EBG Newsletter Jan 2018 · · 2018-03-053 Raman Sidhu, FCA Chairman, EBG Federation, India

Issue 29 January 2018l

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Raman Sidhu, FCAChairmanEBG Federation, India

EU & India

Chapter Update

Chapter Update - Cont’d

2018 EBG Position Paper

Know your Council Members

Know your Council Members - Cont’d


Dear Readers,

Wish you all a very happy and successful 2018.

I bring to you the first EBG Newsletter for this year.

With the second EBG election process having concluded successfully, I am humbled by the gesture of the new EBG's National Council for having re-elected me as the Chairman of this importantadvocacy organization. I congratulate all the newly elected National and Regional Council Members.

I will strive hard to keep the EBG flag flying high. We have to take EBG to newer heights and will work towards it with the help of all my colleagues on the National and Regional Chapter Councils, EU Delegation the European Embassiesand our esteemed members. I would like to thank the Members for taking part in EBG's current Election process.

This edition covers pages on “Know your Council members” after the recently concluded EBG Election.

The events and initiatives of EBG India in the year 2017received great reception and support from its Members and the other stakeholders. This provides us motivation and strength to continue our efforts to become the voice of the European Business Community.

Our Councils continue to be the source of guidance for EBG and our partners continue to provide support to us and I take this opportunity to thank them for their efforts. EBG's sector committees is its pillar of strength and I would like to thank all the Sector Committee Chairs, Vice Chairs and its Members for giving time for the activities of the Sector Committees.

Looking forward to the New Year, our most important focus this year would be to consolidate the EBG Structure laying down all guidelines to build a strong advocacy Group for European companies in India; increasing the EBG membership base;streamlining the processes associated with that and further developing the collaboration with bilateral Chambers and European Embassies.

We sincerely thank our Members, Our Patron – The EU Ambassador and his colleagues in the Delegation of the European Union to India, the Ambassadors and Economic and Commercial Counsellorsof the European Embassies and all other stakeholders and partners for their continued support to EBG India. EBG has seen increased interaction with the Government of India and the Delegation of the European Union to India.

You will hear about more interactive sessions and some high profile events being organized in the coming months.

In the year 2018, EBG India will strive to add more and more value to its Members through its activities and initiatives. We will keep our Members posted regarding the same.

With my best wishes,

Raman

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS:

For details, please contact Neema S Kumar at 9811418874

1) EBG-BT Joint event on “Digital – The new challenge for CEOs” – 7th February,2018 in New Delhi

2) Annual EBG-BBG Dateline Delhi – date to be finalised for February.

3) Release event of the 2018 edition of the EBG Position Paper in the last week of March.

What’s Newä

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Deloitte takes over as EBG's Technical Advisor from BMR Advisors.

European Business Organisation (EBO) South Asia Chapter set up comprising of India, Nepal and Srilanka EBOs.

Interactive session with the European Commissioner for Mobility and Transport,

H E Ms VioletaBulc - Monday, 18 December, 2017 in New Delhi

EBG- AmCham Pre Budget meeting with Shri Sushil Chandra Chairman-CBDT, Department of

thRevenue, Ministry of Finance – Thursday, 7 December,2017 at North Block, New Delhi

EBOWWN meeting organised in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in synergies with the EU-Africa Business

Forum in November 2017. Mr Raman Sidhu represented EBG India at the meeting.

EBG partnered with TMF Group for their session on Mastering Financial Complexity in India: Wednesday, 17th January, 2018, Mumbai.

thWelcome 2018 Sundowner party – Saturday, 20

January, 2018 in Mumbai


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Published by : EBG Federation, India

Contact : Neema S Kumar

General Manager

EBG Federation, 2nd Floor

Building No. 6

Okhla Industrial Estate, Okhla

New Delhi- 110 020

Mobile : 91-11-9811418874

E-mail : [email protected]

EBG Position Paper 2018 & Sector Committees

S.No Sector committee Based in Chairman Co-chair Knowledge partner

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Agro Chemicals

Alcoholic Beverages

Automotive

Aviation & Aerospace

Banking

Chemicals & Petrochemicals

Defence

Education

Energy – Power

Energy- Oil & Gas

Financial Services

FMCG

Healthcare

Homeland Security

ICT

Innovation

Logistics

Pharmaceuticals

Retail

Telecommunication

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi

Mumbai

Mumbai

Delhi

Mumbai

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi

Bangalore

Bangalore

Delhi

Mumbai

Delhi

Delhi

Mr K. Thyagarajan

Mr. Rajnish Singh, Moet Hennessy

Mr. Vinod Pandey, BMW

TBA

Ms. Radha Dhir, Deutsche Bank

Dr. Raman Ramachandran, BASF India

Mr. Manod Jinnuri,SAAB

Bocconi India

Andritz Hydro – TBA

Mr. Gokul Chaudhri, Senior Director, Deloitte

Mr. Rajeeb Mallick, Home Credit

Mr. Rajeev Batra, Hindustan Unilever Limited

Ms. Rekha Khanna, Bio Merieux

Mrs. Rupan Sidhu, G4S Corporate Services India

Pvt. Ltd

TBA

TBA

Mr. Julian Michael Bevis, Maersk Group

Mr. Ranjit Sahani

Mr. Patrik Antoni, IKEA India

Mr.T V Ramachandran Mr. Satya Gupta, Blue Town

TBA

Mr. Prashant Mehra, Grant Thornton

Mr. Rakesh Batra- E&Y

Mr. Amber Dubey, KPMG

Mr. Jairaj Purandare, JMP Advisors

Mr Ashutosh Dikshit, Deloitte.

Mr. Dhiraj Mathur, PwC

TBA



Mr. Achin Malik, TMF Group

TBA

Ms. Vrinda Mathur - Grant Thornton

TBA

TBA

TBA

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Mr. Sujay Shetty, PwC

Mr. Gaurav Karnik, E&Y

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The work to put together the 2018 edition of the EBG Position Paper has started. The Sector Committees are working with their knowledge partners to put together their sector papers. The list of Sector Committees with their knowledge partners is given below. In case you are not aware and would like to contribute to any of the sector papers, please write to Ms. Neema S Kumar at [email protected]

Newly nominated National Council members met on

thThursday, 11 January, 2018 at the ITC Maurya Sheraton,New Delhi – Details on Page 3.L to R – Ms Payal Singh,Mr Kersi Hilloo, Mr Raman Sidhu, Mr Sanjeev Varma,Mr Sudhir Narang, Ms Rekha Khanna. (Mr Peter Born andMr Antonio Fasano from the Mumbai Chapter not in the picture)

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EU & India Chapter Update - Cont’d

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both events, the EBG managed to mobilise an important number of European Businesses present in India.

The EBG puts the spotlight on the important role that European businesses play to constantly improve the EU-India trade and investment relations. It makes a significant contribution in terms of improving India's overall trade and investment environment. EBG has an important role to play as the voice of the EU businesses in India and in advocating common interests towards the Indian Government. Such efforts must continue and with EBG playing an increasingly important role in advocating for EU business interests, I hope that this will also enlarge its membership base in the coming years. We need to find means to provide the best framework that will allow all European companies established in India, and in particular SMEs, to benefit from the advantages of being part of a strong and united European Business Group.

I also look forward to the publication of the Annual Position Paper, which has become an important instrument to advocate for EU business interests in India.The EBG can play an important role in building bridges of understandingbetween Europe and India, as indeed, the way forward for economic progress, is boosting business tiesand relations between India and Europe.

It becomes important to understand the contribution, growth and successof European businesses in India and how strategic business partnerships between Europe and India can further strengthen economic ties and prove valuable for India'sgrowth.

The European Union Delegation, through the recently established Investment Facilitation Mechanism, is engaged in an ongoing dialogue with Indian counterparts on ways to reduce existing trade and investment barriers and improve ease of doing business. The views of European businesses are an important element in helping to ensure the relevance and effectiveness of our action within this framework.

I would like to encourage businesses on both sides to look at the tremendouspossibilities that India has to offer and how together we can make an impact on economic progress.I also encourage EU businesses in India to make their concerns and priorities known, be it through the EBG or directly to the EU Delegation.

I wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year!

H.E. Mr. Tomasz KozlowskiAmbassador of the European Union to India

First of all, I would like to congratulate the European Business Group for the excellent work and thank the EBG members for their efforts, their knowledge and the dedication they have shown.

Last year, EBG contributed successfully to the organisation of the business event with the President of the European Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, in the margins of the 14th EU-India Summit in New Delhi on 6 October. This was followed by a business roundtable with the European Commissioner for Transport, Ms VioletaBulc, organised by the EBG. For

Review of India's Tax Policy Reforms and key expectations from Budget 2018Year 2017 will go down in history of India's tax policy reforms as a key milestone. After a wait of17 years, implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in a special midnight Parliament Session was indeed a historic moment to integrate India as an economic union. Coming into effect

stfrom 1 July, GST redefined the country's indirect tax landscape as 17 taxes and 23 cesses subsumed to realize the economic goal of 'One Nation, One Tax'. Subsequently, the GST Council has made amendments based on stakeholders' feedback. On direct tax front, a Task Force has been constituted to review the Income-tax Act, 1961 and draft a new Direct Tax Law in consonance with economic needs of the country. Other key measures taken in 2017 included final guidelines for determination of “Place of effective management” (POEM), clarifications on “General Anti Avoidance Rule” (GAAR) and notification of new “Safe Harbour Rules” (SHR).

POEM as an anti-tax evasion regulation will control shell companies carrying artificial transactions blatantly and parking of funds in tax free jurisdictions whereas GAAR as an anti-tax avoidance mechanism will challenge tax free transactions very effectively. The new SHR regime aims to minimize transfer pricing disputes, provide certainty to taxpayers, align safe harbor margins with industry standards, and to enlarge the scope of safe harbour transactions. In another landmark development of 2017, India signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion & Profit Shifting (referred to as the Multilateral Instrument or the MLI). Aimed to check tax evasion by multinational enterprises, MLI is a unique attempt by countries to modify their existing network of around 3000 bilateral tax treaties through a multilateral convention in order to strengthen treaties to counter Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). Countries who have signed MLI will go through their internal legislative and executive processes of ratification and also finalize their stands on provisional positions they have adopted at the time of signing. Given these actions and time lines, impact of MLI in modifying existing bilateral tax treaties shall gather momentum in 2018.

thAmong other key developments was the constitution of 15 Finance Commission which will prescribe the formula for devolution of taxes between the Centre and States for the five years commencing on April 1, 2020. This time, the Commission will have to finalize its recommendations in a new setting - after abolition of plan and non-plan expenditure classification as well as the roll out of the GST. While looking into the impact of GST on the finances of Centre and States, the Commission will suggest a fresh fiscal consolidation roadmap. The panel has also been tasked with proposing measurable performance-based incentives for States based on deepening the GST net and improvement in ease of doing business (EoDB), among other measures. From a macroeconomic standpoint, the Indian economy has shown strong signs of recovery from the temporary deceleration caused by the impact of demonetization and initial hiccups of GSTimplementation. GDP growth for second quarter of FY 2017-18 was recorded at 6.3 per cent, a substantial increase from 5.7 per cent in the first quarter. The economy has received a confidence boost with Moody's Investors Service upgrade of Government of India's local and foreign currency issuer ratings to Baa2 from Baa3 and change in outlook on the rating to stable from positive after a period of 13 years. Further, India's ranking in World Banks' latest Doing Business Report improved 30 places to 100 position, the highest jump in rank of any country.

Going forward, Budget 2018 will be most sought after for regaining the lost momentum to ensure India reclaims its coveted position as world's fastest growing major economy. Achieving this feat would require continuous thrust on tax reforms for longer-term predictability, restoring demand and private investments, boosting manufacturing and exports, and sustaining improvement in ease of doing business. These measures will be crucial for propelling foreign investments.

: Gokul Chaudhri,Senior Director, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLPCourtesy

This year, EBG Mumbai chose to celebrate the Annual get together with a Sundowner party on the rooftop of a posh location where guests gathered together and enjoyed the food and drinks while they grooved to the music of a Live band and admired the sunset.Special thanks to all our Partners for making this event memorable – Jaguar Landrover, Charosa Wineries, Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, Hafele, Fuchs Lubricants, JW Marriott Sahar, Radisson Mumbai, Relations at Work, Truefitt & Hill, Plush Plaza and Foodbiz

EBG partnered with TMF Group for their session onMastering Financial Complexity in India: Wednesday,

th17 January, 2018, Mumbai.

2018 Sundowner party in Mumbai – Saturday, 20th January, 2018

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He is one of the 4 Life Trustees of Foundation for Aviation & Sustainable Tourism (FAST) and Member FICCI- National Executive Committee. He is Co-Founder and Management Committee member of the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI). He is a member of Young Presidents' Organization (YPO - Gold) Delhi Chapter. He is also a Member of the board of the YPO – Gold, 'South Asia'. He is an independent Director on the Board of Selan Exploration Technologies.He was an Independent Director on the Boards of G4S Corporate Services Ltd, holding Company of G4S Group in India, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), National Hydro-Electric Power Corporation (NHPC), India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL), Deutsche Post Bank Home Finance Ltd, National Textile Corporation Ltd (NTC) and Accord India (International search partnership). He was one of 5 members of the Ministry of Finance & Corporate Affairs 'Core Group' set up to establish Corporate Governance norms for all International FII's (Banks, Insurance companies, Mutual funds, Pension Funds, etc.) operating in India. He was also Senior Director & Board Director- HSBC Securities & Capital Markets (India) Pvt. Ltd, Director - Fidelity Fund Management & Barclays Bank PLC and Manager, Grindlays Bank. He was the Adviser of Commonwealth Secretariat, London to the Minister of Industries, Government of Trinidad and Tobago. He has also been the past Chairman of the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Deputy Chairman, British Business Group (BBG).

EBG is guided by its National Council which has elected representatives from its Regional Chapters.National Council is a nominated body and looks into the governance and strategic working of the Group.

took over as Director – Finance and Corporate Affairs of Pennzoil India Ltd., and also served on the Board of Directors of the Company. Subsequently, became Managing Director of the Petrosil Group. Since end-2000, he is the CEO & Managing Director of Fuchs Lubricants (India) Pvt. Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuchs Petrolub SE, Germany). He has been instrumental in turning around this company into a profit making company, and for setting up a new state-of-the-art plant for manufacturing lubricants.

He started his career with Petrosil Oil Company Ltd., which he later went on to head as the Executive-Vice President. He

approx. 29,000 people across geographies. Prior to joining Altran, he was the CEO of Steria India where he played a pivotal role in the integration of Xansa with Groupe Steria. Steria is a leader in digital transformation with revenues of 3.7B Euros employing approx. 40,000 people. He was also a member of global executive committee at Steria. Sanjeev was based out of US with HCL Technologies America before he joined Steria. With around 35 years of experience, Sanjeev has controlled and marked focus in key business areas such as Business Planning Strategy, Corporate Finance and M&A. His expertise spans across management of global corporate strategies; building and maintaining talents across geographies; profitable turnaround of operations through effective business strategies; and building strong leadership teams.Sanjeev has been conferred with several awards by Deloitte along with Thought leaders and Stars Group, as a “thinker and for the power of his ideas to transform in the IT arena”. Sanjeev also won the CEO of the Year Award at the Global Brand Excellence Awards in October 2013.

Sanjeev Varma is the CEO, of Altran India and is responsible for the overall Indian operations and strategy. Altran is a global leader in innovation and high-tech engineering domain with revenues of almost 2.5B Euros and employs

Chapter Update

A qualified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

strategy, as well as promoting the company's presence and services in the Indian sub-continent. Sudhir also leads Network and Services Integration (NSI)/Cloud of Clouds Service Integration (CoCSI) Practice for AMEA (Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa), where he is responsible for creating propositions, processes and delivery infrastructure, to broaden BT's existing customer relationships. Earlier, Sudhir was additionally responsible for Sales Operations across AMEA (Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa) for 5 years, where he built scalable sales processes and sales enablement infrastructure and was instrumental in growing the business at a CAGR of more than 15% in 5 years. He has been responsible for setting up BT's business in India both as a market operations as well as back-end service organisation. He successfully led the integration of i2i – a IP Network company with pan India presence. Currently he is Member on the Board of BT's holding and operating companies in India namely, BT Telecom India Pvt. Ltd. BT Global Communications Pvt. Ltd. And BT e-Serv Pvt. Ltd. He is an elected member of the IT Services council of the country's biggest IT association – NASSCOM. He is a core committee member of British Business Group and council member of European Business Group's Regional Council. Sudhir is also member on the board of Katha a leading non-profit organistaion dedicated to providing education to children from the weaker sections of the society. He was member of Board of Directors of Accel Frontline for three years between 2008 and 2011. Prior to joining BT, Sudhir was CEO of Tulip IT services, a data telecom service provider and IT solutions company. He has also held various leadership positions, including Senior Vice President, India and SAARC, at Cisco Systems India Pvt Ltd. and General Manager at HCL Comnet. Sudhir holds an engineering degree from BITS, Pilani and has also pursued a post- diploma in international business. An avid reader, he finds spending time with family and friends, a great stress buster. He successfully completed Harvard Executive Education Program on Building a Global Enterprise in India in 2011.

Sudhir Narang is Managing Director for BT's India operations since December 2007, based in New Delhi. He is responsible for all Business Operations of the BT Global Services, BT's India

etc. I have been actively involved in the EBG working committee in the past and look forward to a stronger role even in the future. I am a special invitee on the IFCCI Board, Member of the ANZIBA Committee, President of FIDI India and a nominated trainer with the FIDI Academy.

Have been on the board for many years now, working with a European Company and in a Multicultural environment can help other New Companies understand the work Culture

Raman Sidhu, FCASenior Adviser, TMF - Group India &Senior Advisor, Accord Group (India)

Chairman, EBG Federation, India

Kersi Hilloo CEO & Managing DirectorFuchs Lubricants (India) Pvt. Ltd

Vice Chairman, EBG Federation - India

& Chairman, EBG Mumbai Chapter

continues to work closely with the healthcare community to provide support for better patient outcomes. A Masters in English Literature and an MBA, Rekha Khanna has more than 30 years of experience in Marketing, General Management and publishing. Among other work experience she was responsible for the launch of a highly successful weekly newspaper and the concept for a women's magazine for the India Today Group. She spent nine years of her childhood in the USA and returned to India to complete her school and University education. Rekha has been an active member of the EBG Council, as well as several committees of CII and FICCI.

Rekha Khanna has worked with bioMerieux since it established a direct presence in India. Starting as a Consultant she joined the Company in February 2003 and

Rekha KhannaDirector & Chairman of the BoardbioMérieux India Private Limited

Chairperson, Delhi Chapter

CEO Altran, India

Chairman, EBG Bengaluru Chapter

Sanjeev Varma

Payal Singh Country DirectorAGS Fourwinds India Pvt. Limited

Delhi Council Member

Sudhir Narang Managing Director India and V.P. Network &Services Integration Practice- AMEA, BT


The representatives of the European Transport Sector met H.E Ms Violet Bulc to share their thoughts on India's Modernisation agenda : Challenges and Issues faced by the European Transport Sector on

thMonday, 18 December 2017 in New Delhi. Mr Raman Sidhu, Chairman, EBG Federation gave the welcome address. H.E Mr Tomasz Kozlowski, Ambassador of the European Union to India gave the opening remarks followed by the key note address by H.E Ms Violetat Bulc. It was a very interactive meeting and Madam Bulc was very happy to receive the inputs from the Industry representatives before meeting her counterparts in the Government of India. This was followed by a very interactive panel discussion moderated by Mr K Srinivasan, Editor-in Chief, Newsline Publication. The panellists were Ajish Babu - CSO Head and Commercial Head for North and East India, Damco India – Maersk Group, Arvind Bhatia – Vice President, Doppelmayr India Private Limited – he shared his views on how ropeways can provide an effective means of transport in the urban context and its applications to make way for Smart Mobility in the Indian Context & Akhilesh Yadav – COO, Frauscher Sensor Technology – an expert in the Railway sector. Ms Payal Singh, National and Delhi Council Member gave the vote of thanks.

Interactive session with the European Commissioner for Mobility andthTransport, H E Ms Violeta Bulc – Monday, 18 December, 2017 in New Delhi

Know your newly nominated National Council

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Know your Council Members - Cont’d Know your Council Members - Cont’d


Mr Sidhu is the EBG India Chairman (Please seepage 3 for his profile.)

She is a member of EBG’s National Council (Pleasesee page 3 for her profile.)


Chairperson, Delhi Chapter &National Council Member



Delhi Council Member &National Council Member

He is a Member of EBG’s National Council (Pleasesee page 3 for his profile.)


Vice Chairman – Delhi Chapter & National Council Member

Chambers of Commerce in London developing policy proposals that would support the growth of British business. This included running a number of industry policy committees to bring together a strong voice on important business issues to regional and national Government.Before joining Virgin Atlantic I worked with leading international companies T-Mobile and EDF Energy on policy and public affairs. When I started at the airline four years ago I was responsible for leading our engagement with Government's across the world. This also included regular meetings with the European Union institutions, including most recently on Brexit. In October I moved into a commercial role as the Country Manager for India responsible for all our commercial operations in India, based in Delhi.

After leaving university I worked in the UK Parliament for the governing party supporting their work on culture and business policy. Following this I joined the

David HodgesHead of India Virgin Atlantic


various product and business segments. The company has focus on defence related business in the fields of secure communication, Communication Intelligence, Cyber Security, Test & measurements solutions etc. Over the years could deeply understand opportunities vs. challenges in the Indian context, also due to the global exposure from the company HQ, it is possible to provide comparative perspective and recommendations to the Indian customers. One thing is clear, India is the land of opportunities, long term business strategy works.

Rohde & Schwarz is associated with the business in India Forum from more than 3 decades. I am working with the company since 2001, could get opportunity to work in

Director Projects (Sales & Operations)Rohde & Schwarz India Pvt. Ltd.


Mohan Manohar Kakde

responsible for forging relations with the Indian Defence, Paramilitary Forces and key local industries.Terma India focuses primarily on the defense and security business, i.e. radar sensor and naval solutions, aircraft survivability equipment, and homeland security systems for both the defense and non-defense markets throughout the Indian sub-continent.M Asif Makandar joined Terma in Aug 2014 as Manager, Business Development after Terma made strategic decision to expand its India operations with an office on ground.Previously, Asif was Commander in the Indian Navy and took a premature retirement after 21 years of service. He has served in the Naval Headquarters in Delhi as Joint Director in various directorates for over 7

In this capacity, M Asif Makandar is heading the Terma's Business Development initiative in India. The focus for Asif is to carry out business development and be

M Asif Makandar (Retd) Head Terma India, Terma Defense & Security


first deep sea container operators, as a Management Trainee in October 1971 in London. He worked in a number of management positions in Europe and overseas, before being involved in the integration of OCL into the P&O

Julian was appointed to the role of Senior Director, Group Relations, South Asia, in October 2013. Julian joined Overseas Containers Limited (OCL), one of the

Julian M BevisSenior Director, Group RelationsSouth Asia, A P Moller – Maersk Group


World's leading Defence and Security Company. Manod has joined Saab organization in 2013. Manod was born in France and he has been working in India over 10 years. Prior to joining Saab, Manod worked with organizations such as LVMH, THALES, VOSSLOH in Corporate Management positions. He is 46 years old, married and has 2 daughters. He lives in New-Delhi.

Manod Jinnuri is the EVP – Marketing, Partnerships & Communication Head for India at Saab, one of the

Manod JinnuriExecutive Vice President - Head of Marketing, Partnerships & CommunicationsSAAB INDIA TECHNOLOGIES Pvt. Ltd.


Following his studies, he rejoined Deutsche Bank as a management trainee

in 1990 with a posting in India for a period of 8 years from 1992 to 2000 as a

Senior Relationship Manager in charge of managing the bank's

relationships with mostly German corporates. He also worked for

Deutsche Bank in Singapore as Senior Regional Relationship Manager for 2

years from 2000 till 2001. His last position, from end 2001 till March 2004

was with Deutsche Bank Jakarta where he was in charge of the Bank's

business with Multinational Corporates in Indonesia. Since April 2004

Peter Deubet is the Deputy Director General of the Indo-German Chamber

of Commerce.

Peter Deubet has a degree in Business and

Administration from the university of Hamburg, has

spent his initial career with Deutsche Bank in 1982.

Peter DeubetDy. Director General, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce

Mumbai Council Member

International Business and Operations Management.He is involved with Bekaert's Indian operations during its start-up phase as an operations manager and subsequently in a span of 18 years has been appointed as the Managing Director for Bekaert's operations in India.

Roopak Karnik is a Bachelor of Engineering from the Pune University, with post graduate specialization in

Roopak KarnikManaging Director and Country ManagerBekaert India


Peter Born Chief Representative, Commerzbank AZ

Mumbai Council Member &National Council Member


Plastics business in India.SRCC alumnus and C.A. by profession, Mukesh has over 30 years' experience in managing and leading businesses in the diverse filed of Industrial products, Automotive and since last 5 years in Specialty Chemicals. Mukesh started his career as a Management Consultant and after 8 years helping Multinationals to set up shop in India, he moved to Industry where he served Mannesmann Demag as its India Controller, Gates Corporation as its India CEO and then managing European business of Plastic components for Ashok Minda Group as its President before joining Solvay. Turning around businesses, setting up of Greenfield projects, joint ventures and managing M&A has been the key elements in his career so far. Mukesh is a member of the Executive committee of Indian Chemical Council and Co‐ Chair of FICCI Chemical Committee besides being a Council Member of EBG Federation's Mumbai Chapter.

Country Manager & Managing Director, Solvay India

Vice Chairman, EBG Mumbai Chapter

Mukesh Malhotra

Mukesh currently overseas Solvay's expanding activities in India and is responsible for growing Solvay's footprint in India. He has been associated with Solvay since 2010 and is credited with establishing Solvay's Engineering

Antonio FasanoManaging DirectorRELATIONSATWORK India Advisory Pvt.Ltd



Kersi HillooCEO & Managing DirectorFuchs Lubricants (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Vice Chairman, EBG Federation- India & Chairman, EBG Mumbai Chapter


2009, he founded Relations At Work India and since then he have been working with European companies supporting their investments in India and the structuring of their activities in the market. He sits on the board of different European companies in India.By leveraging on his experiences, he intends to support the development of the advocacy services for EBG members.

Holding a summa cum laude degree in Economy and Commerce, he had the first experience in India with ABN AMRO Bank, in 2005. In the beginning of

Antonio FasanoManaging Director RELATIONSATWORK India Advisory Pvt.Ltd


General of the Indo-German Chamber in charge of the Northern Region before joining Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. Peter Born served as Commerzbank's Chief Representative in South Korea from 1998-2004 and from 2006-2011 in Vietnam. In Korea as well as in Vietnam he has been Executive Committee Member of the respective European Chambers of Commerce. Since January 2012 Peter Born heads Commerzbank's Representative Office in India which also covers Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Peter Born first came to India in 1986 as a young MBA graduate of the University of Passau joining the Indo-German Chamber in Mumbai. From 1987-1992 he served out of New Delhi as Dy. Director



group when the company was renamed P&O Containers Limited in 1986. Thereafter, he worked in Senior Management positions in London and Europe before being appointed in 1992 as Chief Executive of the South Africa Europe Container Service Consortium for a period of two years. He then transferred to Singapore as General Manager South East Asia and then when P&O Containers merged with Nedlloyd Lines to form P&O Nedlloyd, he was appointed as Regional Director, Middle East, South Asia and African Region based in Mumbai where he lived for eleven years. Throughout the time he was in India, Julian was the Chairman of the Container Shipping Lines Association of India.On the acquisition of P&O Nedlloyd by Maersk Line in 2005, Julian was appointed as Area Line and Operations Manager for South Asia for Maersk Line. In May 2008 he was transferred to New Zealand as Manager of Maersk Line's operations in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. In October 2013 Julian moved to the position of Senior Director, Group Relations, South Asia, based in New Delhi where he is responsible for all government, regulatory and major stakeholder matters. Julian is a British national, educated at Oxford University from where he holds a Master's degree and is married with two teenage children.

He is a Member of EBG’s National Council (Pleasesee page 3 for his profile.)Members to be invited by Mr Verma to join theBengaluru Council

CEO, Altran India


Sanjeev Varma

years including Directorate of Staff Requirements (DSR) and has a successful track-record in procurement of military hardware as per Defence Procurement Procedures.Asif has a Master's degree in Defence and Strategic Studies and has attended the Defence Services Staff College in India. Asif has also commanded warships and held other key appointments in the Navy and is also a qualified naval diver. He enjoys photography and travelling.Asif is married to Zeenat and has a daughter and a son.

Know your newly nominated National Council – Cont’d

Know your newly elected Delhi Council

Know your newly elected Delhi Council – Cont’d

Know your newly elected Mumbai Council

Newly elected Bengaluru Council

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Know your Council Members - Cont’d Know your Council Members - Cont’d


Mr Sidhu is the EBG India Chairman (Please seepage 3 for his profile.)



Chairperson, Delhi Chapter &National Council Member



Delhi Council Member &National Council Member



Vice Chairman – Delhi Chapter & National Council Member

Chambers of Commerce in London developing policy proposals that would support the growth of British business. This included running a number of industry policy committees to bring together a strong voice on important business issues to regional and national Government.Before joining Virgin Atlantic I worked with leading international companies T-Mobile and EDF Energy on policy and public affairs. When I started at the airline four years ago I was responsible for leading our engagement with Government's across the world. This also included regular meetings with the European Union institutions, including most recently on Brexit. In October I moved into a commercial role as the Country Manager for India responsible for all our commercial operations in India, based in Delhi.

After leaving university I worked in the UK Parliament for the governing party supporting their work on culture and business policy. Following this I joined the

David HodgesHead of India Virgin Atlantic


various product and business segments. The company has focus on defence related business in the fields of secure communication, Communication Intelligence, Cyber Security, Test & measurements solutions etc. Over the years could deeply understand opportunities vs. challenges in the Indian context, also due to the global exposure from the company HQ, it is possible to provide comparative perspective and recommendations to the Indian customers. One thing is clear, India is the land of opportunities, long term business strategy works.

Rohde & Schwarz is associated with the business in India Forum from more than 3 decades. I am working with the company since 2001, could get opportunity to work in

Director Projects (Sales & Operations)Rohde & Schwarz India Pvt. Ltd.


Mohan Manmohar Kakde

responsible for forging relations with the Indian Defence, Paramilitary Forces and key local industries.Terma India focuses primarily on the defense and security business, i.e. radar sensor and naval solutions, aircraft survivability equipment, and homeland security systems for both the defense and non-defense markets throughout the Indian sub-continent.M Asif Makandar joined Terma in Aug 2014 as Manager, Business Development after Terma made strategic decision to expand its India operations with an office on ground.Previously, Asif was Commander in the Indian Navy and took a premature retirement after 21 years of service. He has served in the Naval Headquarters in Delhi as Joint Director in various directorates for over 7

In this capacity, M Asif Makandar is heading the Terma's Business Development initiative in India. The focus for Asif is to carry out business development and be

M Asif Makandar (Retd) Head Terma India, Terma Defense & Security


first deep sea container operators, as a Management Trainee in October 1971 in London. He worked in a number of management positions in Europe and overseas, before being involved in the integration of OCL into the P&O

Julian was appointed to the role of Senior Director, Group Relations, South Asia, in October 2013. Julian joined Overseas Containers Limited (OCL), one of the

Julian M BevisSenior Director, Group RelationsSouth Asia, A P Moller – Maersk Group


World's leading Defence and Security Company. Manod has joined Saab organization in 2013. Manod was born in France and he has been working in India over 10 years. Prior to joining Saab, Manod worked with organizations such as LVMH, THALES, VOSSLOH in Corporate Management positions. He is 46 years old, married and has 2 daughters. He lives in New-Delhi.

Manod Jinnuri is the EVP – Marketing, Partnerships & Communication Head for India at Saab, one of the

Manod JinnuriExecutive Vice President - Head of Marketing, Partnerships & CommunicationsSAAB INDIA TECHNOLOGIES Pvt. Ltd.


Following his studies, he rejoined Deutsche Bank as a management trainee

in 1990 with a posting in India for a period of 8 years from 1992 to 2000 as a

Senior Relationship Manager in charge of managing the bank's

relationships with mostly German corporates. He also worked for

Deutsche Bank in Singapore as Senior Regional Relationship Manager for 2

years from 2000 till 2001. His last position, from end 2001 till March 2004

was with Deutsche Bank Jakarta where he was in charge of the Bank's

business with Multinational Corporates in Indonesia. Since April 2004

Peter Deubet is the Deputy Director General of the Indo-German Chamber

of Commerce.

Peter Deubet has a degree in Business and

Administration from the university of Hamburg, has

spent his initial career with Deutsche Bank in 1982.

Peter DeubetDy. Director General, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce


International Business and Operations Management.He is involved with Bekaert's Indian operations during its start-up phase as an operations manager and subsequently in a span of 18 years has been appointed as the Managing Director for Bekaert's operations in India.

Roopak Karnik is a Bachelor of Engineering from the Pune University, with post graduate specialization in

Roopak KarnikManaging Director and Country ManagerBekaert India





Plastics business in India.SRCC alumnus and C.A. by profession, Mukesh has over 30 years' experience in managing and leading businesses in the diverse filed of Industrial products, Automotive and since last 5 years in Specialty Chemicals. Mukesh started his career as a Management Consultant and after 8 years helping Multinationals to set up shop in India, he moved to Industry where he served Mannesmann Demag as its India Controller, Gates Corporation as its India CEO and then managing European business of Plastic components for Ashok Minda Group as its President before joining Solvay. Turning around businesses, setting up of Greenfield projects, joint ventures and managing M&A has been the key elements in his career so far. Mukesh is a member of the Executive committee of Indian Chemical Council and Co‐ Chair of FICCI Chemical Committee besides being a Council Member of EBG Federation's Mumbai Chapter.

Country Manager & Managing Director, Solvay India

Vice Chairman, EBG Mumbai Chapter

Mukesh Malhotra

Mukesh currently overseas Solvay's expanding activities in India and is responsible for growing Solvay's footprint in India. He has been associated with Solvay since 2010 and is credited with establishing Solvay's Engineering

Antonio FasanoManaging DirectorRELATIONSATWORK India Advisory Pvt.Ltd



Kersi HillooCEO & Managing DirectorFuchs Lubricants (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Vice Chairman, EBG Federation- India & Chairman, EBG Mumbai Chapter


2009, he founded Relations At Work India and since then he have been working with European companies supporting their investments in India and the structuring of their activities in the market. He sits on the board of different European companies in India.By leveraging on his experiences, he intends to support the development of the advocacy services for EBG members.

Holding a summa cum laude degree in Economy and Commerce, he had the first experience in India with ABN AMRO Bank, in 2005. In the beginning of

Antonio FasanoManaging Director RELATIONSATWORK India Advisory Pvt.Ltd


General of the Indo-German Chamber in charge of the Northern Region before joining Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. Peter Born served as Commerzbank's Chief Representative in South Korea from 1998-2004 and from 2006-2011 in Vietnam. In Korea as well as in Vietnam he has been Executive Committee Member of the respective European Chambers of Commerce. Since January 2012 Peter Born heads Commerzbank's Representative Office in India which also covers Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Peter Born first came to India in 1986 as a young MBA graduate of the University of Passau joining the Indo-German Chamber in Mumbai. From 1987-1992 he served out of New Delhi as Dy. Director



group when the company was renamed P&O Containers Limited in 1986. Thereafter, he worked in Senior Management positions in London and Europe before being appointed in 1992 as Chief Executive of the South Africa Europe Container Service Consortium for a period of two years. He then transferred to Singapore as General Manager South East Asia and then when P&O Containers merged with Nedlloyd Lines to form P&O Nedlloyd, he was appointed as Regional Director, Middle East, South Asia and African Region based in Mumbai where he lived for eleven years. Throughout the time he was in India, Julian was the Chairman of the Container Shipping Lines Association of India.On the acquisition of P&O Nedlloyd by Maersk Line in 2005, Julian was appointed as Area Line and Operations Manager for South Asia for Maersk Line. In May 2008 he was transferred to New Zealand as Manager of Maersk Line's operations in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. In October 2013 Julian moved to the position of Senior Director, Group Relations, South Asia, based in New Delhi where he is responsible for all government, regulatory and major stakeholder matters. Julian is a British national, educated at Oxford University from where he holds a Master's degree and is married with two teenage children.

He is a Member of EBG’s National Council (Pleasesee page 3 for his profile.)Members to be invited by Mr Verma to join theBengaluru Council

CEO, Altran India


Sanjeev Varma

years including Directorate of Staff Requirements (DSR) and has a successful track-record in procurement of military hardware as per Defence Procurement Procedures.Asif has a Master's degree in Defence and Strategic Studies and has attended the Defence Services Staff College in India. Asif has also commanded warships and held other key appointments in the Navy and is also a qualified naval diver. He enjoys photography and travelling.Asif is married to Zeenat and has a daughter and a son.

Know your newly nominated National Council – Cont’d

Know your newly elected Delhi Council

Know your newly elected Delhi Council – Cont’d

Know your newly elected Mumbai Council

Newly elected Bengaluru Council

6


3

He is one of the 4 Life Trustees of Foundation for Aviation & Sustainable Tourism (FAST) and Member FICCI- National Executive Committee. He is Co-Founder and Management Committee member of the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI). He is a member of Young Presidents' Organization (YPO - Gold) Delhi Chapter. He is also a Member of the board of the YPO – Gold, 'South Asia'. He is an independent Director on the Board of Selan Exploration Technologies.He was an Independent Director on the Boards of G4S Corporate Services Ltd, holding Company of G4S Group in India, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), National Hydro-Electric Power Corporation (NHPC), India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL), Deutsche Post Bank Home Finance Ltd, National Textile Corporation Ltd (NTC) and Accord India (International search partnership). He was one of 5 members of the Ministry of Finance & Corporate Affairs 'Core Group' set up to establish Corporate Governance norms for all International FII's (Banks, Insurance companies, Mutual funds, Pension Funds, etc.) operating in India. He was also Senior Director & Board Director- HSBC Securities & Capital Markets (India) Pvt. Ltd, Director - Fidelity Fund Management & Barclays Bank PLC and Manager, Grindlays Bank. He was the Adviser of Commonwealth Secretariat, London to the Minister of Industries, Government of Trinidad and Tobago. He has also been the past Chairman of the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Deputy Chairman, British Business Group (BBG).

EBG is guided by its National Council which has elected representatives from its Regional Chapters.National Council is a nominated body and looks into the governance and strategic working of the Group.

took over as Director – Finance and Corporate Affairs of Pennzoil India Ltd., and also served on the Board of Directors of the Company. Subsequently, became Managing Director of the Petrosil Group. Since end-2000, he is the CEO & Managing Director of Fuchs Lubricants (India) Pvt. Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuchs Petrolub SE, Germany). He has been instrumental in turning around this company into a profit making company, and for setting up a new state-of-the-art plant for manufacturing lubricants.

He started his career with Petrosil Oil Company Ltd., which he later went on to head as the Executive-Vice President. He

approx. 29,000 people across geographies. Prior to joining Altran, he was the CEO of Steria India where he played a pivotal role in the integration of Xansa with Groupe Steria. Steria is a leader in digital transformation with revenues of 3.7B Euros employing approx. 40,000 people. He was also a member of global executive committee at Steria. Sanjeev was based out of US with HCL Technologies America before he joined Steria. With around 35 years of experience, Sanjeev has controlled and marked focus in key business areas such as Business Planning Strategy, Corporate Finance and M&A. His expertise spans across management of global corporate strategies; building and maintaining talents across geographies; profitable turnaround of operations through effective business strategies; and building strong leadership teams.Sanjeev has been conferred with several awards by Deloitte along with Thought leaders and Stars Group, as a “thinker and for the power of his ideas to transform in the IT arena”. Sanjeev also won the CEO of the Year Award at the Global Brand Excellence Awards in October 2013.

Sanjeev Varma is the CEO, of Altran India and is responsible for the overall Indian operations and strategy. Altran is a global leader in innovation and high-tech engineering domain with revenues of almost 2.5B Euros and employs

Chapter Update

A qualified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

strategy, as well as promoting the company's presence and services in the Indian sub-continent. Sudhir also leads Network and Services Integration (NSI)/Cloud of Clouds Service Integration (CoCSI) Practice for AMEA (Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa), where he is responsible for creating propositions, processes and delivery infrastructure, to broaden BT's existing customer relationships. Earlier, Sudhir was additionally responsible for Sales Operations across AMEA (Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa) for 5 years, where he built scalable sales processes and sales enablement infrastructure and was instrumental in growing the business at a CAGR of more than 15% in 5 years. He has been responsible for setting up BT's business in India both as a market operations as well as back-end service organisation. He successfully led the integration of i2i – a IP Network company with pan India presence. Currently he is Member on the Board of BT's holding and operating companies in India namely, BT Telecom India Pvt. Ltd. BT Global Communications Pvt. Ltd. And BT e-Serv Pvt. Ltd. He is an elected member of the IT Services council of the country's biggest IT association – NASSCOM. He is a core committee member of British Business Group and council member of European Business Group's Regional Council. Sudhir is also member on the board of Katha a leading non-profit organistaion dedicated to providing education to children from the weaker sections of the society. He was member of Board of Directors of Accel Frontline for three years between 2008 and 2011. Prior to joining BT, Sudhir was CEO of Tulip IT services, a data telecom service provider and IT solutions company. He has also held various leadership positions, including Senior Vice President, India and SAARC, at Cisco Systems India Pvt Ltd. and General Manager at HCL Comnet. Sudhir holds an engineering degree from BITS, Pilani and has also pursued a post- diploma in international business. An avid reader, he finds spending time with family and friends, a great stress buster. He successfully completed Harvard Executive Education Program on Building a Global Enterprise in India in 2011.

Sudhir Narang is Managing Director for BT's India operations since December 2007, based in New Delhi. He is responsible for all Business Operations of the BT Global Services, BT's India

etc. I have been actively involved in the EBG working committee in the past and look forward to a stronger role even in the future. I am a special invitee on the IFCCI Board, Member of the ANZIBA Committee, President of FIDI India and a nominated trainer with the FIDI Academy.

Have been on the board for many years now, working with a European Company and in a Multicultural environment can help other New Companies understand the work Culture


Chairman, EBG Federation, India

Kersi Hilloo CEO & Managing DirectorFuchs Lubricants (India) Pvt. Ltd

Vice Chairman, EBG Federation - India

& Chairman, EBG Mumbai Chapter

continues to work closely with the healthcare community to provide support for better patient outcomes. A Masters in English Literature and an MBA, Rekha Khanna has more than 30 years of experience in Marketing, General Management and publishing. Among other work experience she was responsible for the launch of a highly successful weekly newspaper and the concept for a women's magazine for the India Today Group. She spent nine years of her childhood in the USA and returned to India to complete her school and University education. Rekha has been an active member of the EBG Council, as well as several committees of CII and FICCI.

Rekha Khanna has worked with bioMerieux since it established a direct presence in India. Starting as a Consultant she joined the Company in February 2003 and


Chairperson, Delhi Chapter

CEO Altran, India


Sanjeev Varma





The representatives of the European Transport Sector met H.E Ms Violet Bulc to share their thoughts on India's Modernisation agenda : Challenges and Issues faced by the European Transport Sector on

thMonday, 18 December 2017 in New Delhi. Mr Raman Sidhu, Chairman, EBG Federation gave the welcome address. H.E Mr Tomasz Kozlowski, Ambassador of the European Union to India gave the opening remarks followed by the key note address by H.E Ms Violetat Bulc. It was a very interactive meeting and Madam Bulc was very happy to receive the inputs from the Industry representatives before meeting her counterparts in the Government of India. This was followed by a very interactive panel discussion moderated by Mr K Srinivasan, Editor-in Chief, Newsline Publication. The panellists were Ajish Babu - CSO Head and Commercial Head for North and East India, Damco India – Maersk Group, Arvind Bhatia – Vice President, Doppelmayr India Private Limited – he shared his views on how ropeways can provide an effective means of transport in the urban context and its applications to make way for Smart Mobility in the Indian Context & Akhilesh Yadav – COO, Frauscher Sensor Technology – an expert in the Railway sector. Ms Payal Singh, National and Delhi Council Member gave the vote of thanks.

Interactive session with the European Commissioner for Mobility andthTransport, H E Ms Violeta Bulc – Monday, 18 December, 2017 in New Delhi

Know your newly nominated National Council

7

EU & India Chapter Update - Cont’d

2

both events, the EBG managed to mobilise an important number of European Businesses present in India.

The EBG puts the spotlight on the important role that European businesses play to constantly improve the EU-India trade and investment relations. It makes a significant contribution in terms of improving India's overall trade and investment environment. EBG has an important role to play as the voice of the EU businesses in India and in advocating common interests towards the Indian Government. Such efforts must continue and with EBG playing an increasingly important role in advocating for EU business interests, I hope that this will also enlarge its membership base in the coming years. We need to find means to provide the best framework that will allow all European companies established in India, and in particular SMEs, to benefit from the advantages of being part of a strong and united European Business Group.

I also look forward to the publication of the Annual Position Paper, which has become an important instrument to advocate for EU business interests in India.The EBG can play an important role in building bridges of understandingbetween Europe and India, as indeed, the way forward for economic progress, is boosting business tiesand relations between India and Europe.

It becomes important to understand the contribution, growth and successof European businesses in India and how strategic business partnerships between Europe and India can further strengthen economic ties and prove valuable for India'sgrowth.

The European Union Delegation, through the recently established Investment Facilitation Mechanism, is engaged in an ongoing dialogue with Indian counterparts on ways to reduce existing trade and investment barriers and improve ease of doing business. The views of European businesses are an important element in helping to ensure the relevance and effectiveness of our action within this framework.

I would like to encourage businesses on both sides to look at the tremendouspossibilities that India has to offer and how together we can make an impact on economic progress.I also encourage EU businesses in India to make their concerns and priorities known, be it through the EBG or directly to the EU Delegation.

I wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year!

H.E. Mr. Tomasz KozlowskiAmbassador of the European Union to India

First of all, I would like to congratulate the European Business Group for the excellent work and thank the EBG members for their efforts, their knowledge and the dedication they have shown.

Last year, EBG contributed successfully to the organisation of the business event with the President of the European Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, in the margins of the 14th EU-India Summit in New Delhi on 6 October. This was followed by a business roundtable with the European Commissioner for Transport, Ms VioletaBulc, organised by the EBG. For

Review of India's Tax Policy Reforms and key expectations from Budget 2018Year 2017 will go down in history of India's tax policy reforms as a key milestone. After a wait of17 years, implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in a special midnight Parliament Session was indeed a historic moment to integrate India as an economic union. Coming into effect

stfrom 1 July, GST redefined the country's indirect tax landscape as 17 taxes and 23 cesses subsumed to realize the economic goal of 'One Nation, One Tax'. Subsequently, the GST Council has made amendments based on stakeholders' feedback. On direct tax front, a Task Force has been constituted to review the Income-tax Act, 1961 and draft a new Direct Tax Law in consonance with economic needs of the country. Other key measures taken in 2017 included final guidelines for determination of “Place of effective management” (POEM), clarifications on “General Anti Avoidance Rule” (GAAR) and notification of new “Safe Harbour Rules” (SHR).

POEM as an anti-tax evasion regulation will control shell companies carrying artificial transactions blatantly and parking of funds in tax free jurisdictions whereas GAAR as an anti-tax avoidance mechanism will challenge tax free transactions very effectively. The new SHR regime aims to minimize transfer pricing disputes, provide certainty to taxpayers, align safe harbor margins with industry standards, and to enlarge the scope of safe harbour transactions. In another landmark development of 2017, India signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion & Profit Shifting (referred to as the Multilateral Instrument or the MLI). Aimed to check tax evasion by multinational enterprises, MLI is a unique attempt by countries to modify their existing network of around 3000 bilateral tax treaties through a multilateral convention in order to strengthen treaties to counter Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). Countries who have signed MLI will go through their internal legislative and executive processes of ratification and also finalize their stands on provisional positions they have adopted at the time of signing. Given these actions and time lines, impact of MLI in modifying existing bilateral tax treaties shall gather momentum in 2018.

thAmong other key developments was the constitution of 15 Finance Commission which will prescribe the formula for devolution of taxes between the Centre and States for the five years commencing on April 1, 2020. This time, the Commission will have to finalize its recommendations in a new setting - after abolition of plan and non-plan expenditure classification as well as the roll out of the GST. While looking into the impact of GST on the finances of Centre and States, the Commission will suggest a fresh fiscal consolidation roadmap. The panel has also been tasked with proposing measurable performance-based incentives for States based on deepening the GST net and improvement in ease of doing business (EoDB), among other measures. From a macroeconomic standpoint, the Indian economy has shown strong signs of recovery from the temporary deceleration caused by the impact of demonetization and initial hiccups of GSTimplementation. GDP growth for second quarter of FY 2017-18 was recorded at 6.3 per cent, a substantial increase from 5.7 per cent in the first quarter. The economy has received a confidence boost with Moody's Investors Service upgrade of Government of India's local and foreign currency issuer ratings to Baa2 from Baa3 and change in outlook on the rating to stable from positive after a period of 13 years. Further, India's ranking in World Banks' latest Doing Business Report improved 30 places to 100 position, the highest jump in rank of any country.

Going forward, Budget 2018 will be most sought after for regaining the lost momentum to ensure India reclaims its coveted position as world's fastest growing major economy. Achieving this feat would require continuous thrust on tax reforms for longer-term predictability, restoring demand and private investments, boosting manufacturing and exports, and sustaining improvement in ease of doing business. These measures will be crucial for propelling foreign investments.

: Gokul Chaudhri,Senior Director, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLPCourtesy

This year, EBG Mumbai chose to celebrate the Annual get together with a Sundowner party on the rooftop of a posh location where guests gathered together and enjoyed the food and drinks while they grooved to the music of a Live band and admired the sunset.Special thanks to all our Partners for making this event memorable – Jaguar Landrover, Charosa Wineries, Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, Hafele, Fuchs Lubricants, JW Marriott Sahar, Radisson Mumbai, Relations at Work, Truefitt & Hill, Plush Plaza and Foodbiz

EBG partnered with TMF Group for their session on Mastering Financial

thComplexity in India: Wednesday, 17 January, 2018, Mumbai.

2018 Sundowner party in Mumbai – Saturday, 20th January, 2018

Issue 29 January 2018l

What’s Inside

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Raman Sidhu, FCAChairmanEBG Federation, India

EU & India

Chapter Update

Chapter Update - Cont’d





Dear Readers,

Wish you all a very happy and successful 2018.

I bring to you the first EBG Newsletter for this year.

With the second EBG election process having concluded successfully, I am humbled by the gesture of the new EBG's National Council for having re-elected me as the Chairman of this importantadvocacy organization. I congratulate all the newly elected National and Regional Council Members.

I will strive hard to keep the EBG flag flying high. We have to take EBG to newer heights and will work towards it with the help of all my colleagues on the National and Regional Chapter Councils, EU Delegation the European Embassiesand our esteemed members. I would like to thank the Members for taking part in EBG's current Election process.

This edition covers pages on “Know your Council members” after the recently concluded EBG Election.

The events and initiatives of EBG India in the year 2017received great reception and support from its Members and the other stakeholders. This provides us motivation and strength to continue our efforts to become the voice of the European Business Community.

Our Councils continue to be the source of guidance for EBG and our partners continue to provide support to us and I take this opportunity to thank them for their efforts. EBG's sector committees is its pillar of strength and I would like to thank all the Sector Committee Chairs, Vice Chairs and its Members for giving time for the activities of the Sector Committees.

Looking forward to the New Year, our most important focus this year would be to consolidate the EBG Structure laying down all guidelines to build a strong advocacy Group for European companies in India; increasing the EBG membership base;streamlining the processes associated with that and further developing the collaboration with bilateral Chambers and European Embassies.

We sincerely thank our Members, Our Patron – The EU Ambassador and his colleagues in the Delegation of the European Union to India, the Ambassadors and Economic and Commercial Counsellorsof the European Embassies and all other stakeholders and partners for their continued support to EBG India. EBG has seen increased interaction with the Government of India and the Delegation of the European Union to India.

You will hear about more interactive sessions and some high profile events being organized in the coming months.

In the year 2018, EBG India will strive to add more and more value to its Members through its activities and initiatives. We will keep our Members posted regarding the same.

With my best wishes,

Raman

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS:

For details, please contact Neema S Kumar at 9811418874

1) EBG-BT Joint event on “Digital – The new challenge for CEOs” – 7th February,2018 in New Delhi

2) Annual EBG-BBG Dateline Delhi – date to be finalised for February.

3) Release event of the 2018 edition of the EBG Position Paper in the last week of March.

What’s Newä

ä

Deloitte takes over as EBG's Technical Advisor from BMR Advisors.

European Business Organisation (EBO) South Asia Chapter set up comprising of India, Nepal and Srilanka EBOs.

Interactive session with the European Commissioner for Mobility and Transport,

H E Ms VioletaBulc - Monday, 18 December, 2017 in New Delhi

EBG- AmCham Pre Budget meeting with Shri Sushil Chandra Chairman-CBDT, Department of

thRevenue, Ministry of Finance – Thursday, 7 December,2017 at North Block, New Delhi

EBOWWN meeting organised in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in synergies with the EU-Africa Business

Forum in November 2017. Mr Raman Sidhu represented EBG India at the meeting.

EBG partnered with TMF Group for their session on Mastering Financial Complexity in India: Wednesday, 17th January, 2018, Mumbai.

thWelcome 2018 Sundowner party – Saturday, 20

January, 2018 in Mumbai


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Published by : EBG Federation, India

Contact : Neema S Kumar

General Manager

EBG Federation, 2nd Floor

Building No. 6

Okhla Industrial Estate, Okhla

New Delhi- 110 020

Mobile : 91-11-9811418874

E-mail : [email protected]

EBG Position Paper 2018 & Sector Committees

S.No Sector committee Based in Chairman Co-chair Knowledge partner

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Agro Chemicals

Alcoholic Beverages

Automotive

Aviation & Aerospace

Banking

Chemicals & Petrochemicals

Defence

Education

Energy – Power

Energy- Oil & Gas

Financial Services

FMCG

Healthcare

Homeland Security

ICT

Innovation

Logistics

Pharmaceuticals

Retail

Telecommunication

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi

Mumbai

Mumbai

Delhi

Mumbai

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi

Delhi

Bangalore

Bangalore

Delhi

Mumbai

Delhi

Delhi

Mr K. Thyagarajan

Mr. Rajnish Singh, Moet Hennessy

Mr. Vinod Pandey, BMW

TBA

Ms. Radha Dhir, Deutsche Bank

Dr. Raman Ramachandran, BASF India

Mr. Manod Jinnuri,SAAB

Bocconi India

Andritz Hydro – TBA


Mr. Rajeeb Mallick, Home Credit

Mr. Rajeev Batra, Hindustan Unilever Limited

Ms. Rekha Khanna, Bio Merieux

Mrs. Rupan Sidhu, G4S Corporate Services India

Pvt. Ltd

TBA

TBA

Mr. Julian Michael Bevis, Maersk Group

Mr. Ranjit Sahani

Mr. Patrik Antoni, IKEA India

Mr.T V Ramachandran Mr. Satya Gupta, Blue Town

TBA

Mr. Prashant Mehra, Grant Thornton

Mr. Rakesh Batra- E&Y

Mr. Amber Dubey, KPMG

Mr. Jairaj Purandare, JMP Advisors

Mr Ashutosh Dikshit, Deloitte.

Mr. Dhiraj Mathur, PwC

TBA



Mr. Achin Malik, TMF Group

TBA

Ms. Vrinda Mathur - Grant Thornton

TBA

TBA

TBA

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Mr. Sujay Shetty, PwC

Mr. Gaurav Karnik, E&Y

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The work to put together the 2018 edition of the EBG Position Paper has started. The Sector Committees are working with their knowledge partners to put together their sector papers. The list of Sector Committees with their knowledge partners is given below. In case you are not aware and would like to contribute to any of the sector papers, please write to Ms. Neema S Kumar at [email protected]

Newly nominated National Council members met on

thThursday, 11 January, 2018 at the ITC Maurya Sheraton,New Delhi – Details on Page 3.L to R – Ms Payal Singh,Mr Kersi Hilloo, Mr Raman Sidhu, Mr Sanjeev Varma,Mr Sudhir Narang, Ms Rekha Khanna. (Mr Peter Born andMr Antonio Fasano from the Mumbai Chapter not in the picture)

Documents

EBG Newsletter Jan 2018 · · 2018-03-053 Raman Sidhu, FCA Chairman, EBG Federation, India