merchants’ chamber of commerce &...

MERCHANTS’ CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY(Established in 1901)

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE FOR THE YEAR 2019-2020

15B Hemanta Basu Sarani, Kolkata 700001Tel: 91 33 2248 1502 /6329/ 3123, 2262 5070(5 lines)

FAX: 91 33 2248 8657Email: [email protected] | Website: www.mcciorg.com

MERCHANTS’ CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY15B, Hemanta Basu Sarani, Kolkata 700001

Dated: 20 July 2020

ToALL MEMBERS

Dear Members,

The Committee has great pleasure in presenting to you the report of activities for the year ending on 31 March 2020 in terms of Articles 34 (C) of the Constitution. The Audited Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet for the year are also enclosed.

Yours faithfully,

Vivek GuptaPresident

Aakash ShahSenior Vice President

Rishabh C KothariVice President

Arun Kumar DalmiaHonorary Secretary

Bharat AgarwalTreasurer

CONTENTS

Page No.

1. Members of the Committee for the year 2019–2020...................................................................7

2. 118th Annual General Meeting ..............................................................................................................10

3. Interactive Sessions/Symposia/Workshops ...................................................................................20

4. MCCI Ladies Forum ................................................................................................................................. 78

5. Other Important Events ...........................................................................................................................82

6. Press Communique ....................................................................................................................................86

7. Representations / Memoranda .............................................................................................................91

8. Working of MCCI Councils .....................................................................................................................98

9. Other Activities of the Chamber .........................................................................................................100

10. Past Trustees / Advisory Council / MCC Foundation / Councils .........................................101

11. Affiliations ..................................................................................................................................................... 113

12. Representatives of MCCI on Public Bodies ................................................................................... 114

13. Meetings held during the year ........................................................................................................... 115

14. Past Presidents ......................................................................................................................................... 120

*****************

Annual Report 2019-20 7

Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry

MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE FOR THE YEAR 2019–2020

Office Bearers President : Shri Vivek Gupta

Senior Vice President : Shri Aakash Shah

Vice President : Shri Rishabh C Kothari

Hony. Secretary : Shri Arun Kumar Dalmia

Treasurer : Shri Bharat Agarwal

Trustees Shri A.R. Sonthalia Shri B.K. Jhajharia

Shri Radhe Shyam Agarwal Shri Shrawan Kumar Todi

Past Presidents Shri M. C. Shah Shri Amitav Kothari

Shri Arun Kumar Churiwal Shri Suresh Jhunjhunwala

Shri Sheo Shankar Bagaria Shri Birendra Agarwal

Shri Ajay Kajaria Shri S K Dhandhania

Shri Sunil Kanoria Shri Kunj Behari Agarwala

Shri Aditya V. Agarwal Shri Santosh Kumar Saraf

Shri Atul Churiwal Shri Anupam Shah

Shri Shyam Sunder Beriwala Shri Deepak Jalan

Shri Sanjay Agarwal Shri Arun Kumar Saraf

Shri Manish Goenka Shri Hemant Bangur

Shri Ramesh Agarwal Shri Vishal Jhajharia

Annual Report 2019-208


MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE

Shri Arun Kumar Agarwal Shri Bhagwandas Agarwal

Shri Bijay Gujarwasia Agarwal Shri Brij Bhushan Agarwal

Shri Deepak Kumar Agarwal Shri Mahesh Kumar Agarwal

Shri Mahendra Kumar Agarwal Shri Manish Agarwal

Shri Mayank Agarwal Shri Naresh Kumar Agarwal

Shri Ravi Agarwal Shri Shyam Lal Agarwal

Shri Suresh Agarwal Shri Brahmanand Agarwala

Shri Arvind Agrawal Shri Subodh Kumar Agrawal

Shri Abhishek Bagaria Shri Pulkit Baid

Shri Santosh Bajaj Shri Namit Bajoria

Shri Devesh Bansal Shri Sunil Bansal

Shri Tushar Basu Shri Lalit Beriwala

Shri Vishnu Kumar Bhandari Shri Rajiv Bhartia

Smt. Mamta Binani Shri Srinjoy Bose

Shri H P Budhia Shri Ravindra Chamaria

Shri Sudeep Chitlangia Shri Kamal Kumar Dugar

Shri Tulsi Kumar Dugar Shri Devendra Goel

Shri Amit Goenka Shri Girdhari Lal Goenka

Shri R.S. Goenka Shri Manish Gourisaria

Shri Kailash Chand Goyal Shri Arun Kumar Jagatramka

Shri Chandra Kumar Jain Shri Ravi Jain

Shri Sanjay Jain Shri Sanjay Kumar Jain

Shri Munish Jhajharia Shri Radhey Shyam Jhawar

Shri Anirudh Jhunjhunwala Shri Nirmal Kaushik



Shri Bimal Kumar Kejriwal Shri Mahesh Chandra Keyal

Shri Surendra Keyal Shri Rajendra Khandelwal

Shri Sharad Kumar Khaitan Shri Manaswy Kothari

Shri Sanjib Kumar Kothari Shri Smarajit Mitra

Shri Banwari Lal Mittal Shri Rajesh Mittal

Shri Pawan Kumar Patodia Shri Sanjib Kumar Patwari

Shri Lavesh Poddar Shri Pawan Kumar Rajgaria

Shri Sanjay Rasiwasia Shri Rahul Saraf

Shri Avinash Sawalka Shri Vicky Raj Sikaria

Shri Taranjit Singh Shri Pradeep Kumar Singhania

Shri Rohit Singhania Shri Akhil Sonthalia

Shri Jyoti Vardhan Sonthalia Smt. Priti Sureka

Shri Ashok Kumar Todi Shri Pradip Kumar Todi

Shri Adarsh Tulshan Shri Aditya Vikram Birla

Shri Srivatsa Kajaria

SECRETARIAT Director General : Shri Souvik Banerjee

Deputy Director General : Shri M.C. Das

Deputy Director General : Shri S. Roy

Asst. Director General : Smt. Munmun Banerjee

Asst. Director General : Shri Sushantjit Dey

Deputy Secretary : Shri Rajiv Mukerji

Deputy Secretary : Shri Avishek Mukherjee

Assistant Secretary : Shri Arijit Dey

***************



Shri Bharat Agarwal, Honorary Secretary welcomed all the members present to the 118th Annual General Meeting of the Chamber. He requested Shri Vishal Jhajharia, President to take the Chair in terms of Article 16(a) of the Articles of Association of the Chamber.

The Chairman thanked the Honorary Secretary and greeted all the members present including the Past Presidents with a warm welcome. Since the requisite quorum was present he declared the meeting open. He also extended a cordial welcome to the authorized representative of the statutory Auditors, M/s K. Prasad & Co.

The Chairman outlined the activities of the Chamber of Commerce during the year, with special reference to the Meetings with several Dignitaries. He said that the indomitable spirit and quest to build an institution to safeguard the interests of the indigenous business community led to the birth of a Baishya Sabha, with the changing times now it stands as Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry, standing strong with great ballast and resilience as one of the leading and front-ranking Chamber of commerce and industry in the region. Built on Trust, the Chamber has always been committed to the maximisation of three fundamental goals: better service to members, greater visibility and wider reach. He said that an institution is larger than an individual and that ethos should be maintained.

The Chairman made a special mention of programmes with the Central and State Ministers, Departmental Secretaries, India Economic Forum, other sectoral programmes like Retail, Fintech, Insurance, Energy, Agri Exports, Education etc., programmes of MLF as also of MSME Help Desk

& reach–out programmes at Durgapur, Haldia and Medinipur. He also discussed about his ‘unfinished agenda’ and suggested that the new Committee may consider opening up an office in New Delhi and harness the geographical advantages in countries like Nepal, Bhutan and adjoining states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and others.

Shri Vishal Jhajharia sincerely and gratefully acknowledged the unstinted support and wise counsel provided by the Trustees, Past Presidents, Members of the Committee, Chairmen and Co-Chairmen of Standing Committees. He appreciated the dedication and hard work put in by the Secretariat to make all programmes and activities fruitful and visible.

AGENDA OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Hony. Secretary read out the Notice dated 12th December, 2019 convening the AGM. The Chairman put forth the following resolutions:

ORDINARY BUSINESSRESOLUTION No. 1 : APPROVAL AND ADOPTION

OF ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE :To receive, consider and adopt the Report of

the Committee for the year 2018–19.

“RESOLVED THAT the Report of the Committee for the year 2018–19 be hereby adopted.”

Proposed by : Shri Suresh Jhunjhunwala

Seconded by : Shri Santosh K Saraf

The Resolution was put to vote and carried unanimously.

118th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGon 30 December 2019 at MCCI Conference Hall



RESOLUTION No. 2 : APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE CHAMBER.

To receive and consider the audited Balance Sheet and Statement of Income & Expenditure Account of the Chamber for the year ending 31st March, 2019 along with the Report of the Auditor and adopt the same.

“RESOLVED THAT the audited Balance Sheet and the Statement of Income & Expenditure Account of the Chamber for the year ending 31st March, 2019 along with the Report of the Auditor be hereby adopted.”

Proposed by : Shri Deepak Jalan

Seconded by : Shri Ramesh Agarwal


RESOLUTION No. 3 : APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS

To ratify the appointment of Statutory Auditors for the financial year 2019-20 and to fix their remuneration and in this regard to consider and, if thought fit, to pass with or without modification(s), the following Resolution as an Ordinary Resolution:

“RESOLVED THAT pursuant to the provisions of sections 139, 141 read with the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 and other applicable provisions, if any, of the Companies Act, 2013 (including any statutory modification(s) or re-enactment(s) thereof for the time being in force) and pursuant to the resolution passed by the members at the 113th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 30th September, 2014, appointing M/s. K. Prasad & Co., Chartered Accountants, Kolkata (ICAI Firm Registration No. 303062E), as the Statutory Auditors of the Company, to hold office till the conclusion of the 118th AGM of the Company and pursuant to the recommendations of the Committee of the Company, the appointment of the said Statutory Auditors of the Company to

hold office from the conclusion of the 118th AGM to the conclusion of the 119th AGM be and is hereby ratified and that the Committee be and is hereby authorised to fix such remuneration in consultation with the said Auditors.”

“RESOLVED FURTHER THAT the honorarium for the year 2019–20 shall be Rs. 30,000/- (Rupees Thirty thousand only) plus GST.

Proposed by : Shri Birendra Agarwal

Seconded by : Shri Sushil Kumar Dhandhania


SPECIAL BUSINESS

RESOLUTION NO.4 :BUDGET OF THE CHAMBER FOR THE YEAR 2019–20

To receive, consider and adopt the Budget of the Chamber for the financial year 2019–20 and in this regard to consider and, if thought fit, to pass with or without modification(s), the following Resolution as an Ordinary Resolution :

“RESOLVED THAT the Budget of the Company for the financial year 2019-20 be and is hereby approved and adopted.”

Proposed by : Shri A R Sonthalia

Seconded by : Shri M C Shah


RESOLUTION NO.5 : ELECTION OF PRESIDENT, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT AND NINE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE FOR THE

YEAR 2019–20.RESOLUTION

TO ELECT THE PRESIDENT FROM AMONGST THE MEMBERS AND TO CONSIDER, IF THOUGHT FIT, TO PASS, WITH OR WITHOUT MODIFICATION, THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION, AS AN ORDINARY RESOLUTION :



5 (a) “RESOLVED THAT in pursuance to the provisions of Section 160 and other applicable provisions, if any, of the Companies Act 2013 and the rules made there under (including any statutory modification(s) or re-enactment(s) thereby for the time being in force) read with Articles 13 (c) of the Articles of Association of the Chamber, the consent of the Members of the Chamber be and is hereby agreed to the appointment of Shri Vivek Gupta, DIN No. 00548992, as President of the Chamber for the Year 2019–20, to hold office from the conclusion of this Annual General Meeting until the next election is made.”

Proposed by : Shri B K Jhajharia

Seconded by : Shri Suresh Jhunjhunwala


TO ELECT THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FROM AMONGST THE MEMBERS AND TO CONSIDER, IF THOUGHT FIT, TO PASS, WITH OR WITHOUT MODIFICATION, THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION, AS AN ORDINARY RESOLUTION.

5 (b) “RESOLVED THAT in pursuance to the provisions of Section 160 and other applicable provisions, if any, of the Companies Act 2013 and the rules made there under (including any statutory modification(s) or re-enactment(s) thereby for the time being in force) read with Articles 13(c)(i) and Article 14 (a) of the Articles of Association of the Chamber, the consent of the Members of the Chamber be and is hereby agreed to the appointment of Shri Aakash Shah, DIN No. 02755758 as Senior Vice President of the Chamber for the Year 2019–20, to hold office from the conclusion of this Annual General Meeting until the next election is made.”

Proposed by : Shri Ajay Kajaria

Seconded by : Shri Arun Kumar Saraf


TO ELECT THE VICE PRESIDENT FROM AMONGST THE MEMBERS AND TO CONSIDER, IF THOUGHT FIT, TO PASS, WITH OR WITHOUT MODIFICATION, THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION, AS AN ORDINARY RESOLUTION

5 (c) “RESOLVED THAT in pursuance to the provisions of Section 160 and other applicable provisions, if any, of the Companies Act 2013 and the rules made there under (including any statutory modification(s) or re-enactment(s) thereby for the time being in force) read with Articles 13(c)(i) and Article 14(a) of the Articles of Association of the Chamber, the consent of the Members of the Chamber be and is hereby agreed to the appointment of Shri Rishabh C Kothari, DIN No. 00177074 as Vice President of the Chamber for the Year 2019–20, to hold office from the conclusion of this Annual General Meeting until the next election is made.”

Proposed by : Shri Munish Jhajharia

Seconded by : Smt. Mamta Binani


The Chairman informed that the above mentioned persons would be the Office Bearers of the Chamber and would be the Directors of the Chamber, under the provisions of the Companies Act 2013.

Agenda 5 (d) ELECTION OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS :

In terms of Article 14(b) of the Articles of Association of the Chamber, 9 members of the Committee shall retire by rotation at this session. 9 members, including those retiring by rotation shall be elected in place of those retiring.

“RESOLVED THAT in pursuance of the provisions of Article 14(b) of the Articles of Association of the Chamber, the following Members be elected to the Committee.”



Committee Member : 1. Shri Suresh Jhunjhunwala

Moved by : Shri Sanjay Jain

Seconded by : Shri Sanjib Kothari

The Resolution was put to vote and carried

unanimously.

Committee Member : 2. Shri Arun Kumar Agarwal

Moved by : Shri Sanjay Rasiwasia

Seconded by : Shri Akhil Sonthalia


unanimously.

Committee Member : 3. Shri Bharat Agarwal

Moved by : Shri Nirmal Kaushik

Seconded by : Shri Suresh Agarwal


unanimously.

Committee Member : 4. Smt. Mamta Binani

Moved by : Shri C K Jain

Seconded by : Shri Arun Kumar Dalmia


unanimously.

Committee Member : 5. Shri Sharad Khaitan

Moved by : Shri Surendra Keyal

Seconded by : Shri Manaswy Kothari


unanimously.

Committee Member : 6. Shri Akhil Sonthalia

Moved by : Shri Bijay Gujarwasia Agarwal

Seconded by : Shri Lavesh Poddar


unanimously.

Committee Member : 7. Shri Shyam Lal Agarwal

Moved by : Shri Anirudh Jhunjhunwala

Seconded by : Shri Manish Gourisaria


unanimously.

Committee Member : 8. Shri Rajiv Bhartia

Moved by : Shri K C Goyal

Seconded by : Shri Tushar Basu


unanimously.

Committee Member : 9. Shri Pulkit Baid

Moved by : Shri Arvind Agrawal

Seconded by : Shri Pradeep Singhania


unanimously.



The Chairman congratulated Shri Vivek Gupta on his election as the President of the Chamber and expressed his satisfaction that he would hand over the baton to such a dynamic person. He felt that the Chamber would reach greater heights under the dynamic leadership of Shri Vivek Gupta as the President.

Shri A.R. Sonthalia complimented the outgoing Team led by Shri Vishal Jhajharia for their immense contribution to the Chamber. He said that it was a difficult period, but the results were far better than expected. The Secretariat had put in tremendous effort during the year, he said. He extended hearty congratulations to the newly elected Office Bearers for the year ahead. He was hopeful that Shri Vivek Gupta, with his huge contacts with the Government and the media, would scale up the activities further.

Expressing his appreciation on an eventful year of the Chamber, Shri B.K. Jhajharia thanked the outgoing Office Bearers’ Team led by Shri Vishal Jhajharia, for their outstanding work. He congratulated the incoming Team under the Presidentship of Shri Vivek Gupta and was hopeful that the Chamber would attain newer dimensions and greater heights under his dynamic leadership. He also put on record his appreciation for the dedication and commitment of the Secretariat.

Shri Suresh Jhunjhunwala spoke highly regarding the multifarious work of the Chamber. He felt that MCCI could play a more important role by partnering actively with the different Ministries & Departments of the Union & State Governments in addressing key economic issues.

Shri Birendra Agarwal appreciated the immense contribution of the outgoing President to the Chamber as also for taking the Chamber to greater heights. He spoke highly about the Proceedings and Reports sent from the Secretariat. He said that the members are now more confident about the Chamber.

Shri K C Goyal mentioned about the support

and cooperation of the Chamber towards addressing members’ needs.

Smt. Mamta Binani spoke highly about the leadership of Shri Vishal Jhajharia, which has inspired the younger generation of the Chamber. With accolades to the Trustees and past Presidents for their all round support, she congratulated the young and vibrant incoming team.

Shri Vivek Gupta, the newly elected President thanked all the Trustees, Past Presidents, Committee Members and Members of the Chamber for the confidence and trust bestowed upon him by electing him as President of MCCI. He sought co-operation from all to enable him to discharge his responsibilities as the President of this august body.

Shri Vishal Jhajharia proposed the Vote of Thanks to the Chair and to the members for attending the session.

Newly Elected CommitteeThe First Meeting of the New Committee was

held after the Annual General Meeting.

Shri Vivek Gupta, President took the chair and welcomed all members present to the First Meeting of the New Committee. He felt that it is one of the greatest honour and privilege for him to have an opportunity to serve this 118 year old great legendary institution as the President. He said that MCCI is one of the premiere chambers of Kolkata and eastern India and recently the Chamber has had good interactions with the Central and State Governments, at all levels. The Chamber is steadily taking steps towards fulfilling member aspirations; Dedication and Talent are rewarded here, he noted.

He acknowledged the tremendous encouragement and motivation that he received from the Trustees, Shri A R Sonthalia and Shri B K Jhajharia, whom he termed as the pillars of the Chamber. He expressed his heartfelt thanks



to them for their immense support, wise counsel and guidance.

He expressed sincere thanks to the immediate past President, Shri Vishal Jhajharia for the unstinted support, inspiration and guidance. He complimented Shri Jhajharia for his dedication to the Chamber, especially on dealing with complex issues and situations.

He thanked all the Members for bestowing their confidence in him and also thanked the Secretariat for their dedicated services. He sought co-operation, active support and guidance from all, particularly the new Office Bearers, Trustees, Past Presidents & Committee Members in carrying out the functions of the Chamber effectively and introducing new initiatives to the Chamber.

The President pointed out that of late, it has become fashionable to use the words ‘democracy’ and ‘transparency’ without fully understanding the depth and width of these words and in the context that they are used. He urged the members to convince, engage, talk to other people about matters and viewpoints. He felt that one act alone of a person does not define his/ her entire life and career. Similarly, one act of an institution doesn’t define the institution in its entirety. He stressed on the ‘art of agree to disagree’ and felt that one should try and engage in a dialogue with people rather than go for confrontation.

He mentioned that one of his first and priority task will be to understand aspirations and requirements of the members and fulfill them to the extent possible. He urged upon the members to engage with the Chamber and send their suggestions. The Chamber is doing a lot of activities based on feedbacks and inputs received from the members, and is ready to do more, he observed.

He stressed upon good and continuous interaction with the Central and State Governments for the Chamber to have a leading role in advocacy and policy implementation. He also mentioned that

more and more members of the Chamber should be motivated/ activated to take up leadership roles to take the Chamber forward. It is extremely important to activate and motivate a bunch of leaders who would like to contribute to the activities of the Chamber in future, he felt.

The President mentioned that change is the only constant and sometimes, change is necessary. He hoped that with his Office Bearers, Shri Aakash Shah, Senior Vice President and Shri Rishabh Kothari, Vice President, MCCI Team will achieve greater heights for the Chamber. He assured that the Chamber would take up issues of the members to the highest level. The Chamber can help in policy, in implementation of rules and regulations and other incidental matters. “IF ONE CAN DO, YOU MUST DO; IF NO ONE CAN DO, YOU MUST DO”, he noted.

Co-option to the new Committee In terms of amended Article 13(c)(iii) of

the Articles of Association of the Chamber, the Committee was required to co-opt Members from among the past Presidents and from among other members including the immediate past President for the year 2019–20.

Shri A. R. Sonthalia proposed the following names from the two specific categories of A & B for the year 2019–20 in terms of the said Article 13(C)(iii) of the Articles of Association of the Chamber.

Category A : Past Presidents :

1. Shri Sheo Shankar Bagaria

2. Shri Sushil K. Dhandhania

3. Shri Kunj Behari Agarwala

4. Shri Aditya V. Agarwal

5. Shri Atul Churiwal

6. Shri Manish Goenka



Category B : Other Members :

1. Shri Vishal Jhajharia – Immediate Past

President

2. Shri Hari Prasad Budhia

3. Shri R S Jhawar

Special Invitees

1. Shri Srivatsa Kajaria

2. Shri Aditya Vikram Birla

The proposal was unanimously approved by

the Committee.

Nomination of Director Members :

The President informed that in terms of Article

13(c)(iv) of the Articles of Association, the New

Committee was required to nominate all Director

Sr. No. NAME OF COMPANY NAME OF REPRESENTATIVE1 Adhunik Corporation Ltd. Mahesh Kr. Agarwal2 Bajoria Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (Kutchina) Namit Bajoria3 Bengal Beverages Pvt. Ltd. Amit Goenka4 Bharat Hitech (Cements) Pvt. Ltd. Naresh Kumar Agarwal5 BDJ Oxides Private Limited Anirudh Jhunjhunwala6 Calcutta Ferrous Limited Bhagwandas Agarwal7 Celica Developers Pvt. Ltd. Adarsh Tulshan8 Century Plyboards India Ltd. Sanjay Agarwal9 CKC Fragrances and Flavours Pvt. Ltd. Rishabh Kothari10 Duroply Industries Ltd. Sudeep Chitlangia11 Dhanwantary Medicare & Research Centre Pvt. Ltd. Rajendra Khandelwal12 EMAMI Ltd. R.S. Goenka13 Essel Kitchenware Limited Kailash Chand Goyal14 Forum Projects Pvt. Ltd. Rahul Saraf15 Ganapati Balaji Spinning Mills Pvt. Ltd. Bijay Gujarwasia Agarwal

Members as members of the Committee for the

year, 2019-20. He further mentioned that currently

there were 66 Director Members, out of whom

three members had been elected as President,

Senior Vice President and Vice President. As such,

the remaining 63 Director Members would become

ipso facto members of the New Committee, with

all rights and privileges, in terms of the aforesaid

Article 13(c)(iv), subject to the payment of their

annual subscription.

The Committee approved of the proposal.

The names of 66 Director Members are given

below :

DIRECTOR MEMBERS FOR THE YEAR 2019–20



Sr. No. NAME OF COMPANY NAME OF REPRESENTATIVE

16 Glaxo Finance Pvt. Ltd. Kamal Kumar Dugar17 Gopika Projects Pvt. Ltd. Rohit Singhania18 Greenply Industries Limited Rajesh Mittal19 GNRE INFRA Pvt. Ltd. A.K. Jagatramka20 Haldiram Bhujiawala Ltd. Manish Agarwal21 J.G. Hosiery Pvt. Ltd. Sandeep Seksaria22 Joonktollee Tea & Industries Ltd. Hemant Bangur23 JRK Stock Broking Pvt. Ltd. Ravi Jain24 JVS Securities Pvt. Ltd. Jyoti Vardhan Sonthalia25 King Chemicals Sanjib Kumar Kothari26 Lion Pictures & Frames (India) Ltd. Manish Gourisaria27 Linc Pen & Plastics Limited Deepak Jalan28 Lumino Industries Ltd. Devendra Goel29 Lux Industries Ltd. Ashok Kr. Todi30 Lux Industries Ltd. Pradip Kumar Todi31 Meghalaya Cements Ltd. Mahendra Kumar Agarwal32 Mortex (India) Mahesh Chandra Keyal33 Multiwyn Industries Pvt. Ltd. Vishal Jhajharia34 National Printing Works B.N. Agarwala35 Neo Metaliks Limited Ravi Agarwal36 Nipha Exports Pvt. Ltd. Aakash Shah37 Phuguri Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd. Abhishek Bagaria38 Pragya Mercantile Pvt. Ltd. Tulsi Kumar Dugar39 Pratidin Prtakashani Pvt. Ltd. Srinjoy Bose40 Priti A. Sureka Priti A. Sureka41 Pulkit Veneer Mills Pvt. Ltd Pawan Kumar Patodia42 Rajgaria Timber (P) Ltd. Pawan Kumar Rajgaria43 Rashmi Metaliks Ltd. Sanjib Kumar Patwari44 Ravindra Chamaria Ravindra Chamaria45 Rupa & Co. Ltd. Ramesh Agarwal46 Sanmarg Pvt. Ltd. Vivek Gupta47 Sastasundar Ventures Ltd. B.L. Mittal48 Satellite Progressive Developers Suresh Agarwal49 Shailja Park Pvt. Ltd. Mayank Agarwal50 Shakambhari Ispat & Power Ltd. Deepak Kumar Agarwal



Sr. No. NAME OF COMPANY NAME OF REPRESENTATIVE

51 Shakti Logistics Pvt. Ltd. Lavesh Poddar

52 Shyam Metalics and Energy Ltd. Brij Bhushan Agarwal53 Shyam Steel Industries Limited Shyam Sunder Beriwala54 Shyam Steel Manufacturing Limited Lalit Beriwala55 Siddha Real Estate Development Pvt. Ltd. Sanjay Jain56 Singhania & Sons Pvt. Ltd. Pradeep Kumar Singhania57 Skipper Limited Devesh Bansal58 Smarajit Mitra & Associates Smarajit Mitra59 SREI Equipment Finance Ltd. Sunil Kanoria60 Sudhir Chandra Sur Degree Engineering College Taranjit Singh61 Supreme Wood Products Pvt. Ltd. Manoj Kumar Beria62 Swadeshi Marketing Pvt. Ltd. Sanjay Rasiwasia63 Sawalka Kel Pvt. Ltd. Avinash Sawalka 64 T.T. Limited Sanjay Kumar Jain65 UAL Industries Ltd. Arun Kr. Saraf66 Utkarsh India Ltd. Sunil Bansal

Nomination of Hony. Secretary and Treasurer for the year 2019–20

In terms of Article 13(c)(ii) of the Articles of Association, the Committee was required to elect Hony. Secretary and Treasurer from among its Members for the year 2019–20.

The President proposed the names of Shri Arun Kumar Dalmia and Shri Bharat Agarwal as Hony. Secretary and Treasurer respectively for the year 2019–20.

Hony. Secretary : Shri Arun Kumar DalmiaTreasurer : Shri Bharat AgarwalThe proposal was approved unanimously by

the Committee.

Nomination of Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the year 2019-20

The President proposed the names of the Chairman & Co – Chairman of Advisory Committee for the year 2019 – 20.

Chairman : Shri R S AgarwalCo–Chairman : Shri B K JhajhariaThe Committee unanimously approved of the

proposal.

Nomination of Chairman and Trustees of MCC Foundation for the year 2019–20.

The following names were proposed as Chairman and Trustees of MCC Foundation for the year 2019–20 :

1. Shri Vivek Gupta – Chairman [Ex officio]

2. Shri Aakash Shah

3. Shri Rishabh Kothari

4. Shri Arun Kumar Dalmia

5. Shri A R Sonthalia

6. Shri B K Jhajharia

7. Shri S S Bagaria

8. Shri Sushil Kumar Dhandhania

9. Shri Vishal Jhajharia

10. Shri K C Goyal

11. Shri Bharat Agarwal



The above names were unanimously approved by the Committee

Constitution of Councils for 2019–20 and Appointment of Chairmen and Co-Chairmen.

The President proposed the following Expert Bodies and Councils, with the Chairman / Chairperson and Co-Chairman/ Co-Chairperson for each of them, for the year 2019–20.

Advisory Council, MCC Foundation & Councils for 2019–20Chairman Co-Chairman

Advisory Council R. S. Agarwal B. K. Jhajharia

Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Vivek Gupta

Chairperson Co-Chairperson

MCCI Ladies Forum (MLF) Snigdha Shah Manasi Kothari

Sector Chairman Co-Chairman1. Agriculture & Food Processing Suresh Agarwal

2. Banking & Finance Sanjay Rasiwasia Smarajit Mitra

3. Capital Market & Insurance Subodh Kumar Agrawal Girdhari Lal Goenka

4. CSR & Rural Development Rajendra Khandelwal Vaijayanti Pugalia

5. Direct Taxes Arvind Agrawal Ramesh Kumar Chokhany

6. Education & Skill Development Keshav Agarwal Taranjit Singh

7. Foreign Trade Mahesh Chandra Keyal Pawan Rajgaria

8. GST & Indirect Taxes Arun Kumar Agarwal Sushil Kumar Goyal

9. HRD Tushar Basu Abhishek Bagaria

10. Industry Anirudh Jhunjhunwala

11. Infrastructure & Real Estate Munish Jhajharia a. Vicky Raj Sikaria

b. Kushal Rungta

12. IT & Communication Vishnu Kumar Bhandari a. Sanjib Sanghi

b. Amit Sharma

13. Legal Mamta Binani Mahesh Shah

14. Logistics & Tourism Lavesh Poddar Suresh Kumar Agarwal

15. Membership Development Santosh Kumar Saraf Arun Kumar Saraf

16. MSME Sanjib Kumar Kothari Akhil Sonthalia

17. Power & Renewable Energy Devendra Goel Vinay Mohta

18. Retail Trade Namit Bajoria Manish Gourisaria

19. Steel Ravi Agarwal Deepak Kumar Agarwal

Councils for 2019–20



The Chamber organized Kazakhstan–India Investment Forum on 5 April 2019 at Hotel Hindusthan International, which was addressed by the following speakers ::

y H. E. Mr. Bulat Sarsenbayev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan in India

y Mr. Marat Birimzhan, Deputy Chairman of the National Company “KAZAKH INVEST”

y Mr. Iskander Baitassov, Director of the Representative Office in China, “SAMRUK-KAZYNA” JSC

Addressing the Forum H. E. Mr. Bulat Sarsenbayev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan in India said that trade between India and Kazakhstan grew from USD 460 million in 2014 to USD 1.2 billion in 2018. The number of flights between per week the two countries is 11 a week at present, which will soon increase to 24.The priority areas for economic cooperation for Kazakhstan are Oil and gas including atomic energy, Military, space, FinTech, International arbitration, Information Technology, Agriculture and food processing and Tourism. 460 Indian companies are registered in Kazakhstan of whom 200 were registered last year. The obstacle to trade between the two countries is transport and logistics. The cost of products is not competitive due to high cost of transportation.

Mr. Marat Birimzhan, Deputy Chairman of“KAZAKH INVEST” said that GDP of the country has increased 16-fold since 1991. Land wise, Kazakhstan is the 9thlargest country in the world, 80% of its land is suitable for agriculture. Kazakhstan has been able to attract FDI around USD 300 billion, the top reasons for investing being : Strategic Location, Established Market Access, GDP growth, Rule of law investors’ rights protection and others.

Mr. Iskander Baitassov, Director of the Representative Office in China, Kazakhstan Sovereign Wealth Fund “SAMRUK-KAZYNA” spoke about Investment Opportunities of ‘Samruk-Kazyna’, which is the world’s leading uranium producer, with market share of about 21%.globally and it produces 50% of energy of Kazakhstan. It is also the leading telecommunication operator.

Earlier, in his Welcome Address, Mr. Vishal Jhajharia, President, MCCI in his welcome address said that trade turnover between the two countries amounted to USD 1.2 billion at the end of 2018, showing a 26.5 p.c. increase compared to a year earlier. India is an important oil importer and the proposed Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline (TAPI) may boost the import of natural gas by India from Kazakhstan. India has a civil nuclear pact with Kazakhstan for the purchase of uranium. The proposed North-South Transport Corridor, through Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran-India can significantly enhance India’s trade & economic engagement.

Mr. Sushil Patwari, Regional Chairman, FIEO, Eastern Region said that in addition to the proposed North – South Transport Corridor, an air corridor for trade in perishable items is under consideration. Areas of oil & gas, steel, medical tourism and ayurvedic treatment hold promise.

Mr. Arun Kumar Garodia, National Vice Chairman, EEPC India said that the engineering sector in India can be a major destination for capital inflows into the country.

The Forum ended with a hearty Vote of Thanks by Mr. Mahesh Keyal, Chairman, Standing Committee on Foreign Trade, MCCI.

*************

INTERACTIVE SESSIONS / SYMPOSIA / WORKSHOPS

KAZAKHSTAN – INDIA INVESTMENT FORUM

on 5 April 2019 at Hotel Hindusthan International



MCCI organizeda Session on Agriculture Export Policy: ‘Opportunity for capturing overseas markets through the new Agriculture Export Policy’ on 10 April 2019 at the Conference Hall of the Chamber. The session was addressed by:

y Shri A. K. Das, Joint Secretary, Department of Agricultural Marketing, Govt of West Bengal

y Shri B. R. Pattanaik, General Manager, NABARD

y Shri Archiman Lahiri, Deputy Director, The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) Addressing the Session, Shri A. K. Das, Joint

Secretary, Department of Agricultural Marketing, Government of West Bengal said that the new Agriculture Export Policy, which is yet to be accepted by the State Government, seeks to establish a stable trade policy. It brings reforms in APMC Act and streamlines market fee. The policy sets up a Cluster facilitation centre and constitutes FPOs. The Policy seeks to set up a single supply chain and standards for domestic and export markets along with quality and phyto-sanitary standards. He spoke about 130 Sufal Bangla markets and 17 Krishak Bazaars that have been integrated with the eNAM portal. In order to facilitate the marketing of horticulture crops, the policy of ‘Participatory Farming’ has been introduced as an arrangement between Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) and private entrepreneurs to grow produce, fruits, vegetables, etc. The Government of West Bengal has identified clusters for mango at Nadia, Murshidabad and Malda, clusters for potato have been identified at Hooghly, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Medinipur and Coochbehar.

Shri B. R. Pattanaik, General Manager, NABARD said that so far, India had no Agriculture Export Policy and it had relied on ad hoc policies to

support farmers. Even though India exports only few food commodities at present, the country currently ranks 10th among food exporting countries. NABARD helps the Government in developing infrastructure in the agriculture sector and it is preparing a base for creating produce that can be exported. For the first time, Agriculture Officers will be posted at 15 Indian Embassies, including US, UK and Kazakhstan who will promote Indian exports of agricultural commodities.

Shri Archiman Lahiri, Deputy Director, MPEDA said that in 2017-18, Indian marine exports in terms of USD amounted to USD 7,081 million, up by 22% year over year. In 2017-18, Indian marine products mainly went to the following destinations (on USD basis): 32.76 % of total Indian marine exports headed for USA, 31.60 % to South East Asia, 15.77% to EU and 6.29 to Japan.

Earlier, in his Welcome Address Shri Santosh K. Roongtaa, Chairman, Standing Committee on Agriculture & Food Processing, MCCIin said that Government of India announced the country’s first ever Agriculture Export Policy, 2018 last December, which envisages the establishment of a Monitoring Framework at Centre with Department of Commerce as the nodal Department. Total outlay for the implementation of the Policy would be Rs. 1,400 crores, which already exists under different schemes. The Policy is aimed at doubling the agricultural exports from USD 30 Billion at present to USD 60 Billion by 2022 and reach USD 100 Billion in the next few years thereafter.

The Session ended with a hearty Vote of Thanks given by Shri Suresh Agarwal, Co-Chairman, Standing Committee on Agriculture & Food Processing, MCCI.

*************

SESSION ON AGRICULTURE EXPORT POLICY: ‘Opportunity for capturing overseas markets through the new Agriculture Export Policy’

on 10 April 2019 at Chamber



SPECIAL SESSION ON ‘GRADUATE INSOLVENCY PROGRAMME’with Dr. M. S. Sahoo, Chairman, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)

on 22 April 2019 at the Chamber premises

INTERACTIVE SESSION OF SME KNOWLEDGE INITIATIVE ON ‘FMCG as Driver of MSME Growth’

on 23 April 2019 at the Chamber premises

The Chamber organized Special Session on ‘Graduate Insolvency Programme’ with Dr. M. S. Sahoo, Chairman, IBBIas Chief Guest on 22 April 2019 at the Conference Hall of the Chamber. Dr. Sahoo said that the 24–month programme is first of its kind in India as well as globally and has gathered immense support from the industry. It is an industry initiative that will reshape the Indian Insolvency industry. He noted that as per amendment on 1st April, 2018 of Regulation 5 of the Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Professionals) Regulations, 2016 any individual, who successfully completes Graduate Insolvency Programme, would be allowed to register as an Insolvency Professional with IBBI. Education qualification for the course is: Chartered Accountant, Law, Cost Accountant, Company

Secretary, B.E./B.Tech, post-graduate with major subjects in Economics, Finance, Commerce, Management or Insolvency (with aggregate 50% marks). Applicants should not be more than 28 years old and the students will be selected on basis on an entrance test, Graduate Insolvency Programme Common Entrance Test.

Dr. Pyla Narayana Rao, Assistant Professor, School of Corporate Law, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), also spoke about the details of the programme.

The Session was conducted by Smt. Mamta Binani, Chairperson, Corporate Affairs Standing Committee.

*************

MCCI organized an Interactive Session of SME Knowledge Initiative on ‘FMCG as Driver of MSME Growth’ on 23 April 2019 at the Conference Hall of the Chamber, which was addressed by:

y Shri P. M. Chandraiah, MD and Director Finance, Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

y Dr. G. P. Sarkar, Founder Chairman, Allen GroupShri P. M. Chandraiah, MD and Director

Finance, Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (BCPL) said that the FMCG sector is the 4thlargest sector of the economy worth USD 53 billion in 2017-18, which is expected to cross USD 100 billion growing at a rapid rate. The three main segments in FMCG sector are Food & Beverage [19%], Healthcare [31%] and Personal Care [50%]. BCPL is a great turnaround story after continuous

losses over many decades, which reported its first net profit in 2016-17 and subsequently made a net profit of Rs. 10 crores on total income of Rs. 95 crores in 2017-18 with projected net profit of Rs. 26 crores in 2018 – 19.

Dr. G. P. Sarkar, Founder Chairman, Allen Group said that when a businessman is marketing his product through advertisements, he should have detrails about his competitors are doing. Innovation is important for both development and presentation of products. One should sell better products than their competitors.

The Session was chaired by Shri Rishabh Kothari, Chairman, MSME Standing Committee,

*************



SPECIAL SESSION ON “INDIA-CHINA ECONOMIC TIES : A SUB-NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE” with Mr. Zha Liyou, Consul General of the Peoples’ Republic of China in Kolkata

on 25 April 2019 at MCCI Conference Hall

The Chamber organized a Session on “India-China Economic Ties : A Sub-National Perspective” with Mr. Zha Liyou, Consul General, The Consulate General of the Peoples’ Republic of China in Kolkata on 25th April 2019 at its premises. The Session was also attended by Ms. Prapti Jhajharia, Chairperson, MCCI Ladies Forum, Ms. Zheng Huiqun, wife of the Consul General and senior officials of the Consulate in Kolkata.

Referring to age-old relationship between India & China dating back to the times of Historians like Fa Hien and Hiuen Tsang, Mr. Zha Liyou felt that to in order to strengthen bi-lateral relationships, sub national relationships at the state/ provincial level should be fostered better. These sub–national relationships could prove to be instrumental in finding business solutions to further promote economic, cultural and educational ties between two countries at the national level. He said that Kolkata–Kunming and West Bengal–Yunnan relationships could be taken to a new high even though India & China have different political structure with India having collaborative federalism and China having strong Government at the Centre.

The Consul General pointed out that the sectors of Manufacturing, Food Processing, Finance, Technical Training, tourism including pilgrimage to Buddhist religious sites, Media, Youth Services including Sports, Environment, Shooting Films, among others, could play a major role in strengthening the relationship. He mentioned that Indian Food Industry does not have a good presence in China, which is a area to be developed. Tourism services could be developed to Bodh Gaya, Nalanda and other Buddhist pilgrimage sites in

Bihar, UP and other places in Eastern India from various provinces of China. Bengali films from Tollywood could be shot in China. For enhancement of various business activities in China from eastern India as also for people to people exchange, the Consulate in Kolkata could be a bridge. There could be exchange of more business Delegations between Kunming & Kolkata with focus areas like agro technology, mining, healthcare & hospitals, tourism & hotels, sold waste management, among others.

For BCIM and Kolkata–Kunming Bullet Train, Yunnan is ready with infrastructure and technology, but there are too many bottlenecks, as the project passes through several countries, he noted.

Earlier, in his Welcome Address, Shri Vishal Jhajharia, President of the Chamber, spoke about India’s huge trade deficit with China, which has been an area of concern. However, India’s trade deficit with China declined by 12.1% during April-December, 2018-19. He felt that to make bilateral economic relations more comprehensive and trade more balanced, both India and China should work together towards providing more market access for Indian products in China. Despite establishing sister city status between Kunming and Kolkata around 6 years back, trade, economic and tourism ties between Bengal and Yunnan had not improved as per potential.

The Session ended with a hearty Vote of Thanks by Shri Sanjib Kothari, Co–Chairman,Foreign Trade Standing Committee of the Chamber.

*************



INTERACTIVE SESSION ON “Critical Issues in GST Annual Return and Audit”

on 25 May 2019 at MCCI premises

INTERACTIVE SESSION ON ‘Corporate Challenges in the Age of Technological Disruption : Strategic Do’s and Dont’s’

on 17 May 2019 at MCCI premises

The Chamber organized a Session on ‘Corporate Challenges in the Age of Technological Disruption : Strategic Do’s and Dont’s’ on 17 May 2019 at its [remises, which was addressed by:

y Shri Partha Ghosh, B-Tech (IIT,KGP), MS(MIT), MBA(MIT), AMP (Harvard), Ex-McKinsey (Senior Partner) & International Strategy Expert

y Dr. Saikat Maitra, Vice Chancellor, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology - MAKAUT (formerly West Bengal University of Technology - WBUT)Shri Partha Ghosh mentioned that in the era

for knowledge intensity and increasing complexity,

The Chamber organized an Interactive Session on “Critical Issues in GST Annual Return and Audit” with Mr. Khalid Aizaz Anwar, Sr. Joint Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Govt. of West Bengal as Chief Guest, on 25 May 2019 at MCCI Conference Hall. The Session was chaired by Mr. Arun Kumar Agarwal, Chairman, Standing Committee on GST & Indirect Taxes, MCCI, who spoke about critical issues regarding filing of GSTR-9, the Annual Return and GST Audit. The return is to be filed once in a year by registered tax payers, including those under composition scheme, he noted.

Mr. Sushil Kumar Goyal, Co-Chairman, Standing Committee on GST & Indirect Taxes, MCCI explained about GSTR 9, GSTR 9A, 9B & 9C, GSTR 1, and GSTR 3B. GSTR 9A should be filed by the persons registered under composition

corporates have to look at future with an open mind. Business leaders of today will have to be ready to even disturb one’s own model, to defend its enterprises to defend against disruptive innovations. To be able to sustain itself, one has to organize oneself in a world of global disruptions, as a blend of finetuning local and global perspectives.”

The Vice Chancellor of MAKAUT, Dr. Saikat Maitra focused on academic processes to be initiated to make the next generation ready to face emerging business challenges.

The Session was conducted by Shri Tushar Basu, Chairman, HRD Standing Committee, MCCI.

scheme under GST. GSTR 9B should be filed by the e-commerce operators who have filed GSTR 8 during the financial year. GSTR 9C should be filed by the taxpayers whose annual turnover exceeds Rs 2 crores during the financial year.

Mr. Khalid Aizaz Anwar said that the issues are likely to be addressed soon by the GST Council and a circular will be issued shortly explaining these issues. He said that where ever the period April to September have been mentioned, it may be read as April to March as the return has to be submitted for the whole financial year. He mentioned that his intention is to know the problems faced by the assesses and professionals, so that he can the same up in appropriate forum for redressal.

Mr. Sushil Kr. Goyal offered a hearty vote of thanks.



MSME HELP DESK & WORKSHOP

on 30 May 2019 at Midnapore Town

The Chamber organized a full dayreach–out MSME Help Desk & Workshop, in collaboration with Confederation of Purba & Paschim Medinipur District Chambers of Commerce [DCCI, an apex Chamber body in the districts of Purba & Paschim Medinipur] on Thursday, 30 May 2019 at DCCI premises, Midnapore. The Workshop was addressed by the following Speakers :

y Shri Raj Kumar Middya, Joint Director, MSME, Government of West Bengal & Chief Mentor, MCCI MSME Help Desk as Guest of Honour

y Shri Uttam Kumar Adhikary, Additional District Magistrate and District Land & Land Reforms officer, Paschim Medinipur

y Shri Sanjib Kothari, Co Chairman, Standing Committees on Foreign Trade and GST & Indirect Taxes, MCCI

y Shri Ananda Gopal Maity, President, DCCI

y Shri Akhil Sonthalia, Co Chairman, Standing Committee on MSME, MCCI

y Shri Debabrata Roy, General Manager, District Industries Centre, Paschim Medinipur

y Shri Ritwik Biswas, Assistant Director, MSME–DI, Kolkata &District Nodal Officer (designate), Paschim Medinipur, Govt. of India

y Shri Dwibhujendra Sarkar, Lead District Manager, Paschim Medinipur, United Bank of India

y Shri Indranil Seth, Lead Manager, Paschim Medinipur, State Bank of India

y Shri Sukhendu Jana, District Food Processing Development Officer, Howrah, Paschim Medinipur & Jhargram, Bankura, Government of West Bengal

Shri Raj Kumar Middya said this Help Desk & Workshop has given an excellent opportunity to connect with the MSME units & entrepreneurs of Paschim Medinipur. He felt that this type of reach out initiatives not only help the existing units but also motivate the prospective ones to take up entrepreneurship as a career alternative.

Shri Uttam Kumar Adhikary focused on bridging the skill gap and the importance of having trade based skilled labour. He stressed on having tie–ups with the reputed universities for skill development.

In his Theme Address, Shri Sanjib Kothari observed that despite its growth and huge potential, the MSME sector has been beset with its own challenges. While at the macro level, there is stiff competition from large companies and unpredictable markets conditions, the challenges are manifold at the micro level too.

In his Inaugural Remarks, Shri Akhil Sonthalia mentioned that the Chamber strongly believes that if MSMEs are provided with adequate mentoring & hand holding support, their productivity would increase and they would be able to perform according to their capability.

The Workshop was followed by MSME Help Desk, wherein the mentee–units were provided mentorship on issues regarding GST & Taxation, Finance, general MSME Compliances, Land issues, Marketing assistance etc. Hands–on assistance were provided on Udyog Adhaar Memorandum (UAM) Registration to the mentees by M/s. Suvidha Consultants, Technical Partner of the initiative.

***********



MCCI FINTECH FORUM 2019FinTech : Digitally Disrupting the Financial World

on 12 June 2019 at The Lalit Great Eastern Hotel, Kolkata

The Chamber organized the 2nd edition of MCCI FinTech Forum 2019 with the Theme - “FinTech : Digitally Disrupting the Financial World” on 12 June 2019 at The Lalit Great Eastern Hotel, Kolkata.

Inaugural Session :Future Landscape of FinTech Ecosystem – Vision 2025

The Inaugural Session was addressed by :

y Shri Debashis Sen, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of IT & Electronics, Govt. of West Bengal – Chief Guest

y Shri Deepak Kumar, CGM-In-Charge, Department of Information Technology, Reserve Bank of India – Guest of Honour

y Shri K.K. Gupta, Director, Resurgent India Ltd. – Special Guest

y Shri Neeraj Kulshrestha, CBO, BSE Ltd. – Special Guest

y Shri Ambarish Dasgupta, Sr. Partner & Founder, Intueri Consulting & Principal Advisor, WEBEL – Special Guest

Dwelling on the Inaugural Theme of “Future Landscape of FinTech Ecosystem – Vision 2025”, Shri Debashis Sen, in his Keynote Address, said that the amount of data consumed is the highest in India, which is around 8 GB per person per month. He urged upon the FinTech community to reach out to the unbanked sector and the last segment of the society to ensure financial inclusion. Creation of e–marketplace for the last mile connectivity is extremely important. Start–ups should be involved and more & more people in Tier II & Tier III cities should be brought under its

ambit, he noted. He noted that the rural/ semi–urban unorganized section of the population is benefiting from digitization. If the prices of mobiles are dropped, penetration would also increase, as currently, only 30% of all Indians have smartphones, he added.

Shri Deepak Kumar said the in a country of 1.23 billion people, only 10~20% of population are driving the growth. He felt that a ‘Big push’ would be needed to take the economy to the next level and FinTech has got a huge role to play to facilitate this. He mentioned that Israel has shown the way with FinTech. India is ahead in payment systems and the country ranks high in FinTech adoption rates.

Shri K. K. Gupta discussed that traditional banks used to take a much longer time for loan processing and others. The whole system has undergone a huge change. Now, if all the parameters are clear, loans can be sanctioned/ rejected for MSMEs within a few minutes. India has the 3rd largest market in the world, with FinTech, this will even be deeper and stronger. With rapid changes and innovation, a new of level of business confidence is emerging.

Shri Neeraj Kulshrestha said that FinTech has 3 major pillars viz. Connectivity, Automation and Intelligence. Data is the ‘New Oil’ and FinTech is the 4th Industrial Revolution, which is technological revolution involving Cloud, Internet of Things, Big Data and others.Despite being a late entrant, India has a large FinTech ecosystem. The country has 37 cr. mobile users, 34 cr. Jan Dhan accounts, 123 cr plus AADHAR cards and others. He informed that at BSE, which is FinTech enabled, the response time is 6 microseconds.

Shri Ambarish Dasgupta observed that FinTech till today has not been considered as an



essential commodity in every corner of the country. He felt that FinTech is not a luxury, it should cater to the millions of people. In a bid to integrate FinTech into the core sectors, he stressed on the creation of a Consortium with the policy makers and core sectors, to identify the sectors that would contribute significantly to the economy.

Earlier in his Welcome Address, Shri Vishal Jhajharia, President, MCCI said that It is projected that digital payments in India will supercede cash

Shri Smarajit Mitra said that in India, in the last 3 years, from 2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19, $ 5.6 billion have come into the FinTech sector. On last mile connectrivity, suitable software should have an interface with the vernacular languages will be crucial, he noted.

Shri Rajesh Singhal was of the opinion that FinTech is a long term venture, at least of 8~10 years. Compliance will take 1st 2~3 years with the revenue starting from 4th year onwards. He spoke about the 3 pillars of success in FinTech: Compliance, Operations and Brand Value & Perception.

by 2022, according to the IDC Financial Insights report titled ‘The Future of Payments in India: More Spectacular Growth Ahead’. He also referred to the Bengal Silicon Valley IT Hub near the Fintech Hub, where already leading IT & technology firms have taken land.

The Inaugural Session ended with a hearty Vote of Thanks by Shri Sanjay Rasiwasia, Chairman, Standing Committee on Banking & Finance, MCCI.

Technical Session I : ‘Financial Sector – Riding the FinTech wave’

Speaker Topic

Shri Smarajit Mitra, Managing Partner, Smarajit Mitra & Associates & Co-Chairman, Standing Committee on Banking & Finance, MCCI – Moderator

Shri Rajesh Singhal, AVP, Brand CapitalFinTech Branding: Connect and Matter more to

Customer

Shri Ashis Bubna, Founder Director, Monexo Fintech Pvt. Ltd.

P2P Lending: Bank in a Box

Shri Gaurav Sharma, National Head-Operations, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd.

Artificial Intelligence in Insurance

Shri Ashis Bubna He pointed out that using

FinTech, internet/ mobile penetration can bring in

huge disruptions and facilitate widespread reach.

P2P lending can help in a big way.

Shri Gaurav Sharma mentioned that with the

advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Insurance is

becoming more and more innovative. Data Oiling,

Data Analysis and Cognitive Learning is becoming

important. AI is extremely useful in detecting fraud

elements, he added.



Speaker TopicShri Abhishek Agarwal, Chief Regional Officer (India), ACCION – Moderator

Shri Abhishek Rungta, MD & CEO, Indus Net Technologies

Making Digital Innovation work for Banks and Insurers

Shri Somak Sarkar, Sr. Manager-Business Development, NPCI

Banks & FinTech: Scope & Opportunities for Collaboration

Dr. Sushmita Ruj, Associate Prof., Cryptology & Security Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute

Regulating FinTech: Addressing Challenges in Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

Shri Pronab Chatterjee, Sr. VP-Sales (BFSI), Senrysa Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

FinTech for Financial Inclusion

Technical Session II : ‘FinTech in India : Are we on track or moving slow’

Shri Abhishek Agarwal said that funds are moving to India and technical innovation also happening in the country. Ensuring customer satisfaction and bringing in operational efficiency in the system are important.

Shri Abhishek Rungta felt that transformation of people should happen before Digital Transformation, even before Adoption or Innovation. Evolution of digital technology is happening from Infrastructure to Application and then to Data and hence focus is shifting from Enterprise to Business Functions and finally to Individuals.

Shri Somak Sarkar said that Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is the perfect example of what happens when Fin-Tech collaborates with banks.

Currently, 20% of all UPI transactions are Person to Merchant (P2M) transactions. Scope for both banks & FinTech to tap the merchant ecosystem for a quicker payments experience is huge.

Dr. Sushmita Ruj stressed on Security and Privacy of Data and transactions. Data Encryption and Anonymisation is crucial for any organisation, precautions should be taken to store data with proper security. Otherwise, there will be large scale Data Breach.

Stressing on financial inclusion, Shri Pronab Chatterjee said thatwhole idea is to reach out to the people, who are in remote locations, which is quite difficult. Challenges should be converted into opportunities.

***********

SESSION ON ‘TRADE & BILATERAL RELATIONS BETWEEN INDIA & GERMANY’

on 24 June 2019 at Chamber premises

The Chamber organized a Session on ‘Trade & Bilateral Relations Between India & Germany’ with Dr. Michael Feiner, Consul General of Germany in Kolkata and Ms. Bandana Pokhriyal, IAS, OSD, Department of Industry, Commerce & Enterprises, Govt of West Bengal on 24 June 2019 at MCCI Conference Hall.

Dr. Michael Feiner, Consul General of Germany in Kolkata said that as India is the 24th largest trading partner of German, there is a lot of scope for growth in trade between the two countries. Germany can be a huge market for organic products from West Bengal and North East. There is scope in logistics and IT also. There



MCCI EAST INDIA ENERGY FORUM 2019‘The Evolving Energy Landscape’

on 26 June 2019 at Oberoi Grand, Kolkata

is a big scope of increasing German investments into West Bengal, as it is only 3~4% of total German investments in India. The number of Indian students has recently tripled to 18,000 in German and tertiary education is free in Germany. Germany holds many trade fairs such as the one in Hanover and Indian businessmen can consider fairs as a good way for contacting German customers.

Ms. Bandana Pokhriyal, IAS, OSD, Department of Industry, Commerce & Enterprises, Government of West Bengal said that the robust industrial infrastructure in West Bengal includes 200 industrial parks in diverse sectors of the economy and some promising sectors include energy (natural gas), mines and logistics. The Dedicated Freight Corridors will make operations seamless in West Bengal. The artisans in the State do excellent work. She spoke on the growing partnership of Germany in BGBS.

Mr. Vishal Jhajharia, President, MCCI in his welcome address earlier, said that India and Germany have a ‘Strategic Partnership’ since 2001, which has

been further strengthened with the inception of the Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) in 2011. India’s total trade with Germany increased from USD 15 billion in 2007-08 to USD 21.98 billion in 2017-18, reaching a peak in 2011-12 at USD 23 billion. Germany is currently India’s largest trading partner in Europe and eighth largest trading partner overall, with total trade standing at USD 16.02 billion in 2018-19 (April - Nov). India was ranked 26th in Germany’s global trade during 2017. Germany is the 7th largest foreign direct investor in India and Germany’s total FDI in India from April 2000 until June 2018 amounted to USD 10.99 billion.

Mr. Nari Kalwani, Chairman, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (ERC) said that Germany is a large market and Germans are willing to pay higher prices for good products. German buyers are strict about quality and timeliness.

Mr. Mahesh Keyal, Chairman, Standing Committee on Foreign Trade, MCCI made a presentation titled ‘India: The Emerging Investment Destination for German Companies’. He also proposed Vote of Thanks for the Session.

***********

The Chamber organized MCCI East India Energy Forum 2019 titled ‘The Evolving Energy Landscape’ on 26 June 2019 at Oberoi Grand, Kolkata.

Inaugural Session: ‘24 X 7 : Power For all – The Journey So Far’

The Inaugural Session was addressed by :

y Shri Debasish U. Banerjee, Managing Director, Distribution, CESC Limited

y Shri Sanjeev Seth, CEO, India Power Corporation Limited

y Shri Manoj Kumar Singh, General Manager (Mining), Coal India Limited (CIL)

Shri Debasish U. Banerjee, Managing Director, Distribution, CESC Limited said that growth in rapidly growing economies such as China and India is being fuelled by electricity. The Indian economy will shortly surpass the economy of UK in size and it will grow from USD 2.7 trillion to 7 trillion over the coming decade. India’s ranking in power has improved from 99 in 2015 to 24 in 2019. Electricity consumption is growing at a CAGR of



6.2% per annum in India. The current consumption of 1,204 units per person is expected to grow to 4,500 units by 2040. Currently, there is no energy deficit in India. Rural electrification is over 99%. Utility companies have reduced AT&C losses from 22% to 19%. Utility companies are providing online services. The process of generation, transmission and distribution is no longer a conventional chain. Smart Grids and Self Healing Grids are being used. CESC is using Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to predict faults and it is trying to launch an app for electricians.

Shri Sanjeev Seth, CEO, India Power Corporation Limited (IPCL) said that India is on a growth trajectory with the current peak demand at 177,000 MW. Peak demand is increasing at CAGR of more than 6%. The per capita consumption of electricity in kWH is 665 units in West Bengal, 2,279 in Gujarat and 2,028 units in Punjab. Infrastructure bottlenecks include 40,000 MW of power plants under stress, out of which 27,000 MW faces uncertain completion time. Consistent supply of domestic coal is still a challenge for CIL. Furthermore, more than 10,000 MW of inefficient thermal power plants having age more than 25 years are to be retired from 2015-20.

Shri Manoj Kumar Singh, General Manager (Mining), Coal India Limited (CIL) said that stress must be placed on last mile connectivity. Access to electricity was 43% in 2000, which has increased to 99% in 2019. India, which is home to 18% of the world’s population uses only 6% of the world’s energy. CIL contributes to 84% of national coal production and it aims to produce 1 billion MT of coal by 2025, which raises concerns about the environment. For its part, CIL has set targets to improve its infrastructure for coal evacuation.

Earlier, in his Welcome Address Shri Vishal Jhajharia, President, MCCI said that Indian power sector has undergone a significant change that has redefined the industry outlook. Sustained economic

growth continues to drive electricity demand in India. The Government of India’s focus on attaining ‘Power for all’ has accelerated capacity addition in the country. Total installed capacity of power stations in India stood at 350.16 Gigawatt (GW) as of February 2019. Between April 2000 and December 2018, the industry attracted USD 14.18 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), accounting for 3.48 p.c. of total FDI inflows in India. He also spoke about the Roadmap released by the Govt of India to achieve 175 GW capacity in renewable energy by 2022, which includes 100 GW of solar power and 60 GW of wind power.

The Inaugural Session ended with a Summing Up& Vote of Thanks by Shri Sanjib Kumar Patwari, Chairman, Standing Committee on Power & Renewable Energy, MCCI.

Panel Discussion 1: ‘Coal Sector: Journey towards efficiency and competitiveness’

The participants at the panel discussion were:

y Address By Session Chairman: Shri V. K. Arora, Chief Mentor, KCT Coal Sales Ltd.

y Shri Harsh Sachdev, Managing Director, S & T Mining Company Pvt. Ltd.

y Shri Amalesh Kumar , Director Mining, West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited

y Shri R. P. Ritolia, Ex – CMD, Central Coal Fields & Advisor, IPCL

Shri V. K. Arora pointed out that 60~70% of the thermal power assets are under stress. Investments to the tune of Rs. 1.5 lac crores have gone into various projects of Independent Power Producer (IPP), amounting to 50,000 MW, which have yet to be commissioned. In addition, nearly Rs. 3~5 lakh cr. invested in IPPs has turned into bad investments.

Shri Harsh Sachdev mentioned that Coking coal, a scarce resource, which is less than 11% of



total coal resource, needs to be treated separately from coal. Since there is excess wash plant capacity available in India, steel companies need to be given a right of first refusal. The coal sector needs to be opened up and run like any other Industry for it to prosper, he added.

Shri Amalesh Kumar observed that despite huge reserves of coal, India is not able to supply coal to power plants due to its regulatory structure. Under Rehabilitation & Resettlement Policy, villagers are asking for employment from coal companies. The law and order situation is not good and the Government is helpless about how to handle villagers who want jobs.

Shri R. P. Ritolia discussed that thermal plays a major role in power generation and although the percentage share of coal will fall from 49% to 40%, coal based thermal generation will increase in absolute terms. While CIL has raised its production of coal, coal imports have increased at the same time.

Panel Discussion 2: ‘A 100% Renewable India: Scope vs Challenges’

The participants at the panel discussion were:

y Address By Session Chairman: Dr. Anindya Narayan Biswas, IAS, Commissioner, Department of Power & Non Conventional Energy Resources, Government of West Bengal

y Shri D. Bandyopadhyay, WBCS (Exe), CEO, WBREDA

y Shri Rajesh Kumar , Senior DGM (Smart Grid), Power Grid Corporation of India Limited

y Shri Rajib Kumar Das, Deputy General Manager (Planning), CESC Limited

y Shri Suddhashatta Kundu, Senior Business Analyst, India Smart Grid Forum

y Shri Deepak Hansda, Deputy Manager (Tech), Energy Efficiency Services Limited

Dr. Anindya Narayan Biswas observed that the challenges for achieving the target of 175 GW from renewable energy need to be appreciated and they cannot be overcome in one year. The Government of West Bengal will stick to its commitment to the Paris Convention. The regulatory aspects for solar power need to be addressed and ways and means have to be found for implementing solar schemes. Storage is an issue for solar and wind power, he pointed out.

Shri D. Bandyopadhyay pointed out that Domestic solar PV manufacturing needs a boost for which enabling provisions are needed such as tax breaks, good research facilities as one has to compete with products of other countries, low interest loans, arrangement of capacity building for module makers, etc.

Shri Rajesh Kumar said that the targets before the renewable energy industry in India include 175 GW of power by 2022, Reduction of 30~35% p.c. in emission intensity by 2030 than 2005 and 40% electricity from non fossil fuel by 2030. Renewable energy in India face challenges as the sources are located away from load centres and so transmission is needed.

Shri Deepak Hansda said that under the Domestic Efficient Lighting Program (DELP), EESL has undertaken estimated replacement of 35.06 crore incandescent bulbs (in the residential sector) and 89.15 lakh street lights over a three-year period.

Shri Rajib Kumar Das said that a lot of research is being done on stand by power, and a study states that it can use 8% of household power. The increasing renewable energy mix is a threat to the grid. In order to benefit from the potential of renewable energy, we need inter-connection of different grids.

Shri Suddhashatta Kundu, Senior Business Analyst, India Smart Grid Forum said that ISGF works with national and international agencies in standards development and helps utilities, regulators and the Industry in technology selection, training and capacity building.

***********



SYMPOSIUM ON THE UNION BUDGET 2019-20

on 6 July 2019 at MCCI Conference Hall

The Chamber organised a Symposium on

the Union Budget 2019-20 on 6 July 2019 at

the Conference Hall of the Chamber, which was

addressed by :

y Shri N. K. Poddar, eminent Tax Consultant &

Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India

y Prof Partha Ray, Distinguished Professor of

Economics, I I M, Calcutta

y Shri Amitav Kothari, leading Financial Analyst

and Past President of MCCI

y Prof. Kumarjit Mandal, Associate Professor,

Dept. of Economics, University of Calcutta

y Shri Arun Kumar Agarwal, Chairman, Standing

Committee on Indirect Taxes & GST, MCCI.

While explaining the various provisions of

Direct Taxes in the Budget 2019-20, Shri N. K.

Poddar said that the TDS of 2 p.c. to be deducted for

cash withdrawal of Rs. 1 cr. and above is confusing

as TDS can be deducted only on income while

withdrawing cash cannot be treated as income.

Prof. Partha Ray, during his address,

commented that the Budget, though could lay down

a few pro-growth measures, cannot be termed as

a “big bang” one as it lacked vision. Rs. 70,000

crore has been allocated for Public Sector Banks’

rejuvenation, banking sector is still reeling under

the pressures of NPAs and the NBFCs are still

grappling with crisis. Credit flow in the economy is

a concern which may pose a threat to growth. Given

the current macroeconomic situation, unclogging

of credit remains the biggest challenge to India’s

dream of becoming a $ 5 Trillion economy. Though

India is expected to take concrete strides towards

becoming a big economy, the gap between India

and China will widen further. As per his analysis,

even if China’s GDP growth comes down from the

9-10% rate level to around 5.5% , it will become a

$ 21 Trillion economy by 2024-’25.

Prof Kumarjit Mandal said that private

investment are flowing to Western India and not

coming to West Bengal.

Shri Amitav Kothari expressed concern that

as the Indian economy has become a high cost

economy, it will not be able to compete in the

international market. There has been so much of

talking about investment in social sector, but it is

to certain as to where the funds will come for the

Government.

Shri Arun Kumar Agarwal referred to the

proposal of resolution on legal issues as proposed

in the Budget. He said that about Rs. 3.7 cr have

been locked in and legal issues need to be resolved

at the earliest, to unlock those litigations.

***********



MCCI MULTI SECTORAL BUSINESS DELEGATIONto Indonesia and Singapore

16~19 July 2019

MCCI mounted a 19-member multi-sectoral Business Delegation to two countries, namely, Indonesia & Singapore between 16th & 19th of July 2019 in collaboration with the Indian Embassy in Indonesia and the Indian High Commission in Singapore with the objectives of exploring trade & investment possibilities between India and these two countries. The Delegation was led by Mr. Vishal Jhajharia, President, MCCI.

The Delegation first visited Jakarta, Indonesia and organised a Joint session in association with Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KADIN), which was attended by large number of KADIN members & Indonesian business captains besides representatives of Jakarta Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Keynote address was delivered by H.E. Mr. Pradeep Kumar Rawat, Indian Ambassador to Indonesia who extended all possible help in making the programme successful. Inaugural address was given by Ms Shinta W. Kamdani, Chairwoman for International Cooperation, KADIN. Ms Dina Setiawati, Director, Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal (BKPM) which is the Investment Coordinating Board of Indonesia addressed the session and made a Powerpoint presentation. Welcome address was delivered by Mr. Vishal Jhajharia. Mr. Mahesh Chandra Keyal, Chairman, MCCI Standing Committee on Foreign Trade made a Powerpoint presentation on : India the Emerging Investment Destination & MCCI. A video Presentation on : Come to Bengal, Ride the Growth was also presented at both the places during the business meets.

The Delegation visited Singapore on 18-

19 July 2019. On 18th they visited Singapore

Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI). Each

delegate made a presentation of their companies

before the members of SCCI. Mr. Zhou, President of

SCCI welcomed the delegates and explained how

both the Chambers can contribute in promotion

of business network through a presentation. Mr.

Vishal Jhajharia, President, MCCI thanked Mr. Zhou

for organizing the business meet.

Following introductory remarks by both

the Presidents, they signed a Memorandum of

Understanding for mutual cooperation which was

assisted by Ms Jyoti Sukhnani, Vice President,

SCCI. Mr. Suresh Agarwal, Co-Chairman of MCCI

Standing Committee on Agriculture & Food

Processing proposed Vote of Thanks which was

followed by business networking.

On the next day, the Delegates had a meeting

at India House with H. E. Mr. Jawed Ashraf, High

Commissioner of India in Singapore and discussed

various issues pertaining to possible future roadmap

of India-Singapore trade & commerce. Vishal

Jhajharia, President, MCCI highlighted the various

economic advantages of West Bengal and urged

the High Commissioner to encourage Singaporean

companies to venture into Bengal.

**************



The Chamber organised an Interactive

Session on ‘Fire Safety Awareness & Business

Sustainability’ with Shri Jag Mohan, IPS,

Director General, West Bengal Fire & Emergency

Services on 2 August 2019 at MCCI premises.

Shri Jag Mohan said that Fire safety measures

include fire suppression, fire prevention and fire

detections. Sustainability of a business is ensured

when the building is secure from incidence of fire.

A building will not be regularized until fire issues

have not been taken care of. He urged the owners

of such old buildings to change their wiring. He

mentioned that West Bengal Fire & Emergency

Services has roles other than fire fighting, namely

issuing Fire Safety Recommendation, Issuance/

Renewal of Fire Safety Certificate, fire audits and

fire drills. The Department is adopting Ease of

Doing Business measures in order to make life

easier for citizens and provide its permissions

faster. Fire Department stands by people when

there is a crisis.

In his presentation, Shri Sujay Banerjee,

Senior Instructor, West Bengal Fire & Emergency

Services dwelt upon adequate escape/ exit routes in

a building, proper designing of escape/ exit routes,

smoke management inside the building and others.

Earlier in his Welcome Address, Shri Vishal

Jhajharia, President, MCCI said that in India where

fire accidents stand at the 3rd position in the list

of biggest risks to business. Fire accidents have

increased in number over the years and lack of

proper legislative provisions has led to several

fire accidents in the country that have claimed a

substantial number of lives and caused damages

to millions. One of the leading causes of fire is

electrical short circuits. Government entities need to

ensure that permissions granted are implemented

properly and no repairs or alterations to buildings

are conducted without the necessary approvals.

The Session ended with a hearty Vote of

Thanks given by Shri Suresh Agarwal, Chairman,

Standing Committee on CSR & Rural Development,

MCCI.

Later, the officials from West Bengal Fire and

Emergency Services gave a live demonstration on

the use of different kinds of fire extinguishers in

the drive way of the Chamber.

**************

INTERACTIVE SESSION ON ‘FIRE SAFETY AWARENESS & Business Sustainability’ with Shri Jag Mohan, IPS, Director General, West Bengal Fire & Emergency Services

on 2 August 2019 at MCCI premises



INTERACTIVE SESSION ON “Macro Economic Transformation & Business Opportunities in Bangladesh”with Chief Guest : Dr. Atiur Rahman, Former Governor, Bangladesh Bank & Professor, Dhaka University

on 17 August 2019 at MCCI Conference Hall

3RD WORKSHOP : ADVANCED EXCEL & POWERPOINT

on 3rd August 2019 at MCCI Conference Hall

The Chamber organized the 3rd Workshop on Advanced Excel & PowerPoint on 3 August 2019 at its premises. This Workshop generated huge interest amongst members & select non–members. The speakers provided hands–on training to the participants, who had come with their laptops.

The Session on Advanced Excel was addressed by CA Sarita Agarwal, FCA, HoD, Overseas Department, Cloud Info solutions (P) Ltd. She focused on how to save hundreds of hours using Excel, highlighting the features including : Features of Advanced Excel, Data Analysis, Special Formulae, Sort, Filter, Advanced Filter, Transpose,

The Chamber organized an Interactive Session on “Macro Economic Transformation & Business Opportunities in Bangladesh” with Dr. Atiur Rahman, Former Governor, Bangladesh Bank & Professor, Dhaka University and Mr. Toufique Hasan, Deputy High Commissioner, People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kolkata on 17 August 2019 at its Conference Hall.

Addressing the members, Dr. Atiur Rahman charted out the salient features of the journey of Bangladesh from “Ashes to Prosperity”. He mentioned that Bangladesh is all set to leave the Less Developed Category (LDC) category by 2024 and to become an industrially developed

Features like Cell referencing, Conditional Formatting, GoTo Special, Pivot Table, Pivot Screen shot, Pivot Dash Board and others.

The Session on PowerPoint was addressed by CA Vivek Agrawal, FCA, ACS, Partner, S K Agrawal & Co. He stressed on the flow of information in PowerPoint using the Process Diagram with Loops and different shapes, Pie-Chart Info graphics, Diamond Diagram & Circular Motion Diagram, Different Process Diagrams with timer, Timeline Diagram & Alternating Flow Process Diagram and others.

country by 2030. The country is looking forward to multiplying its bilateral business relations with India, including more investment and technological assistance. Dr. Rahman referred to the 3–pronged new Development Paradigm of the country, i.e.: High-growth & yet inclusive, Respectful of heritage & yet opportunistic in use of new technology and Self-dependent & yet collaborative. He pointed out that a perspective plan (2010-2021) and two five year plans, 6th (2011-15) and 7th (2016-20) have moved the nation from investment-driven and resource dependent framework to a broader socio-economic transformation vision. The latest Delta Plan 2100 provides a clear signal of long-term national commitment for ecologically sustainable



development. He also laid down the future Roadmap including massive Growth needed in Digitization and e-commerce, SMEs and related innovations, pivotal role of private sector and others.

Mr. Toufique Hasan pointed out that Bangladesh government has taken an initiative to introduce 100 SEZsthroughout the country. Although Indian cooperation is sought in all the 100 SEZs, it has offered three SEZs particularly for Indian investors namely, Mongla, Bheramara & Mirsarai with an investment of over USD 5 million USD.

Earlier, in his Welcome Address, Mr. Vishal Jhajharia, President of the Chamber spoke about the huge progress made by Bangladesh and mentioned that the GDP of Bangladesh grew

to USD 286.27 billion in nominal terms in 2018, taking Bangladesh to the 41st position in the world economy, from USD 6.2 billion in 1971, during the time of Liberation of the country. Indo–Bangla bilateral ties reflect the potential opportunities in areas such as joint high tech research, development and innovation incubators, JVs on light, medium and heavy industries, service sector cooperation in ICT, nanotechnology, robotics, cyber security, quantum computing, among others.

The Session ended with a hearty Vote of Thanks by Mr. Suresh Jhunjhunwala, Former President of the Chamber.

************

SPECIAL SESSION WITH SHRI RAMDAS ATHAWALE, Hon’ble Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt of India on ‘Social Justice & Empowerment in India : Progress made and Way Ahead’

on 20 August 2019 at MCCI Conference Hall

The Chamber organized a Special Session with Shri Ramdas Athawale, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment on ‘Social Justice & Empowerment in India : Progress made and Way Ahead’, on Tuesday, 20 August 2019 at its premises.

Addressing the members, Shri Ramdas Athawale stressed on the important role played by Industry by creating value and providing employment and felt that Government and Industry should work in partnership with each other. He strongly condemned the wide spread incidences of public lynching of Dalits and people belonging to minority section throughout the country. Ill effects of Casteism are the root cause for such attacks. These incidences should be controlled strongly and heavy penalty should be given to the offenders, he recommended. The issue of public lynching is a very serious and sensitive one, which should not

be politicalised by different parties for their vested interests. The Union Government led by Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, had taken extremely strong measures and even enacted a special law to prevent and stop such social injustice to the poor and downtrodden. He mentioned that serious steps had been taken to modify the Atrocity Act on Dalits, 1989 and make it stronger. The Hon’ble MOS observed tha

merchants’ chamber of commerce &...

Documents