Mcci intouch aug sept 14

Volume 28 Nos. 5 & 6 – Aug – Sept 2014

IN THIS ISSUE X From the President’s desk X Chamber’s Activities

Flagship Activity X MCCI – IEF Conference on Energy-Economy-Environment

Doing the Honors X Interaction meeting with the Port of Antwerp Officials X Interaction with the Delegation from Goa Chamber of Commerce X Interaction with the Delegation from Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council X Interaction with the Delegation from Portugal

Sowing the Seeds MCCI's 178th Chamber Day - Chief Guest Dr. Arvind Mayaram, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Finance,Dept. of Economic Affairs, GoI. Others in the picture : (L) Mr S.G.Prabhakharan,President, MCCI and (R) Mr.Bharat Joshi, Deputy High Commissioner, British Deputy High Commission, Chennai

X Workshop on Lateral Thinking X Valediction of Training Course on TNVAT Act & CST Act X Awareness program on Competition law with FISME X Meeting with the PF Commissioner X Training on Understanding Customer Types & Modifying our Selling Style

Sustainable Chennai Forum – Activities X Workshop on Cleantech Solutions jointly with Indo Italian Chamber of Commerce & Industry X Workshop on ENERGIE Project jointly with ASSIST

Together We Grow X CCCCC Meeting X National Conclave – The Indian Food Processing Sector – MCCI & Indo - American Chamber of Commerce

Special Occasion

X CHAMBER DAY X General Committee X Expert Committee

Experts’ Corner

MCCI – IEF Conference on Energy – Economy – Environment - Mr.S.G.Prabhakharan greeting Mr.Anil Razdan, IAS(Retd.), Former Secretary(Power),GoI. Others in the picture L to R : Mr. P.S.Bami,Mr.R.Raghuttama Rao and Mr.B.Bhambhani

X Flash News X Chamber in the news

Fire up X Representations & Press Release

What’s happening?

X Updates on Economy

From the President’s desk

Dear Members, It is indeed a pleasure to write to you through this column, my first message as President of the Madras Chamber.

As you are all aware, in the 178th Annual General Meeting held on 24th July 2014, Mr. T.Shivaraman handed over the mantle to me, to continue the commendable work, he had done in the last two years as President of the Chamber. He had also handed over to me the responsibility of heading the Consultative Committee of the City Chambers of Commerce (CCCCC) wherein six city chambers come under one fold to work towards the growth of Trade and Industry in Tamil Nadu.

The Chamber has entered into 179th year of service last month on Sept 29th,which, by no means is a small achievement. The Chamber has kept itself agile and has moved with times initiating new and relevant activities, while still maintaining its fundamental ethos and values. It is time to continue and take forward some of the activities, plan for new ones and be proactive in meeting the needs of Trade & Industry.

In the recent times the most heard phrase is the Ease of Doing Business. The Chamber proactively took up a study last year on “Manufacturing in Tamil Nadu- A Regulatory Road Map”, which looked into certain important regulatory issues , more particularly those hampering the growth of manufacturing.

Dr. Arvind Mayaram, Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs, Chief Guest of our Chamber Day Celebrations on 29th Sept 2014, in his address endorsed our concern and suggested that we could come out with specific areas where archaic laws could be repealed and self certification could be encouraged. We would continue to work on this study and would pursue further for simplification of laws and procedures to make things easier for the industry and economy.

The Make in India Campaign by our Hon’ble Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi is timely as it reflects our sentiments to revive the manufacturing sector. The Chamber, with more than half its members from the manufacturing sector, would continue to do our best to help this sector.

Our Skill development initiative will be given a further push this year and we expect to end up with more activities and more beneficiaries through this. The Sustainable Chennai Forum of the Chamber has taken off well and would expand its wings further in the coming years. More new initiatives are in the pipeline and we will be happy to share with you the details and seek your suggestions as we go along.

The Expert Committees of the Chamber have been reconstituted at the AGM and the Committees have had their first meetings to draw their work plan for the year. I am thoroughly amazed to see the vast pool of expertise available with the Chamber and the enthusiasm and commitment with which the committees work towards strengthening the Chamber.

Apart from our major events like the Power and Infrastructure Conferences, Tax Seminars, Budget workshops etc, there are diverse programs planned in sectors like Education, IT/ITes, Manufacturing, Finance and others to cater to the different sections of the members of the Chamber. Please watch out for our programs published under the heading “In the pipeline” in our bulletin Chamber In Touch and mark your diaries to make use of the opportunity provided.

Following the Delegation to Europe and Dubai to witness the state of the art facilities and to bring back the knowledge on good practices to implement what is possible in our country, we are now exploring possibilities to go to Ulsan, Korea and Hannover, Germany in the near future and look forward to your active participation.

Shortly, we would be launching a certificate program on Global Trade Management jointly with Madras University and many other short term courses are planned on a variety of subjects for the benefit of members.

We have ambitious plans for the Chamber and a packed calendar for the year. I am sure, I can count on your continued support as always. I have personally taken up few specific agenda on me: one is to improve the membership of the Chamber; the second is to enhance the revenue and the corpus of the Chamber so that we emerge stronger both in terms of numbers and size.

The Chamber is all set to spread its wings and reach out to all those who are being missed out, not only in Tamil Nadu, but throughout India. I would request every one of you to be the ambassador for promoting this great Chamber.

“They say Age is a high price to pay for maturity. Since we are 178, we have already paid a very high price to earn our maturity. Now we need to ensure that others know it.”

Let us work together to take the Chamber to greater heights.

With best wishes

S. G. Prabhakharan President

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Chamber’s Activities FLAGSHIP ACTIVITY

Under the auspices of the Energy Committee 5th September 2014

MCCI – IEF Conference on Energy- Economy – Environment

Mr. S.G. Prabhakharan welcoming the gathering

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ne of the Flagship activities of the Chamber is the MCCI- IEF Conference on EnergyEconomy-Environment jointly done with India Energy Forum. This is the third year that we have been doing the conference jointly with IEF.

Technical Session 1 : Power Generation & Distribution – Current Capacities, Opportunities & Challenges

Mr. S.G. Prabhakharan gave the welcome address.

The Conference was inaugurated by Mr. Anil Razdan IAS (Retd) Former Secretary, Power, GoI. While addressing the participants, he stressed the need for Tamil Nadu to go in for the gas grid and spoke about the importance of nuclear energy for Nation’s energy Security.

Mr. Atul Sobti, Director, Power, BHEL Mr. Ravikumar K, Independent Director,Reliance Infrastructure Co. Ltd. Mr. R.Venkateswaran, ED – Southern Region, NTPC

Chaired by Mr. Anil Razdan IAS Retd., Former Secretary, Power, GoI

Mr. Raghuttama Rao, MD, ICRA Management Consulting Services Ltd and a GC member made a presentation on TN Energy Status and set the tone for the Conference.

The Inaugural was followed by 4 Technical Sessions which had the following eminent speakers:-

Technical Session 1 - Mr. Anil Razdan chairing the session (Third from left) Speakers from L to R: Mr. R.Venkateswaran, Mr. Atul Sobti and Mr. Ravikumar K

Technical Session 2 : Reforming & Rationalising the Power Sector for accelerating Economic Growth

Mr.Raghuttama Rao making a presentation on TN Energy Status

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Chaired by Dr. M.K.Iyer, Member, Gujarat State Electricity Regulatory Commission Mr. Anand Madhavan, DGM, ICRA Management Consulting Services Ltd. Mr. Vishal Pandya, Director, RE Connect Energy Mr. Anil Kumar Meena, Dy. Chief Design Engineer – CTU – Planning, Power Grid Corporation of India

Chamber’s Activities Mr. Boovarahan Thirumalai, CEO, Aspiration Energy Pvt ltd Mr. Madhukumar, Gamesa Wind turbines Pvt Ltd., Mr. S. Venkatachalam, MD, Orient Green Power Co. Ltd., Mr. M. Venkatachalam, Madras Atomic Power Station Mr. Veda Vyasa Rao, VP (Infrastructure) SBI Capital Ltd, Bangalore Technical Session 2 - Mr. M.K. Iyer chairing the session (Fourth from left) Speakers from L to R: Mr. Anil Kumar Meena, Mr. Vishal Pandya, Mr. Anand Madhavan and Mr. Sunil Varma Marri

Technical Session 4 Chaired by Mr. Anil Razdan, Former Secretary, Power, GoI

Mr. Sunil Varma Marri, Head, Energy Practice, IMACS, New Delhi

Technical Session 3 : Green Energy & Alternate Options Chaired by Mr. Rajeev Katyal, Deputy Director General, Centre for Wind Energy Technology, Chennai Mr. Pasupathy Gopalan, President, Asia Pacific, Middle East & South Africa, Sun Edison Technical Session 4 - Mr. Anil Razdan chairing the session (Fifth from left) Others from L to R: Mr Amarjit Singh, Mr. S. Narasimhan, Dr. Ashok Kumar and Mr. L. Venkatesh

Dr. Ashok Kumar, Energy Economist, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), New Delhi Mr. L. Venkatesh, C R Narayana Rao LLP Mr. S. Narasimhan, Co Founder & Director, Energy Alternatives India.

Technical Session 3 - Mr. Rajeev Katyal chairing the session (Fourth from left) Speakers from L to R: Mr. M. Venkatachalam, Mr. Veda Vyasa Rao, Mr. S. Venkatachalam, Mr. Pasupathy Gopalan and Mr. Madhukumar

The Conference on Energy- Economy – Environment attended by more than 80 participants was power packed.

A view of the audience

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Chamber’s Activities DOING THE HONORS 5th August 2014

Interaction meeting with the Port of Antwerp Officials

Interactive session with H.E. Dr.Bart De Groof, Consul General of Belgium

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o continue the already existing relationship with the Port of Antwerp officials, there was an interaction meeting with H.E. Dr. Bart De Groof, Consul General of Belgium along with the Port of Antwerp delegation in the Chamber’s premises on August 5, 2014 , Mr. Luc Arnouts, Chief Commercial Director of the Antwerp Port Authority and Mr. Raj Khalid, Representative – India, POA, Mr. Sumeet Saini, Head of Post, Deputy Trade Commissioner, Flanders Investment and Trade were also part of the meeting.

Mr.Ram Venkataramani, Vice President, MCCI, gave the welcome Address. Dr. Bart De Groof, in his address to select members of the Chamber invited for this meet, stated that while the Trade Commissions and offices are being closed in other parts of the Country on the basis of cost cutting, the opening of the Consulate General office in Chennai, in spite of having a Trade Commission office, is proof for the potential seen for improving the trade relations between the two countries.

5th August 2014

Interaction with Delegates from Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council

Mr. Jimmy Lim, Mr. Samir and Ms. Josephine from the MREPC along with Ms.K. Saraswathi, Secretary General, MCCI

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he Delegation from Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council re presented by Mr. Jimmy Lim, Director, Marketing & Development, Mr. Samir and Ms. Josephine met Ms.Saraswathi, Secretary General at the Chamber’s premises for an interaction.

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There was a fruitful discussion with exchange of valuable information to explore opportunities and collaboration on rubber products sector in India.

Chamber’s Activities 17th September 2014

Interaction with the Delegation from Goa Chamber of Commerce

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n I n t e r a c t i o n m e e t i n g wa s organized with the delegation from Goa Chamber of Commerce led by its President and Director General who visited Chennai in the third week of September 2014. The British Business Group who is closely working with the Goa Chamber of Commerce had initiated this interaction.

Mr. S.G.Prabhakharan welcoming the Delegation from Goa Chamber of Commerce and British Business Group, Goa and Chennai

Mr. S.G. Prabhakaran, President extended a warm welcome to Mr. Narayan Bandekar President and Mr R.S.Kamat, Director General and to the other Members of the Goa Chamber and the BBG Members and gave a brief background about the Chamber.

Mr. R.S.Kamat gave a brief about the Goa Chamber followed by a presentation on Goa and the Opportunities that prevail in various sectors in Goa, especially in the areas of IT, Logisitics, Energy etc. Mr.Narayan Bandekar, President, informed that they would be happy to enter into an MOU with the Madras Chamber and invited experts from the Chamber, to Goa to share their expertise

Delegation from Goa Chamber of Commerce with Mr. S.G.Prabhakharan, President and Ms.K.Saraswathi,Secretary General,MCCI

Mr. Vittal Raj, GC Member gave his insights about opportunities for investments in IT in Goa. Mr.Krishnan, Chairman, Logisitics Committee shared his expertise on Logistics with the Goa Chamber.

The members of Goa Chamber expressed their appreciation for high value interaction session.

19th September 2014

Interaction with the Delegation from Portugal

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D e l e g a t i o n f r o m Po r t u g a l r e p r e s e n t e d b y M s. A m i n a , Partner, Mundiservices, Ms. Maria, GM, Association of National Electromechanical & Metallurgical Entities, Mr. Pedro,from Ecocil, and Mr. Ferdinand from Natrater, who were on a two city mission to India to promote cross border trade and technology sharing between companies, in both the Countries had an interaction with Ms.Saraswathi, Secretary General on September 19, 2014 at the Chamber’s premises. The discussion centered on

Interactive session with Delegation from Portugal

identifying more opportunities and partnerships particularly in sectors like metal products, mould accessories , waste management etc. They informed that a larger multi sector delegation would be visiting Tamil Nadu during later part of this year and they expressed interest in collaborating with the Chamber

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Chamber’s Activities SOWING THE SEEDS 22nd August 2014

Workshop on Lateral Thinking

Dr. Bala Sandilyan giving an activity to the participants during the training

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s part of the series of Training programs planned by the Chamber every month, a workshop on Lateral Thinking was organized on 22nd August 2014 in the Chamber’s premises. Dr. Bala Sandilyan was

the Trainer. The Training program was conducted in two batches attended by more than 35 persons. There was positive feedback from the participants.

6th September 2014

Valediction of Training Course on TNVAT Act & CST Act

Mr. A. Sarvar Allam, addressing the participants during the valediction of TNVAT Certificate course

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he first Batch of the Training Course on TNVAT Act & CST Act was completed on 6th September 2014. There was a positive feedback from the batch comprising of 30 students.

Mr. A. Sarvar Allam, Additional Commissioner (SMR) from the Office of the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes took part in the valedictory session, addressed the participants and distributed the certificates.

Mr. Allam during his address, mentioned that there was recently a meeting of senior bureaucrats held to discuss the issues on taxation and that MCCI figured prominently in these discussions.

The Chamber proposes to start the second batch of the course shortly.

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Chamber’s Activities 11th September 2014

Awareness Program on Competition Law with FISME

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he Madras Chamber, in association with The Federation of Indian Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME), New Delhi and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL), Mumbai had organized an awareness Program on Competition Law in Chennai on 11th September 2014 at the Chamber’s Conference Hall.

To help MSMEs take advantage of the prevailing competition laws in India, The Federation of India Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (FISME) had

Mr. Ahmad Saif Jamali, making a presentation on Competition Law

joined hands with Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in association with Madras Chamber to spread awareness in Chennai,of the rights and responsibilities of small business under the Competition Act. The presentation made by Mr. Ahmad Saif Jamali Regional Legal Manager, HUL, was well appreciated and there was good interaction from the participating companies.

16th September 2014

Meeting with the PF Commissioner

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ith the recent changes in the PF Act increasing the ceiling limit from Rs.6500/- to Rs.15000/-, with effect from 1st September 2014 for contribution to be made by Industries, an interactive meeting was arranged by the Chamber with Mr.S.D.Prasad, Regional Provident Fund Commissioner–I on 16th September, at Hotel Savera, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, Chennai – 4.

Mr.S.D.Prasad making a presentation.

Others in the picture – L to R : Ms. K.Saraswathi and Mr. Ram Venkataramani

M r. R a m Ve n k a t a r a m a n i , Vi c e President gave the welcome address.

Mr. Chandrasekar, Asst. Director, ( I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m s ) g ave a presentation on the Universal Account Number, features, the documents required for KYC by EPFO and also gave statistics of the Regional Office, Chennai.

Mr.S.D.Prasad made a presentation on the latest amendments in Employees Provident Fund Scheme (EPF), Employees Pension Scheme (EPS) and Employees Deposit linked Insurance Schemes (EDLI). He elaborated on the impact of the amendment and the

A view of the audience

role of the Employer consequent to the amendment. He further elaborated on 7 case laws with regard to classification of wages.

More than 100 delegates took part in the awareness program and there was good interaction wherein clarifications were sought by the participants directly to the Officers.

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Chamber’s Activities SOWING THE SEEDS 18th September 2014

Training on “Understanding Customer Types & Modifying our Selling Style”

Mr. J.Srinivasan giving an introduction to the participants

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he Madras Chamber, as part of its regular Trainings, had organised a full day Training program on “Understanding Customer Types and Modifying our Selling Style” exclusively for Sales/Marketing personnel of the Industries.

Mr. J.Srinivasan, a renowned Trainer on Sales Techniques was the Trainer. More than 28 participants took part in the training and there was a positive feedback.

ACTIVITIES UNDER SUSTAINABLE CHENNAI FORUM 8th September 2014

Workshop on Cleantech solutions jointly with Indo Italian Trade Commission

Mr. S.G.Prabhakharan, President, MCCI welcoming the participants for the workshop

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he Chamber, in association with the Indo Italian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Italian Trade Commission and the Italian Embassy, organized a workshop on “The Italian Cleantech Industry for Renewable Energies Development: Best Practices, Experiences, Cooperation, Opportunities” in Chennai on 8th September 2014. This is part of a series of workshops in different cities across the Country.

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Mr.S.G.Prabhakharan, President MCCI gave the welcome address. The Guest of Honor was H.E. Uga Ciarlatani, Consul General of Italy, Mumbai.Dr. Sudeep Jain IAS, CMD, TEDA was the Chief Guest.

The Italian companies shared their experiences and there was a good interactive session after the presentations, followed by one to one meeting.

Chamber’s Activities 10th September 2014

Workshop on ENERGIE Project jointly with ASSIST

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half day workshop was arranged in association with ASSIST to discuss the capacity building activities of the Project and to review the course outlined for certification trainings for Energy Professionals. This is done as a follow up of the ENERGIE project launched earlier by the Chamber and ASSIST, an NGO.

Mr. Sathappan, Regional Director-South Asia addressing the participants.

The need for energy efficiency in Industries, skill development and the SME requirements were the focus of this workshop. There was a good participation from SMEs.

TOGETHER, WE GROW - JOINT ACTIVITIES 25th August 2014

CCCCC Meeting

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s Chairman of the Consultative Committee of the City Chambers of Commerce having 6 Chambers in its fold, a meeting was called for with the Presidents and Secretaries of the Consultative Committee of the City Chambers of Commerce by the President, MCCI on 25th August 2014.

The objective of this meeting was to discuss the areas on which the CCCCC could work together to take up common issues more effectively and also to consider organizing a few joint events on subjects of common interest to the members of CCCCC. The following members attended the meeting:Mr. S.G. Prabhakharan, President, The Madras Chamber of Commerce & Industry(MCCI) Mr. Jawahar Vadivelu, President, The Southern India Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI) Mr. Hasmukhlal D Vora, President, Hindustan Chamber of Commerce (HCC) Mr. N.R. Dave, President Elect, HCC Mr. Syed Muneer Ahmed – President, National Chamber of Commerce

Mr. S.G.Prabhakharan interacting with the CCCCC members – Others in the picture- L to R: Mr. P. Nandagopal, Mr. Jawahar Vadivelu, Mr. Hasmukhlal D Vora, Mr. Syed Muneer Ahmed and Mr. N.R. Dave

Mr. P. Nandagopal, Secretary, Andhra Chamber of Commerce Mr. S. Raghavan, Secretary, SICCI Ms. K. Saraswathi, Secretary General, MCCI The important points that emerged from the meeting were as follows:• To take up the direct tax issue(under sec 12A of the Income Tax Act) together through the tax committees regarding exemptions for the Chambers.

• To give a joint representation for TNVAT amendment (ITC) to GoTN. • One mega event under the auspices of CCCCC • To try to meet CM of TN together and request to address the CCCCC members • To have seminar/Joint events – like Post Budget workshop etc.

Mr. S.G.Prabhakharan, President,MCCI, informed that the Madras Chamber will take the lead this year and do a few joint events to show the solidarity of the CCCCC.

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Chamber’s Activities 18th September 2014

National Conclave – The Indian Food Processing Sector – MCCI & Indo American Chamber of Commerce

Mr. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Hon’ble Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Government of India, Chief Guest addressing the participants.

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he Madras Chamber was the Associating Partner for the National Conclave – The Indian Food Processing Sector held on 18th September 2014 at Hotel Hyatt Regency, Teynampet, Chennai – 18 by the Indo American Chamber of Commerce.

Ms. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Hon’ble Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Government of India, was the Chief Guest who inaugurated the Conference. The inaugural was followed by 3 Technical sessions: Indian Processed Food Sector and Export Prospects, Technology, Infrastructure, Food Regulations and Challenges, and Funding the Food Processing Sector

SPECIAL OCCASION

29th September 2014

Chamber Day delays, litigations and financial losses.

He added that our Focus should be to make regulations, simple, clear and relevant facilitating compliance and not on penalising.

Mr. S.G. Prabhakharan, President, MCCI, welcoming the gathering.

Others in the picture - L to R : Ms. K.Saraswathi, Dr.Arvind Mayaram, Mr. Bharat Joshi, Mr. M. Vel Murugan and Mr. Ram Venkataramani

He stated that India is ranked 134 out of 189 countries as per the World Bank Report – Doing Business in 2014 and

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he Founder’s day of the Chamber, called the Chamber Day was celebrated on Monday, 29th September 2014 at Hotel Hyatt Regency with a meeting.

Mr. S.G. Prabhakaran, President gave the welcome address. He mentioned about the Study of the Chamber, Manufacturing in Tamil Nadu – A Regulatory Road Map which was taken up to understand the ease or unease of doing business. He stated that regulatory issues were considered a pain with most of the laws being ambiguous, leading to

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Dr. Arvind Mayaram, Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs delivering the Chief Guest address

India is ranked lowest in Innovation Index among BRIC countries. He added that if India has to achieve a sustainable growth of 8% and above, then manufacturing sector has to be taken care of, and an enabling environment should be assured for the sector be given.

He briefed about the importance of SMEs and unincorporated sector and referred the book by Prof. Vaidyanathan on “India Unincorporated” and stated that savings comes from households and unincorporated sectors which lead to investments. He further added that skill development and education for these sectors has to be provided for their growth.

Chamber’s Activities savings would go up and that would create liquidity for lending mainly to small and medium scale businesses.

Mr. Mayaram informed that the Centre will request States to introduce Self Certification or third party inspection in place of government inspections of commercial enterprises to reduce the paper work and physical verification. However, he informed that filing of wrong certificate should attract stringent penal actions.

He further added that corruption can be stopped only, if everyone cooperates. If there are taxes to be paid, he urged everyone to pay it. If there are building laws, do not violate them, he said.

He concluded by requesting Dr.Arvind Mayaram to highlight upon the priorities of the Government in the next budget.

Dr. Ar vind Mayaram, Secretar y, Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs, was the Chief Guest.

He congratulated the Chamber for celebrating its 178th Year. In his address, he talked about the present economic status of the Country in comparison to other countries. He informed that while the Centre can address the overall economic environment, actual investments happen at the State level.

Hence the State Governments should create a facilitating environment for growth. It is up to the State Governments to implement reforms to fully exploit the opportunity presented by the Central Government’s initiative to create an investment friendly climate.

He referred to the Standard & Poor’s rating of India as stable due to the Government’s commitment to reforms and fiscal consolidation and informed that India is on track in fiscal consolidation by controlling fiscal and current account deficits and reining in inflation. He added that India is moving towards a regime where interest rates must come down. Once inflation comes down,

Mr. Bharat Joshi, Deputy High Commissioner, British Deputy High Commission addressing the participants

Mr. M. Vel Murugan, Executive Vice Chairman, Tamil Nadu Export Promotion and Guidance Bureau making a presentation

Mr. S.G. Prabhakharan, President, MCCI presenting a memento to Dr.Arvind Mayaram, Chief Guest

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Chamber’s Activities smart cities, Industrial corridors, new airports, logistic hubs apart from opening up FDI in Defence, Construction and now real estate. These are all measures to improve the economy and to achieve a substantial growth Mr. Bharat Joshi was the Guest of Honor. He congratulated the Chamber for being active in its service to Industry in the 178th year and informed that it reflects the dedication of members.

He highlighted the growing business linkages between the two countries and he talked about five important reasons to do business with the UK.

Dr.Arvind Mayaram presenting the Service Awards to Ms. Bernie Highland and Mr.A.Elumalai

Mr. M. Vel Mur ugan, Executive Vice Chairman, Tamil Nadu Export Promotion and Guidance Bureau represented Mr.C.V.Shankar, Principal Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu.

He made a presentation on Tamil Nadu Growth story, and new initiatives of the Government to attract more investments in to Tamil Nadu.

The Chamber gave service awards to Ms. Bernie Highland, Manager – Trade Facilitation and Mr.A.Elumalai, Support Staff for completing 30 years and 15 years of service respectively in the Chamber.

Mr. Ram Venkataramani, Vice President proposed the vote of thanks.

Mr. Ram Venkataramani, Vice President, MCCI giving the vote of thanks

Further, changes are also needed in the range of areas such as Provident Fund, Labour and Factory laws. He urged the Chamber to suggest ways and methods for self certification not only in State Laws, but also in Central laws giving the advantages and the penalty that can be imposed if there is a violation. He informed that he would consider the recommendations, if they ease the process of doing business.

He added that the Government has come up with new infrastructure projects, such as 100

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A view of audience.

The meeting attended by 150+ members and invitees concluded with lunch.

The Committee held its monthly meetings in August and September and discussed the following issue among other issues.

General Committee

Study on Development of a Large Multi User Non Major Port in Tamil Nadu

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he Committee was informed that Chamber having completed the study, submitted the report to the State Planning Commission and made a presentation of the findings to senior officials on August 4, 2014 to the SPC. Mr. J. Krishnan, Chairman, Expert Committee, Logistics, informed the Committee that it was a unique opportunity for the Chamber to present its findings of the study to all the important stakeholders in one platform. The meeting was attended by Dr.Sugoto Dutt, I.F.S., Member Secretary, State Planning Commission, Mr. Atulya Misra, IAS, Chairman, Chennai Port Trust, Mr. Rajeev Ranjan,IAS,

Principal Secretary, Highways and Minor Ports, Mr. S. Krishnan, IAS, Principal Secretary, Planning & Development, & CEO, TNIDB, Mr. Ramesh Kumar Khanna, IAS Principal Secretary, VC & CEO, Tamil Nadu Maritime Board, Mr. K. Appandu, Joint Secretary to Government, MSME Department, Mr.Sanjay Kumar, Director- Operations, Kamarajar Port Ltd, among others. Ms. Santha Sheela Nair, I.A.S.,(Retd), Vice Chairperson, State Planning Commission appreciated the efforts of the Chamber.

There were very focused deliberations on the findings.

The comments received were positive. The Chamber recommended Silambimangalam as the location for developing a non major port.

General Committee Meeting held on September 13, 2014

In the Pipeline - Forthcoming Programs 10th October 2014 15th October 2014 17th & 18th October 2014 24th October 2014 29th October 2014 30th October 2014 6th November 2014 7th November 2014

FFT on “How Smart (a) City can be Interactive session on Invest in Baveria All India Workshop on Indirect Tax Laws Round table with Mr. S. Anantharaman, Chief Operations Manger, Southern Railways Training on “ Team Building” Visit to Sricity Seminar on Internet of things Conference on Transfer Pricing

10th November 2014

3rd Anniversary of SCF – Seminar on Inclusive Urban Prosperity

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Expert Committees The following reconstituted committees for the year 2014-2015 had its first meeting in the month of August and September 2014 and had their work plan in place for the year.

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ompany Law, Direct Tax, Logistics, Indirect Taxes, VAT, IT/ITES, Education, Environment and Energy, HRD and Legal.

Based on the work plan given by the Committees, the event calendar of Chamber for the year has been prepared which is packed.

Government about the Companies Act 2013. HRD and Legal Committees had their meeting to discuss the latest amendment in EPF Act to give the representation to the Government. Energy Committee gave a press release for the proposal of the Government to increase power tariff and had a meeting to give representation to the Government.

The Company Law Committee had their second meeting to discuss about the representation to

First meeting of the Direct Taxes Committee

First meeting of the Logistics Committee

First meeting of the VAT Committee

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First meeting of the Company Law Committee

First meeting of the IT Committee

First meeting of the Indirect Taxes Committee

LIBA ANNOUNCES

LOYOLA INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

MANAGEMENT Development programme FOR SME’s “The Entrepreneur – Leader” Rapid globalisation and the ever changing economic environment, demand that businesses continuously renew their knowledge and capability. The Management Development Centre (MDC) of LIBAhas been set up to specifically cater to the needs of business through its offering of specific programmes and consulting partnerships.

With this background, LIBAoffersa Management Development Program – “'The Entrepreneur – Leader”, a fast track training programme that will address both strategic and operational issues of SME’s- building their operational efficiency as well as develop plans for strategic issues of scaling up and diversification.

Programme's Distinctiveness Unique offer of a "project" space for each participant Take up a live/real issue in the business, occupying the mind space of the entrepreneur / business manager

Target Audience The programme is designed for entrepreneurs and those running family businesses. It will be particularly useful to those, who have not had a formal exposure to management education.

Course Details Duration

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15 Weeks

Dates

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November 14th 2014 – Mid February 2015

Timings

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Friday – Evenings(6.00pm-8.30pm) & Saturday Mornings (10.00am-2.00pm)

Venue

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LIBA Campus

Faculty

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Prof. A Indira & Prof. Sridhar Ganesh ( LIBA) & Business Leaders from Leading Corporates

Registrations Nominations along with payments to be sent by 5th November to: MDC – LIBA, Loyola College, Tank Bund Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai 34.

Contact For further enquires please get in touch with Ms. Rita Christopher Phone - 2817721/2/3 Mail:rita.christopher@libaedu.in

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FLASH NEWS Intro: New Members

Digital Logiciel Solutions (P) Ltd.

Software

Regal Interiors Private Limited

Interior Decoration

GP Consultants

Renewable Energy

Waves Telecom Pvt. Ltd.

Telecommunication

Datacert Consulting Private Limited

Software

Switzer Process Instruments Private Ltd

Manufacturing of Process Control Instruments

CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd

Real Estate Consultant

Kumar & Velayudham

Chartered Accountants

Jones Lang Lasalle Property Cons. (India) Pvt. Ltd

Real Estate Consultants

CADD Centre Private Limited

CADD Centre Training Services Pvt. Ltd.

Vichar Partners

J Sagar Associates

Price Water House Coopers

Price Water House

Haribhakti & Co.

Haribhakti & Co. LLP

Swap : (change in company’s name)

Kindle: Books to look for Grand Slam: Congrats The Madras of Commerce & Industry congratulates the following Member companies on their recent Awards and Recognitions: Mr. S.G. Prabhakharan, Chairman,XS Real Group and President, MCCI – Best Residential Project of the year across by CMO Asia at Singapore Mr. P S Surana , Founder Partner – Surana & Surana - Life Time Achievement Award 2014 by Institute of D Directors Mr. Bhoovarahan Thirumalai, CEO - Aspiration Energy Climate Solver Award 2013

by WWF Mr. Ashok , MD – Futurenet Technologies – Best Cloud Service Provider, South Zone

by UBM India – CRN Xellence Awards

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1. Entrepreneurial Strengths Finder – by - Jim Clifton & Sangeeta Bharadwaj Badal Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder is about understanding what drives entrepreneurs to start, sustain, and grow a successful company. What are the personality characteristics and behaviors that lead to venture creation and success? Can one learn to be an entrepreneur, or is it a quality a person is born with? The book attempts to answer these questions with the hope that if you are planning to start a business or are managing one, you can discover your entrepreneurial talents and in the process, increase your potential to start or grow your venture.

Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder is meant for several audiences — from those who are planning to start or grow a business to investors and coaches who can help identify talent and then foster and support that talent to start or grow a business.

2. India Becoming: A Journey through a Changing Landscape

by Akash Kapur India has changed dramatically in recent years, but what does all this change mean for the lives of ordinary Indians?

In this gripping and often moving book, Akash Kapur follows a handful of men and women in the villages and small towns of South India as they confront the ups and downs of life in a nation in transition.

CHAMBER IN THE NEWS

FIRE UP REPRESENTATIONS & PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE

Portuguese business men looking for improving ties with Tamil Nadu The Delegation from Portugal, who are on a two city mission to India to promote cross border trade and technology sharing between companies, in both the Countries were in Chennai today interacting with representatives of The Madras Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI).

The discussion centered on identifying more opportunities and partnerships particularly in sectors like metal products , mould accessories , waste management etc.

The Delegation’s interest was to meet a right partner/ channel like MCCI, to reach the Industries in Chennai and to promote trade relations between the two Countries. They were keen on knowing the sectors within metals and other areas wherein Chennai could explore business relations with Portugal and Europe as their aim Is to bring a bigger delegation to Chennai in future.

Regards MCCI

Madras Chamber’s views on the recent proposal of the Government to increase power tariffs The recent proposal to increase power tariffs for industrial consumers has many implications. As a Chamber, though we do appreciate the need for increase in tariffs considering increases in generation and procurement costs, the extent of increase, we believe, is far too high, and one needs to go into details of the overall cost structure as to whether such a huge increase is justifiable.

Further, imposing a 90% power cut during peak hours is not really justifiable.

The above two issues are likely to affect our existing industries especially the power intensive ones , and will negatively impact attracting new industries into the State, for which power is the key.

What industries really need is an uninterrupted power supply and, there are numerous ways to achieve the same. It is possible to do a proper scheduling and forecasting of Renewable Energy, a resource available in plenty in TN. Further, the state needs to work towards long term strategies in terms of off-grid power, added capacities, adequate grid infrastructure etc. that can help TN become a power surplus state.

Regards MCCI

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Business Facilitation

Industrial Land

Warehouses

Business Centers Offices

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Low cost of business setup & operations Duty free trade with all GCC countries Most competitive lease rates in the region 100% tax exemptions 100% foreign ownership in Free Zone companies 100% repatriation of capital and profits Availability of affordable utilities Low cost of living and high living standards

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

The Committees are: Company Law Direct Taxes Economic Affairs Energy Environment, Pollution, Prevention & Control Financial Sector HRD/CSR

Industrial Development/Infrastructure Indirect Taxes IT/ITES Legal Affairs Logistics Manufacturing VAT

The Committees currently under formation Health Care

Media & Entertainment

Tourism & Travel

EXPERTS' CORNER

this space for articles from these Experts in this feature Experts’ Corner.

ALIGN AND REALIGN

J. Krishnan Chairman – Expert Committee on Logistics Partner S. Natesa Iyer & Co

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lignment and Realignment, to an Indian psyche, is restricted to the domain of Politics..

However, in the recent past, the world of logistics witnesses a proposed alignment which was thwarted and swift emergence of alternate realignments.

To the initiated this is a story of P3 and M2.

For the uninitiated the story goes thus: Container shipping, which carries about 95% of the world’s manufactured goods, has suffered for the past decade from overcapacity that has led to falling freight rates, which major operators have described as unsustainable. A plethora of smaller shipping companies regularly undercut freight rates from Asia to Europe and across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, hoping to stay in business until the industry recovers.

Maresk Lines (Denmark), MSC Lines (Switzerland) and CMA CGM Lines (france) T h e wo r l d ’s l a r ge s t t h r e e containership operators sought to form an alliance called P3 and share their assets(Container vessels) in transportation.

The P3 Network alliance would have operated a fleet of 255 ships with a total capacity of 2.6 million 20-foot-equivalent units on 28 service loops on Asia-Europe, trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic routes.

However this alliance was felt as distorting the trade and the largest exporter in the world CHINA refused to grant approval for this alliance ,as it was felt that such a Mega alliance would have placed the Chinese EXIM trade under a vastly reduced competitive market and felt it was against their national interest. Without the approval from the Chinese government this proposal became still born.

Having lost a battle but not a war, a new realignment emerged: -M2 With the body of the failed P3 Network still warm, the world’s top two carriers have announced a new global agreement without CMA CGM. The new allies were Maersk and MSC Lines Not to be outdone ,the cast off CMA CGM pulled of a coup of sorts when they announced a new grouping called Ocean Three (a take on P3) The new partners were: United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) and China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL).

The potential new alliance would have a capacity share of 19% on the Far East-North Europe route and 22% on the Far East-Mediterranean route. Approval from US regulators is awaited for this grouping Other alliances already operating in the Containerized transportation are G6 and CKYHE The G6 alliance includes APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line.

The CKYH originally consisted of Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp , China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co , of China, Japan’s Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd — known as the “K” Line — and Hanjin Shipping Co of South Korea.

Taiwan based Evergreen jumped on to this bandwagon to resist the threat posed by proposed P3. And this alliance is now renamed as CKYHE The emergence of four large alliances among the world’s largest container shipping lines (M2,Ocean Three,G6 and CKYHE) is creating a two-tier market that could doom smaller carriers to hanging on to niche trades or going out of business.

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EXPERTS' CORNER

A POSSIBLE NEW APPROACH TO ENERGY IN RURAL INDIA

P.B.Varadharajan Member – Expert Committee on Energy, Environment, Prevention, Pollution & Control President Renewable Energy Harvesting Environment Network Association (REHENA)

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ndia has made big strides in Energy generation in the last 67 years since Independence in Mid 1947 when it was just 1.5 GW. Today it is now exceeding 250 GW – a growth of 167 times while the population has grown 4 times. This means every Indian has 4 times more electric energy generation as compared to pre-independence days.

Is that a lot? Not really- about 25% of the Indian population- (almost the same number of people who were there in 1947 in absolute numbers) have no access- zero electricity because they have no Grid.

Another 25% have less than 6 hour erratic supply and one more 25% have at best 12 hour supply. Only 25% of Indians get 12 or more hours of continuous electricity per day. These figures are rounded-off for easy classification. Even in Metros such as Chennai, it is common to have Power cuts & power-outages.

India’s per capita annual consumption of electricity remains one of the lowest in the world in 3 digits (below 1,000) Kwhrs per year. China has 4 times this number, starting below us in 1947. USA and other developed countries have 12-15 times our numbers.

Due to democratic process, any Indian Government will now face pressure to increase the Electricity Generation to, at least 2 twice the present capacity, within next 10 years.

Over 65% of India’s Electric power is generated from Thermal power plants that burn coal on a daily basis.

These cause air-pollution on massive scale because they were never designed in the first place to prevent pollution by any mitigating devices but just burn coal.

Besides, due to shortages of coal as of now, just about any coal available is burnt even if it is of low quality with high ash & sulphur contents.

At the same time, India is under pressure from developed countries to reduce pollution and reach International Goals on carbon emissions. We are already one of the Top 10 polluting countries in the world.

While we need to increase the production of Electricity to satisfy people and push up the GDP, we face restrictions on more generation via coal. There is also a hidden problem that more than 50% of our rural population use wood for cooking and heating needs and this causes erosion of forests and Green cover on one hand and on the other hand causes even more air

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pollution since burning wood in open stoves generates a lot of smoke – which is just carbon emissions.

Surprisingly there are cheaper and better alternative solutions. All the technologies involved are proven and the capital cost is same or lower than the thermal power stations with much lower time required for installation and commissioning that further de-risks the projects. For a variety of reasons, they remain as second or even third choice, when they should be the first choice & preference.

This new possible source of Energy is presently called as “Renewable Energy”. On paper there is a lot of support from Central and state Governments for them but in reality there are a lot of hurdles because the existing equipment suppliers of Thermal power stations are a powerful lobby to prevent the growth of their main competitor – Renewables. Since the power projects’ costs run into lakhs of crores of Rupees (several billions of US dollars), there are powerful vested interests.

Broadly speaking, Renewables can be produced either from Wind or Solar. Both produce infirm power in the sense that their generation is dependent on Natural factors and hence cannot be synchronized with human needs, especially if the loads are heavy, as in the case of industries or a Metro.

The other type of renewables are Bio Mass which means burning dry grass etc. to generate electricity or Bio-Gas that burns methane generated from waste including human and animal excreta. These can give firm power but are dependent on agricultural surplus and need to be near human settlements.

While a lot has been written on how to promote Renewable energy, from my filed experience on holding several Buyer-seller meets, I am classifying the steps required to expand substantially the renewables and reduce pollution.

1) There is an urgent need to have central financing organization that is well funded by itself and equipped with good set of administrators to face the competition from well entrenched Thermal Power lobby. I would place Rs 10,000 crores as the minimum capital requirement for such a body with a team of at least 100 lawyers.

2) The second requirement is a national consensus that within 12 months (or before end of 2015) at least 10% of consumption of all states and central Government including the private sector would have to be from Renewable Energy sources, directly or via Third party supply. Presently it is 5%. This will cost the Government no money and no subsidy is required. The extra demand will lower costs automatically. In case of deficiency the consumer has to pay that much % more in their monthly Grid tariff.

EXPERTS' CORNER 3) With adequate demand and sufficient finance, there will be enough companies to fulfill the demand. The equipment and generation specs have to be announced by Government so that there is some criteria on quality. The process of installation is simple and operation does not require any costs in Solar & wind. In Biomass & Biogas, supply chains have to be assured by locating them in rural areas.

In this way, it is possible to install about 50 GW of additional Renewable energy equipment before end of 2015, so that it can generate annually more by about 75 billion Kwhrs, especially in about 10,000 remote rural areas that would place less-load on the grid. This OUTSOURCING – HONEY, IT’S MY TURN...

J Raghunathan, Co-Chairman – Expert Committee – IT/ITES Co-Founder Knowledge Capital Investment Group

T

o the Indian psyche’, outsourcing always meant a customer entrusting the work to be handled on site or off shore. It is no longer surprising to find that large Indian enterprises are seriously thinking of (and some of them have already done) outsourcing their own non-core processes to experts in the line so that they can focus on core business where the competition is getting tougher and margins are under pressure.

The flattening of the world for the business game has put many of the Indian giants in direct face off with the international players. The factors affecting business are no longer restricted to a country. The vagaries of prices, supply of resources and the market are now trans-national making it imperative for the business to play the global game, albeit some local protectionist laws. This means that the businesses have to manage costs and revenues to match against competition across geographies.

As many of the western businesses have successfully outsourced their administrative and other non core processes to cheaper destinations which include India as a major source, their cost structure has become nimbler. This means trouble for the Indian giants who are competing globally as the human cost, once considered cheaper in India, has started increasing, making it a factor not possible any longer to be considered cheaper. Mor e than the unit cost of manpower, it is the relative cost of availability versus need – for example, IT manpower is available for IT organizations and they do not want to work for non IT companies where the work is of routine nature

is equal to about 8% of present total consumption and the estimated one time cost is Rs 30,000 crores of which can be shared in 3 equal ways – 33% each from Project promoters, advances from local panchayats by crowd sourcing (as purchase guarantees) and Loans from Central financing agency referred to earlier & International Green funds.

Only requirement from Government is promulgating laws on 10% sourcing from RE generators by end of 2015 on all distribution and consumption agencies and exemption from new Land acquisition acts for developing RE power and eliminate other project clearance hurdles. and the career growth is not as romantic as it is, in an IT company. This makes the availability of IT man power dearer for non IT companies and they need to pay more which affects their cost structure.

It is therefore given that large Indian majors will need to increasingly plan for outsourcing their noncore processes. But the Indian experience is often as recipients of outsourcing business and there is only meager experience of “handing out” outsourcing.

Ask the western competitor who would have horror stories of outsourcing as a survey reveals that as much as 60 -65% of outsourcing deals do not go through success.

Outsourcing is still an art and requires a caressing approach to leverage its full benefits. But the first step is to choose the right outsourcing partner. Some of the learnt lessons from our friends in the Western world would be worth revisiting here: Start with a good advice Outsourcing is too complicated to do alone. An impartial and a wise consultant will always come in handy.

Any journey shall have a plan Never commence the outsourcing travel without a road map. Have a clear set of destination goals to be reached because unlike IT projects, outsourcing relationships are long term.

Don’t delegate I mean, the decision and task of outsourcing in a company should be handled by the CIO himself with active support from the CEO. Treat the outsourcing like an Indian marriage It is long term and get into it with such a goal. The outsourcing vendor should be happy for your benefit Focus on people Out sourcing is a long term cost driver and not for replacing people. This message must be carried through the organization. Unhappy people can damage the relationship. People are cost. They are also an asset.

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EXPERTS' CORNER Measure and again measure Anything which is not planned is not done. Anything which is not measured is never done. Continuous measurement of results is imperative.

Ambiguity kills - Accuracy thrives It is very critical to be specific in expectations. Two documents are very important: Statement of Work (SOW) and Service Level Agreements (SLA).

Expect change Outsourcing contracts run for 3 to 5 years when technology and business landscape will inevitably

WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE CITY ?

T

he essential meaning of the word sustainable is, “able to be maintained over time.” We all share a vital public interest in making our city of Chennai sustainable and in avoiding their failure or collapse.

Unfortunately, the word is widely employed to refer merely to practices that are judged to bemarginally more environmentally sound than others. Indeed, sustainable is often used so carelessly as to lead some environmentalists to advise abandoning its use. Yet misuse of the word does nothing to diminish its crucial significance.

No human living arrangement can be maintained forever; sustainability is a relative term. As a frame of reference it seems reasonable to use the durations of prior civilizations, ranging from hundreds to thousands of years. A sustainable city, then, should maintain itself for many centuries.

Leaders and citizens of most our city of Chennai understandably concern themselves mostly with immediate problems and assume that they will be able to continue solving problems into the distant future. However, history and archaeology provide disturbingly numerous examples showing that short-term thinking can lead to a build-up of social, political, and environmental contradictions that end in calamity.

Five Axioms of Sustainability 1. Any city that continues to use critical resources unsustainably will collapse. A city that uses resources sustainably may still collapse for other reasons beyond the society’s control. Hence the first axiom should focus on resource consumption because that is a decisive, quantifiable, and, in principle, controllable determinant of a city’s longterm survival.

2. Population growth and/or growth in the rates of consumption of resources cannot be sustained.

Human population growth has been sustained up

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undergo changes. Your master outsourcing contract must be flexible to provide for modifications and mini contracts to align with the changes.

There is no cheap and best outsourcing contract Do not succumb to a cheap deal. It may not eventually be cheap. Plan for every conceivable cost and allow the vendor to make decent margins and you have a good deal on hand. Remember Samuel Johnson who said” Round numbers are always false”.

Outsourcing is a critical weapon only for those who are prepared for it

R. Kulothungan Chairman – Expert Committee on Environment,Pollution, Prevention & Control Sr. Vice President, Orient Green Power Co Ltd

to the present. How can we be sure that it cannot be sustained into the indefinite future? Simple arithmetic shows that even small rates of growth, if continued, add up to absurdly large—and plainly unsupportable— population sizes and rates of consumption.

3. To be sustainable, the use of renewable resources must proceed at a rate that is less than or equal to the rate of natural replenishment. The first clue that harvesting is proceeding at a rate greater than that of natural replenishment is the decline of the resource base. However, a resource may be declining for reasons other than over-harvesting; for example, a forest not being logged may be decimated by disease. Nevertheless, if the resource is declining, pursuit of sustainability requires that the rate of harvest be reduced, regardless of the cause of decline.

4. To be sustainable, the use of non-renewable resources must proceed at a rate that is declining, and the rate of decline must be greater than or equal to the rate of depletion. The rate of depletion is defined as the amount being extracted and used during a specified time interval (usually a year) as a percentage of the amount left to extract.

5. Sustainability requires that substances introduced into the environment from human activities be minimized and rendered harmless to biosphere functions. In cases where pollution from the extraction and consumption of resources threatens the viability of ecosystems, reduction in the rates of extraction and consumption of those resources may need to occur at a rate greater than the rate of depletion.

EXPERTS' CORNER It is essential for cities that want to be sustainable to begin with a clear definition of sustainability and a clear set of sustainability criteria and principles.

“Sustainability” is a destination, and unless a city is clear about where that destination is, it will find it very difficult getting there.

Policies and Practices for Sustainable Cities Sustainability, if rigorously defined, might appear to be an unachievable goal for a modern city. Growth in both population and consumption rates is almost everywhere taken for granted and encouraged, and the use of non-renewable resources lies at the heart of most economic activities. Yet unless cities move in the direction of sustainability, they risk grave environmental, economic, and demographic problems.

Clearly, a central issue in achieving sustainability is reducing fossil fuel dependency. Chennai city can begin to kick the use of petrol /diesel habit by investing in more efficient transport and Transit modes like metro and in promoting bicycling and walking. Urban planning for density and mixed use gets people out of cars, so they can spend less time

commuting and more time walking, shopping, and talking with friends.

Sourcing electrical power from renewable sources is also a major issue in reducing fossil fuel consumption.

Often, decisions that determine the mix of energy sources used to provide Electricity are made at the state or national level. However, where cities have formed municipally owned power companies, they are better able to put these decisions in the hands of their citizens. Wind, geothermal, hydro, solar concentrating thermal, and photovoltaic power plants can all substitute for coal or gas power plants.

Some of these alternative energy sources are already economically competitive with fossil fuels. Choices regarding energy alternatives must be made on the basis of local potential renewable energy resources.

Citizen-led movements for sustainability can be at least as effective as efforts by government Officials. In summary, Sustainability is a challenging but essential goal for any city. Many societies in the past have failed to achieve it and suffered decline or collapse as a consequence. Fortunately, there are many things that Chennai city can endeavor to move in the direction of long- term sustainability while also improving citizens’ lives in the short term.

What’s happening?

RBI allows TD Power to raise foreign investment limit to 100%

UPDATES ON ECONOMY

Centre to identify smart cities before Budget Union Urban Development Minister, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the Centre will start identifying urban areas which can be transformed into smart cities, before the next Budget Session. The Government is currently holding consultations with all stakeholders including state governments, local bodies and those keen on developing smart cities and is planning to complete the process of consultation and finalization of the contour by the end of November, this year.

SEBI notified norms for Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvITs) SEBI has notified norms for listing of business trust structures, REITs and InvITs that would help attract more funds in a transparent manner into realty and infrastructure sectors. The norms which were approved by SEBI would get tax incentives.

For both trusts, the minimum initial offer size should be Rs 250 crore with a public float of at least 25 per cent, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The minimum asset base for these trusts to get listed is Rs 500 crore.

Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) can now purchase up to 100% of TD Power Systems under the Portfolio Investment Scheme. Earlier the limit for the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) or registered foreign portfolio investor (RFPIs) to purchase equity shares in the company was capped at was at 49%.

India signs Free Trade Agreement in Services, investments with ASEAN India has signed the free trade agreement (FTA) in services and investments with 10-member Asean, paving the way for free movement of professionals and further opening opportunities for investments. The country implemented FTA in goods with the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) in 2011. “Some of the important articles contained in the agreement are ones on transparency, domestic regulations, recognition, market access, national treatment, increasing participation of developing countries, joint committee on services, review, dispute settlement and denial of benefits.

Concept to be Finalised Soon for Impementation of the Sagar Mala Project The government proposes to finalize the Sagar Mala concept soon to implement the project.

The Ministry of Shipping being the nodal point for THE Sagar Mala Project, held a brain storming session under the chairmanship of Secretary, Shipping Shri Vishwapati

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What’s happening?

Trivedi. The focus of conference was (i) Initiatives to be taken for Port led development (ii) Policy framework to promote coastal Shipping and Inland water transport (iii) Institutional framework for implementation of the Sagar Mala Project.

of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Power Trading Corporation (PTC), and Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd (GPCL).

“Sagar Mala” was an initiative that was announced by the then Prime Minister of India on the Independence Day in 2003 with the objective of achieving rapid capacity expansion and modernization of Ports along India’s East and West Coast.

The Joint Venture Company will undertake detailed feasibility study based on the inputs received from prefeasibility studies and necessary steps for implementation of the first offshore demonstration wind power project.

MOU Signed for First Ever Offshore Wind Power Project in India

Core Sector grows 5.8 % in August

An MOU for setting up a Joint Venture Company ( JVC) towards undertaking the First Demonstration Offshore Wind Power Project in the country along the Gujarat coast has been signed. The MoU was signed by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), and Consortium of partners consisting

Eight core industries grew by 5.8 per cent in August this year as against 4.7 per cent in the same month last year led by healthy growth in coal, cement and electricity sectors.

The August figures would have positive impact on overall industrial production as the eight core sectors has a combined weight of about 38 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production.

INCREDIBLE INDIA The Chamber congratulates the Mangalyaan team at ISRO for their achievement.

The objective of ISRO is to develop space technology and its application to various national tasks.

With this mission, ISRO has become the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after the Soviet space program, NASA, and European Space Agency.

India’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft successfully entered into an orbit around planet Mars on 24th September 2014. The Spacecraft is now circling Mars in an orbit whose nearest point to Mars (periapsis) is at 421.7 km and farthest point (apoapsis) at 76,993.6 km.

Brief journey & Milestones of ISRO Established in the year 1969 Launched 1st satellite Aryabhatta in 1975 with the help of Soviet Union’s space launch vehicle.

Successful launch of CHANDRAYAAN-1, a first step to land an Indian on the moon in the year 2008 Has Launched more than 70 Satellites since 1975

Facts - Mangalyaan $74 million is the Total cost of Mangalyaan Mars Orbiter Mission Rs. 6000 crore is the total budget allocated to ISRO in FY 2014-15 Rs. 451.4 crore is ISRO budget for Mangalyaan compared to $ 671 million NASA budget for latest Mars programme.

Make in India The Madras Chamber lauds the “Make in India” campaign launched b y H o n’ b l e P r i m e M i n i s t e r, Mr. Narendra Modi, on September 25th Trade & Industry, firmly believes that India could be the manufacturing hub for the world, 2014. The Chamber which plays an active role in the growth of The newly launched ‘Make in India’ campaign aims at reviving the manufacturing sector through higher domestic and foreign participation. Key aspects of the framework include time-bound project clearances through a single online portal, an eight-member team dedicated to answering investor queries within 48 hours and addressing key issues including labor laws, skill development and infrastructure.

Under the campaign, the gover nment aims to raise the manufacturing sector’s share of gross domestic product (GDP) to 25 percent in the next decade from around 15 percent currently.

Published by The Madras Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Karumuttu Centre, I floor, No. 634, Anna Salai, Nandanam, Chennai 600 035 Tel 044-24349452 Fax 044-24349164 Email madraschamber@madraschamber.in URL www.madraschamber.in

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