Greetings from JCCII President
April 19, 2021
Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India President’s Inaugural Address
My name is Takahiro EBISU, I was appointed as a President of Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India in 2021. I look forward to working with you this year.
This is my 3rd year here since I was appointed in April 2019. When I arrived here, Prime Minister Modi was inaugurated as the second Prime Minister of India and embarked on the road to further Indian growth, bearing the expectations of the people on his shoulders. However, despite the economic downturn caused by the spread of Covid-19 since March 2020, which temporarily plunged the real GDP growth rate to minus 24.4% (April-June 2020), the recently announced real GDP growth rate for the period from October to December 2020 recovered to plus 0.4%, reaffirming the underlying strength of India, a fresh country with an average age of 29.
With regard to Japan-India relations, Prime Minister Abe was replaced by Prime Minister Kan in September last year, and we continue to maintain extremely favorable relations. It is reported that Prime Minister Kan will visit India in early May, and I strongly hope that the relationship between Japan and India will continue to develop. I, as President of Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India, will do my best to further deepen and expand the relationship of trust between Japan and India, the economic growth of India, and the growth of Japanese companies within it. Best regards, everyone.
On the other hand, unfortunately, in India, like other countries, is once again suffering from Covid-19 (the second wave), and this General Meeting is held on the website as it was last year. In terms of our daily life, we are concerned about the situation, which is difficult for the members to foresee, as a curfew was imposed last weekend in Delhi. Under these circumstances, we will continue to address the health and safety of our member companies as our top priority.
As in the previous fiscal year, we will continue our efforts to distribute corona-related information, gather opinions, and respond to travel between Japan and India with the support of the Japanese Embassy, Japan Airlines, and All Nippon Airways. In addition, although travel between Japan and India has been restricted since the first wave of Covid-19, we would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to the Japanese Embassy in India, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, and all of the people concerned for their support, as well as the special charter flight by Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India and the special flight to date, for Japanese nationals living in India traveling between our two countries.
In addition, in this fiscal year, we will continue to work diligently on the “exchange of information and friendship among members” and “improvement of the business environment” which are the original aims of Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India.
With regard to information exchange and friendship among members, we are considering further enhancing opportunities for meeting, networking, information disclosure, and awareness among member companies. In addition to using web meeting as last year, we also plan to establish a REAL site after the Covid-19 pandemic is over. With regard to the content, we are considering setting up opportunities such as lectures and study sessions by selecting themes that are necessary and required in a timely manner based on the opinions of member companies. We will strive to provide our member companies with the information and networks when they need it, and to understand and resolve their concerns.
In terms of improving the business environment, last fiscal year we achieved a significant result by abolishing the dividend distribution tax. However, it is true that there are still many issues in the business environment in India, such as the tax system, laws and regulations, and infrastructure.
With the determination to focus more on improving the business environment, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India renamed the Proposal Committee to Business Environment Improvement Committee, and invited JETRO to participate as the Executive Director of the Committee. In that case, just as we did last year under the new rule concerning certification of origin (CAROTAR 2020), I recognize that it is necessary for the Embassy of Japan, JETRO and Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India to work together to resolve these issues.
As for the activities of the subcommittees that started last year, this fiscal year, we hope to deepen our understanding of each industry’s issues with experts, and propose and negotiate with Indian authorities as Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India as an industry-wide issue, thereby solving as many issues as possible.
In the current fiscal year, we will strive to provide even more attractive services to members of Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India, and contribute to the development of business between Japan and India, the promotion of personnel exchanges, and the deepening of bilateral relations.
Finally, as a President of Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India, I will do my best for the next year. I look forward to your support and encouragement.
Thank you very much for your attention.
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