General

Happenings at IACC West India Council

IACC in association with Nishith Desai Associates organized a program on “International Arbitration” in Mumbai

IACC along with Nishith Desai Associates organized a program on “International Arbitration”. on October 17, 2014, from 4:30 pm to 6.30 p.m. in the Banquet Hall No. 4 on 2nd Floor of Garware Club House, Wankhede Stadium,'D' Road, Churchgate, Mumbai - 400 020.

India and the United States are major players in the world economy, with rapidly growing trade and business relationships between companies located in far apart regions such as India and Texas. Companies like these, who are doing business across transnational borders, frequently turn to arbitration to resolve their business disputes. This program provided an overview of international arbitration, examine choices to further the company’s objective to keep costs down and avoid unnecessary delays, and explore strategies for tailoring the process to meet your needs. The esteemed panellists included Ms. Shashi Patel, Partner, Ware, Jackson, Lee & Chambers, LLP , USA who spoke on “International Arbitration. Tips for Maximizing the Benefits and Managing Disputes Arising with Companies outside India” and Senior Associates Mr. Sahil Kanuga and Ms. Shalaka Patil from Nishith Desai Associates who spoke on “International Arbitration – Past, Present and Future with a Focus on India”. The session was chaired by Mr. Suresh Kotak, Promoter, Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. Mr. Kotak added to the discussion by giving his very valuable inputs and moderated the Q&A brilliantly. After attending the program, participants had a better understanding about: 1. Differences between Arbitration, Mediation & Litigation. 2. Characteristics of the Arbitral Process. 3. Advantages of the Arbitral Process. 4. Disadvantages of the Arbitral Process. 5. Essential Considerations in Drafting the Arbitration Clause/Agreement. 6. Enforcement of the Arbitration Agreement. The session was phenomenal and was very well attended and appreciated by the participants.

Ms. Rajyalakshmi Rao, Regional President, IACC-WIC welcoming the participants and introducing the esteemed speakers at the event.

Participants l istening intently to the panel discussion

Interactive session with Mr. K. V. Chowdary, Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes, Delhi on October 13,

2014 in Mumbai IACC organized an interactive session with Mr. K. V. Chowdary, Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes, Delhi on October 13, 2014 from 12.30 to 2.00 p.m. in Hall No.1 on the 2nd Floor of the Garware Club House, Wankhede Stadium,'D' Road, Churchgate, Mumbai - 400 020. The topic of discussion was “Retro amendment and exchange of information under Tax treaties. Mr. Chowdary in his speech asserted the sovereign's right to change laws retrospectively, and added that taxpay ers have benefited in some cases. He pointed out that "Retrospective amendment is the constitutional prerogative of the government and governments prior to this have enacted tax laws with retrospective effect. Some of them have been in favor of the tax payer," he said, conceding that such amendments put the industry at some risk. Mr. Chowdary incredibly answered to innumerable questions and also discussed various direct tax related issues raised by the participants. The session was outstanding and very well attended.

Ms. Rajyalakshmi Rao, Regional President, IACC-WIC welcoming Mr. K. V. Chowdary, Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes, Govt.

of India by presenting a memento of appreciation

Mr. Jairaj Purandare, Executive Council member of IACC in discussion with Mr. Chowdary during the Q&A session

Mr. Chowdary addressing the participants

Gujarat Branch

Interactive Meeting with the Mr. Thomas L. Vajda, U.S Consul General, US Consulate Mumbai at Hotel Radisson Blu, Ahmedabad

The Indo – American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), Gujarat Branch, organized an Interactive Meeting with Mr. Thomas L. Vajda, the Consul General, US Consulate Mumbai on October 17, 2014, at Hotel Radisson Blu, Ahmedabad. Chairman Mr. Jaimin Shah welcomed Mr. Thomas L. Vajda, Consul General, US Consulate Mumbai and introduced him to the Council members. Mr. Vajda previously served as the Director of the Middle East Partnership Initiative, a foreign assistance program supporting political and economic reform in the MENA region. His service in Washington has been in the areas of East Asian and Pacific affairs, weapons removal and abatement, and human resources. There was a discussion on opportunities for trade, investment and economic growth etc. Chairman Mr. Shah briefed CG that IACC is working for promoting Indo-US business and he also recognized IACC as a key Indian Business partner to USA. Mr. Vajda gave a brief idea about Select USA programme, International Buyers programme, Delegation from USA to India, Bank tie-ups for investors in USA, Development on Infrastructure, Hospitality and Education sectors in India and investment opportunity for US businessmen. Mr. Vajda also said that many American Companies are interested to invest in Gujarat, as Gujarat has very positive situations for Industrial Growth. Ms. Camille Richardson, Principal Commercial Officer, US & Foreign Commercial Service, Mumbai also joined for the interactive session. The meeting was followed by Hi-tea.

Mr. Jaimin Shah Chairman, IACC Gujarat Branch welcoming CG Mr. Thomas L. Vajda

(L- R) Ms. Camille Richardson, Principal Commercial Officer, USCS; Mr. Thomas L. Vajda, Consul General, US Consulate; Mr. Jaimin

Shah, Chairman IACC Gujarat.

Mr. Samir Shah- Sr. Vice Chairman welcoming Ms. Camille Richardson

Interactive meeting in progress with Mr. Vajda

Mr. Thomas L. Vajda with IACC Council members

Pune Branch

IACC and U.S. Commercial Service jointly inaugurated ‘American Business Corner’ on October 20, 2014 at Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA).

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Commercial Service are working together through ‘American Business Corner’, which was successfully inaugurated on October 20, 2014 at Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA). The inauguration of new office premises at MCCIA were done by the hands of the honorable Thomas L. Vajda, Consul General, U. S. Consulate, Mumbai. The U.S. Commercial Service wants to reach out to the need of the business community in the 2nd and 3rd tier cities of India, and facilitate trade between Indian importers & exporters and their American counterparts. The ‘American Business Corner’, will offer opportunities to Indian importers in these cities to learn about the services and programs offered by the ABC and connect with American businesses through booklets, brochures, newsletters, magazines and CDs; and upcoming business opportunities. The event was well attended by 60+ industry veterans and was followed by Breakfast. The ABC launch has been very well received by Pune stakeholders.

Thomas L. Vajda, U.S. Consul General inaugurates American Business Corner.

(L-R) Ms. Camille Richardson, Principal Commercial officer, Mr. Dillon Banerjee, Counselor for Commercial Affairs, Ms. Rajyalakshmi Rao, Regional President , IACC – WIC& Mr. Prashant Pansare, Chairman, IACC Pune look on.

Mr. Dillon Banerjee getting introduced to Mr. Surendra Kumar Jain, Presi dent MCCIA as Ms. Camille Richardson and Mr. Shalendra Porwal look on.

American Business Corner premises

Mr. Thomas L. Vajda inaugurating the American Business Corner as Mr. Prashant Pansare looks on.

Exchange of MoU’s (Memorandum of Understanding)

North India Council Indo-US Economic Summit: Convergence and Connectivity in Indo-US Economic Relations, on

October 15-16, 2014, in New Delhi

The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) hosted its decennial edition of the Indo-US Economic Summit in New Delhi on October 15-16, 2014. This year’s theme “Convergence and Connectivity in Indo-US Economic Relations”, was a natural progression from last year’s topic “Indo-US Resurgence Summit: A Search for Innovative Strategies”, as it took forward the momentum set in our bilateral dialogue. The Summit continued to prove its relevance as a significant platform for deliberations on Indo-US strategic, economic, trade and business relations. Focusing on this year’s Summit theme, Dr. Lalit Bhasin, Regional Presi dent, IACC and Summit Chairperson said that a special emphasis had been imparted towards promotion of our engagement in the Services sector, a sector that surpassed any other in terms of its contribution and potential in defining our overall trade contours . In his welcome address, he cited the meeting of Honorable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama as a historic and defining moment in Indo-US relations. He further added that the IACC Forum remained aligned with the efforts of our Governments and Industries in bridging the Indo-US gap for future growth, continuously engaging a strong membership base of 2100 large, medium and small companies from India and the US across 11 offices pan India. Mr. Asoke Laha, National President, IACC, reiterated Dr. Bhasin’s comment and said that in the upcoming year, IACC would continue to contribute in the facilitation of Indo-US trade by providing policy inputs and industry insights, particularly in sectors such as aviation and defense, manufacturing, services, skill development, hospitality and tourism, and infrastructure. Effectively engaging SMEs was also a priority for IACC, SMEs being an influential and crucial segment of the industry that was having an increasing impact on the global economy. The Chamber was looking forward to engage with this group in both the countries and generating ideas to enhance the bilateral cooperation. The two-day Economic Summit had a lineup of leading experts in fields of IT and Cyber Security, Aviation, Education an d Skill Development, Hospitality and Tourism, e-commerce, Media & Entertainment, International Trade and Services. Mr. George Sibley, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy was the Chief Guest and delivered his special address at the Inaugural session. Mr. Sibley suggested that while the PM and the President had come up with a joint statement that highlighted key issues of interest for both India and the US; for the success of this partnership, it was pertinent that the two countries recognized each other’s ‘worth’ in this joint relationship and work cooperatively towards the shared ‘vision’ of “Chalein Saath Saath: Forward Together We Go”. During the inaugural, Mr. George Sibley released a white paper jointly carried by IACC and the Summit’s Knowledge Partner, Kochhar & Co. This paper covers a wide range of topical issues, which were also discussed over the course of the two days of the Summit. Mr. Pratyush Kumar, Regional Vice President, IACC-NIC, and President Boeing India and Vice President Boeing International, highlighted the three areas of focus for his company and for the larger Indo-US dialogue, namely, Defence, Technology and Aviation. He suggested that there was tremendous scope for convergence in all these sectors, and laid special emphasis on the “Make in India” initiative launched by the Indian Government. Mr. Raman Roy, CMD, Quatrro Global Services Pvt. Ltd. presented the Indian industry perspective and said that India and the US were natural partners where India represented a varied and skilled supply base that could deliver world class services. Mr. Sanjay Mehta, Regional Vice President, IACC, and Managing Director, Teleperformance India delivered the Vote of Thanks. On the first day, the Summit hosted knowledge sessions on IT & Cyber Security, Trends in Indo-US Cooperation in Aviation, Education and Skill Development, and Hospitality and Tourism. On day two, the Summit delved into Sessions on International Trade, e-Commerce the Changing Paradigm, Media & Entertainment, Exchange of Services: Cooperation in Accounting, Financial & Legal Services, and closed with concluding remarks by Dr. Lalit Bhasin, Mr. Asoke Laha and Mr. John McCaslin.

Dr Lalit Bhasin, Summit Chairman and Regional President, IACC delivering the Welcome Remarks

Mr. Asoke K Laha, National President, IACC & President & CEO, Interra Information Technologies Inc. making the Theme Présentation

Mr. George N Sibley, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy delivering the Inaugural address during the Summit.

Releasing of Study Book prepared by Kochhar & Co. the Knowledge Partner

(L-R) Mr. Sanjay Mehta, Regional Vice President, IACC & Managing Director, Teleperformance India; Mr. Pratyush Kumar, Regional Vice President, IACC & President Boeing India and Vice President Boeing International; Dr Lalit Bhasin; Mr. Rohit Kochhar, Chairman &

Managing Partner, Kochhar and Company; Mr. George N Sibley and Mr. Asoke K Laha

Participants at the Summit

Dr. Kamlesh Bajaj, CEO, Data Security Council of India (DSCI) led the session on IT & Cyber Security. Mr. Ashish Sonal, Founder & CEO, Orkash Services Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Daniel Clegg, US Dept. of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mr. Umesh Verma, CEO, Blue Lance Inc., & Chairman Cyber Security Task Force of Greater Houston Partnership and Mr. Umesh Sachdev, CEO, Uniphore Software Systems, also addressed the audience in this session. They discussed key aspects of cyber terrorism, the increasing threats to companies and personal privacy, and ways to set in place counter-measures to minimize the frequency and scope of the attacks. Information protection was key to avoid identity and currency theft.

Session on IT and Cyber Security

(L-R) Mr. Daniel Clegg, Legal Attache, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Dr. Kamlesh Bajaj, Chief Executive Officer, Data Security

Council of India (DSCI); Mr. Umesh Verma, CEO, Blue Lance Inc. & Chairman Cyber Security Task Force of Greater Houston

Partnership; Mr. Umesh Sachdev, Chief Executive Officer, Uniphore Software Systems and Mr. Ashish Sonal, Founder & CEO, Orkash Services Pvt Ltd;

Mr. Atul Sharma, Past Regional President IACC-NIC, and Managing Partner, Link Legal India Law Services, led the Aviation Session which discussed the opportunities in Aviation Infrastructure, and re -looked at the Civil Aviation Authority Regulations. Mr. Henry Steingass, Regional Director, S&SE Asia, USTDA, Mr. Arijit Ghosh, President – Aerospace, Honeywell India, Mr. Nalin Jain, President and CEO, South Asia, GE Transportation, GE Aviation, Mr. Amber Dubey, Partner and Head – Aerospace and Defence, KPMG, Mr. Piyush Gupta, Partner, Kochhar & Co., Mr. Ravi Menon, Executive Director, Air Works india, Group Captain R K Bali (Retd), Secretary, Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA), Cdr. A M Ganapathy, Managing Partner, ACCOLITE CBAS Inc. were the other speakers in this session. Given that most air traffic growth had been found in Asia, specifically India and China, the lack of infrastructure at some of the airports in India was resulting in the disability of handling high air traffic and maintaining optimum air connecti vity. The speakers also called for rationalization of taxes, revision of certain policies that hampered investment in this sector and better regulations for MROs.

Session on “Trends in Indo-US Cooperation in Aviation”

(L-R) - Mr. Amber Dubey, Partner and Head-Aerospace and Defense, KPMG;Mr. Nalin Jain, President and CEO, South Asia, GE

Transportation, GE Aviation; Mr. Arijit Ghosh, President –Aerospace Honeywell India; Mr. Henry Steingass, Regional Director, S&SE Asia, USTDA; Mr. Atul Sharma, Past Regional President, IACC & Managing Partner, Link Legal India Law Services; Mr. Piyush Gupta, Partner, Kochhar & Co; Mr. Ravi S Menon, Executive Director, Air Works India; Group Captain R K Bali (Retd), Secretary, Business

Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA) and Cdre A M Ganapathy, Managing Partner, ACCOLITE CBAS Inc.

The Education and Skill Development session was led by Mr. Vivek Singh, Director, Grant Thornton India LLP. Mr. Sanjay Mehta, Managing Director, Teleperformance India, Mr. Deepak Bharara, Chief Human Resource Officer, Lanco Infratech Limited, Mr. Dilip Chenoy, Managing Director & CEO, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), and Prof. Rupa Chanda, IIM Bangalore were the other panelists for this session. The panelists called for global sensitization of every student in India, and advised a look at whether there is alignment in the faculty instruction and industry expectation i.e. between education and employability. Given the new Govt.’s increased focus on skill deve lopment, the panelists encouraged a public private partnership in generating advocacy campaigns to motivate people in specializing in skills that were in demand internationally.

Session on Education and Skil l Development

(L- R) Mr. Deepak Bharara, Chief Human Resource Officer, Lanco Infratech Limited; Mr. Sanjay Mehta; Mr. Vivek Vikram Singh, Executive Director, Grant Thornton India LLP; Prof Rupa Chanda, IIM Bangalore and Mr. Dilip Chenoy, Managing Director & CEO,

National Skil l Development Corporation (NSDC)

Mr. Baljit Sobti, Managing director, Systems Tek India Pvt. Ltd. led the Hospitality and Tourism session, along with Mr. John McCaslin, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, US Embassy, Mr. Vikram Madhok, Managing Director, Abercrombie & Kent India Ltd., Mr. Sunder Advani, CMD, Advani Hotels & Resorts India Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Navin Berry, Chief Executive, Cross Section Media and Mrs. Ragini Chopra, Director, Jetairways as speakers. The speakers echoed some of the concerns mentioned in the Aviation session regarding non-conducive regulations and policy, along with lack of connectivity by air and train and heavy taxation that negatively impacted tourism and travel in India. They were hopeful that the new ‘Visa on arrival’ initiative for all Americans would be a game changer for India and expected a 15% growth in this sector so that India could realize its capability of handling 15 million tourists each year. Mr. McCaslin made a highly engaging presentation on the promotion of tourism from India to the US, the US government’s focus and initiatives in this area and also the significant amount of revenues this sector contributed to the overall US economy thus giving a very balanced tone to the overall discussions and adding the vital US perspective.

Session on Hospitality and Tourism

(L-R) Mr. Navin Berry , Chief Executive, Cross Section Media; Mr. Sunder Advani, CMD, Advani Hotels & Resorts India Pvt. Ltd; Mr. John M McCaslin, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, US Embassy; Mr. Baljit Sobti, Managing Director, Systems Tek India Pvt

Ltd; Mr. Vikram Madhok, Managing Director, Abercrombie & Kent India Ltd and Mrs. Ragini Chopra, Director, Jet airways

The session on International Trade opened day 2 of the Summit and was led by Mr. Kamal Meattle, Past National President IACC and CEO, Paharpur Business Centre & Software Technology, Incubator Park. Mr. Don Jackson, Partner, Ware Jackson Lee & Chambers, Mr. R. Chandrashekhar, President NASSCOM, Mr. Hugo Yon, Acting Minister Counselor for Economic, Environment, Science and Technology, US Embassy, and Mr. Ronen Sen, Former Indian Ambassador to the US were the other speakers for this session. The speakers touched upon the significant role of the IT sector in defining the Indo-US trade relation maintaining that it was not just the presence of Indian IT companies in the US that was significant but the presence of US IT companies in India which also had to be re cognized. There was still tremendous scope for innovation in this sector. They also elicited the importance of start-ups, particularly in the US and the role of Indian entrepreneurs and stressed on the Indo-US relationship that was enabling job creation in both countries.

Session on International Trade

(L- R) – Mr. Don Jackson, Partner, Ware Jackson Lee & Chambers; Mr. Ronen Sen, Former Indian Ambassador to US; Mr. Kamal

Meattle, CEO, Paharpur Business Centre & Software Technology Incubator Park; Dr Lalit Bhasin; Mr. R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM and Mr. Hugo Yon, Acting Minister Counselor for Economic, Environment, Science and Technology, US Embassy;

The next session on e-Commerce, the Changing Paradigm, was led by Mr. Sanjay Mehta, Regional Vice President, IACC & Managing Director, Teleperformance India. Other high profile panelists included Mr. Amarjit Singh Batra, CEO, OLX South Asia, Mr. Praveen Sinha, MD & Founder, Jabong.com, Mr. Nitin Bawankule, Industry Director, Ecommerce, Local and Media, Google India, Mr. Sunil K. Goyal, CEO, Yournest.in and Mr. Skand Bhargava, Lead Analyst, Contact Center Outsourcing, Everest Group. In the last few years, India had evolved as a market for ecommerce with a large population becoming increasingly comfortable with online buying. The speakers talked about how this format empowered the buyers to not only buy at a lower cost point but to also voice their review for products and services on social media thereby ensuring instant feedback and influencing buying patterns. However, India had to be evaluated as a collective combination of smaller regions rather than a whole country so that local culture and economics could be factored in for targeted and relevant products & services.

Session on e-Commerce, The Changing Paradigm: Driving Consumer Empowerment

(L-R) Mr Skand Bhargava, Lead Analyst, Contact Center Outsourcing, Everest Group; Mr Sunil K Goyal, CEO, Yournest.in; Mr. Sanjay Mehta; Dr Lalit Bhasin; Mr. Amarjit Singh Batra, CEO, OLX South Asia; Mr. Praveen Sinha, MD & Founder, Jabong.com and Mr. Nitin

Bawankule, Industry Director, Ecommerce, Local and Media, Google India.

Mr. Sandeep Marwah, Chairman, NIC’s Media and Entertainment Committee & Director of Asian Academy of Film & Television & Asian School of Media Studies led the session on Media & Entertainment, along with Mr. Pankaj Parashar, eminent Film Director, Mr. Santosh Bhartiya, CEO, Senior Media Ltd. and Mr. Uday Singh, Managing Director, the Motion Picture Distributors Association India as distinguished speakers.

Session on Media and Entertainment

(L-R) Mr. Santosh Bhartiya, CEO, Senior Media Ltd; Mr. Sandeep Marwah, Director of Asian Academy of Film & Television & Asian

School of Media Studies; Mr. Uday Singh, Managing Director, The Motion Picture Distributors Association India and Mr. Pankaj

Parashar, Film Director.

The last session of the day “Exchange of Services: Cooperation in Accounting, Financial & Legal Services” was led by Mr.

Aseem Chawla, Regional Council Member, NIC & Partner, MPC Legal and Mr. Atul Sharma, Past Regional President IACC &

Managing Partner, Link Legal India Law Services. Ms. Shashi Patel, Ware, Jackson, Lee & Chambers, LLP, Mr. Thiru

Govender, CPA, Shareholder, Elliott Davis PLLC, and Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, Chairman, Committee on Economic, Commercial

Laws & WTO, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India also addressed the audience.

Session on Exchange of Services Cooperation in Accounting, Financial & Legal Services

(L-R) Mr. Thiru Govender , CPA, Shareholder, Ell iott Davis PLLC; Mr. Atul Sharma; Dr Lalit Bhasin; Mr. Aseem Chawla, Partner, MPC

Legal; Ms. Shashi Patel, Ware, Jackson,Lee & Chambers ,LLP and Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, Chairman, Committee on Economic, Commercial laws & WTO, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

The Summit hosted over 250 delegates on each day representing organizations from India and the US, ,top diplomats,

officials from Indian government and US Embassy and focused on areas of bilateral trade and investment, knowledge and

technology transfer, public private partnerships, and joint partnerships in the varied sectors.

South India Council Tamil Nadu Branch

Networking Meet with Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, Chargé d’ Affaires, U.S. Embassy, New Delhi on

October 19, 2014 Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) organized a Networking Meet with Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, Chargé d’ Affaires, U.S. Embassy, New Delhi at Hotel Hyatt Regency, Chennai. While addressing the gathering, Ambassador Stephens expressed America’s keenness to partner with India in achieving Prime Minister Modi’s mandate to create 1 million jobs every month. She pointed out issuance of 8 lakh visas to India by U.S. Embassy so far this year, in her speech. The Ambassador further said, as far as Chennai is concerned its proximity to business communities in eastern countries like Korea, Japan, Singapore should be encourage more investment opportunities. Also, improvement in India’s Intellectual Property Rights with International Standards would help boost the confidence of American investors. In conclusion, Ms. Stephens emphasized the partnership need between India & U.S. on various issues like tackling terrorism, space cooperation and climate change. This program was attended by prominent senior representatives from various industries based in Chennai.

Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, Chargé d’ Affaires, U.S. Embassy, New Delhi addressing the participants.

Trade Opportunities with IACC

Trade Opportunity from USA

Sr. No. Business Interest of the Company Contact details

1. Simmons Engineering Corporation is USA based company and has been a supplier of unique blades to Industry. This company is having world class quality in Manufacturing, innovation in design and product development and exceptional customer service. They are currently active primarily in the foam and food market. Additionally we have capability in the metal cutting, wood cutting and aerospace industries. Simmons is seeking distributors for their specialized band saw blades that are used to cut and fabricate foam rubber among other things. Export Business is one of the strategic initiatives of the company moving forward. For more details, please visit : www.simcut.com

Ms. Rakhi Panda Regional Director, IACC-WIC

Tel: 91-22-22821413 rakhi@iaccindia.com; B2B@iaccindia.com

Trade Opportunity from INDIA

1. AKP Foundries (P) Ltd is in the business of Foundry/casting manufacturing and CNC machining since last 35 years. Their Exports business is around 30% of sales. They would like to have a Joint Venture in the product segment of Pumps and valves They act as a manufacturing and sales hub for the US counterpart in the Asia pacific region as well as export to European countries etc. Also, they are interested in B2B the construction equipment and Engine manufacturers so as to explore the possibility of exports of castings to US For more details, please visit : www.akpfoundries.com

Ms. Jitika Narang Manager Memberships, IACC

(Karnataka Branch) Tel:91-80-41148325/ 22203366 jitika@iaccindia.com; B2B@iaccindia.com

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US investments in India

Cisco to invest $1.7 billion in India this year; to partner Centre’s digital drive Nearly three months after Cisco Chairman & CEO John Chambers said he will "bet big on India", the world's biggest computer networking company detailed plans to invest around $1.7 billion in a year, becoming the first multinational to make such a commitment in the country since the Narendra Modi government took over. After a spate of exits of top officials and concerns over business growth in the country, Cisco is back on its feet with billions of dollars up its sleeves as it looks to partner India on the government's digital initiative. "Cisco is investing $1.7 billion this year into the India operations," Cisco's India president Dinesh Malkani told media. "The investment includes a $40-million innovation fund and investments into R&D." "I think Modi in India is going to turn around that country," Chambers had said during an earnings call in August. "You can see the enthusiasm both citizens and businesses there are betting on a single emerging market. I would bet on India right now in a big way." Cisco India lost at least four key people in the past year, including India head Jeff White. In the quarter ended October 26, 2013, Cisco's India revenue declined 18%. With the new Modi government in place, Cisco is placing a fresh bet on India. With a fresh annual investment of $1.7 billion in India, Cisco is preparing to bid for large government contracts for smart cities and other Digital India projects. Chambers sees huge opportunity in India. During a speech in August, he said he wants Cisco India's contribution to the parent company rise from less than 2% now to at least 5%. As the US network equipment-maker faces constant dip in its China business, Cisco sees India as a big opportunity for growth. In the quarter ended July 26, Cisco India's revenue grew 18% whi le China revenue declined 26%. The slide in China revenue continued even during the subsequent quarter when the company saw a dip of 33% in China business. India was still growing at 6%. "Cisco has been a market leader in a lot of areas. India market is important for them from a smart city perspective. They are doing a lot of work in that area. Even in the data centre space they are doing very well. With smart city being a big thing in India, Cisco will double down in the long term," said Karthik Ananth, di rector at marketing research firm Zinnov. Cisco is now approaching the new government opportunity by carving out a new division called the Growth Vertical, which will focus on areas such as eHealthcare, eEducation, smart cities and national broadband pro ject. The growing Internet penetration and exponential growth of Internetbased companies, such as Flipkart, Ola, Zomato in the country, is creating newer opportunities for Cisco. "Every time a new user gets added to the network, he's an opportunity for education, for banking, for ecommerce. We've been working with businesses to provide the network. We also want to partner with the government for the national broadband project, to make sure the network is available to every village in the country," Malkani said. "We've got some of our best people to be a part of this new division as it requires a lot of work," Malkani said. "For such projects, the products need to be more rugged and localised. The team is working on making sure we get every bit of that right." Some of the key people who are a part of the division include Purushottam Kaushik, who'll be heading the growth vertical and has previously been working on projects in telecom, India digitisation, Internet of Everything, physical safety, energy, manufacturing and transportation. Vishal Saxena, who has been in the company for last eight years, working on service provider and defence business, is now heading India digitisation and smart cities part of the growth vertical. Rupinder Singh, who has been technical leader for the public sector, enterprise and service provider business, will be playing the engineering director for India digitisation, Internet of Everything, physical safety and surveillance. Cisco, which employs 11,300 people in India, has moved about 15-20% of its India workforce to the newlyformed division. Cisco has already won some large government projects in these areas. The company is consulting the government on building four out of the five smart cities in the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor. "We built the entire blueprint for four of the five cities on DMIC.

Now we are moving into the next phase where we are going into a lot more detail about the deployment and the project plan," Malkani said.The four cities include Dholera Special Investment Region in Gujarat, Shendra Bidkin Mega Industrial Park in Maharashtra, Manesar Bawal Investment Region in Haryana and Khushkhera Bhiwadi Neemrana Investment Region in Rajasthan.

Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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New York City based Rockefeller Foundation to set up 1,000 mini power grids across rural India

In its efforts to provide electricity for rural population of the country, the Rockefeller Foundation i s working on a USD 100 million (Rs.614 crore) initiative to establish 1,000 mini power grids in the next three years, a PTI report stated. The first 30 mini grids are expected to be set up, mostly in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, by the end of this year, accord ing to a senior official of the foundation. The foundation, which works for betterment of human lives in different parts of the world, would be putting in USD 65 million (nearly Rs.400 crore) for the mini grids initiative. "Our contribution will be USD 65 million but the total cost will be higher. Total cost would be around USD 100 million for 1,000 mini grids," the foundation's Associate Vice President and Managing Director (Asia Program Team) Ashvin Dayal told the media. The projects would have equity participation from companies. Generally, a mini power grid would help cater to 150-250 households with about 1,000 people. The amount of electricity such grids can carry would be in the range of 65-75 kilowatt hours. Setting up of mini grids would help in increasing electrification in India where about 53 million households are without access to power. "We are not going to provide grant funding completely... We will be providing concessional debt, grant financing for additional support that is needed. Companies will put in their own finance," Dayal said. While the first set of 30 mini grids would be ready by the end of this year, the foundation has set a target of setting up 200 such grids by 2015 end. "By end of 2017, we expect to have 1,000 mini grids," Dayal said. For these mini grids, the foundation would focus on districts in Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha, among other states. The foundation has been experimenting with two to three pilot projects in India for the past two years. "We are working with a set of companies which will actually establish and operate mini grids either as generators or generators and distributors or just as distributors. We are working with NGOs for community engagement...," Dayal said. The foundation also had initial discussions with the ministries of pow er as well as new and renewable energy. The government -- which is working on a multi-pronged strategy to boost fuel supplies, ramp up power generation and increase transmission networks -- aims to provide electricity for everyone by 2019.

Copyright © Press Trust of India 2014, All Rights Reserved

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Bill Gates Backs Impact Investor Unitus Seed

Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates has backed impact investment firm, Unitus Seed, along with a clutch of 15 other HNI's enabling the Indian rupee fund to raise a total of $4 Million to invest in startups targeting the BoP space. The investment of Bill Gates came from the personal fund (not from the Gates Foundation) with a corpu s of $1 Bn, set up by the world’s second richest man to provide equity, loans and loan guarantees to for-profit companies. The other HNI’s who have helped Unitus raise funds include Desh Deshpande (formerly Sycamore Networks), Romesh Wadhwani (Symphony TG), Vinod Khosla (Khosla Ventures), Steve Singh (Cleartrip, Concur) Soma Somasegar (Microsoft), Dilip Wagle

(McKinsey), Geeta Aiyer (Boston Common), Kamesh Aiyer, Pradeep Singh (Aditi), Bharat Shah (Microsoft), Anoop Gupta (Microsoft), Nagesh Pabbisetty (Microsoft), Prady Misra, Vikram Chalana (Winshuttle). Unitus invests in the country through two of its funds Unitus Seed Fund India, a SEBI registered VC fund, and Unitus Seed Fund, LP an offshore venture capital fund. The offshore fund has over 50 investors putting in close to $17 Million in the fund. Targeting the healthcare, education, mobile commerce & value-added services, marketplaces & e-commerce, retail & distribution, agriculture, and water & energy sectors, fund has made 14 investments with a ticke t size of $100K-250K. Some of its investees include: Blowhorn, an online marketplace for last mile logistics; pediatric primary healthcare network, AddressHealth Solutions; Jiffstore, a mobile commerce retail platform; mGaadi, a mobile ordering service for autorickshaws; Smile Merchants, a dental clinics chain owned by Free 3 Healthcare Services among others. Intellecap, another impact investor estimates that $1.6 Bn of capital has been invested in more than 220 impact enterprises across India, with more than half of the investments in microfinance with Unitus expecting a 30% increase in these investments this year.

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India’s Investments in U.S

Tech Mahindra buys Lightbridge Communications Corporation for $240 million

Tech Mahindra, India’s fifth-largest IT service company has entered into an agreement to buy US-based network services company Lightbridge Communications Corporation (LCC) for $ 240 million (Rs 1,486.5 crore). The deal, expected to close by the January-March quarter, makes it the company’s its largest acquisition after it bought over Satyam five years ago. Tech Mahindra bought trouble-ridden Satyam for Rs. 2,889 crore in 2009. The Virginia headquartered Lightbridge is one of the largest independent global providers of network engineering services to the telecommunications industry, with more than 5,000 employees in over 50 countries, and annual revenues in excess of $400 million (Rs 2,478 crore), said a statement from Tech Mahindra. “We expect network services to be a major growth engine for our organisation,” said Vineet Nayyar, executive vice chairman of Tech Mahindra. “We will now be the largest and most comprehensive provider of technology services to communications service providers,” said CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra. Following the acquisition, Tech Mahindra’s revenue for the financial year may see an upward adjustment of 10.3% in 2015-16 from what was estimated earlier, according to Sarabjit Kour Nangra, vice president, research, Angel Broking. “However, the deal may be margin-dilutive for the near term,” she said. For the financial year 2015-16, Tech Mahindra's revenue would be Rs. 27,484 crore and net profit Rs. 3,666 crore, according to Angel Broking estimates.

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Aurobindo wins Natrol bid with $132 million Company set to enter the branded nutraceuticals business

Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma Limited said recently that it's US subsidiary Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc. was emerged as the highest bidder with $ 132 million (around Rs 812.5 crore) for acquisition of nutritional supplement maker Natrol Inc and other affiliates. Through this acquisition the company aims to diversify its operations beyond the traditional generics business especially into the nutraceuticals targeting the US and other international markets. The auction process for the acquisition of the assets of Natrol with an agreement to take on certain liabilities was initiated by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware after the company filed for bankruptcy in June this year. Natrol stated in the bankruptcy petition that it had up to $ 500 million assets and up to $ 100 million in liabilities, according to the reports. The auction was launched on November 10 with an offer of about $ 90 million, which was bested by Aurobindo. In a statement Aurobindo said Natrol is an excellent strategic fi t and provides the right platform for creating a fully-integrated OTC platform in the USA and in other international markets. "The acquisition of Natrol along with some incremental investment and the R&D would help achieve our aspiration of entering the branded nutritional supplements business which offers a good value. The size of the nutraceuticals business in the US is about $ 35 billion, which is expected to go up to $ 55 billion by 2020," N Govindarajan, managing director of Aurobindo told media. Manufacturing of all the products of Natrol was being done in the US and Aurobindo would continue with these operations as they tend to be cost competitive, according to him. Natrol is a 30 plus year brand with seven of its products completing 20 years in the US market enjoying a loyal and a stable customer base, he said. The process of acquisition, which is subject to final approval by the US Court, including other statutory approvals, is expected to be completed by

December 15, according to Govindarajan. On the question of funding the acquisition, he said it would be done through debt and internal accruals: “We have enough head room for raising fresh funds as we had already reduced the debt to $ 400 million from a peak of $600 million ". On the valuation front the acquisition was reasonable, according to Angel Broking. “On the funding part, the company can easily fund the same, as the company has comfortable debt: equity of 1:1", it said. Based in California, Natrol, a unit of Plethico Pharmaceuticals Limited of India, was acquired for about $ 82 million in October 2007 by Plethico. Angel Broking says Natrol's sales should be around $ 100 million and given the size of the Aurobindo, the acquired company will form around 4-5% of its FY 16 sales and profitability. Led by a strong growth in US Generics business, Aurobindo reported a 58.4% jump in net profit at Rs 372.18 crore in the second quarter ended September, 2014. Revenues also witnessed a 50.5% growth at Rs 2,881.22 crore in that quarter. A Wall Street Journal report says Natrol filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection in June, under pressure from Cerberus Business Finance LLC, and eventually agreed to put itself for sale to pay off its debts to its lender. In addition to cash to pay Cerberus, Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc. has agreed to take on some of Natrol's unpaid bills, according to the papers filed on Monday in the US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington. According to reports appeared in the month of June, Natrol was also has been the target in the past year o f at least 3 law suits seeking class action status. They were filed questioning the claims of the advertised benefits of glucosamine -related supplements produced by the company. Natrol denied the allegations.

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Indo-US Corporate News

Microsoft to use ‘white space’ tech for free internet in India Microsoft India is ready with a plan to provide free last-mile internet connectivity across the country. It proposes to use the "white space" - the unused spectrum between two TV channels - to provide free connectivity to large sections of the Indian population. "Wifi has a range of only about 100 metres, whereas the 200-300 MHz spectrum band available in the white space can reach up to 10 km," said Bhaskar Pramanik, chairman, Microsoft India. "This spectrum belongs mainly to Doordarshan and the government and is not used at all. We have sought clearance for a pilot project in two districts." If the pilots are successful, the project can be quickly rolled out across the country and could give a huge boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India initiative, which proposes to use technology to deliver governance to every citizen of India, even in remote areas. "The challenge is the lack of digital infrastructure across India. This initiative addresses this challenge in a cost-effective manner and creates an eco-system that will benefit everyone, including manufacturers of routers and other technology devices, other technology companies, besides Microsoft," Pramanik said. Microsoft's initiative also take forward the Prime Minister's slogan of "IT + IT = IT", which is Indian talent plus informati on technology equals India tomorrow and also give a push to the 'Make in India' campaign by encouraging the manufacture of equipment locally. Microsoft, which was part of an international consortium that included BT, Nokia and BBC, conducted the most widespread field trials on white space-based Internet connectivity in Cambridge, US, in 2011. The technology hasn't been widely adopted anywhere in the world, but experts believe it can lead to a spurt in broadband connectivity in countries such as India. Engineers at Microsoft development centers in India have adapted this unlicensed technology for this country. The ambitious Digital India project envisages providing broadband connectivity across the country by connecting 250,000 gram panchayats via optic fibre cables, thereby providing digital infrastructure as a utility to ev ery citizen, digital governance and services on demand and digitally empowering all citizens. The plan was approved by the Modi Cabinet on August 30.

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CCI gives nod to Mylan-Abbott merger Generic drug maker Mylan Inc. and US-based Abbott Industries have received the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) nod to proceed with their merger. The fair trade regulator has cleared the application made by New Moon BV, a new company incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands, for the purpose of this merger. New Moon BV had approached the CCI on 12 August.

Abbott's established pharmaceutical products (EPP) segment will merge with Mylan's existing business, w hich will then vest with New Moon. Abbott's EPP segment includes specialty pharmaceutical products and branded generics. Abbott will have a 21% shareholding in New Moon. New Moon's wholly-owned subsidiary, Moon of PA Inc., has been newly incorporated to help with the merger. This wholly-owned subsidiary will be subsumed under Mylan. Thereafter, the common stock of Mylan will be cancelled. New Moon will issue its stock to Mylan's former shareholders to become the parent company of Mylan. "Former shareholders of Mylan will own approximately 78% and Abbott and its affiliates will own approximately 22% of shareholding in the Acquirer (New Moon)," the CCI order states.

The order noted that New Moon has claimed that Abbott's acquisition of 22% in it is only in the nature of an investment. But the CCI said there were still "competition concerns" that would need to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

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Delaware headquartered DuPont introduces technology solution to tackle fake pesticides sale

US-based chemical firm DuPont has come out with technology solutions to tackle illegal and counterfeit pesticides sold under its brand in India. The company has introduced two technologies 'DuPont Izone' and 'DuPont Tracelogy' to educate farmers in identifying an original genuine product versus a counterfeit one, a statement said. 'DuPont Izone', a technology that works with web-based verification system, helps in validating the authenticity of the product when a farmer sends an SMS. 'DuPont Traceology', a cloud-based product verification system, helps in tracking products and providing critical product information such as batch, lot and part number to verify products. "The presence and threat of spurious, fake and illegal crop protection products is more than ever before. In the garb of crop protection, they threaten our agricultural growth. We at DuPont are committed to fight this menace," said Ram Mudholkar, Business Director (South Asia), DuPont Crop Protection business. The counterfeit pesticides account for more than 40 per cent of pesticides sold in India. These products infringe trademarks of reputed brands and pose great threat to the environment and can damage crops, leading to severe wealth losses to the farmers, the company added.

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After Google and Microsoft, IBM to woo online start-ups Technology companies such as Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have been wooing the rapidly-growing online start-up community in India and across the globe for at least the past couple of years by offering free software credits, mentorship, marketing support, investor introductions and even funding. Recently, US-based International Business Machine Corp. (IBM) joined the bandwagon by announcing a similar programme to give start-ups and entrepreneurs around the world up to $1, 20,000 worth of credits to use its cloud-computing technology and take advantage of its global network of enterprise clients, consultants and innovation centers. The IBM Global Entrepreneur Program for Cloud Start-ups will give online start-ups "access to IBM's broad and fast-growing enterprise cloud portfolio and third-party cloud services built around open APIs (application programming interfaces)" that will help them build and monetize their solutions "more easily", Promod Haque, senior managing partner of Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), said in a statement. Entrepreneurs will get access to IBM's cloud infrastructure from SoftLayer, one of its subsidiaries, and its cloud platform called Bluemix for app development. An IBM India spokesperson cited the example of a Mysore-based start-up called Reinventio that developed Streamify, an online tool developed for users to host webinars, conferences and business calls, in just two days, using Bluemix. Streamify uses Pynetra, a gesture-recognition product that allows users to make presentations by drawing images in the air, thereby creating a virtual classroom. According to Karthik Padmanabhan, country manager, ecosystem development of IBM India and south Asia, "With this new announcement of IBM's Global Entreprene ur for Cloud Start-ups, we are hoping startups will ride the next wave of innovations like big data, IoT (internet of things), etc., on cloud platforms." Entrepreneurs, said IBM in its statement, will also be provided technical support and consulting throu gh its network of over 40 innovation centres, new incubator space in New York City's Silicon Alley, and Bluemix Garage in San Francisco's Galvanize start-up hub.

IBM's move to help start-ups comes on the back of similar announcements it made for small - and mid-sized firms. On 15 July, the firm announced an exclusive partnership with Apple Inc. to introduce a new class of business apps. On 30 October, IBM said it plans to offer Twitter data as part of select cloud-based services, including IBM Watson Analytics-a new cognitive service that brings intuitive visualization and predictive capabilities to business users. Google, Microsoft and AWS, though, have a clear lead in the start-up segment. As part of programme called 10,000 Start-ups launched by software lobby Nasscom in March 2013, Google offers up to $20,000 total credit for its Google Cloud platform. Also, based on eligibility, start-ups can use Google Apps free for six months. Microsoft offers Azure Credits, and BizSpark subscribers are eligibl e to a $150 monthly amount of cloud computing resources through Microsoft developer network subscription benefits free from the Windows Azure Platform. And AWS offers $100-$3,000 in credits, valid for two years, besides $5,000 worth of premium AWS business support for one year bundled with some other freebies. While analysts agree these announcements are good for start-ups, they caution such announcements restrict the use of cloud to the technology solutions or platforms of the companies that offer them. "Moves such as these (the IBM start-up announcement) offer a lot of potential in building the cloud ecosystem. IBM will face competition from cloud infrastructure firms but there are many opportunities in developing applications and services for the cloud p latform," said Shree Parthasarathy, senior director, enterprise risk service at consulting firm Deloitte India. He added, though, that "all organizations are trying to push their cloud platforms to start-ups". Alok Shende, founder and principal analysts of Ascentius Consulting, corroborated that IBM will face competition from the likes of Google and Microsoft "that have a lead in this space, and offer a suite of services to start -ups". Shende and Parthasarathy also pointed out that offering credits to start-ups for a limited period, say a year or two years, does not help them. "Pricing is to be taken with a pinch of salt. Value of the credits is not important for start -ups. What matters is for how long since most start-ups need nurturing for a long time since they need to last for the long-term and do not have the resources to do so," said Shende. "It's important to understand the period for which start-ups will be allowed to use the free software or credits, and when licensing will start since sustainability is a major issue for entrepreneurs," Parthasarathy said.

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'Rs 299 corner': Google gears up for Great Online Shopping Festival

Google has roped in 300 offline and online retailers and consumer companies for its Great Online Shopping Festival that is expected to reach 100 million consumers this year, riding on the frenzy of online shopping in recent weeks. The Great Online Shopping Festival (GOSF), to be held from December 10-12, is expected to see participation of various consumer durable, FMCG and e-commerce firms in India. The organizers will also run a two-week run-up campaign by reserving each day for a single company to partner in a day-long offers and contests for consumers, said top executives of some ecommerce companies participating in the event. Google and various e-commerce partners plan heavy-duty online advertising while consumer brands will do offline campaigns such as hoarding and other outdoor activities, said a seniorexecutive of an e-commerce company. "On that day they are trying to get more exclusive launches. They are talking to companies like Samsung, Philips and Motorola to launch products during these days," the person said. Nitin Bawankule, director for ecommerce at Google India, declined to comment.

In a season of mega online sales, Google's third edition of GOSF is expected to create a bigger hype than the last two years as it plans to line up products ranging from FMCG, consumer durables and fashion lifestyle segments to arts and collectibles, travel packages and even two-wheelers, according to sources quoted earlier. This year, the organizers will also introduce digital walls in various cities where consumers can order through the ir smartphones by scanning the QR codes of the products, they said. A top executive of an e-commerce firm said GOSF will also introduce a special segment called "Rs299 corner" where branded products priced between Rs600-1500 will be sold at Rs299. The products will be delivered free of charge and there will be cash-on-delivery option to woo first-time online consumers. The person also said that in the 14 days between November 27 and December 9, a lucky winner everyday will get to shop for free among a host of select items. Google started GOSF in 2012. Last year it got almost 16 million hits on all partner sites despite technical glitches in the f irst day, and almost 40% of the traffic came from Tier 2 and 3 cities.

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Made-in-India KTM Duke 390, RC 390 heads to America: Launch price starts at $4,999 (Rs 3.08 lakhs)

KTM RC 390

KTM has announced that American market will soon (in 2015) get the popular entry level sports bikes Duke 390 and RC 390, recognizing growing potential in the segment there. KTM Duke 390 and RC 390 are built on the same lightweight tubular steel trellis frame, suspended by White Power suspension components – inverted tubular WP fork on front and WP monoshock on the rear swingarm. The duo touch the road with highly acclaimed 10/70Z R17 front and 150/60Z R17 rear Metzeler tyres. Bajaj-KTM Chakan plant being the only production base for KTM Duke 390 and RC 390, the models will be exported from India to the U.S. Both are powered by 373.2 cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine that develops 43.5 PS max power @ 9,000 rpm and 35 Nm peak torque @ 7,000 rpm, making the duo the one of the best power-to-weight ratio motorcycles in their respective classes. Both use 6-speed gearbox. KTM Duke 390 and RC 390 will stand beside their bigger siblings Duke 690, Super Duke 1290 and flagship RC8 R in North American showrooms. In addition the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer also announced that the latterly unveiled 1290 Super Adventure will also join the lineup in the US next year. KTM Duke 390 will be labelled with Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $4,999 (Rs. 3.08 lakhs), RC 390 of $5,499 (Rs. 3.39 lakhs) and 1290 Super Adventure of $20,499 (Rs. 12.64 lakhs). Both, KTM Duke 390 and RC 390 are exclusively made by KTM’s 47% stake owner, Bajaj Auto at their plant in Pune, India. It is from here, that the entry level KTM bikes are exported around the globe. KTM bikes which are being made in India include – Duke 125, Duke 200, Duke 390, RC 125, RC 200, and RC 390.

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Huge demand for cars will turn around Ford's fortunes in India: President Nigel Harris

About a decade and half since and after holding various positions across the globe, Harris is expected to play a very importa nt role

for the company.

For Nigel Harris, his father has always been a great role model. But when he had the option of taking over the family's dairy farm in New Zealand from his father, he looked elsewhere. His love for cars landed Harris at Ford Motor. Harris joined the New Zealand unit of the US auto maker in 1985 as a fleet sales analyst. "When I first joined Ford, I told my father that one day I will be the MD of Ford New Zealand, and he laughed it off," Harris, president of Ford's India operations since February this year, recalled at a recent interview. He went on to become the managing director of Ford New Zealand in the late 1990s. About a decade and half since and after holding various positions across Europe, Africa and the Asia Pacific, Harris is expected to play a very important role for the Detroit-based company. Ford is looking at India to be a driver of its emerging market push. It also wants to see the Indian unit making a profit, something that eluded the company in its 17 years of operations here. Not new to the Indian market, Harris was one of the key contributors for the Ikon sedan developed for the local market and has travelled to the country 7-8 times in late 90s to get an insight into the Indian consumers. Expectations are high, but Harris seems to be enjoying it. "I reckon, if you love what you do, if your hobby is your work, then you never have to work a day in your life. That is what it has been like for the last 29 years." The company had one-off successes with models such as the Ikon, Figo and EcoSport, but still isn't a mainstream car maker in India in terms of volume and profitability. It is often called a "one-product company" -most of its sales at any given point come from one model, and now it is the EcoSport compact SUV. "The criticism leveled on us is understandable, we know why it is the case," Harris said. "It does change, because of the One Ford plan. I think we will change the perception, with the evidence in the future." CHANGE IN STRATEGY Under the One Ford plan, products manufactured in India are now aligned with global lifecycle and development costs are expected to be shared by units in markets to where the products are exported. That is expected to make per-unit costs lower, as the company will be able to utilize capacity better. The Ikon or Figo were developed specially for India, which meant costs were high and volumes weren't enough to recover the cost. The company is investing $1 billion in its new Sanand plant in Gujarat and will be rolling out at least three to four cars in the next couple of years. After hitting the sweet spot with the EcoSport, there is an entry level sedan lined up for launch, as well as a small car that is likely to replace the Figo hatchback and an all -new Endeavour SUV. Other likely models include a competitor on the B562 platform to Honda Cars India's City mid-size sedan and a seven-seat multipurpose vehicle.

Despite the EcoSport posting high volumes, Ford India is losing money. Its loss swelled more than 40% to ` . 597 crore in fiscal 2014, with accumulated losses totaling. 2,360 crore. Higher exports will likely help ` cut losses this year. "You have to be profitable, that is why you are in business," Harris said.

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Massachusetts based Dunkin's Donuts Introduces Chickpea, Saffron, and Chili to their menu

The globalized world may not be flat, but it is round. And also frosted. And also, it must be said, delicious. In 2012, Dunkin' Donuts—that quintessentially American purveyor of that quintessentially American thing, larded sugar-dough—launched in India. The 34 stores that are now spread across the country sell many products that will be familiar to American consumers: coffee, bagels, sandwiches, and, yep, doughnuts. They also sell items that were formulated specifically for Indian consumers: veggie burgers, lychee coolattas, and spicy sandwiches. The menu deviates so far from U.S. stores' traditional breakfast-y fare that, in India, the chain brands itself as "Dunkin' Donuts and More." The doughnuts themselves also come in country-specific flavors. And to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in India, Dunkin' Donuts just launched several new flavors of the breakfast item-that-is-actually-a-dessert. Among them: a Kesar Badam (saffron-inflected almond milk) doughnut, topped with saffron cream, blanched almonds, and crushed pistachios; a milk cake doughnut filled with rice pudding; a Soan Papdi (flaky pastry) doughnut coated with chickpea flour; and a white chocolate doughnut topped with guava and chili. Pedro D’Mello, head of the food division for Dunkin’ Donuts India, told The Wall Street Journal that it took him and his team three months to formulate the new doughnuts. (He also considered other flavors, including cardamom and beetle nut extract.) The ones that have made their way into the stores of "Dunkin Donuts and More" are sweet little encapsulations of the globalized world: an American product with a distinctly Indian flavor. As the Dunkin' Donuts patron Ravi Sharma told the Journal of the Diwali doughnuts: "I think it’s a great idea. Who had ever thought that one day high -end doughnut stores would draw inspiration from Indian streets?"

Copyright © 2014 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All Rights Reserved

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Oregon based Columbia Sportswear to open 25 stores in India by April 2015 Outdoor and adventure wear retailer Columbia Sportswear Company will open 25 stores by April 2015 in India against an earlier plan of opening up to 5 stores, as the demand for products has exceeded its expectations. Columbia Sportswear Company, which entered India through a distribution tie-up with Chogori India Retail Ltd, opened its first store on December 24, 2013, and at present has three stores in the country.

"Earlier, we had planned to open 3-5 stores in the first year and depending on the off -take, we would plan further expansion. But, that 3-5 store plan has changed to 25 stores plan. We will have 25 stores by April 15. We will expand very fast in India," Chogori India Retail Ltd Vice President Khyati Bhinde told media. Bhinde did not share investment that the company would make to expand Columbia Sportswear brand in India. Elaborating on the expansion strategy, she said the company plans to open up to 120 point of sales, exclusive store and shop-in-shop store in three years in India. It will open shop-in-shop stores by October next year in select multi-brand departmental stores like Shoppers Stop. Talking about the demand for Columbia's products, Bhinde said: "When we were bringing the brand, we thought outdoor (activities) doesn't exist much in India, people might not know Columbia. But after opening our first store, we came to know that people understand outdoor and also know the brand. We have received very good response for the brand." At present, 90 per cent of products are imported and the rest are manufactured in India. However, Bhinde said that might change in future. "If share of lifestyle products in total sales grows, the company might look at more local manufacturing," she added. Columbia Sportswear, which sells outdoor apparel, footwear and accessories in India, also plans to introduce high -performance outdoor gears in the country.

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Oracle Signs MoU with ICT Academy of Kerala to help students develop IT skills ICT Academy of Kerala (ICTAK) and Oracle have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to implement Oracle Academy's computer science programs across 60 institutes in the state of Kerala over the next two years. As part of this initiative, Oracle Academy software curriculum, hosted technology, traini ng, support and certification resources are expected to be made available to students and faculty. Additionally, 120 faculty members are scheduled to undergo training to help put 6000 students on the pathway to future IT careers. Oracle and ICT Academy of Kerala (ICTAK) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to integrate Oracle Academy curriculum into the educational programs of the state's colleges to inspire the next generation of technology professionals and help prepare them for careers in IT. Under the MoU, Oracle intends to facilitate the delivery of Oracle Academy curriculum to 120 faculty members over the next two years - with these teachers set to reach as many as 6000 students from 60 institutes from Kerala state. Oracle will facilitate a 'train-the-trainer' course to ramp up faculty representatives as instructors for six courses, including Creating Java Programs with Greenfoot, Java Fundamentals, Java Programming, Database Design, Database Programming with SQL, and Programming with PL/SQL. Once trained and certified, this faculty is expected to use the Oracle Academy infrastructure to train other faculty members. Today, more than 2.2 million students in 96 countries benefit from Oracle Academy. In India, Oracle Academy programs supports more than 240,000 students at more than 1300 educational institutions. "Oracle Academy has been dedicated in our mission to extend the reach of computer science education to students across the world, including in India," said Krishna Sistla, Senior Director, Oracle Academy, Oracle Asia Pacific and Japan. "Access to good computer science education is a defining 21st century social issue, and with the help of Oracle Academy's programs, students of Kerala can enhance their knowledge and build relevant industry expertise for job opportunities in the field of Information Technology and other industries that benefits from IT." "The core objective of ICT Academy of Kerala is to improve employability skills amongst students," said Santhosh Kurup, CEO, ICT Academy of Kerala. "Our aim is to prepare students of higher education to face the competitive world by equipping them with high quality course content and skilled teachers. We are excited to work with Oracle in delivering

Oracle Academy curriculum to our students and teachers, and believe this educational foundation will help prepare our students for today's workforce."

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Global hotel chains eye secondary, tertiary markets in India

As international hotel chains look to increase their presence in India, they are going beyond the metros and tapping into booming secondary and tertiary markets. Six months ago, Marriott International Inc. opened its entry level five-star hotel Courtyard at Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh-a city with a population of just over 300,000 residents. Expected business from mining and power companies operating in the mineral and coal-rich state was the reason Marriott went to Bilaspur. Now, the group is looking at other such markets and says that it expects 25-30% of its portfolio to be in secondary and tertiary markets in the next three to five years. Places where Marriott is expanding include Guwahati, Shillong and Katra. "Some of these secondary and tertiary markets represent great opportunity because some of these markets have pent -up demand for international branded hotels; demand not just for rooms, but also in F&B (food an d beverages), especially banqueting," said Rajeev Menon, area vice-president, South Asia, Marriott International. Menon adds that the group has a reasonably strong presence in gateway cities, and would now like to expand the portfolio across secondary and tertiary markets, "because that is growing even faster and that is where the natural growth is". According to a report released by HVS, a hospitality consulting firm, demand for branded/organized hotel rooms has risen at a compounded annual rate of 17.6% in the last five years. Experts say that primary markets like the metros are growing in single digits, while secondary and tertiary markets are seeing double -digit growth. "Industrial clusters such as Neemrana, Vizag, Vijayawada, Baddi, Pantnagar, Manesar, Dahej, Asansol, Tirupur, Rajkot, etc. are emerging as attractive destinations for hotel companies," said Chandni Sahgal, director, D'Essence Hospitality Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd, a hospitality consulting firm. As such, firms are looking to get the first-mover advantage by expanding into these markets, she said. "Also, property developers in these markets are aggressively seeking to tie up with international brands; it is a matter of pride for them," added Sahgal. The Wyndham Hotel Group was an early mover in Neemrana, in Rajasthan, where it opened its Days Inn midscale hotel three years ago. The high demand prompted the company to open a Ramada hotel there last year. It also has a Days Inn hotel at Panipat in Haryana. Deepika Arora, regional vice-president, Indian Ocean, EMEAI, for Wyndham, says expanding to secondary and tertiary markets makes perfect business sense. "We have a portfolio of brands that fits well in these markets to cater to the economy and midscale segments," said Arora, adding that these markets are buzzing with a lot of industrial growth, which leads to a lot of corporate and banqueting opportunities. Explaining the attractiveness of a market like Neemrana, Arora says the region has a special industrial zone dedicated to Japanese companies and another one is in the works. "...being international companies, they look for international hotel brands," says Arora. Almost 65% of Wyndham's upcoming properties are in the secondary and tertiary markets, she added. Some of the other cities where Wyndham's brands are present or are under development include Jalandhar, Jamshedpur and Dharmapuri. Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants International, which runs hotels under the Premier Inn brand is also eyeing these markets. The company, which will have seven active properties in India by 2017, is now also looking to penetrate deeper into the Indian market and is actively engaged in talks to open properties in secondary and tertiary markets, according to David Vely, senior vice-president, development, Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Whitbread. While these markets are attractive, they have their own set of challenges as well.

"Finding the right partner is a big challenge," said Sahgal. Also, availability of good quality supplies and connectivity are major issues, she said, adding finding skilled manpower is yet another challenge. "Career-oriented professionals might not want to work in a tertiary market property." But others say the risk for global companies using the management contract model, where they do not invest in the property but sign a contract to manage it, is relatively low. "Management companies don't have anything to lose. It is the private entrepreneur who bears the risk of investing in the property and they want these international brand names to go with them so that they can raise loans easily," said Narendra Verma, principal consultant, Hospitality Consultants India Pvt. Ltd. Verma said these places will grow, but it will not happen quickly; the hotel companies know this, but unfortun ately the property owners might panic as they look for a quick turnaround, he added. Copyright © 2014 HT Media All Rights Reserved

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In the News:

'Infra sector to be main focus area for Indo-US commerce ties'

Mr. Arun M Kumar, Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service and Assistant Secretary for Global Markets, U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration

A lot of "good ground work" has been covered, post Obama-Modi meet in the US, and now is the execution time, with infrastructure going to be the focus of the Indo-US commerce ties, a top official has said. "In the joint statement, one of the big focus areas is infrastructure sector," Arun M Kumar, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service in the US Commerce Department's International Trade Administration, said. He was referring to the India-US joint statement issued after the September 30 meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama. There is an "enthusiastic" response from the US companies, he noted. Appreciative of the steps being taken by the new Indian government in "improving" the business climate in the country, he said, there were a lot of areas where improvement are required. Land acquisition is one of them, he said. "We have seen determination (by the new government) to move forward. We definitely want to build the momentum of our interaction with the new Indian Government in the last few months," he said. The September visit of Modi to the US and his meeting with Obama at the White House, he said, was very successful. "We are ready to engage," Kumar said. "We are very excited about the infrastructure collaboration," he added. "I think, we have covered a lot of good ground work. Now it is execution time," he said. American companies have a lot of good technologies and practices to offer in the infrastructure sector, said Kumar who is now headed for his third trip to India, the last one was along with the New Delhi visit of the Secretary of State John Kerry and the Commerce Secretary, Penny Pritzker. He was one of the first few top US officials to visited India after the formation of the Modi Government. The Commerce Department is expected to play a key role in Indo-US ties now that Modi-Obama meeting agreed to take their bilateral business and trade ties to USD 500 billion from the current USD 100 billion. "It is doable and achievable. We have just scratched the surface of our bilateral trade potential," he said in response to a question, adding that this needs a lot of action, simplification of various areas of investment, improvement in ease of doing business.

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U.S. President Barack Obama to be chief guest at Republic Day celebrations

U.S. President Barack Obama will attend India's Republic Day celebrations in January as chief guest, a sign of steadily expanding ties between two countries that share concerns about China's growing power in Asia. Obama was invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will be the first U.S. president to attend a Republic Day celebration, the White House said on Friday. Diplomats said Obama, who visited India in 2010, would also be the first U.S. president to visit the country twice while in office. India's relations with Washington have flourished in the past decade, although they have also had tussles over trade and other issues. The two countries are developing a strategic partnership prompted by shared concerns about China's increasingly assertive territorial claims in the Asia-Pacific region. Modi met Obama on a visit to the United States in September and they have spoken by telephone since. Their relationship is thought to have helped resolve a major trade spat in the World Trade Organization. Modi used a Twitter message to announce Obama as the chief guest on Re public Day, which marks the enactment of India's constitution on Jan. 26, 1950. Dhruva Jaishankar, a South Asia specialist at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said the invitation to Obama was a sign of "a radically altering political calculus" in New Delhi, where previous leaders traditionally sought to keep some distance from Washington. "This visit will also mark a real turnaround over eight or nine months ago, when questions were still being asked about Modi’s willingness to cooperate with the United States, given his history of having been denied a visa," Jaishankar said. Modi was denied entry into the United States from 2005 until he was elected prime minister in May, after allegations he did too little to stop religious riots that killed at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, in his home state of Gujarat. Modi denied any wrongdoing. India traditionally invites a head of state to participate as chief guest for Republic Day celebrations, which culminates in a military parade including its nuclear capable missiles. Much of the hardware dates back to the Soviet era, when India had close ties with Moscow, while more recent defense purchases include billions of dollars of U.S. -made equipment. Last year's chief guest was Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has taken a tough line with China over its territorial claims.

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Chuck Hagel understood India's value, opened US military for Sikhs

Fi le photo: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who quit amid differences with President Barack Obama, understood the strategic importance of India and opened up the US military a little bit more for the Sikhs. Hagel, 68, who has b een asked by President Obama to remain in office till Senate confirms his replacement, is likely to talk to his new Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parikar.

During his 21 months in office, Hagel opened up the US military for the Sikhs, a long pending demand of Indian- Americans that Sikhs be allowed in the force with their religious symbols intact. In an order issued this year, he permitted Sikhs to j oin armed services on a case by case basis, with their religious symbols intact as long as they do not inte rfere in their work. Sikh leaders have termed it as a step in the right direction. The Pentagon, in a fact sheet, listed "Deepening the Strategic Relationship with India" as Hagel's key achievement. "Understanding the importance of a rising and democratic India to the future security and prosperity of Asia and South Asia, encouraged deeper strategic and defense cooperation, including through the Defense Trade and Technology Initiative and expanded mil-mil cooperation," the fact sheet said. According to Hagel's aides, he understood the significance of India and the US-India military-to-military relationship in the emerging new geo-political landscape in the Asia Pacific region. This was one of the reasons why he visited India in the first 100 days of the new Indian Government and set pace of strengthened military and defense ties with India. Hagel also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the latter met Obama at the White House in September. While he might have been on the same page with India's former Defense Minister A K Antony, Hagel appeared to be quite comfortable and enthusiastic working with the Modi Government. He was quick to appoint Frank Kendall as the Pentagon's point person for the India-US Defense Technology and Trade Initiative and broke protocols by personally attending the Defense Policy Group meeting that took place here last month. However, when Hagel was nominated the US Defense Secretary, a video surfaced in which he was seen making anti -India remarks and one in favor of Pakistan. But towards the end of his tenure, he did not meet Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif during his trip to the US this month, even though the latter extended his trip for a few days, in hope of meeting with him. As America's 24th Defense Secretary, he is the first Defense Secretary in nearly two decades to be confronted with the reality of shrinking budgets and a growing demand for US military support around the world. Hagel is said to have resigned amid reports of differences with Obama who is apparently seeking to install a new leadership at the Pentagon as he enters the last two years of his presidency facing new global challenges like the rise of IS. Photo credit: NBCNews.com

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India and United States Joint Statement on the Trade Policy Forum

India and the US, in a meeting co-chaired by trade minister Nirmala Sitharaman (right) and US Trade Representative Michael Froman ,

laid out a one-year work programme to improve trade ties. Photo: PTI Minister of Commerce and Industry of India Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Mr. Michael Froman met in New Delhi on November 25, 2014 for the eighth mini sterial-level meeting of the India-United

States Trade Policy Forum (TPF). The two governments signaled their readiness to enhance bilateral trade and investment ties in a manner that promotes economic growth and job creation in both India and the United States. Work Sessions Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman discussed and exchanged views on a range of trade and investment issues, in particular, (i) Agriculture, (ii) Services, (iii) Promoting Investment in Manufacturing, and (iv) Intellectual Prop erty. The co-chairs of the respective Work Sessions briefed Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman on the outcomes of their discussions and presented agreed upon work plans for continued engagement in these areas in 2015. Both countries noted the importance attached to the Trade Policy Forum by Prime Minister Modi and President Obama to further stimulate bilateral trade and investment. Agriculture Both countries recognized the important role of agricultural and food trade in feeding their populations, providing consumer choice and supporting the livelihood of their farmers. India and the United States agreed to establish a new technical dialogue that will promote cooperation on plant health, animal health, and food safety issues in a manner that facilitates the movement of agricultural goods between the two countries. They agreed to work towards facilitating agricultural trade between the two countries by engaging with each other closely with the intent of establishing science - and risk-based regulations and procedures that conform to international standards and guidelines set by CODEX Alimentarius, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), to the extent possible. Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman also acknowledged the benefits that could accrue to Indian and U.S. farmers and agri-businesses from these engagements. Both countries noted each other’s' requests and agreed to follow up on exploring the possibility of enhanced market access on identified agricultural products. They also noted the potential reconciliation of the definition of wholesale pack between Departments, forthcoming rules to allow stickering of maximum retail price at the port, and timely implementation efforts concerning these issues. Services and Investment Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman highlighted the important role of the services sector in India and the United States, and the significant potential for increasing bilateral services trade and investment. To advance this goal, India and the United States agreed to increase engagement on services and investment issues. The United States took note of India's interest in engaging on social security totalization, and agreed to review any information provided by India about developments in its social security regime. They decided to continue their engagement on visa issues, and the United States took note of India's interest in ensuring easier access for Indian professionals in the United States. Minister Sitharaman highlighted India's efforts to promote foreign participation in key services se ctors, including those of interest to the United States, and urged U.S. investors to take advantage of these opportunities. Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman recognized the benefits that can accrue from services liberalization in the information an d communications technology sector. Promoting Investment in Manufacturing Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman discussed efforts that each country is undertaking to promote a business friendly environment for attracting investment in manufacturing, moving forward on a commitment made by Prime Minister Modi and President Obama in September 2014 to address this issue that is critical to each other’s' economy. Affirming their shared goal of using trade and investment as a vehicle for stimulating economic growth and job creation, Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman agreed to deepen bilateral engagement aimed at promoting bilateral investment across sectors. Both countries stressed the importance of providing a transparent and predictable policy environment to help attract investments in manufacturing. In this regard, Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman agreed to exchange information on stakeholder participation in the framing of trade and investment policies and procedures, and to discuss best practices. Further, they highlighted their efforts to increase supply chain connectivity and

implement "single window" clearance systems that will benefit all manufacturing activities in both countries. Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman also agreed to exchange information on international standards and systems of acceptance of conformity assessment procedures with specific focus on understanding each government’s procedures for testing, packaging, and labeling requirements. Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman discussed the "Make in India" campaign launched by Prime Minister Modi to promote India as a manufacturing destination, highlighting the pro-investment domestic reforms envisioned to facilitate the ease of doing business and create a climate that will attract investment. Intellectual Property and related issues Recognizing the shared interest of our creative industries, India and the United States agreed to deepen cooperation to build capacity and generate awareness in the field of copyright. Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman also acknowledged the paramount goal of ensuring the poorest populations in India and the United States have access to quality healthcare and committed to identifying ways in which trade and innovation policies can enhance access to quality health and affordable medicines. India highlighted the benefits of traditional Indian medicine in view of its potential to enhance access to affordable healthcare; and the importance of traditional knowledge in contributing to cultural, economic, and social development. The United States agreed to facilitate further engagement in this field between the experts of both countries. Minister Sitharaman highlighted India's work on a new intellectual property rights (IPR) policy which would stimulate innovation across sectors in the country. The United States agreed to share information on this subject to support India's on-going efforts. Both countries recognize the importance of providing a transparent and predictable poli cy environment for fostering innovation. India and the United States recognize the importance of trade secrets protection to attracting investment and agree to exchange information on best legal practices in this area. World Trade Organization Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman expressed satisfaction at the recent understanding between India and the United States on the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes and the Trade Facilitation Agreement as a follow-up to the discussions between Prime Minister Modi and President Obama. They committed to working with other WTO Members to ensure that the WTO General Council takes this understanding forward towards a satisfactory outcome. Private Sector Advisory Group Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman encouraged the continued work of the United States-India Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG), which had been created under the TPF to provide strategic advice. Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman expect that the work of TPF will benefit from the depth, breadth, and diversity of expertise of the PSAG in trade and international affairs in advance of the 2015 TPF meeting to be held in Washington, DC. In conclusion, Minister Sitharaman and Ambassador Froman expressed satisfaction with the discussions held during the eighth round of the TPF and reiterated their mutual commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in trade and investment. Ambassador Froman thanked Minister Sitharaman for hosting the eighth round of the TPF in New Delhi. They agreed to convene the ninth round of the TPF in the United States in 2015.

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Ex-Im Bank Chairman Hochberg Visits India to Promote Made-in-America Exports

Fred P. Hochberg, Chairman & Pres ident of the Export-Import Bank

Washington, D.C. – Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im Bank) Chairman Fred P. Hochberg is visiting India this week to promote made-in-America exports in support of U.S. jobs. "The U.S. and India share complementary aspirations when it comes to our economic future," said Chairman Hochberg. "When quality American goods and services are deployed to buyers in India, their nation benefits from increased capacity and a reliable foundation for long-term economic growth—and the U.S. benefits by creating new jobs back home." Today, Chairman Hochberg delivered comments at a roundtable hosted by the U.S. -India Business Council, where he discussed energy growth, especially when it comes to the renewable energy sector, and infrastructure expansion in India and what role U.S. companies can play in both. He also addressed similar subjects at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry later in the day. In addition, Chairman Hochberg held a lunch with Indian businesswomen, to learn more about the challenges and opportunities they have in starting and growing a business in the country. Throughout his trip, Chairman Hochberg has also taken the opportunity to highlight how Ex-Im Bank's financing tools have enabled American businesses both large and small to export their products to India. Some examples include: Polyguard, of Ennis, Texas, employs 120 people and manufactures corrosion-preventing and waterproof linings for industrial processes and pipelines. The company utilizes Ex -Im trade credit insurance and is exporting to 34 countries. Since making use of Ex-Im insurance, the company's export sales have increased by more than 230 percent. Preferred Popcorn of Chapman, Nebraska is a small-business vendor that exports popcorn, concessions supplies, and coconut oil to India and other international markets. Started in 1998, the company currently employs 40 people in Nebraska, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky. Since its founding, the company has relied upon Ex -Im Bank products and now fills orders in 60 countries around the globe. As a consistent policy holder of Ex -Im Bank export credit insurance, Preferred Popcorn has watched its sales mount to $43 million, 50 percent of which are export-related. Moreover, Ex-Im Bank support has translated into approximately 25 new jobs. Tomorrow, Chairman Hochberg will attend and give keynote remarks at the India-U.S. Technology Summit. The Summit will be an opportunity for businesses, research institutions and government agencies from both countries to exchange ideas and forge new partnerships to increase trade and investment in the knowledge sector. Chairman Hochberg's remarks will focus on the mutual benefits that can be realized by choosing quality U.S. goods and American innovation. ABOUT EX-IM BANK: Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that supports and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital

guarantees and export credit insurance, to promote the sale of U.S. goods and services abroad. Ninety percent of its transactions directly serve American small businesses. In fiscal year 2014, Ex-Im Bank approved $20.5 billion in total authorizations. These authorizations supported an estimated $27.5 billion in U.S. export sales, as well as approximately 164,000 American jobs in communities across the country. Small business exporters can learn about how Ex-Im Bank products can empower them to increase foreign sales by clicking here. For more information about Ex-Im, visit www.exim.gov.

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Wonderful moment in Indo-US ties: US Senator

Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine, United States Senator from Virginia

Asserting that it is a "wonderful moment" for Indo-US ties, an influential American Senator has said that currently the opportunities for bilateral cooperation between the two countries are significant. "This India -America moment is a wonderful one. The opportunities for cooperation are significant," Senator Tim Kaine, who was recently in India, said at the annual Washington gala of American India Foundation (AIF) last week, attended by who's who of the community from the US Capital and its neighborhood. "We came back with such a powerful feeling that this India is," Kaine said at the event, where he was felicitated along with the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Nisha Biswal, for their inspiring leadership and philanthropic commitment to support AIF's mission to help disadvantaged Indians. Kaine is the current Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on the Near East, South and Central Asian Affairs, overseeing American foreign policy in this critical region, from Morocco to Bangladesh. Praising the role of Indian-Americans in nation building and improving bilateral ties between the two countries, Kaine said the talent pool of the Indian-American community is so strong and so diverse that if one is just putting together a team on the aristocracy of merit, this community will be at the forefront. "That is an aspect of life in this country that makes the Indian-American moment in the relationship between our nations so fruitful right now," Kaine said at the AIF gala. In all USD 300,000 were raised from the sponsors, donations and from this year's gala pledge drive and silent auction. Biswal said Indian-Americans have a key role to play in the bilateral India-US relationship. "As the Indian Prime Minister talks about his agenda for transforming India and his vision for the US-India partnership to be a part of that transformation, the Indian-American community has a very important role to play," Biswal said. "Transformation is not just 'G to G' (government to government), it's not about PPPs, (public-private- partnerships). Those are very important equations - but it is fundamentally also about 'people to people' ties," she said. "The US-India relationship is not going to reach its full potential until the full potential of our 'people to people' ties is reached," Bi swal said.

"As we look around the world, we recognize that there is no partner that the US has, that deeply respects our values, our views, our perspectives than the nation of India. “The President saw that coming and declared the US -India relationship to be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century," Biswal added.

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Enrolment of Indian students in US up by 28%: Report The gender balance of Indian students is skewered, two-thirds being male and only one-third being female.

The total number of Indian students studying in the US shot up 28% to 1,34,292 students, comprising the second largest foreign student body in America after China, according to a new report published on Thursday by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security. Startling majorities - 65% - were studying engineering, computer science, and information technology and support services, and together with students in other STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) f ields made up 79% of all India students in America. As a result, though Indians only make up 12% of the foreign student population in the US, they constitute 26% of all foreign STEM students. Business, biology, and medicine were the next most popular field s of study, with the social sciences, humanities and liberal arts, and visual and performing arts the least popular fields. The gender balance of Indian students is similarly skewered, two-thirds being male and only one-third being female. In total, there are 89,561 Indian male students and only 44,731 Indian female students. A major reason for the rapid growth in students is economic, according to Naveen Chopra, chairman of The Chopra’s, an educational consulting group based in Delhi. "The US economy is growing now, and unemployment has fallen from 10% to 6%," Chopra said, adding that "Indian students believe the US has the best opportunities for work." This increase reflects a greater trend for both Indian undergraduate and graduate students studying in the US. The total number of Indian graduate students enrolled there has jumped 26% to 54,245 students, according to a new report released by the American Council of Graduate Schools. This was the second consecutive year of double digit growth, building upon a 14% increase last year, and a sharp reversal in trend from years past when Indian graduate school enrollment was actually decreasing. This was also by far the largest increase among Asian countries in the Council of Graduate Schools survey, compensati ng for sagging graduate enrollment rates in countries such as China, with a mere 3% increase, and Korea, with a 6% decrease. Only Brazil, which sends less than one-twentieth the number of students India does to the US, saw higher growth at 32%.

The number of Indian students in Australia and New Zealand are also increasing. Australia, which registered a huge dip in Indian student enrollment after a series of racially motivated attacks on Indian students in 2009, has recovered in recent years with total student visa applications from India more than doubling from 2012 to 2013. However, Indian enrollment in the United Kingdom has been plummeting, dropping 44% from 2010-11 to 2012-13, says the Higher Education Funding Council for England, going from 18,535 to 10,235 students during that time period. This was mainly because of changes in visa regulations, said Chopra. "The UK curtailed their two-year, post-study work visa in 2012, which used to let students stay in the UK to find employment after graduation," he pointed out. "As a result, the middle class market collapsed. But you still find many upper class students going to the UK." Scholarships may also be a factor. "The US is way ahead of the UK and Australia in scholarships, which allows hardworking middle class Indian students to go to the US," Chopra said. A National Union of Students survey found earlier this year that nearly 63% of Indian PhD students in the UK felt the UK government was "not welcoming" or "not welcoming at all". This precarious drop has sent the UK scrambling to repair its tattered image. UK universities and sciences minister Nick Clark recently visited India for three days to strengthen educational ties between the UK and India and to address "misconceptions" that Indian students might have about the difficulty of obtaining visas to the UK. During his stay he also announced a new five-year initiative to send 25,000 students from the UK to India.

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India Signs Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with United States of America (USA) on Setting-Up Infrastructure Collaboration Platform

Boost for ties Arun M Kumar (right), Assistant Secretary and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service, and Dinesh

Sharma, Additional Secretary, External Affairs, signing an MoU in New Delhi.

Image source: PTI

In a follow-up of the Joint Statement of Prime Minister of India and President of United States of America in September, 2014, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed here today between Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India and Department of Commerce, Uni ted States of America (USA) on establishing Infrastructure Collaboration Platform. This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishes a United States-India Infrastructure Collaboration Platform, under which both the Governments intend to coordinate and cooperate with the goal of facilitating U.S. industry participation in Indian infrastructure projects to improve the bilateral commercial relationship and benefit both the Participants' economies. Shri. Dinesh Sharma, Additional Secretary, DEA signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of India while Shri. Arun M. Kumar, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets, Department of Commerce signed it on behalf of United States of America respectively.

Representatives of Indian Infrastructure Ministries such as Urban Development, Commerce and Industry, Railways, Road Transport and Highways, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Information and Broadcasting, Communications & Information Technology, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, were also present during the meeting, along with representative of Ministry of External Affairs.

Press Information Bureau

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Narendra Modi has turned India into a magnet: McKinsey CEO Dominic Barton

Dominic Barton, the CEO of the world's largest whiteshoe consulting firm, McKinsey, says that India is back on the priority list of CEOs after Narendra Modi's ascension to power. "People had given up on India. They felt India is too complicated and it was difficult to get anything done. It had dropped in the last five years on people's priority (list). I think it has gone right back up, people are interested, obviously people are going to want to see action but I think the feeling is they will, because this government seems serious," says Barton. On his part, the McKinsey CEO is again advising his clients to bet big on India. "I was not (advising clients to co me to India) two years ago because it was complicated... and companies and clients were deeply frustrated with the bureaucracy, no decisions getting made. Companies were saying... let us go to Africa, let us go to Nigeria, let us go to Indonesia, let us ju st go to the US, but that has changed. I think because if you look at the trends that are going on in the world, India is right in the centre," says Barton. "Agriculture and food is going to be one of the biggest businesses in the world right here (along with) the healthcare boom, education boom, advanced analytics," adds Barton. PM Narendra Modi's high profile, the outcome of addresses at New York's Madison Square Garden and Sydney's Allphones Arena has helped advance India's cause in global boardrooms. "I hear people say he seems very determined... We know it is unbelievably complicated but he is going to get it done. I see it in pharmaceuticals, industrial companies and the pension funds. The pension funds are interested and that is a big opportunity and so we are interested in getting more investment here too," says Barton. With the world economy on a wobbly footing again - Japan receding into recession, a stalled Europe and China slowing down - India could find itself in a sweet spot providing stabili ty and balance to the world economy. "I think the people around the world look at this and say we need growth from India. It is also a bit of desperation for the world, 40% of the world's growth just last year came from China. We need more balance and Ind ia is the place that could do it. So if India unleashes, it is going to help not only India but the world," says Barton. Besides, Barton is optimistic about the US, where he says the economy is recovering in spite of the government, and about China. The world's second-largest economy has plenty of headroom to grow, given that its urbanization rate has just crossed the 50% mark.

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Third Meeting of Indo-US Science & Technology held The 3rd Science and Technology Joint Commission meeting between India and USA was held on November 17, 2014 in New Delhi. The JCM was co-Chaired by Shri YS Chowdary Minister of State for Science & Technology, Government of India and Dr. John Holdren, Director, White House Office of Science & Technology Policy and the Science Adviser to the U.S. President. Both sides recognized the value of the science and technology cooperation in being one of the pillars and integral component of overall bilateral relationship. Shri. Chowdary highlighted the importance which the present government underlines to the promotion and support to science with a human face which will underpin the development of technology requi red to support the knowledge economy of this century. Four Working Groups on Basic and Applied Sciences; Health and Medical Sciences; Earth, Environment and Climate Sciences; and Emerging Materials and Advanced Manufacturing had very fruitful discussions in not only evaluating the progress but also identifying new areas of future cooperation. Both sides have agreed to establish a new Working Group on plant biotechnology and agricultural research which is vital for addressing food security in context to food -water-climate nexus. A very crucial area of Global Health Security has been jointly addressed for cooperation towards emergency preparedness and response; anti-microbial resistance; emerging infections like Ebola. Similarly the aspects of environmental health have been also covered especially with respect to water, air pollution, sanitation and hygiene. India and USA also agreed to take forward collaboration in ground water studies, monsoon modeling, tropical cyclones and severe weather systems. The future areas of collaboration in marine services, deep dri lling in the ocean, satellite observation and assimilation and wave modeling were jointly identified. It was agreed that the Department of Science & Technology and U.S. NSF will strengthen cooperation in the area of women in science, particularly in networking and mentoring. Dr. John Holdren emphasized the need to use and apply science to address some of the impending challenges which India and USA needs to meet for its food, water and energy security. It was decided that through cooperation innovative solutions can be developed which are affordable and meets not only bilateral needs but would be of larger global good.

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Obama opens US borders to more talent from India

US President Barack Obama's immigration reform push late on Thursday seeks to significantly liberalize the visa regime for students, professionals and budding entrepreneurs, as the US tries to stop those with high potential and specialized skills from leaving its shores. Once the reforms are implemented, the US government expects 400,000 highly-skilled workers to be eligible for visas. "Are we a nation that educates the world's best and brightest in our universities, only to send them home to create businesses in countries that compete against us, or are we a nation that encourages them to stay and create jobs here, create businesses here, create industries right here in America? That's what this debate is all about," Obama said in his power-packed address. Students pursuing courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programmes in US universities can look forward to a prolonged stay, compared to the 29 months they are currently entitled to under the option al practical training (OPT) programme, till they secure work visas. Also, the OPT programme will be expanded to cover more courses. Typically, the programme is for 12 months, extendable by 17 months for students pursuing STEM courses. The duration of the extended stay hasn't been specified yet. According to estimates, there are about 200,000 Indian students under the OPT programme as of now. To fuel the US's entrepreneurial spirit, Obama also sought key administrative reforms, which would better utilise a provision that allowed a non-citizen with an advanced degree or an exceptional ability to seek US citizenship or a green card without an employer's sponsorship. In case 'inventors, researchers, and founders of start-ups' who might not qualify for the provision but have been awarded substantial US investor financing or hold the promise of innovation and job creation, they will be offered 'parole', which will allow them to temporarily pursue research and development in the US, rather than abroad.

Indian-American Vivek Wadhwa, a technology entrepreneur, academic and fellow at Stanford Law University, who has been campaigning for an easier immigration regime for entrepreneurs, was quoted as saying 44 per cent of all founders in Silicon Valley were of Indian origin. In a statement, India's information technology lobby body, Nasscom, said it believed "these measures will help attract and retain talent in the US by addressing some of the operational and social issues, alleviating skills shortages to some extent". It, however, sought more clarity on some of the key announcements. The reforms are silent on the long-pending demand of industry to increase the quota of H-1B visas, used by Indian software companies to send workers to their centers in the US. However, there could be some clarity on the L-1 category of visas, used to send professionals with highly specialized skills. A few years ago, industry had been reporting a rejection rate of 40-50 per cent for L-1 visas. Ron Hira, associate professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology, said the direction from Obama would likely include an expansive definition of "specialized knowledge", which would provide cheer to outsourcers, as they were the largest beneficiaries of the L-1 category. In his speech, Obama also recognized the fact that the process for giving green cards (US citizenship) needed a significant overhaul. According to industry estimates, securing permanent US citizenship might take between 11 and 72 years, forcing many to return to their countries after their work visas expired. Directions have been given to hasten the processing of green cards for skilled individuals, apart from allowing seekers to change employers while they wait for approval. Also, spouses of individuals with lawful permanent resident status or the permission to seek green cards can find work during their stay in the US. "All these are very positive measures, but we are yet to see the nuts and the bolts to understand the actual impact on India and Indians in the US," said Poorvi Chothani, Executive Council Member, IACC; immigration attorney and managing partner of LawQuest, an immigration law firm in Mumbai. In a letter to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), Jeh Charles John, secretary of homeland security, US, said, "I direct the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and USCIS develop regulations for notice and comment to expand the degree programmes eligible for OPT and extend the time period and use of OPT for foreign STEM students and graduates, consistent with law." To secure a work visa in the US, students have to find an employer who can sponsor it. However, often, even when students have a sponsor, they do not get work visas due to limited quotas, etc. WHAT DO WE GET?

Students pursuing STEM courses in US universities to get extended stay after completing their courses

Clarity on L-1 visas, largely used by Indian software companies to send workers with specialized skills to the US

Directions have been given to hasten processing of green cards for skilled individuals & allowing change of employer while waiting for approval

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Community leaders hail Verma's nomination as India's US envoy

The nomination of Richard Rahul Verma as the US Ambassador to India is a "crowning moment" for Indian-Americans, members of whose have been appointed in record numbers by President Barack Obama, according to eminent leaders from the community. Verma, if confirmed by the Senate would be the f irst-ever Indian-American to be the US Ambassador to India. "It is a crowning moment for us (Indian-Americans). Not only has the president appointed many Indian-Americans here, but he has found someone worthy of representing the country in India. I would v iew this as a crowning moment," Silicon Valley-based M R Rangaswami, a successful entrepreneur, community builder and philanthropist, said. "He has a strong relationship across the United States Government. He is equally popular among both the Democrats and Republicans. He has a deep understanding of India and India US relationship," said, Swadesh Chatterjee, who played a key role in the civil-nuclear deal. Indian-American Republican from Texas, Ashok Mago said, "It is exciting to see that finally an American of Indian origin with great credentials have been nominated to represent USA to one of the most important nation". "We all have great hopes for Rich (Verma) to take relations between to great nations to new heights. He has opened door for other Americans of Indian-origin to be considered as US ambassadors to India," he said. The United States Senate has not yet announced the date for confirmation hearing for Verma. Neera Tandon, President of Center for American Progress? a top US think-tank said, "I have always known him to be a brilliant thinker, very strategic, very sharp, very quick, and just incredibly capable." Copyright © Press Trust of India 2014, All Rights Reserved

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Calendar of IACC Events for 2014

Event Sector Description Date Venue Contact

Interactive session

with Deputy Secretary, Office of International

Business Development, DCED, Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania, USA Mr. Wilfred Muskens

International

Trade Development

Interactive meeting organized

for IACC members to explore opportunities in the State of Pennsylvania

Tuesday, December 02, 2014 Mumbai Ms. Trishla Dosi

trishla@iaccindia.com

Delegation on Ports and

Infrastructure

Infrastructure - Logistics

The delegation will be led by Ed Emmett, the top elected official

of Harris County and an internationally renowned authority on transportation and

logistics. The delegation is accompanied by Tom Kornegay, who was the longest serving Executive Director of the Port of

Houston Authority. The delegation will also include Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis and IACCGH President and

Executive Director.

Thursday, December 04, 2014 Mumbai Ms. Trishla Dosi trishla@iaccindia.c

om

Direct tax and transfer pricing controversies -

recent developments, impact’

Finance, Taxation and Corporate

Affairs

Keeping in mind the recent controversies and updates in the field of tax and its critical

role in decision-making, this session will include key tax controversies arising in the field of corporate tax and regulatory,

new initiatives introduced by government impacting tax payers, transfer pricing

controversies, and recent judicial precedents affecting tax payers entering into transactions with their affi l iates.

In l ight of the same we have framed the session. BMR is a professional services

organization offering a range of Tax, Risk and M&A advisory for businesses of all sizes, at the local, national and international

levels.

Friday, December 05, 2014 | 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Pune, Navalmaal Firodia Hall no.

05, MCCIA, ICC Trade Towers, Senapati Bapat Road

Ms. Devyani Salunkhe devyani@iaccindia

.com

Forthcoming Events

Program on Profit Maximization Techniques

(Profimax)

Finance, Taxation and Corporate Affairs

This program has been organized for getting more information about Profimax, which will be of benefit for our

members.

Friday, December 05, 2014 | 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Cochin, Panampilly Nagar, The Center Hotel

(Avenue Center)

Ms. Sujatha Sunil sujathasunil@iaccindia.com

Lecture by CIAS

Fellow Richard Rossow on “U.S. - India Economic Ties: The Next Ten

Years”

International

Trade Development

Twenty years ago we had very

l ittle trade. Ten years back IT services began to hit its stride and became one of the most crucial pil lars for economic

cooperation. Today we are on the cusp of US LNG exports to India and, hopefully, a

manufacturing revolution in India to compete with China. What are the sectors that will l ikely dominate bilateral trade

and investment ten years from now?

Friday, December 5, 2014 |

9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Bangalore,

Hotel Citrus

Ms. Swati

Srivastava swati@iaccindia.com

Creating Value for the Customers

General Programme will focus on Creating Value for the

Customers, Total Customer Value Management Transforming Business Thinking

Saturday, December 6, 2014 | 9:30 a.m.

Kolkata, Palladian

Lounge BCC&I

Ms. Madhusree Daityari

eic@iaccindia.com

Interactive session with Deputy Secretary, Office

of International Business Development, DCED,

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, USA Mr. Wilfred

Muskens

International Trade Development

Interactive meeting organized for IACC members to explore Business opportunities in the

State of Pennsylvania, USA.

Saturday, December 6, 2014 IACC, Conference Hall

Ms. Krishna Israni krishna@iaccindia.com

Indo-US Infrastructure Summit

Infrastructure The Summit will focus on emerging opportunities in India in key sectors of Highways, Ports and Railways. The Hon'ble

Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Mr. Nitin Jairam Gadkari will grace

the occasion as Chief Guest and deliver the Inaugural Address.

Monday, December 08, 2014 New Delhi, India Habitat Centre

Ms. Sonia Khatter sonia.iacc@gmail.com

Interactive session with Deputy Secretary, Office of International

Business Development, DCED,

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, USA Mr. Wilfred Muskens

International Trade Development

Interactive meeting organized for IACC members to explore opportunities in the State of Pennsylvania

Monday, December 8, 2014 | 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Bangalore Ms. Swati Srivastava swati@iaccindia.com

U.S.- India

Bilateral Investment Treaty- Potential Commercial

Impact

International

Trade Development

The speaker for the event is Mr

Richard M Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in U.S. India Policy Studies, The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

with abundance experience and knowledge. IACC will host breakfast before the interactive

session with Mr Richard M Rossow.

Monday, December 8, 2014 |

8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Hyderabad,

Hotel Marigold by Greenpark (Ebony Hall) 7-1-25, Green

Lands, Begumpet

Mr. Sriram Bhaskar

sriram@iaccindia.com

B2B Meetings with U. S. Department

of Commerce’s second Franchising Trade Mission

International Trade

Development

Trade mission is here to identify potential partners, potential

master franchisees/licensees, and area developers in India. Limited one-on-one business appointments with the visiting

delegation.

Monday, December 08, 2014 Mumbai, American

Consulate - Bandra Kurla Complex

Ms. Archana Kolte archana.kolte@iac

cindia.com

Seminar on "Business Responsibility and

CSR"

Corporate Social Responsibil ity

The IICA-GIZ Business Responsibil ity Initiative Phase-II, is a bilateral cooperation

project between the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale

Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The seminar will focus on the phases of the project and on

Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the CSR Rules.

Tuesday, December 09, 2014 Mumbai Ms. Sneha Shimpi sneha@iaccindia.com

Interactive session

with Deputy Secretary, Office of International

Business Development, DCED, Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania, USA Mr. Wilfred Muskens

International

Trade Development

Interactive meeting organized

for IACC members to explore opportunities in the State of Pennsylvania

Tuesday, December 09, 2014

| 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Pune, Finolex

Board Room-B Wing, 5th Floor, MCCIA

Trade Tower, S. L. Kirloskar International Convention

Centre Complex, Senapati Bapat

Road

Ms. Devyani

Salunkhe devyani@iaccindia.com

Emerging Frauds and recent developments in FCPA

Legal The objective of this seminar is to discuss the current business environment, impact of changes in the Global and Indian

regulatory landscape with respect to risks, bribery and corruption and how

organizations can navigate risks through a robust anti -fraud risk program.

Friday, December 12, 2014 | 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Bangalore, Ernst & Young, UB City Canberra Block

6th Floor

Ms. Swati Srivastava swati@iaccindia.com

Workshop on

Supply Chain Management & Logistics supported by IACC

Infrastructure

- Logistics & Supply Chain

The highly interactive, two-day

workshop, delivered by the best of academia in India, is fi lled with l ively case studies, interactivity, current real-world

examples, group discussions that foster real-l ife scenarios make this a must attend

workshop for supply chain practitioners and for specialists who just want to revise the fundamentals.

December 15-16, 2014 Mumbai,

Hilton Hotel, International Airport

Ms. Sneha Shimpi

sneha@iaccindia.com

Seminar on Business Valuation

Finance, Taxation and

Corporate Affairs

Provide practical insights into the Business Valuation space

which is a pre-requisite for an intell igent decision maker. Knowing a company’s worth and what determines that value

is imperative before paying the big bucks.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014 Mumbai, Mumbai

Cricket Association Club, Bandra Kurla Complex

Ms. Trishla Dosi trishla@iaccindia.c

om

Managing Currency Risk is Present Scenario

Finance, Taxation and Corporate Affairs

Experts from MCX and eminent Economists will discuss Managing Currency in present Economic Scenario

Friday, December 19, 2014 | 6:15 p.m.

Kolkata, Park Hotel

Ms. Madhusree Daityari eic@iaccindia.com

7th Vibrant

Gujarat Summit 2015

General "Investors' summit" -An ideal

platform for knowledge sharing, social and business transformation

January 8-13, 2015 | 9:30

a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Gandhinagar,

Mahatma Mandir

Ms. Krishna Israni

krishna@iaccindia.com

One Day Conference on

"Indo-US Agribusiness Opportunities" Capture-Converge-

Collaborate

Agriculture The conference will focus on the opportunities in the Indo-US

Agribusiness sector

Friday, May 15, 2015 Mumbai Ms. Trishla Dosi trishla@iaccindia.c

om

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Indo-US Trade Statistics

2014: U.S. trade in goods with India NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding.

Month Exports Imports Balance

Jan-14 1,582.40 3,675.40 -2,093.00

Feb-14 1,366.90 3,043.00 -1,676.10

Mar-14 1,714.20 3,882.20 -2,168.00

Apr-14 1,401.10 4,457.90 -3,056.80

May-14 1,736.80 4,102.30 -2,365.50

Jun-14 1,907.50 3,231.70 -1,324.30

Jul-14 1,855.90 3,918.30 -2,062.40

Aug-14 1,920.1 3,859.7 -1,939.6

Sep-14 1,924.2 4,016.1 -2,092.0

Total 2014 15,409.2 34,186.7 -18,777.5

2013: U.S. trade in goods with India NOTE: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding.

Month Exports Imports Balance

Jan-13 1,726.90 3,179.90 -1,453.00

Feb-13 1,561.10 2,829.00 -1,268.00

Mar-13 1,865.20 3,676.80 -1,811.60

Apr-13 1,656.90 4,069.50 -2,412.60

May-13 1,924.20 4,201.30 -2,277.00

Jun-13 2,365.70 3,410.80 -1,045.10

Jul-13 1,885.10 3,973.20 -2,088.10

Aug-13 2,068.8 3,615.6 -1,546.8

Sep-13 1,631.7 3,321.0 -1,689.2

Total 2013 16, 685.60 32,277.10 -15,591.40

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India – US Trade Analysis India - US Trade Trade and commerce form a crucial component of the rapidly expanding and multi -faceted relations between India and U.S. From a modest $ 5.6 billion in 1990, the bilateral trade in merchandise goods has increased to $ 63.7 billion in 2013 representing an impressive 1037.5% growth in a span of 23 years. India's merchandise exports to the U.S. grew by 4.2% from $ 28.96 billion during the period January -August 2013 to $ 30.17 billion during the period January-August 2014. US exports of merchandise to India fell by 10.4% from $ 15.05 billion during the period January-August 2013 to $ 13.49 billion during the period January-August 2014. India - U.S. bilateral merchandise trade during the period January - August 2014, is $ 43.65 billion. Trade during the year the period January – September 2014 i) Major items of export from India to US Select major items with their percentage shares, are given below. a) Textiles (15.6%) b) Precious stones & metals (20.5%) c) Mineral Fuel, Oil (11.3%) d) Pharmaceutical products (11%) e) Organic chemicals (5%) f) Machinery (4.9%) g) Electrical Machinery (3%) h) Lac, Gum, Resins (2.9%) ii) Major items of export from US to India Select major items with their percentage shares, are given below a) Precious stones & metals (23.5%) b) Aircraft, spacecraft, Parts (12.4%) c) Machinery (10%) d) Electrical machinery (6.6%) e) Mineral Fuel, Oil etc. (6.4%) f) Optical instruments & equipment (6.1%) h) Organic chemicals (3.4%) g) Plastic Products (3.3%)

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International Buyer Program, 2014 Trade shows

International Buyer Program

2014 Trade Show Schedule 2014 International CES® (Consumer Electronics Show) January 7–10 • Las Vegas, NV • cesweb.org

InfoComm International® 2014 June 18–20 • Las Vegas, NV • infocommshow.org Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade Show and Conference

January 14–17 • Las Vegas, NV • shotshow.org

2014 International Franchise Expo June 19–21 • New York, NY • ifeinfo.com

World of Concrete® 2014 January 21–24 • Las Vegas, NV • worldofconcrete.com

Fancy Food Show (Summer) 2014 June/July (TBD) • New York, NY • specialtyfood.com

DistribuTECH® Conference and Exhibition January 28–30 • San Antonio, TX • distributech.com

2014 Annual Meeting and Clinical Laboratory Expo of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry July 27–31 • Chicago, IL • aacc.org

International Production & Processing Expo January 28–30 • Atlanta, GA • ippexpo.com

MAGIC Marketplace (Summer) 2014 August 17–20 • Las Vegas, NV • magiconline.com NAHB International Builders’ Show® 2014

February 4–6 • Las Vegas, NV • buildersshow.com

International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair August 20–23 • Atlanta, GA • iwfatlanta.com

Progressive Insurance® Miami International Boat Show® February 13–17 • Miami, FL • miamiboatshow.com

Farm Progress Show August 26–28 • Boone, IA • farmprogressshow.com

CONEXPO-CON/AGG® 2014 March 4–8 • Las Vegas, NV • conexpoconagg.com

WEFTEC® Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference 2014 September 27–October 1 • New Orleans, LA • weftec.org Natural Products Expo West/Engredea 2014

March 6–9 • Anaheim, CA • expowest.com PACK EXPO International 2014 November 2–5 • Chicago, IL • packexpo.com International Home + Housewares Show 2014

March 15–18 • Chicago, IL • housewares.org American Film Market® November 5–12 • Santa Monica, CA • americanfilmmarket.com

WasteExpo 2014 April 1–3 • Atlanta, GA • wasteexpo.com

Greater New York Dental Meeting November 28–December 3 • New York, NY • gnydm.com

The 2014 NAB Show® April 7–10 • Las Vegas, NV • nabshow.com

POWER-GEN® International December 9–11 • Orlando, FL • power-gen.com

2014 Offshore Technology Conference May 5–8 • Houston, TX • otcnet.org

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The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show (NRA Show) 2014 May 17–20 • Chicago, IL • show.restaurant.org

How to reach us: We invite articles, industry related market research reports and whitepapers, information on policy matters related to Indo-US trade and investments via e-mail. Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) deserves right to edit the said articles for clarity and space and use them in all electronic and print form. E-mail: pratik@iaccindia.com Disclaimer: No part of this newsletter may be reproduced, reprinted or utilized in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical without prior permission of the publisher. While every care is taken in compilation of information contained herein, the publisher cannot accept any responsibility for error or omission or for the use of trademark, copyrights, brand name, logos or other identifying symbols provided in supporting and participating companies and organizations. However all possible and reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information in this newsletter is as accurate and up -to-date at the time of printing. This newsletter is for internal use only. Credits: A number of persons and organizations have assisted us in the preparation of this newsletter. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable and are based on research and analysis, whitepapers, academia, websites, internet postings and e-mails received. We wish to thank and express our gratitude to everyone named and unnamed for providing valuable inputs and providing data willingly. Conceived, Designed and Researched by: Pratik Waghela, Web Systems Manager, IACC; E-mail: pratik@iaccindia.com

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