India Business Newsletter (February 01

India Business Newsletter

February 01 - February 28, 2022

Greetings from Consulate General of India,

New York!

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

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)

Budget 2022: PM Modi hails 'people-friendly and progressive' budget

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 1 February 2022 said the Union Budget was “people-friendly, progressive” and full of possibilities for infrastructure, investment, growth and jobs. In a televised statement, Modi said an important aspect of the Budget was the welfare of the poor. It seeks to solve contemporary problems and create new opportunities for the common people, he said.

India-US: Strength of bilateral trade under a multilateral umbrella

Trade between India and the US in goods and services set a new record as trade figures jumped a whopping 45% to a historic high of $113 billion, from the $78 billion recorded at the end of 2020. The split was between Indian exported goods worth over $73 billion and imported goods over $40 billion.

India’s energy needs to double in 20 years: PM

India’s energy needs demand growth at 25% over the next two decades and denying people this energy would be the equivalent of denying life to millions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his inaugural address at the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) on Wednesday, 16 February 2022.

India may emerge as a clean energy superpower: RIL

India could emerge as an energy superpower with clean energy exports set to soar to $500 billion over the next 20 years, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Wednesday, 23 February 2022.

Niti Aayog’s Rajiv Kumar highlights key takeaways from Budget 2022

Budget 2022 lays a robust foundation for the generation of employment opportunities, enhancing of incomes and greater growth prospects overall, Niti Aayog's vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar said on Tuesday, 1 February 2022.

Economic Survey 2022: Key takeaways from PEA's speech

Principal Economic Adviser (PEA) Sanjeev Sanyal and Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Dr V Anantha Nageswaran presented the Economic Survey 2022. The Survey was also tabled by the Finance Minster in Parliament. Here are the key takeaways from the PEA's presentation on the Economic Survey: - There has been a revival in economic activities to pre-pandemic levels in the year 2021-22. Even though the health cost of the second Covid-19 wave was much more severe.

Will work towards improving bilateral trade: President Joe Biden’s ambassadorial nominee to India

US President Joe Biden’s ambassadorial nominee to India Mr. Eric Garcetti has assured the influential Indian-American community that he will work towards improving bilateral trade and underlined the importance of human rights and pluralism. During a closed-door dinner meeting with prominent members of the Indian-American community, Mr. Eric Garcetti, who is currently the Mayor of Los Angeles, said that President Biden has told him that the US-India relationship is the most important global relationship in his mind.

Exports rise 28.51 percent to USD 8.67 billion during February 1-7, 2022

India's exports grew by 28.51 per cent to USD 8.67 billion during February 1-7, 2022 on account of healthy growth in sectors such as petroleum, engineering and gems and jewelry, according to the preliminary data of the commerce ministry. The exports during the first week of this month rose by about 31 percent.

Consulate General of India with Partnership with Deepak and Neera Raj Center, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University organized a virtual expert panel discussion on the 2022-23 budget and prospects

for the Indian Economy on 10 February 2022

The panel of experts included Dr. Arvind Panagariya, Professor of Economics and Director, Deepak and Neera Raj Center, SIPA, Columbia University; Mr. Sajjid Chinoy, Chief Indian Economist, JP Morgan; Mr. Naushad Forbes, Chairman of Forbes, Chairman of Forbes Marshall and President, CII in 2016-17; Mr. Akash Prakash, Founder and CEO, Amansa Capital Pte. Ltd.

Consul General addressed the panel discussion on “Decoding India’s Budget 2022” organized by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)

on 12 February 2022

The panelist included CA Vishal Garg, Ex-Chairman, Northern India Regional Council of ICAI; CA Abhishek Rastogi, Partner, Khaitan & Co.; Ms. Abha Kumar, Board Member Vahana Tech Acquisitions; Mr. Atma Trivedi, Sr. VP at Albright Stonebridge Group; CA Uday Ved, Lead Partner at Global Tax Group at KNAV and Dr. Rakesh Gupta, Ex-Member, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. Deputy Consul General was also present during the panel discussion.

Consul General participated in the special session on Union Budget by State Bank of India

on 10 February 2022

Participants included Dr. Ravi Kota, Minister Economic, Embassy of India, Washington DC; Mr. B C Pradhan, Dy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Brasilia; Mr. Amit Kumar, Consul General, CGI Chicago; Mr. Amit Mishra, Consul General, CGI Sao Paulo Mr. Virendra Bansal, Country Head (US Ops), SBI; Mr. Sanjay Naik, Dy Managing Director, International Banking Group, SBI; Dr. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Officer, SBI; Mr. Prasanta Kumar Tripathy, CEO New York, SBI. Consul General was accompanied by Deputy Consul General during the session.

Consul General along with Amb. T. S. Tirumurti, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of India to the UN, New York and Michelin star Chef Mr. Vikas Khanna launched the first Make in India perfume from Kannauj, Zighrana on 14 February 2022

at the Consulate

The perfume is a unique blend of spices like cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, sandalwood, jasmine and rose which define the unique smells of India.

Consul General met the President of Utkal Chambers, Mr. Brahma Mishra on 17 February 2022

at the Consulate

The meeting was aimed at enhancing the Investment, Trade & Tourism connection between Odisha and US. Deputy Consul General was present during the meeting.

Consul General met Mr. Sandeep Narula, Chairman, Electronics & Computer Software Export Promotion Council of India (ESC); Ms. Manjusha Chourasia, Jt Dir, Ministry of Electronics & IT; Mr. Gurmeet Singh, Executive Director, ESC on 22 February 2022

at the Consulate

The meeting was aiming at working with Electronics & Computer Software Export Promotion Council, India to boost India’s export services. Deputy Consul General was present during the meeting.

Consul General addressed the webinar on “Opportunities for Fintech companies in New York organized by Empire State Development & India FinTech Forum on 18 February 2022

Mr. Sreehari Marar, Director Global NY, New York State India office, Empire State Development; Mr. Satya Tagat, Director Software and Financial Services sector, Empire State Development; Mr. Anu Tiwari, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas; Mr. Akash Prakash, Founder and CEO, Amansa Capital Pte. Ltd. Participated in the webinar. New York’s Fintech Landscape and Opportunities for Indian companies were presented during the webinar. Deputy Consul General also attended the webinar.

Mondelez International aims to push up India revenue to $2 billion by 2030

Mondelez International expects its India revenues to grow by 10-11 percent per year. This could make the company report $2 billion in revenue by 2030. In 2021, the maker of Cadbury Dairy Milk reported revenue of $1.2 billion in India. In the previous calendar year, Mondelez International’s India business grew at 21 percent due to the pandemic and is higher than its growth rate in the last three years. Its average growth rate for the last three years stood at 11 per cent.

Upcoming Events:

13th-15th March 2022

Seafood Expo North America (SENA- 2022)

15th March, 2022

Virtual Roundtable titled "Channelizing Institutional Investment into Indian Infrastructure: A new window for US Investors, hosted by the Embassy of India, USA along with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIF Ltd.)

15th March - 16th March, 2022

IACC is organizing a virtual expo- INDIA- USA TRADE CONNECT

20th March - 4th April, 2022

35th Surajkund International Crafts Mela- 2022 at Surajkund, Haryana

25th March- 28th March, 2022

42nd Edition of India Carpet Expo

30th March – 3rd April, 2022

53^rd edition of Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair (IHGF), Delhi Fair

22nd April, 2022

BSM in Food & Beverage Sector organized by Trade Promotion Council of India

26th April - 30th April, 2022

AAHAR- The International Food and Hospitality Fair at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi