News

Fire Preparedness programme at WTC Kochi

May 31, 2022 - A fire preparedness programme was conducted at WTC campus for the tenants. This programme done in assistance with the Kerala State Fire & Rescue Services Department included evacuation drill, demonstration of fire extinguishing and first aid. Tenant representatives also got the opportunity to operate different firefighting devices. This was preceded by a training for the respected Emergency Response team (ERT) members of the tenant companies. Read More

iNFHRA Workplace Excellence Award

May 30, 2022 - WTC Kochi won the prestigious iNFHRA Workplace Excellence Award for the “Return to Work Strategy” category. The Infrastructure, Facility, Human Resource and Realty Association (iNFHRA) is an industry body that actively work towards trade & investment and interfaces with Government on policy issues. This award is in recognition of WTC Kochi’s efforts to make the workplace fully functional and capable of handling the workforce who would be returning to office post the pandemic. Read More

Metaverse: Its Future & Opportunities

April 29, 2022 - A webinar on “Metaverse: Its Future & Opportunities” was organized in association with NASSCOM. Mr. Sunil David, Ex-Regional Director – IOT of AT&T and NASSCOM IOT Tech Guru for W2RT program will be the speaker. Mr. Sunil David explained the history of the Metaverse. Metaverse is a decentralised system where all users have individual agency and cannot be reset or unplugged. It has the potential to power virtual economies, create engaging social experiences, all the while giving its users a realistic sensory experience with extended reality tools. He gave examples of metaverse experiences like in immersive games, commerce, collaborative environments, real estate, travel, learning & education, fitness etc. Customers will be content creators, content amplifiers and consumers. He also shared his knowledge on the developments in human interface devices that can enhance the Metaverse experience. Currently, in India, companies like Nextmeet, Bollyheroes, Onerare, Zippy etc. are active in the metaverse. He added that there should be balance and moderation in its application. Mr. Hrishikesh Nair, President, World Trade Center, Mr. Sujith Unni, Regional Head, NASSCOM and Mr. Vivek George, Manager, World Trade Center also spoke. Read More

Earth Day 2022

April 29, 2022 - The International Earth Day was commemorated at World Trade Center. The day is observed worldwide by organizations to show commitment towards protection of the environment. Ms. Vinitha V. Assistant Development Commissioner, Cochin Special Economic Zone was the Chief Guest. She spoke on the importance of preserving the Earth for future generations. Tree saplings were planted in the campus. Read More

Safety week observed at WTC Kochi

March 29, 2022 - As part of the 51st National Safety week, numerous activities and training programmes were held at WTC Kochi. The theme of this year’s safety week was “Nurture young minds – Develop safety culture”. Sessions on general safety awareness, personal safety, electrical safety, practical session on Lock out Tag out procedures etc. were provided to the supporting staff at WTC Kochi to enhance their preparedness. A Safety & health pledge as well as a safety quiz was also conducted. Read More

Future of Finance– New Age Technology & New Skills

March 29, 2022 - We organized the second episode of our ”Expert Talk Series for Finance Professionals” in association with Institute of Management Accountants and WTC Delaware. Mr. Russ Porter, CFO and SVP, Strategy, Technology and Analytics, IMA spoke on “Future of Finance – New Age Technology or New Skills”. Mr. Porter observed that technologies like RPA, Blockchain, Quantum Computing and AI are fast evolving while finance competencies like Data Science and Strategy Management are not keeping up with that pace. The environment we are working in is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. He pointed out six mega trends in finance profession – Remote work to be the new norm; Environmental, social and governance support decision will become important; Accountability for enterprise risk management; Diversity, equity & inclusion will be a competitive differentiator; Automation will accelerate; Greater demand for upskilling and higher education. He opined that finance function should bring in a new set of collaborators like data scientists, statisticians, data security, IT delivery, roboticists etc. to work cross functionally. He said that for finance professionals to win the race for relevance, they should adopt and adapt to new skills, align themselves to actual functions, adopt data analytics to stay competitive and regularly upskill themselves. Mr. Vivek George, Manager, WTC Bengaluru, Chennai and Kochi; Ms. Carla Stone, President, WTC Delaware and Ms. Lata Murli, Manager-Corporate Outreach, India, IMA also spoke. Read More

Analysis of the Union Budget 2022

February 25, 2022 - A detailed analysis session of the Union Budget 22 was organized in association with the Indo American Chamber of Commerce. Dr. V.K. Vijayakumar, renowned Economist and Author delivered the Keynote address while Mr. Raghunathan Parthasarathy-Associate Partner, Tax & Regulatory Services, BDO India and Mr. Dinesh Kumar, Associate Partner-Indirect Tax, BDO India provided micro analyses of the budget. Dr. V.K. Vijayakumar in his keynote address observed that the 2022 budget was a non-populist, growth-oriented budget. Major challenge that the Indian economy is facing is to sustain the growth rate. To do this, Government must step up capital expenditure. The RBI had played an important role to bring in the growth rate by providing a monetary stimulus. But this stimulus is most likely not to be expected in the coming financial year due to tightening of monetary policies globally. Private capital expenditure is also not happening at the adequate level. The budget has offered a 35% increase in capital expenditure. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the organized sector is doing well whereas the unorganised sector which consists of 29% of India’s GDP has suffered. Mr. Raghunathan Parthasarathy listed the developments the Budget has brought on direct taxes. He explained the tax slabs and rates. He also spoke on the taxation on digital assets. Mr. Dinesh Kumar shared the details of the budget related to indirect tax . He covered the GST, Customs and Central excise aspects. Mr. Vivek George, Manager, World Trade Center; Mr. Riyaz U.C., Chairman, Indo American Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Sandeep Raj, Coordinator, WTC Kochi also spoke. Read More

The Race for Relevance in a Digital World

February 24, 2022 - The first session of the Expert Talk Series for Finance professionals was organized along with the Institute of Management Accountants and World Trade Center Twente. The programme titled “The Race for Relevance in a Digital World” had Mr. Alain Mulder, Senior Director, Europe Operations, IMA as the speaker. Mr. Alain Mulder spoke about the advances in RPA process mining, blockchain, AI & quantum computing. He is of the opinion that finance professionals should upskill in a faster pace in data science, analytics, visualization and strategy to be able to leverage the fast-evolving technologies. He spoke about the 11 forces of macro disruption – education, infrastructure, government, geopolitics, economy public health, demographics, environment, media & telecommunications and wealth distribution. The pandemic has accelerated the growth of technology with advancements predicted over years now occurring in a few months. He shared the findings of a 2021 LinkedIn learning report that predicts that 66% of organizations will use L&D to rebuild themselves, and that learning is now a must have. Finance functions have also changed over time with professionals spending more time on analysis and less on controls and transaction due to the intervention of technology. Mr. Vivek George, Manager, World Trade Center Bengaluru, Chennai and Kochi; Mr. Freerk Faber MA, CEO, World Trade Center Twente and Ms. Lata Murli, Manager- Corporate Outreach, India, IMA also spoke. Read More

Emergency Response Training at WTC Kochi

January 27, 2022 - An emergency response training was conducted for the employees of WTC Kochi. The training constituted of fire response and medical emergency operations. The day long training session was also accompanied with demonstrations by experts. Read More

Is India Ready for Electric Vehicles?

January 27, 2022 - An online panel discussion on “Is India Ready for Electric Vehicles?” was organized in association with NASSCOM and BDO India. Panelists included – Mr. Raj Mehta, Founder – Greta Electric Scooters; Mr. Y S R Rajeev Kumar, VP – Head Sales, Marketing & PR, ETO Motors; Mr. Sameer Ranjan Jaiswal, Co- Founder, Charzer; Mr. Krishna Barad, Partner/ Customs & International Trade, Indirect Tax – BDO India; Mr. John Kuruvila, Chief Mentor, Brigade REAP. Mr. Abhinav Srivastava, Partner – Indirect Tax, BDO India was the moderator for the session. Mr. John Kuruvila, mentioned how in the state of Karnataka, the EV sales is increasing whereas ICE vehicles sales have been dropping. Projected figures show that the number of EVs in India in 3 years is likely to touch 10 million Mr. YSR Rajeev Kumar explained how EVs have less operating cost as compared to ICE vehicles. With battery costs drastically coming down over the last few years, EV population in the world has grown multifold. Mr. Sameer Ranjan Jaiswal opined that the lack of proper charging infrastructure is the main hurdle in the path of EV adoption. He added that according to Government policy within two years in all major cities EV charging stations are going to be set up every 25 Km on each side of the road. Mr. Raj Mehta listed the things customers should lookout while buying an EV such as motors, battery, safety parameters, after sales service, spare parts availability etc. He also appreciated the Government’s efforts in promoting EV industry in India. Mr. Krishna Barad gave the details of various schemes and incentives offered by the Government of India. He also gave details of the current taxes and duties on EV related products. Read More

Workshop on Digital Marketing Techniques - Part 2

December 23, 2021 - In the second session of the workshop “Digital marketing techniques for business growth”. Mr. Subhobroto Chakroborty, Founder, thedigitalfellow.com spoke about the importance of conducting a brand audit. A brand audit would cover website, blog, SEO, content, social media etc and help the organization identify the weak areas. He spoke about how content needs to be customized and placed for websites and different kind of social media. He spoke on google analytics and how it can be used by companies to fine tune their digital marketing strategies. He spoke on the best practices on social media and how they vary on each platform. He also gave a template of social media calendars for the participants. The two-day event was also a platform for participants to clear their queries on various aspects of digital marketing. Read More

Changing Landscape of India’s Export Trade Control

December 23, 2021 - World Trade Center Kochi organized a webinar on “Changing Landscape of India’s Export Trade Control Regime” in association with the Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs (EPCES) and NASSCOM. Mr. K.M. Harilal ITS, Joint Director General of Foreign Trade, Kochi was the keynote speaker. Mr. Krishna Barad, Partner/ Customs & International Trade, Indirect Tax, BDO India spoke on the subject, Ms. Garima Prakash, Deputy Manager – Public Policy, NASSCOM detailed on the technological aspects. Mr. K.K. Pillai, Regional Chairman, EPCES also spoke at the event. Mr. Harilal in his keynote address gave the participants a background of SCOMET and how it came to be. He spoke about the mandatory approvals, authorizations, certificates and licenses that units exporting products classified under SCOMET should procure. He pointed out that not many exporters are aware of this requirement. He also briefed on the penalties and legal action that would be taken against the exporters not adhering to the regulations. Mr. Krishna Barad in his presentation covered the Export Trade Control measures in other parts of the world like USA, EU, Australia and Asia. He listed the ‘dual use’ items that comes under SCOMET which find civilian as well as military applications. He explained the Export Control Classification Number and the identification procedure. He explained the impact SCOMET has on importers, exporters, buyers, vendors and suppliers. An overview of the categories and subcategories of the SCOMET items were provided by Mr. Barad. He detailed on the SCOMET application process with the DGFT. Ms. Garima Prakash spoke on the technological aspects of SCOMET such as intangible transfers, electronics, technology, telecommunications, information security. She also briefed on the way forward for the Export control regime such as bulk licenses, fully digitizes and integrated licensing portal and query helpdesk. Participants included exporters, SEZ units, manufacturing units, CXOs, business owners etc. Read More