Amit Gossain Chairperson Finland Chamber of Commerce in India Managing Director, KONE Elevator India

Finland Chamber of Commerce was founded in 2018, and I am happy to be one of the founding Board Members and to help set up FINCHAM along with other Board Members, namely, Mr. Neeraj Sharma, Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal and Mr. Sanjay Malik.

We have grown from strength to strength in the last year, have organised several interesting and informative sessions which were driven well with all your support and encouragement during my term as the Chamber’s Chairperson. We had quite notable highlights in the year 2020 including interactions with the Hon’ble Minister Mr. Piyush Goyal as well as sessions with the CEO of Invest India, and many other distinguished dignitaries at our quarterly Members Meetings.

COVID-19 changed everything about life and work as we know it, forcing the meetings to happen online, and unfortunately, we were not able to meet in-person past year. On the positive side, we have experienced a greater participation from members across the country in our activities, events and discussions due to the ease of attending from anywhere in the world. That being said, we still missed the opportunity to meet in-person and networking that we enjoyed in offline events. With the vaccines being rolled out, I look forward to a blend of both worlds and create more opportunities for one-to-one meetings to strengthen the friendship and cooperation amongst us.

In a short time, we have built up a strong Secretariat with Ms. Swati Grover who has nicely organized and facilitated all the activities and events with the complete cooperation of all our member companies.

Most importantly, I would also like to thank our present Ambassador H.E. Ritva Koukku-Ronde, who has been extremely supportive and motivating the development of the Chamber, and has actively participated in all our initiatives this year. I would like to also thank the previous Ambassador of Finland to India, H.E. Nina Vaskunlahti, who helped set up FINCHAM along with our Honorary Board Members, Mr. Mikko Potsonen and Dr. Jukka Holappa, and also the FINNCHAM Global Network for recognising FINCHAM India as its affiliated bi-lateral industry body in India. My heartfelt appreciation to the sub-committee members for their contributions in various initiatives.

As I hand over the reins to Mr. M C Suresh Kumar and Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal as FINCHAM’s Chairperson and Vice Chairperson, respectively, I wish them the very best and I am confident that they will take the Chamber to new heights.

Thank you all for all your support. A list of the activities and events undertaken by us in 2020-21 is attached herewith.

New Initiatives: 03

• Development of the FINCHAM STEP Program in collaboration with Business Finland and Nordic
  Centre in India
• Submission of Pre-Budget Memorandum to Ministry of Finance in re. Union Budget 2021-22
• Publication of �?UNDAUNTING INDIA: A Guide to Doing Business in India’: A FINCHAM India
  publication co-authored with KPMG and Dua Associates

Formation of New Sub-Committees/ Forums: 03

• HR Forum
• Tax & Finance Forum
• Supply Chain Forum

Knowledge Sessions with Domain Experts: 07

• Labour Law implications in wake of Covid-19 | April 2020
• Tax Solutions to mitigate impact of Covid-19 | June 2020
• CSR: Strategy Vs. Compliance | June 2020
• Reforms in Public Procurement Policy | July 2020
• Reforms in Labour Laws | September 2020
• Implications of �?Make in India’ for MNCs in India | November 2020
• Analysis of union Budget 2021-22 | February 2021

Interactive Sessions with the Government: 05

• May 2020: Interaction with Mr. Deepak Bagla, CEO, Invest India, on measures taken by the Indian Government to manage the pandemic and extend necessary support to companies during lockdown;
• July 2020: Consultation with Niti Aayog: Recommendations and submissions to increase feasibility of investment in the WTE sector in India
• August 2020: Interaction with Mr. Piyush Goyal on strengthening bi-lateral trade and commerce between India & Finland
• September 2020: Webinar with Invest India on investment opportunities for Finnish companies in India in key sectors
• January 2021: Interaction with Mr. Rajendra Ratnoo (Joint Secretary DPIIT), H.E. Raveesh Kumar (Ambassador of India to Finland), H.E. Nina Vaskulahti (Under Secretary, External Economic Affairs, Government of Finland) at the Book Release of Undaunting India: A Guide to Doing Business in India – A FINCHAM India Publication.

Other

• October 2020: CEO Roundtable Session with leading Indian companies: Normalizing the �?New Normal
• October 2020: Team Finland Coffee Morning with Hon’ble Ambassador: An interaction with Finnish companies across India.
• November 2020: Participation and Institutional Partner of CII’s India Nordic-Baltic Conclave 2020
• January 2021: Submission of recommendations in re. new SEZ Policy to the European Economic Group for EU Business level advocacy
• February 2021: Interaction with Dr. Junaid Kamal Ahmed, Country Director, World Bank, on India’s Economic recovery projections
• March 2021: CEO Roundtable with leading Indian and European companies: India’s Economic Contract & Recovery: Roadmap for Growth: A discussion to explore collaborative models for catalysing adoption of Industry 4.0 in India’s manufacturing sector.
• Feb-March 2021: Participation and Principal Sponsor of CII’s 24th International Engineering and Technology Fest 2021

Thank you very much once again and wish you all the best of health.

Yours Sincerely,
Amit Gossain
Chairperson
Finland Chamber of Commerce in India
Managing Director, KONE Elevator India