New Media

S.K. Jain Elected as
New IACC President

The 39th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) was held on 26 September, 2008 in Mumbai during which S.K. Jain, Managing Director, LMJ International Ltd. was unanimously elected as the President for the Year 2008-09. Syed Baderuddin Shez, Chairman, Esbee Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Gautam Mahajan, President Inter-Link Services Pvt. Ltd were also elected as 1st and 2nd Executive Vice President respectively. A new Executive Council was also elected during the meeting.

IACC's outgoing President Farokh T. Balsara welcomed the members who were present for the AGM and presented highlights of the Presidential Year 2007-08.

The agenda for the Business Session was to approve and adopt the Executive Council Report and the Audited statement of Accounts for the year March 31, 2008, to elect members of the Executive Council for the year ended 2008-09, to appoint auditors and to pass special resolutions.

During the Public Session, Paul Folmsbee, US Consul General in Mumbai, who was the Guest of Honour, spoke on “Building Indo-US Partnerships”. The Keynote address was presented by Professor Walter Earl Fluker, Executive Director, Leadership Center at Morehouse College & Coca Cola, Professor of Leadership Studies on “Ethical Leadership”.

Newly-elected President S.K. Jain thanked Farokh T. Balsara with due appreciation for his hard work. He also thanked the EC members for having reposed faith in him and briefed on the following points which he would like to focus under his leadership.

1) Brand Building
2) Targeting the SME sector
3) Strengthening Indo-US Trade

India Participates in WEFTEC
for Fourth Time in a Row

The Environmental Resource Center of IACC organized the visit of a 10-member delegation to the 81st Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) in Chicago, Illinois, USA for the fourth consecutive year from 18 to 22 October, 2008.

In our determined and continuous effort to expose the Indian industry to US technologies, a successful delegation comprising of small & medium enterprises, consultants, chief engineers and senior officials from the water and waste wastewater industry and State urban water supply and sewerage boards (Delhi, Bangalore & Karnataka) participated in WEFTEC 08. The delegation was led by Ms. Shabina Patel, Regional Director, IACC, WIC.

Like every year, the Indian delegates had a good opportunity to learn from unparalleled water quality education and training. The delegates were exposed to water quality developments, research, regulations, solutions, and cutting-edge technologies, from the largest and most comprehensive Water Quality Exhibition in North America.

WEFTEC Background:
Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a non-profit technical and educational organization with members from varied disciplines who work toward the WEF vision of preservation and enhancement of the global water environment. The WEF network includes water quality professionals from 76 member associations in 30 countries. WEF was created 78 years ago to educate and the annual conference and exposition is the leading gathering on water quality and pollution control .

International Taxation Conference
on 'Transfer Pricing Issues'

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) supported the International Taxation Conference -2008 organized by Foundation for International Conference from 4 to 6 December, 2008 at the ITC Maratha Hotel in Mumbai.

The special theme of the conference for this year was “Transfer Pricing Issues”.

The conference was a truly global event of world class standard. With increasing globalization, the subject of international taxation was of as much importance to the tax collectors as it was to taxpayers. There were speakers from across the world as well as delegates from India, United States, Mauritius, Netherlands, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Hongkong and Singapore. In spite of the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, both the speakers and the delegates attended this conference. Nearly 300 delegates participated both from India and abroad including government officials.

The conference was recognized for its world class quality and an opportunity for professional networking and marketing. The objective of the conference was to disseminate knowledge and provide a better understanding of global international tax practices, recent developments and trends.
The conference offered an excellent opportunity to IACC members for both networking and marketing among the leading professionals in the field of international taxation.

Seminar Throws Light on Issues in
‘Tax Planning for Indo-US Trade’

Tax planning is important for all organizations irrespective of their size, nature of business and geographical reach. However, with companies having operations or businesses abroad it assumes special significance. Having to do business in a country other than the one where the company is located is as such taxing and complex taxation rules make things more difficult. It is to address these issues that a seminar on 'Tax Planning for Indo-US Trade' was organized at Four Seasons Hotel, Mumbai on 3 December, 2008. The participants included IACC members, chartered accountants, tax professionals, tax lawyers & SME's owners.

The seminar started with IACC's Secretary General R.K. Chopra welcome address. In his address, Chopra thanked speakers for taking time out to share their thoughts with the delegates at the seminar. He specially thanked the participants and speakers for their support and encouragement in enabling the seminar to take place as scheduled inspite of the recent unfortunate happenings in the city.

Internationally acclaimed tax professional and global authority on taxation Nishith Desai, founder, Nishith Desai Associates started the seminar with his speech on 'Corporate Governance in Taxation'. He explained how corporate governance affects the working of the tax system. Desai was followed by Ms Emma Lubbock, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Limited, who spoke on 'Tax planning for Investing in USA'. Ms Lubbock shared her vast experience in USA and UK with the participants and also spoke on 'Outbound structuring' & key elements of a sustainable tax strategy.
Dr Shanto Ghosh, Director, Deloitte Haskins & Sells provided participants an 'Overview of US Transfer Pricing Regulations'. He also underscored the challenges of US transfer pricing audits and also the recent developments in US transfer pricing. Amitabh Singh, Partner, Ernst & Young, made a presentation on 'Taxation for Expatriates - Inbound & Outbound'. Through his presentation Singh educated participants about social security agreements, provident fund on 'international workers' and OECD's recent tax initiative.

Uday Ved, Executive Director, KPMG, spoke on 'Efficient Tax Structuring of an Investment in India'. He reposed full confidence in India's resilience to come out of the economic turmoil the west finds itself in because “India is relatively stable and still growing”. He said that India has all the right ingredients that attract investments; therefore, India's growth story is far from over. Akil Hirani, Managing Partner, Majmudar & Company talked about 'Tax Planning in Merger & Acquisitions'. He explained how to efficiently plan tax for different kind of deal structures. He cautioned the audience on 'Things to Avoid' when tax planning in M&A environment.

The vote of thanks was proposed by Sudip Verma, Manager, Corporate Communications, IACC.

Reception Hosted in Honor of
California State Senate Delegation

The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce-WIC hosted a reception & sit-down dinner in honor of the visiting California State Senate delegation on 19 November, 2008 at Four Seasons, Mumbai. The high-profile delegation's focus was to increase ties between California and India by engaging government official's to discuss the issues of bilateral interest, and to further promote economic, educational, political and cultural relations.

The eight-member Senate delegation was led by Senator Gilbert Cedillo, Chair, Senate Select Committee on Immigration and the Economy. The team included Senator Dick Ackerman Vice Chair, Senate Committee on Legislative Ethics; Senator Ellen Corbett, Chair, Senate Committee on Judiciary; Senator Dave Cox, Vice Chair, Senate Committee on Appropriations; Senator Denise M. Ducheny, Chair, Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review; Senator Sheila James Kuehl, Chair, Senate Committee on Health; Senator Bob Margett, Vice Chair, Senate Committee on Public Safety; Senator Gloria Romero, Senate Majority Floor Leader along with few private sector officials and other esteemed guests.

The high-profile delegation also visited a popular Bollywood studio - Mehboob Studio - where they witnessed the shooting of the movie “Chandni Chowk to China”. During the visit, they interacted with the entertainment industry professionals to explore opportunities and areas to promote greater exchanges between Hollywood and Bollywood.

The delegates were also delighted by screening of the upcoming movie “The President is Coming” specially organized for them at Famous Studio..

Luncheon Meeting with Consul
General Folmsbee

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Gujarat Branch gave a very warm welcome to new US Consul General Paul Folmsbee by hosting a lunch in his honour on 8 September, 2008 at Hotel Le Meridian, Ahmedabad.

A high profile business group from Gujarat, along with IACC Branch Council and Chairman, Amal Dhru welcomed Folmsbee and Consulate Press Attache, Ms. Christine Delbello, who also attended the luncheon meeting.

Dhru explained in detail about the investment opportunities that Gujarat offered. Consul General Folmsbee said that he was in agreement with the potential of Gujarat as booming in trade and commerce. He said that there has been vast improvement in the economic scenario across India, especially in Gujarat, which has done a great job resulting to good business relationship between the US and India. He suggested that collaboration should be focused on technology, energy, alternative energy and engineering.

Many other issues, including the up-coming Vibrant Gujarat event, Indo-US Nuclear Deal, VISA problems, etc were discussed.

IACC members who attended the meeting eagerly interacted with Consul General l Folmsbee.

America - Why, When & How:
A Talk on Visa

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Gujarat Branch & Baroda Management Association jointly organized a lecture on “America Why, When, How” by Sudhir Shah, a leading advocate & solicitor from Mumbai, on 12 December, 2008 at Guru Narayan Centre for Leadership, BMA, Vadodara.

IACC- Gujarat Chairman Kaizar Mahuwala briefed the audience about the Chamber's activities before welcoming Sudhir Shah who has wide experience in handling U.S. immigration laws and procedures.
Shah said that although severely affected by a financial crisis, the United States has made it easy for students to obtain visas. He explained in detail the requirements for obtaining a visa under various categories and possibilities of changing visa category for extending the visa time period. Shah explained the difference between L1 & H1 visa and pointed out how companies are taking wrong benefit of L1 visas. More than 50 enthusiastic participants eagerly sought more information and the talk was followed by a question and answer session.

Following the success of their first joint programme with IACC, BMA is looking forward to have more such events in Vadodara and sought further interaction between the two organizations. The event was widely covered by both the electronic and print media.

Lecture on Everything You Wanted to
Know About Business Visa

The Gujarat Branch of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) organized a programme on “Everything You Wanted To Know About Business Visa” B1, B2 & H Category Visa a lecture by McCabe Christopher, Vice Consul, US Consulate, Mumbai on 20 November, 2008 at Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA), Atira Campus, Ahmedabad.

Welcoming Christopher, Kaizar Mahuwala, Chairman, IACC-Gujarat Branch talked about Indo-US trade and said the Chamber had invited the Vice Consul for his valuable views on the Business Visa, the most common and popular category for the businessmen.

Addressing a gathering of about 175 delegates, Christopher said though the US economy had shown a decline, it has not affected the issue of US visas to businessmen from Gujarat. On the contrary, the number is increasing, he said.

Christopher explained the procedure for applying for the Business Visa. He advised the audience that while coming for the interview to bring only relevant documents, as additional documents leads to confusion. He also informed that if you have applied for visa other than business visa and it is rejected, you can still apply for the business visa and there is no effect of earlier rejection. He admired Gujarat as a Business State and said Gujarati people have business in their blood.

IACC-Gujarat Vice-Chairman Narendra Patel proposed a vote of thanks. The programme was found to be very interactive and informative. The attendees included IACC council members, high profile businessmen from Gujarat, industrialists, entrepreneurs, Institutions, and students. It was also well covered by both the print and electronic media.

Meet on Pharma & Bio-Pharma Issues

IACC-Gujarat Branch organized a very informative discussion on “Indo-US Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharmaceutical Issues” at IACC Conference Hall, on 6 November, 2008. IACC-Gujarat Chairman, Kaizar Mahuwala welcomed and introduced Ms. Susan, President, Finston Consulting, LLC, Washington DC, USA. She has over 20 years of experience in the management of international legal, public policy, and “Doing business” issues, with special expertise relating to innovation and the life sciences.

Ms. Susan, who is update on the latest happenings in the Indo-US Bio-Pharmaceutical sector and emerging opportunities for Gujarat, said that in-licensing agreements are currently being undertaken in a big way by many Indian companies. This will ensure that the domestic pharmaceutical industry will also be benefited by way of newer molecules. With intellectual property rights in pharmaceuticals secured, Nicholas Piramal India Ltd (NPIL) has been able to interest overseas pharmaceutical majors to invest in India. It has several in-licensing and technology transfer agreements with leading multinational pharmaceutical companies. The Indian pharmaceutical companies are rapidly attaining a critical mass in terms of skills and capabilities to integrate fully with the global pharmaceutical sector.

Representatives of all the major pharmaceutical companies from Gujarat and IACC Council members were present at the meeting. Ms. Susan personally interacted with all the members.

A Biotech seminar was organized by Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), Pune at Hotel Le Meridien on 24 September, 2008. The seminar brought together the giants as well as small and medium enterprises of the Pune Biotech industry, for a possible formation of the 'Biotech Forum' of Pune.

The seminar was addressed by renowned scientist Dr. Vivek Rangnekar, Associate Professor in radiation medicine at the University of Kentucky , USA , famous for his discovery of the 'tumour suppressant gene Par4' Senior officials from TIFAC, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, also attended the seminar.

Dr. Rangnekar took the audience through all the important landmarks on his way to discovery of Par4 in a lucid manner and explained how a cancer resistant mouse was developed by his research team. The members in the audience, which included scientists from Serum Institute, Gennova Biotech [Emcure Pharma], NCL, Reliance etc., appreciated the presentation. A few of them showed immediate interest in holding further discussions with Dr. Rangnekar to explore further opportunities of Research and Development in India.

Experts from Tifac - Soumitra Biswas and Nirmala Kaushik - presented a Tifac model in Technology Innovation and extended their support to the industry in developing important molecules such as Stevioside from Stevia Leaves & Lycopene from Tomatoes. They explained about their financing support mechanism (soft financial support up to 50 percent of project cost). Two of their beneficiaries Hi Tech BioSciences India Ltd. and Raj Biotech were present in the audience. The SME members in the audience expressed keen interest in TIFAC's schemes. The Chamber's initiative was very well received by the Biotech industry present at the seminar.

Ashutosh Parasnis, Chairman, IACC-Pune briefed the audience about various services added by the Chamber such as BEP- assistance for business visas to US - in partnership with the US Consulate, Mumbai, support to SMEs in globalization, trade delegations hosted and business opportunities made available to the members during the last 12 months. In a major successful service, the Chamber provided assistance to an multibillion American contract research giant 'Battelle' to initiate their ' India operations' in Pune.

Raghavendra Gaikaiwari, CEO, HiTech BioSciences India Ltd. & 'in coming Vice Chairman', explained the initiative of the Chamber on Biotech Forum. He elaborated on the future plans of the Chamber to assist the biotech industry in Pune.

S.K. Jain, National Executive Council member and Past Chairman of IACC-Pune proposed a vote of thanks. The event was compered by Prafull Mokashi, Executive secretary, IACC-Pune.

The seminar, sponsored by HSBC Bank, HiTech BioSciences India Ltd and Labindia Instruments, was well attended.

Dinner Meeting with US Consul General Paul Folmsbee

US Consul General Paul Folmsbee from Mumbai interacted members of the Pune Branch Committee of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce over an evening of cocktails and dinner at Best Western-The Pride Hotel, on 4 September 2008. He was accompanied by Trisha Chilimbi and Gaurav Bansal from the US Consulate General, Mumbai.

Speaking at the occasion, Folmsbee lauded the efforts of the Pune branch in setting up business meets of their members with various visiting US companies during last one year. He assured Pune Committee members to recommend Pune for business to visiting trade delegations from the US in the coming months.

Ashutosh Parasnis, Chairman, IACC-Pune Branch, apprised the audience how various visiting US business delegations, such as Automation Alley, Greater Houston, Association of Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) were assisted through arranging business meets especially for SMEs, during the last one year. He spoke about the 'Inbound Desk Service' provided to Battelle, a $4 bn contract research company seeking assistance, the visa facilitation service under BEP and the MOU signed with the Automation Alley.

Members had enough opportunity to personally interact with the Consul General and other Consular guests during the dinner meet.

Seminar on "Innovation Advantage
& Global Opportunities

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), Pune organized a Seminar on "Innovation Advantage & Global Opportunities for the Indian Industries" on 19 December 2008 the BMC Software Ltd, ICC Tower in the city. Dr. Faruq Marikar, President, Nanobiz LLC, USA was the Guest Speaker.

Ashutosh Parasnis, Past Chairman, IACC, Pune accorded welcome to Dr. Faruq Marikar.

The seminar was well attended by member companies such as Thermax, John Deere, Hodek, Fleetguard etc. Educational Institutes such as Symbiosis and Indira College were also represented. The presentation evoked interest from the audience, as was evident from the question-answer session that followed.

Prashant Krishnan proposed a vote of thanks to Dr. Faruq Marikar for sharing his knowledge and Pankaj Dhume, President, BMC Software India Ltd. for graciously making their facilities available for the seminar.

Global Fiscal Crisis Beneficial to India -Dr. Jagdish Sheth

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (Varanasi Branch) organized a lecture by Dr. Jagdish N. Sheth, Professor of Marketing in the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, USA, on 5th December, 2008 at Varanasi. The topic of the talk was “Global Economic Crisis and India”. A lively interactive session followed after the Dr. Sheth's address. Members of IACC, Varanasi, representatives of various industrial associations, eminent citizens and media representatives were present in a large number.

Debashish Mukherjee, Chairman, IACC-Varanasi welcomed Dr. Sheth and the participants. The house observed two minutes' silence to offer condolences to the victims of the recent Mumbai tragedy. Mukul Kumar Shah, Vice Chairman, IACC-Varanasi, introduced the key-note speaker to the participants.

In his address, Dr. Sheth said that while practically economies of the whole world have been shattered by the present economic crisis, it will benefit India in two ways. First, it will shift more investment into India. While the first wave of foreign exchange came for the stock market, the second will be especially in technology, aerospace, military and consumer markets. Second, it will also provide Indian companies to grow globally especially in Australia, Japan, the US and Europe. Of course, it will take some time for this happen because this global economic crisis is very deep and widespread. American banks are to be blamed for the present economic crisis the world is facing presently. American administration delegated authority of observing rules and regulations regarding economic transaction to the banks and financial institutions. However, American banks totally ignored regulations which should have been properly followed.

Mukul Kumar Shah proposed the vite of thanks Arvind Kumar Agrawal extended special help in making this programme a success.

Meet on Marketing the Magic
of Bhadohi Carpets

A one-day conference on "Export Potential of Bhadohi Carpets & GI" was organized on 14 August, 2008 at Hotel Clarks Varanasi jointly by Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (UP Branch), Varanasi, All India Carpet Manufacturers' Association, Bhadohi and Indian Merchants' Chamber, Mumbai.

The project is being supported the by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Indian Merchants' Chamber. Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary General, UNCTAD was the Chief Guest of the function. Abhijit Das, Deputy Project Coordinator and Officer-in-Charge of UNCTAD India Programme, Suresh A. Kotak, Chairman, Task Force on UNCTAD-IMC, Handloom Project, senior officials from UNCTAD and IMC participated in the programme. Members of IACC, Varanasi, AICMA, Bhadohi, weavers and artisans, exporters and entrepreneurs of the holy city and adjoining districts participated in the programme in large numbers.

Vinay Kumar, Vice Chairman, IACC-Varanasi, welcomed Dr. Panitchpakdi, to the oldest living city of Varanasi where in 600 B.C. Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon. On the lines of the Buddha's teachings, Dr. Panitchpakdi, had launched a mission for the betterment of grassroots weavers and artisans engaged in the carpet industry, Kumar said.

Kumar also welcomed Abhijit Das, Suresh Kotak, J.C. Srivastava and all the participants and the media. A brief introduction of IACC was also presented by him. Past Chairman Puneet Raman conducted proceedings of the conference.

In his address, Dr. Pantichpakdi said that this conference aims to build awareness amongst artisans and exporters of Bhadohi-Mirzapur carpets about Geographical Indications with a view to facilitating the application for GI registration. This empowerment results in accrual of premium value to the product concerned. This would also authorize producers of Bhadohi-Mirzapur carpet producers to ensure that other manufacturers outside this region are not abusing their right under GI. This would result in better prices for Bhadohi carpets.

Ashok Kapoor, Member, Executive Council, IACC, thanked Dr. Panitchpakdi and the IMC for their support and cooperation to carry out the project on GI, hoping that IACC and AICMA shall continue to receive their support in future as well.

Ravi Patodia, President, All India Carpet Manufacturers' Association, Bhadohi, presided over the II session of the conference.

Patodia in his presentation on Bhadohi Carpets covered a vast area ranging from production of hand-knotted carpets, quality and uniqueness of Bhadohi carpets, difficulties faced by weavers and artisans, problems being faced in the international market, etc. with special reference to GI certification.

In his presentation Ahsan Khan, Member, Branch Committee, IACC, Varanasi, said the beautiful carpets woven in the areas of Mirzapur-Bhadohi bring grace to many homes across the world on one hand and on the other provide means of livelihood to a large number of rural population of weavers.

An update on Business Visa
& BEP Advantage

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Tamil Nadu branch organized a programme 'An update on US Business Visa & The BEP advantage' on 24 September 2008 at Chennai.

Daniel Keen and Ms. Stephanie Schaeckermann, both Visa Officers from the American Consulate General in Chennai explained the rules and regulations of processing the US visas and answered all the queries raised by the audience. It was very interesting and lively interactive session. As many as 92 paid delegates participated in the programme.

Give Up Protectionist Trends
to Further Boost Trade - Frederick J. Kaplan

IACC-Kerala organized a lecture on 'Indo-American Economic Relations' on 6 October, 2008 at Avenue Center, Kochi, addressed by Frederick J. Kaplan, Consul for Public Affairs at the US Consulate, Chennai.

IACC-Kerala Branch Chairman C.P. Sebastian welcomed Kaplan and introduced him to the members attending the lecture.

Describing the growth in economic relations between India and America Kaplan said that the failure of the Doha round is an indication of persisting protectionist policies on both sides and they need to give them up to create new opportunities for people. These relations were built by people, the moving of people between countries, he said.

Kaplan said Indo-US trade grew 30 percent in 2007 and US exports to India grew 72 percent. Besides, the two countries were cooperating in areas like clean energy and farming technology, he added. India's importance was evident from the way the US Consulate strength in India had been raised, he added.

Besides the members of the Executive Committee of IACC-Kerala, other IACC members, high profile businessmen and management students attended the programme.

Interaction on How to 'Lawfully Solve Your
Challenges During This Recession & Crisis'

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Karnataka Branch organized an interactive breakfast session on the topic - Lawfully Solve Your Challenges During This Recession & Crisis. This program was meant to facilitate an ongoing interaction and professional information exchange among IACC Karnataka Members.

S R Arun, Partner, ALMT Legal, made a presentation on the challenges faced by corporate companies in the current global financial crisis. The session was a 60-minute presentation-cum-interactive session and highlighted certain basic issues of law which affected the corporate sector and covered the following aspects:

• The legal framework for one's business
• Funding options in today's volatile
• Equity & finance markets
• Recourse against default of contracts by vendors
• Defensive mechanism for suppliers
• Downsizing or lay-offs
• Change of terms of employment & closing down.
The session was held in KRFMA on 17 December 2008 and was well appreciated.

Seminar on IP Awareness

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in association with ALTACIT GLOBAL organized an awareness programme on 'Intellectual Property' at Hotel Le Meridien in Bangalore on 21 November, 2008. This program was meant for entrepreneurs, CEOs and managers and was open to both members and non-members.

The effective management of intellectual property assets would enable business usher superior products to the customers and identify global partners for technology transfer that enable accelerated entry into markets. Till now very few companies in India have effectively utilised the IPR information that is available in the public domain. Most often it has been noted that researchers have unknowingly repeated work that has already been reported in patents. This is basically due to lack of intellectual property, awareness.

The aim of this awareness program was to create an understanding on how to harness IPR to enhance competitiveness, to cultivate a climate of creativity and innovation and to understand the procedures of protecting IP in the Indian and International context. This program enhanced the awareness of intellectual property rights and explored many practical challenges, both procedural and substantive inclusive of the protection of intellectual property, that confront the industry.

Seminar on How to Implement
Total Cost Management Concept

A seminar on 'Total Cost Management' was held at Hotel Royal Orchid Central on 19 September, 2008 by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), Bangalore.

In view of the tightening of the economy, declining margins and rising inflation, there is a clear need to look at cost management and cost rationalization options. One of the techniques used to address this requirement is Total Cost Management.

Total Cost Management (TCM) is a company-wide systematic and structured approach, which provides a holistic framework to control, reduce and eliminate costs, throughout the value chain. This process of managing the financial outcome of activities encompasses all operations, internal and external. For these reasons, TCM is one of the most powerful tools that corporations can wield in their quest for competitive advantage.

The seminar attempted to present the possibilities and implications for business in manufacturing and in service organizations and the understanding of the same certainly helped grasp its increasing importance and future relevance attempt.

The main speaker, P. Thiruvengadam, Director, Deloitte, explained that cost management in its total form ensures that organizations are able to maintain leadership position under all circumstances. His presentation outlined the conceptual background and the broad tools available for strategic cost management. He also shared his experience in respect of practical examples of cost management used in different organizations.

Chennai Consular Chief Visits IACC
Bangalore Office
Three officials from the US Consulate General, Chennai: Bryan Dalton, Consular Chief, Ms Anjana Modi, Vice Consul and Anandan Ramanan of Fraud Prevention Unit, visited the IACC's Bangalore's office on 16 September, 2008. The officials discussed various issues on BEP (Business Executive Program) with the Committee and IACC Staff extensively. The meeting was a success.

Networking Event to Celebrate
IACC's 40th Anniversary

The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Karnataka Branch organized a networking event for its members to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of IACC in India on 30 October, 2008 at Bangalore Club.
The Guest of Honor for the evening was Andrew Simken, Consul General, US Consulate Chennai. Mrs Simken was also present on the occasion.

Congratulating IACC India on its 40th Anniversary, Simken commended the role played by the Chamber in fostering Indo-US economic ties.

It was a great opportunity for interaction and networking for IACC Members and was well attended and appreciated by one and all. Moog Motion Controls Pvt Ltd was the invitation sponsor for the event.

Right Model of Fiscal Norms, Strict
Enforcement Need of the Hour - Prof. James Barth

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) along with American Corner organized a talk on 'The Global Financial Crisis: What Next? by Prof. James. R. Barth, Lowder Eminent Scholar in Finance, Auburn University, Alabama, USA, on 1 December, 2008 in Mumbai.

Delivering the address, Prof Barth referred to the US housing and financing meltdown and said the new government will have its task cut out in addressing the present credit crunch. He traced the route in which sub-prime borrowers with a shady credit history started buying homes, in turn leading to a housing sector bubble and the subsequent crisis.

Prof Barth said, “There's no point in drafting new rules as long as the existing ones are not properly enforced”. He said the key to offsetting the impact of the global financial meltdown is not dwelling long on mistakes committed in the US. What's more important is zeroing in on the right model of financial regulation and stringent enforcement. Since 1980, about 135 countries the world over had witnessed similar banking or financial crisis and not all of them were low-income countries, he pointed out. The lowest common denominator in most of these crises has been in the housing sector, as has been the case in the US meltdown this year.

Prof Barth touched a wide variety of topics including the roots of the current situation, why a US Government bailout was necessary, how effective has this and other interventions been until date, restoration of confidence and liquidity in the markets and implications of the current situation on emerging economics and countries like India. He also predicted that the situation would stabilize during the “middle or latter” of 2009. The session was very informative and appreciated by all.