India Business Newsletter (July 01

India Business Newsletter

July 01 - July 31, 2022

Greetings from Consulate General of India,

New York!

Welcome to the July 2022 edition of our newsletter, bringing you important policy and high-impact news about India.

We hope you find it useful.

A Forum for Indian Businesses in North East USA

(Covering: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,

New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont)

RBI Measures to Have a Positive Impact on Overseas Fund Inflows: DEA Secretary

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a slew of temporary measures aimed at boosting foreign exchange inflows, including a doubling in the overseas borrowing limit for eligible corporates and removal of interest rate ceilings for NRIs’ foreign currency deposits. Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said the measures taken by the RBI would increase inflows of overseas funds and help strengthen the rupee against the U.S. dollar.

Indian Tech Companies Employ Over 2 Lakh in US: Nasscom

The Indian tech industry employed 207,000 people in the US, with an average wage of $106,360, in 2021, says a report by industry body Nasscom and US financial information company S&P Global. The employment is a 22% increase over 2017. The Indian tech sector, the report said, generated $103 billion in revenue from the US market in 2021. The impact of the Indian tech industry directly and by supporting their US client base through their projects has generated a total of $396 billion in US sales (output), supporting a total of 1.6 million jobs and contributing over $198 billion to the US economy – larger than the combined economies of 20 US states in 2021. The report added that the Indian technology industry in the US has played a significant role in expanding the talent pool outside of traditional tech hub states. This has contributed to some of these states, such as North Carolina, becoming emergent tech hubs.

US Tops UAE in Remittances to India: RBI Paper

Research by central bank economists showed that the US surpassed the UAE as the top source country, accounting for 23% of total remittances in 2020-21. “This corroborates with the World Bank report (2021) citing an economic recovery in the US as one of the important drivers of India’s remittances growth,” said the research paper by Soumasree Tewari and Ranjeeta Mishra in the Department of Economic and Policy Research, Reserve Bank of India. Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda added that “in the US, where most Indians are employed in IT and other white-collar jobs, the employment situation was much more stable during the pandemic restrictions, as opposed to the Gulf region. Besides, the US government also helped its individual residents with cash transfers that made it easier for them to financially support their relatives back home.”

Green Finance Could Be Bright and Robust Strand of growing India-U.S. Ties: Indian Envoy Sandhu

Green finance could become a bright and robust strand of the growing India-U.S. economic relations in the next 25 years, India’s envoy in Washington has said, asserting that the two countries have the intent and will to lead the global fight against climate change. The green economy is diverse globally, but concentrated in a few countries and is bound to find new and emerging markets like India, said Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s Ambassador to the U.S, in his address to a two-day conference on green finance cooperation between India and the United States. Adding on, he said “in clean technology, India and U.S. together have the world’s best brains and labs to create cutting edge technologies in green infrastructure.”

PM Gati Shakti: A Game Changer That Can Help India Achieve $20-Trillion Economy Dream by 2040

Infrastructure development is a critical enabler to achieve a $20 trillion economy by 2040. The series of structural reforms announced as we enter what PM Narendra Modi called the 'Amrit Kaal' has set the foundation for faster economic growth on the back of infrastructure development. In 2021, a step towards this was taken by launching the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) in October 2021. The Rs.100 lakh crore mega plan was launched with a digital platform to bring 16 ministries together for integrated planning and implementation of projects.

Round table / Investor’s meet with Joint Secretary, DPIIT

The Consulate General of India joined hands with Invest India and US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) to host Ms. Manmeet Nanda, Joint Secretary, Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on 12th July, 2022 , showcasing startup investment opportunities to potential American companies who are looking at either entering or expanding their operations in India. Mr. Malachy Nugent , Vice President – Financial Services of USISPF gave welcoming remarks. Consul General, Mr. Randhir Jaiswal addressed the event and delivered opening remarks. Ms. Manmeet Nanda, Joint Secretary, Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) discussed about investment opportunities in India, particularly in the booming start-up sector followed by a virtual presentation by Ms. Aastha Grover, of Startup India, on opportunities in the Indian startup ecosystem. The Roundtable was very well received by the stakeholders. The investor community, especially those looking to invest in fin-tech and other start-up segments, showed keen interest to further strengthen their presence in the Indian market.

Roadshow on One District One Product

The Consulate General of India in New York, in partnership with the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Invest India, held a Roadshow on One-District-One-Product (ODOP) on 12th July, 2022. The show was attended by stakeholders from the food, hospitality, textiles and relevant business sectors. Consul General, Mr. Randhir Jaiswal delivered opening remarks, talking about the importance of the ODOP initiative and detailing the uniqueness of the products. Joint Secretary from DPIIT, Ms. Manmeet Nanda familiarized the audience with the ODOP initiative and its vision. Representatives of Invest India took forward the discourse and emphasized the four pillars of the ODOP initiative – e commerce, marketing, licensing, and selling and trade. Different products from different parts of the country were showcased, ranging from cardamom tea, millet pasta, spices, textiles, handicraft, saffron, ginger flakes and more. Members of the diaspora were urged to promote products from their districts and adopt the vision of the ODOP scheme. They were urged to promote ODOP products through gift giving, socially as well as officially. Earlier, the Consulate had organized a display of ODOP products at Times Square during International Day of Yoga celebrations on 21st June 2022.

Round table with Mr. Suman Bery, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog

A roundtable in association with US – India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and TiE, New York on “Transforming India” with Mr. Suman Bery, Vice Chairman of NITI Ayog was held in the Consulate on 13th July 2022. The event was attended by about 60 high-level executives, policymakers, researchers, businesses, potential investors, and representatives of the media. Mr. Malachy Nugent , Vice President – Financial Services of USISPF gave welcome remarks. Consul General, Mr. Randhir Jaiswal delivered the opening remarks introducing Mr. Bery. Mr Bery delivered an address on Transforming India, focusing on next-generation reforms, growth, policy, and energy transitions. Opening the floor to questions, Mr. Bery delved into India as a growing digital economy and discussed the importance of urbanization and effective management along with financial inclusion through innovative thinking, highlighting the positive environment for investment capabilities in India.

Inauguration Indian Pavilion, SRTEPC, Jacob Javits Center, New York

A 6-company delegation led by the Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC)participated at the Texworld Trade Fair in New York from 19th till 21st July, 2022. Consul General inaugurated the India Pavilion. He met exporters from India and encouraged them to expand their footprint in the US market given new exciting opportunities.

Alumunus Award Ceremony – IIT Kharagpur

The Consulate hosted a reception for a high -level delegation led by Director of IIT Kharagpur , Professor V. K. Tewari on 22nd July, 2022. The event was attended by distinguished members and faculty from IIT Kharagpur Alumni in and around New York and Professor Rintu Bannerjee- Board of Governors, Head, Agriculture and food sciences; Professor Jayanta Mukhopadhyay- Dean , Outreach , Alumni and International Relations and Dr. Asoke Deysarkar-President IIT Kharagpur Foundation , USA. The highlight of the evening was the Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony. Recipients of this award were: Mr. Lalit Bahl, Principal, Renaissance; Mr. Mukund Padmanabhan, Principal, Renaissance; Mr. Sanjoy Banerjee, Distinguished Professor, CUNY and Mr. Ankur Jain, Researcher, MIT. President of PanIIT USA, Dr. Ron Gupta, delivered opening remarks giving the outline of the program. Consul General Mr. Randhir Jaiswal, gave welcoming address talking about strengthening the bond with IIT, connecting and promoting alumni networks and engaging the alumni in its growth and progress. Professor V.K. Tewari, Director of IIT kharagpur, spoke about the progress of IITs in the last few years and the importance of the National Education Program 2020.