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Nature, a Tough Teacher- Lessons From the recent floods !

Dear Members, Chennai is best known for its “Music Festivals” in December, which normally set the welcoming note for the New Year! However, this year the month of December will be remembered differently! The recent northeast monsoon in Chennai, particularly in the first few days of December, will be etched in our minds for long, for the unprecedented havoc it has caused, leaving us in bewilderment! What happened to the one of the best metropolis in India? The State Capital almost got submerged and the entire economy of the State and the normal life of the citizens came to a stand still for few days! Nature did not differentiate between rich and the poor, posh areas of the city and the slums, big businesses and the small businesses! All our modern technological tools which we are so used to and dependent upon like the internet, mobile etc, lost their utility and became irrelevant suddenly! Every crisis also brings with it a few surprises and as the saying goes every cloud has a silver lining! The silver lining of this calamity was the spirit and resilience of Chennai which was evident by the efforts of the next gen, which came in huge numbers to volunteer. The role of the civil society and NGOs, Armed Forces, Police Department etc at the crucial hour have to be definitely commended . Chennai floods became a testimony to the power of humanity and this is quite heartening!As the individuals and the State economy is trying to recover from the catastrophe, we all know that this is not an easy task and it may take quite a few months for businesses to become “as usual’.Chennai known as a big automobile manufacturing and IT hub, was devastated when the floods badly derailed the business activity in the city, as companies stopped their production activity and shut down offices. Businesses of every size have been affected and the loss of productive hours of the member companies is estimated to be more than 20 lakh man hours. Both domestic and export delivery schedules could not be met since most of the factories had been under water and even those who were spared, could not operate because of lack of power and absence of workers.SMES were the worst affected as most of them who were in industrial estates like Guindy , Ambattur, Mogappair, have been totally washed off. There is huge loss of machineries and materials and vehicles and rebuilding them is going to be a herculean task.Chennai being one of the outsourcing hub of India and a major destination of foreign investment, the current disastrous situation would definitely affect the national economy. The floods in Chennai are supposed to be the eight-most expensive natural disaster in the world during the year, according to Aon Benfield, UK reinsurance broker. The floods that hit Chennai in November and early December will cost India’s economy an estimated $3 billion to 5 billion in losses.To go forward, we have to introspect as why this catastrophe happened and what lessons we should learn from this calamity.It is true that the rains were unusual and a 50cm rain on a single day has not happened in the last 100 years and the EL NINO phenomena could be one of the reasons! But it is also true that the magnitude of the calamity could have been mitigated had we been prepared enough and had we had proper systems and accountability in place.Like most of the other metros in the country, Chennai too has been growing at a rampant speed. It has been attracting the migrant population from rural areas there by putting pressure on the existing infrastructure. This resulted in encroachments, unplanned constructions, poor waste management, and shortage of water, power and land for development.There’s no denying that Chennai has failed in maintaining an effective storm water drainage system. In times when the city, and its suburbs, is being pounded with rainfall exceeding normal limits by over three times, a drainage system that isn’t functional, creeks and culverts that are blocked due to excessive dumping of garbage and the failure to ensure timely desilting of Cooum River, Adyar River

From

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SG.PrabhakharanPresident

and Buckingham Canal, which serve as the main rain water drain for the city and all of which have seen encroachments, have all compounded the problems multifold.In Chennai and elsewhere, the approach to urban governance needs to change. Mundane aspects of city administration like building and maintaining water, drainage and sewage systems, mass transport facilities, etc are ignored as the conversation shifts to concepts like smart cities. Infrastructure is the backbone of any economy and a city like Chennai that is prone to heavy rainfall requires robust infrastructure. It is imperative to upgrade the existing infrastructure while we create sustainable cities with newer infrastructure. Better sewage disposal system, waste management, planned residential and commercial development, presence of large open spaces, zero disturbance to natural water bodies, efficient transport networks and above all efficient co-ordination between planning agencies are some of the essential facets to redesign an existing city like Chennai.The Chennai Corporation has firmed up a re-building plan that it hopes to implement within 3 months. They have begun work on 5000 arterial roads out of the targeted 7000 roads that crumbled in the aftermath of the flood. Further, the Tamil Nadu Government has sanctioned a major project for Rs. 4500 crores to the Chennai Corporation to complete de-silting of storm water drains on a war-footing, to extend the storm water drain network and to build newer, larger ones in the next 3 years to ensure better management in floods in future. Timely and quality implementation is the key in all these and it is the responsibility of everyone of us to demand that.The Chamber is not far behind in its mission to help the Industries. It has formed a Back 2 Business Help Desk to provide necessary guidance to the affected Industries. The Chamber is doing a quick survey to assess the impact of the flood on the member Industries and has invited suggestions from members for providing the needed assistance. Further, the Chamber had taken a few proactive steps and had made a representation to the concerned statutory authorities to extend the time lines for filing of returns, Payment of advance tax etc. The Chamber had received positive responses from the Insurance Companies promising to look into issues based on our request to consider the claims in a favorable manner. The Chamber had already written for waiver of demurrages for both air and sea cargo. More efforts and actions are being pursued by the Chamber to help the member industries.Rains came in the past, and will come in the future. But at least we should avoid the impact of man-made consequences. I am sure many of you may have specific ideas and suggestions as to what should be done by the Government and Civic Authorities to prevent occurrence of such calamities in future. Request you to kindly pass on such ideas to us so that we can deliberate the same and take them up with the authorities Let us not forget the lessons that this year’s rains taught us. Wishing every one of you and your family a wonderful New Year!Best Wishes

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9th - 10th October 2015Two Day All India workshop on Indirect Taxes

Under the auspices of the Expert Committee on

Indirect Taxes and VAT, the above workshop was organized on 9th and 10th October 2015 at Hotel Crowne Plaza. This is one of the flagship events of the Chamber, being organized year on year for the last few decades..

Mr. Vaitheeswaran, Chairman, Expert Committee on Indirect Taxes welcomed the gathering and gave an overview of the two day workshop. He briefly introduced the topics and the Speakers and set the tone for the workshop.

Mr. S.Ramesh, IRS, Chief Commissioner of Customs, Chennai Customs Zone was the Chief Guest who inaugurated the workshop. In his address, he appreciated the efforts of the Chamber to organize this two day workshop on Indirect Taxes. He informed that there is a sea change in direct and indirect taxation. He stated that the department is becoming more customer focused as they are aware that the tax department exists because of the tax payers. In a lighter vein he quoted the Former President of USA, Mr. Ronald Reagan who stated that the Tax Payers are those “who work for the

flagship activity

Mr.S.Ramesh IRS., Chief Commissioner of Customs, Chennai Customs Zone delivering his Inaugural Address.

Mr.K.Vaitheeswaran, Member, MCCI General Committee & Chairman, Expert Committee on Indirect Taxes welcoming the chief guest and participants.

Chamber’s Activities

government but, does not have to take the civil exam.” He recorded his special appreciation for the gamut of subjects, galaxy of speakers of this workshop and informed that the tax laws are dynamic and one needs to constantly update oneself and the best way to equip oneself is to attend such workshops which are done in a professional manner.

Mr. P.R.Subramaniyan, DGM - Corp. Indirect Taxes, L & T Construction Chennai & Chairman, MCCI VAT Committee delivered the Vote of Thanks.

This was followed by 4 technical sessions on a variety of topics pertaining to Indirect taxes. Some of the important topics covered includes:-

• GST –Manufacturing Sector –Cost Savings –ValueCreation andElimination of Cascading Effects of Taxes

• JobWorkTransactions –ExciseDuty, Service Tax,VAT andGSTScenario

• CenvatCredit–TimeLimits–PreRegistrationIssues–IssuesinReverseCharge Mechanism

• ServicesProvidedtoSEZUnits/Developers/Co-Developers–Currentand Possible GST Scenario

• GST–Telecom,BankingandInsurance–ImpactandPossibleScenarios

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Chamber’s Activities

Mr.K.Rajaraman, IAS., Principal Commissioner for Commercial Taxes, GoTN delivering his special address.

• Export and Import of Services –Commission,Consultancy,Repairs andMaintenance –POPRules and possible GST Scenario

• Larsen& ToubroDecision – Service Tax –Impact

• WorksContract–TNVAT–IssuesandPossibleGST Scenario

• WorksContract –ServiceTax–FreeSupply –PracticalIssues–Advances–POTRules

• StockTransfer–CSTSale–RecentDevelopmentsand Possible GST Scenario

• BorderControls –CheckPost Issues – Is freemovement of goods a myth?

• Valuation–ServiceTax–Reimbursements–CostSharing

These topics were addressed by some eminent Speakers such as Mr. K. Vaitheeswaran, Advocate & Tax Consultant & Chairman, MCCI Indirect Taxes Committee, Mr. K.K. Sekar, Head-Indirect Taxes, Ashok Leyland Ltd. Mr. C.V.S Krishnakumar, Director–CorporateAffairs,KoneElevatorIndiaPvtLtd.,Mr.K.Sivarajan,Partner–IndirectTaxes,PWC,Mr. B.Sriram, Partner-Tax & Regulatory Services, Ernst & Young LLP, Mr. Girish Raman, Chartered Accountant

AR Krishnan & Co, Mumbai, Mr. N. Venkataraman, Senior Advocate, New Delhi, Mr. P.Purushotham, Advocate&Consultant,Mr.P.R.Subramanian,JointGeneral Manager-Indirect Taxes L&T Construction, Mr. R.L. Ramani, Senior Advocate, Ms. Aparna Nandakumar,Advocate,Ms.JayashreeParthasarathy,Partner, BMR Advisors, Bengaluru

The special session was addressed by Mr. K.Rajaraman IAS Principal Secretary & Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Government of Tamil Nadu on 10th October 2015. He lauded the efforts of the Chamber in arranging such workshops to create awareness for the members to understand the law, as ignorance of law will not be accepted and non compliance leads to complications. He added that in a democratic nation, reforms are not easy, but steps are being taken to make our laws simpler.

He elaborated on the Central Government and the State Governments’ efforts to ensure ease of doing business of which the main component is taxation. He added that online procedures have been introduced to address a few practical difficulties. To move up in the rating scale in the World Bank’s report of ease of doing business, it takes a lot of effort, willingness, and collaboration and this has gained momentum paving our way to move towards the roads to progress.

He further stated that while the larger goal is ensure ease of doing business, the Commercial Tax Department has to ensure that its collection reach their

A view of the audience

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Chamber’s Activities

He concluded by requesting the participants to provide a feedback on the commercial tax department’s work and welcomed suggestions as well.

The presentation and interactions were greatly appreciated by the delegates. The program was attended by more than 70 participants.

Mr.P.R.Subramaniyan Mr.B.SriramMr.G.Balakrishnan Mr.Ramdas Iyer

Ms. Aparna Nandakumar Ms. Jayashree ParthasarathyMr. R.L. RamaniMr. P. Purushotham

The Galaxy of Speakers at the Workshop

goal by making the compliance less burdensome and less costlier for the tax payer.

He elaborated on the multiple taxes being charged with a few case laws and informed that consultation process is on for bringing an uniform tax system and hoped that GST would resolve a lot of such issues.

The Chamber has a conference room which can accommodate 25 persons which can be used as a training hall for a nominal rent. LCD Projector with screen is available for use. For more details, contact the Chamber vide email : madraschamber@madraschamber.in or call 044 24349452/24349871.

FACILITIES

Mr. Girish Raman Mr. K.K. Sekar Mr. K. SivarajanMr.C.V.S. Krishnakumar Mr. N. Venkataraman

Mr.Y V Sravan Kumar

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Chamber’s Activities

MCCI Delegates with representatives of Busan Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Busan, Korea

The Chamber took a 11 member delegation led by Mr.Udaybhaskara Reddy, Chairman,

Expert Committee on Logistics to South Korea and Hongkong from October 26th to October31st 2015. The objective of the delegation is to explore business and collaboration opportunities particularly in the manufacturing and logistics sector.

The Delegation started its offical program with a visit to the Samsung Innovation Museum (SIM) at Seoul, where they had the privilege of visiting the Prologue Theatre which showcases Samsung’s spirit of innovation and their approach towards that. The evolution of various Samsung products over the decades and how the innovation to meet the changing customer expectations were pursued, were well projected through SIM.

The next highlight of the program was the visit to Hyundai car factory at Ulsan. Ulsan known as Korea’s Industrial Capital has the best industries in shipbuilding, petrochemical and automotive sectors. Mr.Seokjoong Kang, Assistant Manager, Ulsan Plant took the delegates around the factory and showed the various Process centres such as Stamping, Welding, Painting, Assembling, Inspection etc. The delegation also had the opportunity to visit the i30 car manufacturing facility inside the plant. Some of the best practices followed were also explained and the whole visit turned out to be a rich learning experience for the members.

The MCCI delegation had a meeting with the officials of Busan Chamber of Commerce & Industry at Busan.Mr.Lee IL –JAE,ExecutiveDirector andMr.Kim Eui Woong, Team Leader, International business promotion team welcomed the delegation. Ms.Park See Kim, official interpreter was also present at the meeting. This meeting is the outcome of the MoU which was signed with the Busan Chamber andMCCI during their visit toChennai in June2015 for developing business relationship between India, particularly Tamil Nadu and Busan. The Busan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI) was established in the year 1889 and share a close relationship with the MCCI which was established in the year 1836. Their members are also predominantly from automobiles, engineering and logistics sector The Executive Director of BCCI informed that a large delegationfromBusanplanstovisitIndiainApril/May 2016 to enhance business relations and that the BCCI would work closely with MCCI to set up

26th to 31st October 2015Delegation to Korea

special program

business meetings and organise business events during their visit. BCCI hosted a very special lunch for the Indian delegates and their hospitality was appreciated by the delegation members.

The Delegation also visited the world class cargo terminal of Cathay Pacific at Hongkong. The members had the opportunity to visit the customs clearance centre, cargo handling area, etc and could get a first hand information about their various operating systems and procedures , the good practices followed to improve the operational efficiency etc.

On the whole the Chamber organised another successful delegation. Mr.Anil Yendluri, CEO, KrishnapatnamPort&Mr.Kedarnath,Director –Operations from Krishnapatnam Port also joined the Delegation to a few visits in Korea.

The Chamber expresses its appreciation to Mr.B.C.Datta, Asst, V.P. Hyundai Motor India Ltd., and General Committee member, for the excellent support given by him to arrange the visit to Hyundai car factory.

Mr. Udaybhaskara Reddy, handing over a Memento to Mr. Thomas Yu, Commercial Manager, Cathay Pacific Cargo

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Chamber’s Activities

sowing the seeds

The Chamber organized a one day Training programon Imports/ExportsProcedureswith

the objective of educating the participants on the basicsof Export/ImportManagementandtoupdatetheir knowledge about the latest changes.

The Chamber organized a one day Training program on Imports/ExportsProcedureswiththeobjectiveof educatingtheparticipantsonthebasicsof Export/Import Management and to update their knowledge about the latest changes.

U. Udayabhaskar Reddy, Chairman, Expert Committee on Logistics welcomed the gathering.

Mr.J.Krishnan,GCMember, resource person forthis program elaborated on the importance of documentation and enlightened the participants on the following topics:-

Introduction and importance of Export & Import Documentation, Export Documentation procedures, Termsof DeliveryandTerms&PaymentswithL/Cterms with examples, case laws etc.

Excellent feedback was received from the 60 participants who took part in the program.

The program was attended by 60 participants.

15th October 2015Program on Imports /Exports Procedures

Mr.J.Krishna, GC Member, resource person, explaining the concepts of Import Export procedures to the participants

A view of the participants

12th November 2015Round table meeting to discuss the draft Civil Aviation Policy

The Chamber, under the auspices of the Logistics Committee had a round table meeting with the

core committee to discuss about the representation to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on the Draft Civil Aviation Policy.

The meeting was attended by

Mr.Uday Bhaskara ReddyMr.Pankaj GadhiaMr.J.KrishnanMr.Govindarajan (Tirwin), Mr.S.Padmanabhan, Mr.R.Raghuttama Rao, Ms.Shanmugapriya, Mr.Praveen & Mr.Sriram

And the chamber was presented by Ms. K. Saraswathi and Mr. S.Sankaranarayanan.

The Core Committee discussing the draft Civil Aviation Policy

The important points were discussed and a representation was sent to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

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Chamber’s Activities

together we grow

doing the honors

The Chamber extended i t s s u p p o r t t o t h e

“Everything about water”, the Global conference on Water and Waste Management held in Hotel Le Royal Meredian, Chennai between 14th and 16th October 2015.

T h e c o n f e r e n c e w a s inaugurated by Ms.Shanta Sheela Nair, Vice Chairperson, State Planning Commission, Chennai. Ms. Saraswathi, Sec re ta r y Genera l was one of the speakers in the Inauguration. She made a p r e s e n t a t i o n o n t h e Sustainable Chennai Forum activities of the Chamber. The other speakers in the inauguration session were Mr.Achim Fabig, Consul General, Germany, Mr.Vijay

Kumar, Chief Representative, NBSO, Mr.Rajiv Mittal, MD & Group CEO, VA Tech Wabag Ltd., and and Dr.S.Prabhakar, Member Executive Committee, Indian Desalination Association.

The Conference had the following topics addressed by eminent speakers.

• Opportunitiesandchallenges in improvingwater efficiencyunder theprevailing socio-economic

• Global development in technology & instrumentation for waterconservation and 24 x 7 water supply

• Policyframeworkandinternationalexperiencesinthissector.

• Industrialandmunicipalwastewatermanagement

14th to 16th October 2015EA Water Global Conference on Water and Waste Management

Ms. K.Saraswathi addressing in the Inaugural Session

Dr.Oskar Andesner, Austrian Trade Commissioner and Mr. Ravishankar, Director, Marketing, Austria Trade Office interacting with Mr.S.G.Prabhakharan, President, MCCI & Ms.K.Saraswathi, Secretary General

The Chamber organized an interactive meeting

with Dr. Oskar Andesner who has taken over as the Austrian Trade Commissioner in India during his first official visit to Chennai on the 30th November 2015 in the President’s office. Mr. S.G. Prabhakharan, President and Ms. Saraswathi, Secretary General had a meet ing withDr. Oskar Andesner, Trade Commissioner, Austria who was accompanied by Mr. Ravishankar, Director,

Marketing, Austria Trade Ofice, Chennai, Mr. S.G.Prabhakharan briefed about the advantages of Tamil Nadu and the Chamber. Ms. Saraswathi mentioned about the new initiatives of the Chamber. Dr.Oskar Andesner briefed about the businesses in Austria and invited the Chamber members to visit Austria.

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Chamber’s Activities

Mr. Rajiv Khurana, CEO & Founder, The Personnel Lab, Special guest interacting during his address on the topic “Fostering Innovation in Small & Medium Enterprises”

Mr.MukeshKalra Joint Secretary (International Trade), Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) gave the concluding remarks

Ms.K.Saraswathi, Secretary General, MCCI proposed the vote of thanks. The program was attended by 60 participants.

14th October 20152nd Edition – Profit Mantras for Businesses jointly with FISME & HP

The Chamber, in association with FISME, organized

the 2nd edition on Profit Mantras for Businesses with focus on “Drivers of Growth for SME’s” at Chennai on 14th October at Sheraton Towers, Chennai.

This is part of a series of prog rams organized by FISME in different cities, wherein eminent speakers from HP, Google addressed on the above subject.

M r. S. G. P r a b h a k h a r a n welcomed the gathering.

Mr Abhi jee t Bhandar i , Co-founder & Director, GREX addressed on the topic “How to benefit from New Financial Ecosystem” followed by M r M o h a m m e d N a z i r, H ew l e t t - Pa c k a r d (HP) on the New Style of Information Technology.

M r. R av i G u r i a , D y. Programme Director- Media & Communication, Digital Empowerment Foundation elaborated on Digital Clusters Development Initiative. This presentation was followed by a Special Address by Mr. Rajiv Khurana, CEO & Founder, The Personnel Lab n the topic “Fostering Innovation in Small & Medium Enterprises”

Mr. S.G.Prabhakharan delivering the welcome address

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19th October 2015Interaction with Mr. Martin Garatt, Chief Executive, Cambridge Cleantech

The Chamber organized an interaction meeting

with Mr.Mar tin Garatt , Chief Executive, Cambridge Cleantech, on Monday, 19th October 2015.

C a m b r i d g e C l e a n t e c h is a cluster organization supporting the growth of environmental goods and services or “Cleantech” companies, in the Greater Cambridge area.

Mr.R.Kultohungan, Sr.Vice President, Orient Green Power & Chairman, Expert Committee on Environment welcomed the Guest and Members.

Interaction meeting with Mr. Martin Garatt, Chief Executive, Cambridge Cleantech on 19th October 2015

Mr. Martin Garatt made a presentation on the activities of Cambridge Cleantech and shared the best practices followed.

The meeting was attended by 25 persons including the former President of the Chamber Mr. Hari Eswaran and there was fruitful interaction. The Chamber and Cambridge Clean Tech is working on a possible MOU for taking the collaboration further.

Chamber’s Activities

5th November 2015Interactive meeting with Mr.Rashid Shaikh, HEI jointly with US Consulate

The Chamber, jointly with US Consulate General,

Chennai , organized an Interaction meeting with Dr. Rashid Shaikh, Director of Science at Health Effects Institute, (HEI) Boston, USA as part of its SCF activities, on November 5, 2015 at Hotel Residency Towers, Chennai.

The Objective of this meeting was to discuss whether the air pollution regulations which are currently in vogue, effectively address the health, safety and environmental aspects of the Industries and the society.

M r. S. G. P r a b h a k h a r a n welcomed the gathering.

Mr. Rashid Shaikh, HEI addressing the participants.

A section of the audience.

Mr. Rashid Shaikh made a presentation about HEI’s mission, a few best practices followed in UK and USA. The presentation was followed by a Q & A Session and Hi Tea.

The meeting was well attended by 40 participants.

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in personal interaction. He cautioned that there is a need for more safety and monitoring with increasing number of children using social media platforms.

Ms. Subhasri Sriram, Executive Director & CFO of Shriram City Union Finance Ltd. said that while social media boom had brought in cheaper products due to decrease in marketing costs, the fact that one’s personal information is no more confidential raises concern. She concluded that while some of us might have reservations, we have to accept that social media is here to stay and it depends on how we use it to our advantage.

The FFT concluded with a vibrant interaction and there were more than 80 participants.

Chamber’s Activities

food for thoUght28th November 2015

The Chamber, under the auspices of the Expert

Committee on IT/ITES,organized the Food for Thought program on “Social Media–Notforme”on28thNovember 2015.

The FFT was moderated by Mr. Raghunathan, Chairman, Expert Committee on IT/ITes.

Mr. S.G.Prabhakharan welcomed the participants and gave an overview about the Social Media and its impact and set tone for the FFT.

Mr. Sorav Jain, Thinker inChief, echoVME, stated that Social Media enabled persona l b randing and provided opportunities for more interaction with a larger population. He added that recruiters are able to find potential employees through targeted advertising on social media sites. He concluded that instead of completely shunning it, we need to focus on how to be more responsible and safe online.

Mr. R.Vittal Raj, Partner, Kumar & Raj and member of ISACA, which deals with information technology governance made an excellent address stating social media is not for everyone. He informed that the “virtual presence” of many had begun to grow, which has led to the decrease

FFT on Social Media – Not for me

Mr.J.Raghunathan, Chairman, MCCI Committee on IT/ITES anchoring the Program. L to R: Ms.Subhasri Sriram, ED & CFO, Shriram City Union Finance Ltd., Mr.R.Vittal Raj, Partner, Kumar & Raj & Member, MCCI General Committee, Mr.S.G.Prabhakharan, President, MCCI and Mr.Sorav Jain, Thinker in Chief, echoVME

A view of the audience

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Chamber’s Activities

General Committee

Expert Committees

The Committee held its monthly meeting in October, November and December and discussed the following among other issues

The following reconstituted Committees for the year 2015-2016 had its first meeting in the month of October, November, December 2015 and

discussed their work plan for the current year.

Direct Tax Committee (conference call)

Indirect Tax Committee.

persons each preferably with an ideal mix of two from the Industry and two Professionals, to have the necessary balance to provide the right guidance to the entrepreneurs.

The Committee would further try to tie up the potential entrepreneurs with institutions providing space exclusively for start up entrepreneurs. The Students from rural area will be identified to provide mentorship and guidance for starting new enterprises.

SEE – Roadmap

WithregardtotheSEE–theStartupInitiative,thecommittee agreed that the initial step would be

to form the SEE Boards with the members who have agreed to render their support

An advisory board comprising of 12 members along with 3 to 4 See Boards would be constituted with 4

Ms. K. Saraswathi , •S e c r e t a r y G e n e r a l MCCI was invited to attend Urban Thinkers Campus India meeting in New Delhi, at the invitation of National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and Department f o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l Development (DFID) on October 4th & 5th 2015. She addressed in the session on “Local Economic Development through Entrepreneurial Ecosystems” wherein she presented the activities of the Sustainable Chennai Forum. M s . K . S a r a s w a t h i •i n a u g u r a t e d t h e Commerce Association I n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e Wo m e n’s C h r i s t i a n College on October 7, 2015 and addressed the

Ms. K.Saraswathi, Secretary General with the other speakers in the panel discussion in the Seminar on Industry Engagement for skilled workforce through Apprenticeship organized by FICCI on October 16, 2015

Other Meetings

Students on the topic “ How to match students’ Talents and Corporate expectations?”

A discussion on the Draft MSME Policy with focus on … was held in the •Chamber on October 7, 2015. Ms.K.Saraswathi attended the meeting on the Discussion on draft MSME •Policy by the Industries and Commerce Department at the SIDCO premises on October 14, 2015. Ms. K.Saraswathi was one of the speakers in the panel discussion in •the Seminar on Industry Engagement for skilled workforce through ApprenticeshiporganizedbyFICCIonOctober16,2015.Mr.JagmohanSingh Raju, IAS, Principal Secretary to Government, Micro , Small and Medium Enterprises Department, Govt of Tamil Nadu inaugurated the SeminarandtheKeySpeakerwasMr. KumarJayantIAS,SecretarytoGovernment, Labour and Employment Department, Govt of Tamil Nadu. Mr.RajeshAgrawalIAS,JointSecretary,Ministryof SkillsDevelopment&EntrepreneurshipandDirectorGeneral–DGETgaveaspecialaddressin the Seminar. A n A c t i o n C o m m i t t e e M e e t i n g h e a d e d b y •Mr. Ram Venkataramani, Vice President was held at the Chamber on October 23, 2015 to discuss the activities of the Skill Development Centre and the way forward.

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Other Meetings

Mr. S.Sankaranaryanan,Deputy Secretary,MCCI •along with Mr. P.R.Subramaniyan, Chairman, Expert Committee-VAT and Mr. Balakrishnan, Mr.Amarnath,Members, ExpertCommittee –VAT, submitted a representation to the Principal Commissioner, Commercial Taxes on November 9, 2015A meeting was held at Mr. S.G.Prabhakharan, •President’s office to discuss the course of action for the Arbitration Centre. Mr. Anand Gopalan, Chairman, Expert Committee on Legal took the lead for the meeting to be held on November 13, 2015 along with Mr. Rahul Balaji and M r. A n i r u d h K r i s h n a n , A d v o c a t e s . Ms. K.Saraswathi attended the meeting. Ms. K.Saraswathi was one of the jury members for •the Elihu Yale Inter Collegiate Debate on the topic –TheVisionof Dr.AbdulKalamtobridgethegapbetween theprivilegedand theunderprivileged–Will his dream come true? for the event conducted by the Indo American Association on 30th November 2015.

flAsh nEws

ChAMbEr in thE nEws

Intro: New Members

Name of the Company Classification

Conscientia Consultancy Private Ltd. Legal and Management Consultant

EBMS Solutions Pvt Ltd Software services for logistics

NFA Life Secure Pvt.Ltd. Manufacturing (Security systems)

Prince Gold & Diamonds India Pvt Ltd. Association

Prince Gold & Diamonds India Pvt Ltd. Jewelleryretail/manufacturing/export

Tonglit Autogistic Pvt ltd Manufacturing (steel racks)

VIT University, Chennai Education

VIT University, Vellore Education

Association of Multimodal Transport Operators of India (AMTOI)

Association

Kalco Agro Products Pvt.Ltd. Manufacturing

CCCCC MeetingThe Presidents and Secretaries of the Consultative •Committee of the City Chambers of Commerce had a meeting on 29th December 2015 at the Chamber’s Conference room.The impact of floods on the businesses was •discussed to provide a representation to the State and Central Governments.Mr. S.G. Prabhakharan handed over the •Chairmanship of the CCCCC to the Andhra Chamber of Commerce, the next Chamber in rotation. Ms. V.L. Indira Dutt, President of Andhra Chamber of commerce will be the Chairman for the year 2015-2016 w.e.f 29th December 2015.

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fire up

THE MADRAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

Suggestions to the Principal Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, GoTN

on

Recent amendments carried out under Tamilnadu Value Added Tax Act.

Submitted on 9th November, 2015issUe no.3: section 21 – revised retUrns:

Presently, there is no provision to revise the monthly returns through On-line. This poses the risk of not reporting the correct taxable turnover to the Assessing Officer. There is a discretion prevailing amongst the Officers on this aspect. Some accept the revised returns, if filed manually, but others do not.

Suggestion:A provision may be created under the existing On-line systems to upload the revised returns. We understand that this aspect is taken care under TSP. Trade & Industry will benefit in great measure if TSP is implemented at the earliest.

issUe no.4 - filing of hard copies of the retUrns:

After uploading the monthly VAT & CST returns, Dealers are required to hand over a copy of the same to the Assessing Officer which creates additional paper work & keeping of records by the Dept. officials. The said provision was probably introduced to enable the Officers to get familiarized with the Systems. Such practice does not exist in A.P. Karnataka, Kerala & Telangana.

Suggestion: In the light of awareness amongst the Dept. officials on the usage of On-line facility of monthly returns, this practice may be dispensed with.

issUe no.5 - section -13 : tds on works contracts

The ceiling for exemption from TDS is fixed at Rs.100,000/-. This creates a situation where aperson is required to obtain TIN for the purposes of complying with TDS provisions although his main business may not require registration at all under the VAT Act .

issUe no.1 - section 19(1)(b)- inpUt tax credit

The buying Dealer is eligible to avail ITC only on payment of tax by the selling Dealer. This will pose a serious problem to the buyer Dealers who cannot keep track of payment of taxes being made by the Selling Dealer. This will also affect the working capital of the Dealers since while fixing their selling price, they take into account the immediate availability of ITC. Further, in the absence of similar provisions in the neighboring States, our Dealers may prove to be uncompetitive in their products. This will lead to the shifting of industrial base to other States thereby severely impacting the economy of the State.

Suggestion: We request the Government to restore the eligibility to avail ITC to the Dealers as per the old provisions of the Act & await the outcome of similar provisions under GST Act.

issUe no.2: section-13 – tax dedUctor’s identification no.

As per the wordings of the Section, every “person” is required to deduct tax at source & remit the same to the Account of Government in respect of payments made on Works Contract transactions. This results in individuals who are not in the business of any trade, to comply with TDS provisions under the Act which is practically not possible and that is also not the intention of the legislature.

Suggestion:

Instead of the expression every “Person”, the word every “Dealer” may be substituted. This will make only those type of persons who are registered as Dealers under the Act to comply with TDS provisions.

Representations from the Chamber

14

fire up

NotificationNo.II(1)/CTR/12(R-20)/2011-G.O.86dt.19/07/2011.

NBFC’s in the course of their business, retake possession of the asset in the event of default by the borrower/customerandsubsequentlysellthesameforrecovering their dues. Since there is no value addition and only value dilution on such assets, NBFC’s are unable to enjoy such benefit as available to Used vehicle Dealers. Hence a flat rate @2% of the sale value can be considered for such used vehicle sales effected by NBFC dealers.

issUe no.9- eoU and other exporters:

The exporters in Tamil Nadu have been facing considerable delay in getting refund of Input tax credit paid by them on their purchases. This affects their business operations especially in the light of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.

Suggestion:

Under Service tax law in similar cases, the refunds are granted within 3 months’ time from the date of submission of Refund Claim. However, here, along-with documents for claiming refund, the assessee is also required to attach a Certificate from a practicing Chartered Accountant who will verify the accuracy & genuineness of the claim for refund in accordance with relevant provisions of law. A similar system may be introduced to unburden the Officers with the verification work by delegating such work to the practicingCAs/CMAs.

issUe no.10 –‘c’ forms

Some of the purchasing Dealers issue “C” Forms to the suppliers based on the date of receipt of goods, instead of invoice based dates. This results in mismatch of turnovers reported in Form-I viz-a-vis Form-10 Register, maintained for collection of “C” forms.

Suggestion:

A Circular may be issued asking the Officers to accept the forms based on the date of receipt of goods. We are enclosing a copy of the Circular issued by the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes in Orissa for your reference.

Suggestion: The said ceiling may be synchronized with the limit for Registration under VAT Act viz., Rs.10 lakhs.

issUe no.6 – form –s

There is a provision in the Section for non deduction of tax at source based on Form-S to be issued by the Assessing Authority of the Contractor. However, invariably, most of the Dealers find it difficult to obtain this Certificate since majority of the Officers are not able to appreciate the facts of the given case.

Suggestion:Similar provisions exist under Income-tax Act, wherein based on certain documents, the Assessing Officers are bound to give non-deduction or lower rate deduction certificates upon the application being made by the assessees in this regard. Therefore, a detailed procedure may be evolved in this regard to effectively use & implement this provision. This will go a long way in the improvement of working capital of Dealers who undertake long-term contracts such as Metro Rail, Mega Power Projects, Construction of Dams etc.,

issUe no.7 – assessment notices

At present, the Assessing Officers while dealing with the Inspection Report of Enforcement Wing accept the same in toto & issue notice for reassessment of escaped/understatedturnoverwithoutindependentlyverifying the genuineness of such claims. This results in avoidable litigation before various forums & locking up of funds.

Suggestion:As the Assessing Officers have first hand information about the nature & complexity of the business of Dealers, they may be asked to evaluate the report in the light of prevailing provisions of the relevant rules governing the issues on hand. A detailed procedure in this regard may be issued to the Officers.

issUe no.8- sale of Used /second hand vehicles

Forsaleof Used/SecondhandvehiclesbyusedCarDealers, VAT @ 5% is allowed on Value Addition withoutInputTaxCreditRef –

15

Expert's Corner

Expert CommitteesThe Chamber has 14 Expert Committees with domain experts on varied subjects. They act as think tanks and assist the Chamber in proactively lobbying for business friendly policies both with the State and Central Governments, periodically discuss new policies and their impact on industries and commerce and prepare suitable representations, if needed to redress the grievances of the members. They also help in organizing seminars/workshops/round tables/conferences for the benefit of members. The Committees also counsel and advise members on their specific issues.

t h i s s p a c e f o r articles from these Experts in this feature Experts’ Corner.

of dispute before the Commercial Courts. An aiding section that lays down the procedure for calculating the Specified Value is also found in Chapter III of the Act.Chapter II of the Act deals with the constitution of Commercial Courts, their jurisdiction and bar of their jurisdiction. The Act contemplates creation of commercial courts at District level, High Court exercisingOriginal Civil Jurisdiction and also aCommercial Appellate Division in High Courts respectively. The territorial jurisdiction and the pecuniary jurisdiction of these commercial courts is also well defined. Section 8 gives finality to interlocutory orders of Commercial Courts.The Act also provides for transfer of suits from Civil Courts to Commercial Courts. Section 10 lays down the jurisdiction is respect of Arbitration matters. Section 11 bars the exercise of jurisdiction by the Commercial Courts in entertaining any suits, or applications or proceedings where the Civil Court’s jurisdiction is either expressly or impliedly barred. Chapter IV exclusively deals with appeals from Commercial Courts or Commercial Divisions of High Courts to Appellate Divisions. Section 14, the vital section, provides that the Commercial Appellate Division shall endeavor to dispose of the appeals within 6 months from the date of filing of the appeal. This is a crucial section since it is imperative to arrive at a decision in a time-bound manner in a high value transaction. However, the language only provides for “endeavor” by the courts to dispose of the appeal. Chapter V deals transfer of cases to Commercial Courts. Chapter VI provides for the amendments to the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, as given in the Schedule of the Act, which will govern the procedure of the Commercial Courts. It is also categorically provided that in cases of conflict between the Rule of theJurisdictionalHighCourtoranyamendmentof CPC by the State Government and the amendments to CPC made under this Ordinance, then the amendment under this Ordinance will prevail. Chapter VII imposes accountability and smooth functioning of the Commercial Courts. Section 21 is a non-obstante provision that gives this act an overriding effect over any other laws for time being in force. A glance at the schedule would reveal that substantial amendments have been made to Civil Procedure Code 1908 for aiding quick disposal of

Commercial Courts Act 2015 – A overviewIf one were to claim that a high value commercial litigation were to completed by Indian courts in six months, would it be believable? The Central Government has made a decision at diverting commercial disputes from both District Courts and High Courts, to dedicated Commercial Courts by exclusively empowering such Courts to hear, adjudicate and dispose-off commercial disputes. The Government has proposed The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015. As the Parliament is not in session, an Ordinance was promulgated by the President of India on 23rd of October 2015. A brief overview of the Act:The Act is divided into seven chapters having 22 Sections in total and one Schedule incorporating amended Civil Procedure Code that is applicable to this Act. The perimeter of the Commercial Courts has been defined in Section 2. Section 2(c) provides a very wide definition for the term ‘Commercial Dispute’, which means a dispute arising out of ordinary transactions of merchants, bankers, financiers and traders; export or import of merchandise or services; issues relating to admiralty or maritime law; transactions relating to aircraft, aircraft engines etc.; carriage of goods; construction and infrastructure contracts; agreements relating to immovable properties used exclusively in trade or commerce; franchising agreements; distribution and licensing agreements; management and consultancy agreements; joint venture agreements; shareholders and subscription agreement; partnership and technology development agreements; IPR related agreements; agreements for sale of goods or provision of services etc.Section 2(i) defines ‘Specified Value’ to mean those commercial disputes whose pecuniary value is more than 1 crore or higher, as notified by the Central Government, which can only form a subject matter

Madhri Guruswamy, Hemanth Kumar, T.S. Gopalan & Co., Advocates & Notaries Members of the Legal Expert Committee

16

Expert's Corner

cases and also for preventing filing of frivolous and vexatious suits or applications, by imposing high costs including interest on costs. The amendments also lay down time limitation for each stage. Whether this

attempt will prove to be a success or futile exercise, the industry and the stakeholders must wait and watch for its implementation.

Place of Effective Management (‘POEM’) - Alignment to international standards or a complete misfireA. Introduction: In the last decade, India has established itsstrategic

importance in the global business arena and as a result, we have seen several global giants setting up shops in India and at the same time, Indian conglomerates spreading their wings across geographic borders. Where stability of the domestic tax regime is being viewed as an integral factor for ease of doing business in a particular country, considering India’s recent controversial positions on indirect share transfers (for example, the Vodafone issue), applicability of Minimum Alternative Tax on Foreign Institutional Investors etc., the Government currently has its hands quite full to focus on measures which would boost stakeholder confidence in India.

One of the concepts proposed by the Government is modification of the tax residency definition in the Income-tax Act, 1961 (‘the domestic tax law’) for re-alignment with internationally accepted standards. Historically, a foreign corporate was treated as anIndia tax resident, if its control and management was situated wholly in India during that year. This is perhaps the highest threshold for determining tax residency in a country, since there were instances of companies avoiding India tax residency by merely holding one board meeting per year outside India.To curb such a misuse, the Finance Act 2015 has introduced the concept of POEM for determining the residential status of foreign companiesfrom Financial Year 2015-16 onwards. At a policy level this seems appropriate and extends to even fully operational companies which are effectively controlled from India would be treated as India tax residents. However, tax residency is a serious issue and needs to be addressed judiciously. It is worthwhile to mention that the Finance Bill, 2015, had originally proposed trigger of India tax residency if the POEM of a foreign company was in India even for a single day.The Government was however quick to spot an imminent public outcry on such rigorous condition and hence, in the fine print and the finally enacted law, such a condition was deleted.

B. Misalignment with international standards: The stated objective in the memorandum to the

Finance Bill, 2015 is to deal with shell companies being created outside India but which were in

substance being controlled and managed from India; and alignmentof the test of residency under the domestic tax law to the principles prescribed in the international tax law.

In the above context, it is appalling to note that the international tax standards are moving away from the concept of POEM as a measure for determining residency, as illustrated below:

• Though the model tax convention of theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (‘OECD’) recognises POEM as the factor for determining tax residency of companies having residency in more than one country, the updated commentary to OECD model tax convention released in 2013discussed that since situations of dual residency of corporates arerelatively rare,competent authorities of the respective countries are free to decide on such situations under the Mutual agreement procedures (‘MAP’) on a case to case basis.

• ItispertinenttonotethatthefinalreportoftheBaseErosion and Profit Shifting (‘BEPS’) Action Plan 6 on Preventing the Granting of Treaty Benefits in Inappropriate Circumstancesreleased by OECD in October 2015,discusses that many countries are of the view that cases of dual residency of companies often involve tax avoidance arrangements and hence,it was recommended that the POEM concept be replaced by MAP proceedings which allows a case-by-case solution by considering a variety of factors. India is a member of the G20 countries which has initiated the BEPS project and hence, it would be interesting to observe how the BEPS recommendations are accepted by India.

It is interesting to note that, Indiaitself, while stating its position on the OECD 2008 model commentary, had criticised that POEM, on a stand-alone basis, would not be a sufficient test for tax residency and that the place where the main or substantial activity is carried on should also be taken into account. Hence, given this background, it is unclear on the necessity and appropriateness of India incorporating the concept of POEM in its domestic tax laws at this point of time.

C. Analysis of POEM definition and scope for interpretation:

Analysing the POEM definition in the current form, there is a wide room for interpretation. POEM has been defined under the Act as a place where key management and commercial decisions that are necessary for the conduct of the business of an entity as a whole, are in substance made. The

17

Expert's Corner

course which is still eagerly awaited by the India Inc.

Memorandum to the Finance Bill proposed that a set of guiding principles would be issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (‘CBDT’) in due

Term Broad meaning and key issues to be addressed Whether subjective?

Key

Dictionary meaning of the term ‘key’is main, crucial, vitalWhile there is no reference to the term ‘strategic’ in the definition of POEM, reference to the adjective ‘key’ implies decisions of vital significance and hence, refers to decisions which are of strategic importance to the business.

Yes

Man

agem

ent

and

com

mer

cial

de

cisi

ons

Term has not been defined under the domestic tax laws.Management decisions typically relates to administration, supervision and control of a company and hence, denotes decisions relating to internal matters of a company.Commercial decisions relates to business or profit making activity and hence, relates to external matters of company.

Detailed guidance

required for interpretations, else, could be

subjective

No guidance on who is considered to be the key decision maker. While the senior most decision making authority would lie with the Board of Directors, guidance would be required on interpretation of instances where there are delegation of powers to any committee or where decisions are made by shareholders of the company etc.Guidance is required on whether actual decision making is required or mere power to make decisions would suffice for trigger of POEM.Very few decisions can be said to be both managerial and commercial in nature and hence, the use of the word ‘and’ does not seem to signify that only decisions which are managerial and commercial in nature are covered.

Nec

essa

ry

Dictionary meaning of the term ‘necessary’ is essential, obligatory, imperative.Whether a particular decision would qualify as ‘necessary for a business’ would conceptually be difficult to agree upon, owing to mismatch in the point of view of a business man vis-à-vis a taxman

Yes

Con

duct

of

the

busi

ness

of

an

enti

ty a

s a

who

le Lack of guidance on what could constitute business as a ‘whole’.

For example, if a company in Mauritiusoperates 3 lines of business or operates from 3 different countries, whether a decision taken from India on a particular business/countrywouldbecovered?Insuchacase,whetheraratio(sayratioof assets, ratio of income) of 75% or above, be a fair criterion on what would constitute ‘whole’?

Yes

Subs

tanc

e

Denotes essence of a transaction over its legal form (i.e. place where decisions are really made vis-à-visthe formal place of decision making) Following are illustrative decisions which may be viewed as lacking adequate substance:

Yes

i. Splitting of decisions into smaller parts such that individually each part may not be regarded as a key decision;

ii. Where recommendations of members of the Investment Committee in India relating to a foreign company are merely rubber-stamped by its directors abroad.

A termwise interpretationof the definition and the scope for subjectivity / interpretation is givenbelow:

18

Expert's Corner

The above article is contributed by Sushma Narayanan (Director) and Parvathy Vikramkumar (Assistant Manager) with PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Limited.

Given thatseveral subjective terms have been used in the definition of POEM, stakeholders are eagerly awaiting the CBDT guidelines,hoping that it would provide clarity to subjectiveterms and related interpretational issuesthereupon putting litigation at rest. Since the POEM definition has been in spirit and language bodily lifted from the OECD model convention, it is expected that the guidelines would be in line with OECD model guidelines.The OECD vide BEPS Action Plan 6 recommends that the competent authorities of countries should consider the following factors for determination of tax residency:i. Place where the meetings of the person’s board of

directors or equivalent body are usually held;ii. Place where the chief executive officer and other

senior executives usually carry on their activities;iii. Place where the senior day-to-day management of

the person is carried on;iv. Place where the person’s headquarters are

located;v. Which country’s laws govern the legal status of

the person;vi. Place where its accounting records are kept; and vii. Whether determining that the legal person is a

resident of one of the Contracting States but not of the other for the purpose of the Convention would carry the risk of an improper use of the provisions of the OECD Convention.

In line with the above factors, several countries such as China, Italy, South Africa and Russia have incorporated the POEM definition along with the guidelines for its determination in their respective domestic tax statutes. Based on the above, it would be interesting to see how the CBDT guidelines on POEM take shape and the binding nature of such guidelines in the event of any conflicts. D. Impl icat ions on sat is fact ion of POEM

definition:If a foreign company becomes an India tax resident by virtue of POEM test, its global income would be taxable in India regardless of the situs of accrual or receipt of income. Adding salt to injury, such income may be taxable at the rate of 40% (plus applicable surcharge and education cess), since it continues to

be a foreign company.Under a tax treaty scenario, while it should be possible in India to claim credit for taxes paid overseas, some countries do not allow claim of credit in dual residency cases. Non-availment of tax credit in adual residency could hugely impact companies considering the onerous tax costs in developing countries.Additionally, all compliances under the Indian domestic tax laws applicable to a resident such as domestic transfer pricing implications, withholding tax obligations, maintenance of books of accounts and audit thereof, etc. would be applicable.In most of the cases where India has overseas subsidiaries, the determination of POEM in light of the above becomes crucial. The outbound investments requires special attention for the reason that people who drive business of the overseas subsidiaries could be operating from India. Furthermore, India Inc. has to bear in mind that any dividends received from such foreign subsidiaries may be taxed additionally at 15 percent adding potentially to the effective tax cost. E. Authors ViewGiven that the Memorandum has suggested that the intention was to stop misuse of extant provisions by set up of shell companies outside India,Indian business houses with outbound investments would need to exercise adequate caution on the level of decision making process in India. Since the proposed provisions are much widely worded, it is likely to have unintended consequences and thus result in increased litigation. This goes against the current propaganda of the Government to reduce any protracted litigation by providing upfront tax certainty. In light of the above, documentation of the decision making process assumes increased significance going forward. The facts / documentation needs to becompletely aligned to demonstrate where the foreign company is controlled and managed from and this should further be aligned to the Group’s global transfer pricing policies. On a related note, one would need to closely wait and watch the guidelines proposed to be issued by CBDT. Considering the drastic changes in the international tax arena, it would be interesting to see whether, similar to GAAR, whether the testing of POEM by tax authorities would be deferred.

19

what's happening

mammoth task with just about 5 gigagatts of capacity addition estimated to be taking place in 2015 - as against a target of quadrupling the existing capacity to 175 GW by 2022.

On positive side, foreign and domestic investors have already committed to put in $20-30 billion to set up renewable energy ventures, while green bonds seem to be catching up with proceedings exceeding Rs 10,000 crore coming in the first year itself of these ambitious targets.

India’s overall engineering exports drop by 11.62%, France’ increases: EEPC India

France which is “at war” with terrorists had started to be among very few bright spots for the Indian engineering exports in October,2015 showing a smart rise of 30.27 per cent even when India’s overall engineering exports dropped by 11.62 per cent during the month, as per EEPC India study.

Government plans to award Rs 28,000 crore worth of highways development projects in FY16

The government plans to award Rs 28,000 crore worth of highways development projects in the current fiscal under the newly conceived hybrid annuity model amid renewed interest among private firms. This will be the largest chunk of investment under public private partnership or PPP in the sector in any single year since 2010.

Following a slew of recent policy changes, the road transport and highways ministry is targeting investment of over Rs 1 lakh crore from private sector in the next two-three years. Several infrastructure companies have already bid for projects worth Rs 5,500 crore under the new model, while bids for the remaining projects are yet to be invited. In all, the ministry will be awarding projects adding to more than 1,500 km under the hybrid model this year.

Source–TheEconomicTimes

No deadline for resolving complaints by Banking Ombudsman: RBI

There is no time limit for resolution of complaints under Banking Ombudsman scheme, aimed at seeking redressal of customers’ common complaints against banks according to Reserve Bank of India. “Over 9,500 such complaints were pending against various banks. The revised 2006 Banking Ombudsman scheme, applicable to all commercial banks, regional rural banks and scheduled primary cooperative banks, provides a forum to customers to seek redressal of their complaints.

There are 15 Banking Ombudsmen across the country.

The Reserve Bank of India had first introduced the Banking Ombudsman scheme in 1995 to provide an expeditious and inexpensive forum to bank customers for resolution of their complaints relating to deficiency in banking services.

Port projects worth 50,000 crore in pipeline: Shipping Secretary Rajive Kumar

The Centre has lined up 35 projects for the port sector under public-private-partnership (PPP), entailing investments of around Rs 50,000 crore.

Mr. Rajive Kumar, Shipping Secretary informed in an International Summit on Infrastructure Finance –BridgingtheGap”thattheyhaveabout45runningprojects and 35 projects in pipeline with about Rs 50,000 crore investment,

Further he added that the government has taken several initiatives to develop the sector including Sagarmala project as well as setting up of Indian Port Rail Connectivity Company, exclusively to take care of the last mile connectivity of ports

Green energy eyes $200 billion investment to add 175 GW by 2022

Eyeing an investment of $200 billion in renewable energy for a cleaner climate, India is up against a

20

MCCI Start up Entrepreneurial EcosystemThe Chamber launched a Startup Entrepreneurial Ecosystem (SEE) during its 179th year anniversary in the month of September 2015. SEE is a platform to support and encourage budding entrepreneurs, especially in the non IT segment which includes manufacturing and services apart from IT start ups, leveraging the vast experience and knowledge base the Chamber has in terms of its members and managing committee.

A high profile SEEs advisory committee is formed drawing members from our Managing Committee. Further 3/4SEEBoardsaresetupwith4-5membersineachBoard,withexpertiseindifferentdomainslikeFinance,legal, marketing, manufacturing etc. These Boards will meet periodically and would evaluate and guide new project ideas and handhold the start up entrepreneurs. Though financial support will not be provided, the Chamber’s evaluation and guidance would add lot of credibility for the project idea and for the new entrepreneur which may help in raising necessary financial support.

In order to encourage more women to enter the world of entrepreneurship and be a part of India’s economic growth, the Chamber has decided to have a subcommittee mainly to develop women start ups.

ASpartof SEE,theChamberwillorganizeanumberof seminars/awarenessprogramstopromotestartups and to motivate and educate entrepreneurs. We would work with Institutions that have similar interest in promoting this initiative.

The Chamber would continue to be a catalyst to develop Non - IT Start ups apart from IT in Tamil Nadu and would strive to make Chennai the “Manufacturing Startup Capital” of India.

BACK 2 BUSINESS HELP DESKThe Chamber has initiated steps in its “Back 2 Business Help Desk” mission to provide the necessary support and guidance to members who have been affected by the recent unprecedented floods in Chennai. The Chamber would also like to make a representation to the Government of Tamil Nadu for considering giving certain relief measures for the businesses and also to suggest few corrective measures for future.

It is important for us to know your views and inputs on this. We will be grateful if you could broadly indicate the issues you have faced (like closure of production units, absenteeism and loss of shifts and man days etc) and the financial impact that you have had because of the rains and flooding. Also, indicate the kind of support that you would require from the Chamber.

We also would like to have your thoughts and suggestions for avoiding or managing such situations better in future.

For any queries relating to SEE or B2B help desk, please write to us @ madraschamber@madraschamber.in orcall04424349452/24349871

STARTUP ENTREPRENEURS ECOSYSTEM

Option 2

Delegation to South KoreaA few snapshots....

Visit to Hyundai Car Factory

Visit to Cathay Pacific

Visit to Cathay Pacific