GOODBYE 2021…..WELCOME 2022……

As always another year is coming to an end…..but Year (2021) has been unique in more ways than one:

White Paper released on Impact of Pandemic

 The ongoing pandemic which had almost brought the world to a standstill impacted almost every aspect of life, from essentials to luxury. Businesses had to change their processes at an operational as well as strategic level to best fit the norms put forth by the Country’s administration on the one hand and to maintain business continuity at whatever level possible on the other. We tried to find out these changes and their post-pandemic sustainability based on research, a few interviews with MDs / CEOs and senior management officials in the Swiss business community in India and through a Survey conducted jointly by Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce India (SICCI) and IndStrat International Consultants, LLP and released a White Paper. We take this opportunity to thank the Swiss Embassy for rolling out this Survey to the 300 odd Swiss affiliated entities in India.

Timely aid from Swiss Companies and Embassy of Switzerland

No sooner that the economy was seen to be springing back to normalcy, an unprecedented backlash in the form of the second wave hit us so badly that most of us heard news of our near and dear ones, colleagues and friends being impacted – The nation was seen to be gripped by what looked to be a major health crisis. Like many other countries, Switzerland through its Embassy and Consulates in India and the Swiss Business Hub India, immediately swung into action and timely aid in the form of various equipment and material which reached Indian Red Cross Society for further distribution in the Country. The Chamber will remain ever grateful not only to the Swiss Embassy but to all the Member companies whose headquarters in Switzerland provided this necessary support.  Read more in the media release of SICC. In addition, many Swiss companies located in India also contributed on a large scale for Covid relief.

Capacity expansion for Covid Care

In order to ease the burden on the already stressed infrastructure, a joint initiative of Swiss Indian Chamber of Commerce India along with Humanist and Swasti (not for profit organisations) facilitated capacity expansion for Covid care. The primary focus was Level 1 care (~80% of the patients at home) and Level 2 (moderate cases, requiring clinical oversight). This project first took off in Bangalore (50 HDU beds, 5 ICU beds, Oxygen plant in Prakriya Hospital and 50 Step-down Care Beds in Canadian International managed by Cytecare Hospital) and which then became a template to replicate in other cities. Several of our Members came forward to support this joint initiative which is much appreciated.

Vaccination initiative – Apollo Hospitals

As we all know, the Country’s saviour to a great extent has been its vaccines and India has been successful in not only ensuring more than 1 billion doses to the eligible population but also provided succour by supplying its vaccines to various countries across the globe. Initially, when there was seemingly a challenge in procuring vaccines, SICCI had stepped in to help its Members’ employees and their families, by tying up with Apollo Hospitals to ease the procurement process.

Array of Virtual Events

After a successful stint with virtual events in 2020, SICCI continued dishing out various knowledge sharing sessions and panel discussions on relevant topics of current interest which were well received by our Members and Friends. Some of the main events are highlighted here:

Jointly With Swiss Embassy

Our collaboration with the Swiss Embassy brought a webinar on “Countering Counterfeiting” jointly with KNS Partners and later during the year on “How Swiss and EU Businesses can leverage Trademark Enforcement and Protection in India” with EBTC and KNS.

Jointly with Swissnex in India

This year, SICCI collaborated with Swissnex in India for an AIT initiative where CEOs / CXOs of Swiss Member companies mentored several Swiss and Indian Start-Ups enabling a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in setting up and sustaining business in various sectors in India.

Jointly with Switzerland Global Enterprise and Swiss Business Hub India 

For the first time this year, SICCI collaborated with SGE and SBHI for events such as ‘India Food Journey – A Palette of Opportunities for Swiss Exporters’, ‘E-Commerce Boom in India’, ‘Virtual Bio-India Global 2021’ and ‘Global Fintech Fest 2021’.  

Jointly with Swiss Business Hub India and Knowledge Partners 

In collaboration with SBHI, we had a series of webinars with many other Knowledge Partners – TransPrice Tax Advisors LLP (Discussion on Transfer Pricing in Covid Times) ; AZB Partners (What’s New in Indian Competition Law) ; Legasis Services (GRACE in Supply Chain under the new ESG Regime); Khaitan & Co. (GST & Customs Duties – Strategic Issues and Recent Developments) ; KPMG – (India’s Union Budget 2021-22) and with SICC & KPMG (Recent Developments in the Dividend Taxation Regime) ; Nishith Desai Associates (Consumer Protection and Product Liability Law in India – A Paradigm Shift).