The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized an Interactive Session with Mr. Patrick Santillo, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, U.S. Embassy –India, for its senior members, on 4th October 2016 from 11.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. in the Chamber.

Mr. Santillo was accompanied by Mr. Jonathan T. Ward, Principal Commercial Officer and Mr. Arup Mitra, Senior Commercial Specialist, US Commercial Service, US Consulate General Kolkata.

The Meeting was chaired by Mr. Sutanu Ghosh, President, The Bengal Chamber. Mr. Aloke Mookherjea, Past President, The Bengal Chamber was also present. The other Members who joined the programme were :

Mr. Aloke Das Ghosh, Advisor, Larsen & Toubro

Mr. A Mandal, President - Business Development, Techno Electric and Engineering Company Limited

Dr. Amit Ghose, Consultant Urologist, Apollo Gleneagles Hospital

Mr. Arnab Basu, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Arun Kumar Mukherjee, Director (Technical), Prerana Engineers & Consultants Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Deb A Mukherjee, Director, Teknowlegion Private Limited

Mr. P S Bhattacharyya, Former Chairman, Coal India Limited

Mr. Samrat Sarkar, Indismart Group Worldwide

Mr. R. N. Ghoshal, Regional President and Mrs. Madhusree Daityari, Regional Director, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce were also part of the Session.

The focus areas of discussions were :

• Energy • Health • Infrastructure • Information Technology • Water

The sector focused discussions were as under :

Health

Dr. Amit Ghose initiated the discussions on Health which he mentioned as one of the booming sectors. His observations included the demography, social structure, increased affordability, emergence of insurance in healthcare sector as the factors behind growth of this sector. He also spoke about the gap between the demand and supply of quality doctors and paramedical staffers. He highlighted that the country is in apex performance in some specializations like robotics surgery. He identified e-commerce as a potential element for the healthcare industry. The increase in medical tourism in India is also another important factor for its growth.

Technology collaboration and tie-ups for medical education and training are the areas where partnerships may be explored with the US.

Energy

Mr. Deb A Mukherjee commenced the discussions on Energy speaking about India’s INDC in COP 21, held in November 2016. Towards this, Mr. Mukherjee mentioned the value chain as:

• Policy

• Regulations

• Business Model

• Delivery

• Finance

He emphasized innovative financial models to make the renewable target viable. Technology collaboration and financial tie-ups with US companies will help India achieve its INDC target.

For solar, technology for smart and efficient grid is important for availability of power for all 24*7. In this context, he also talked about creating appropriate skills to maintain the assets which are being created in solar and other renewables. Discussions in this context highlighted that the materials and processes involved in generating solar energy may be obtained from the US.

Nuclear Power was also mentioned which would be an area of focus in the near future.

Emphasis was on clean coal. Bacteriological intervention for coalbed methane was mentioned where technology transfer from the US would help. Need for environment friendly mining equipment was also identified.

Smart grid for electricity transmission and distribution is also important.

Water

Mr. Aloke Das Ghosh started the discussions on Water. He mentioned that India had mostly use of ground water in earlier days. However, the use of surface water is increasing in recent times, which is more predominant in the western part of the country. In West Bengal, though the quantity of ground water is not a challenge, but quality is a concern both in terms of health and environment. He indicated that there are opportunities for US companies in the water segment. Opportunities are also in waste water treatment. The technology from the US would be helpful in this sector. An important observation on network management of water was made. USA may play a major role by providing technology for reduction of wastage of water during distribution.

Infrastructure

The President mentioned that a deep sea port would be very crucial for West Bengal. It is expected that the Tajpur Port project will be executed. The Chamber is in the process of preparing a Position Paper.

Information Technology

Mr. Arnab Basu addressed on IT which is one of the key export identities of India. In IT, India has several large Indian companies operating alongside foreign MNCs. The sector is going through a transition. Policies like implementation of GST which will have impact on all organizations, across all sectors, will need major technological intervention. The Government’s Digital India Campaign is also a major catalyst for the sector.

With the advancement of technology, the outsourcing jobs are being reduced. Value chain is witnessing a vertical movement.

Startups constitute a key feature of India’s IT eco-system. Some of the home grown IT Start Ups are becoming major players with potential competition to global ones. There is a gradual shift towards products from services. Major IT companies are making investments in products. Innovations and revolution around cloud are changing the eco system. Establishment of datacenters of global IT companies in India has made a positive impact on building confidence as data is not leaving the boundary. Many conventional organizations are revamping themselves as technology organizations. Technological interventions in conventional areas like agriculture are changing the paradigm.

Internet of Things (IoT) and Cyber Security are major areas of focus.

MSME development is a focus of the Government of West Bengal. Electronics hardware industry is primarily constituted with MSMEs. In this regard, the US may share suggestions and models to create electronics hardware growth in the State.