The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Kolkata, India

Forthcoming Events

	Interactive and Matchmaking Sessions with delegation from Los Angeles and Long Beach, USA
	Seminar on "Sub-prime: The World and India", 6th March 2008, Chamber premises.
	Seminar on Union Budget -- Implications of Tax Proposals, 7th March 2008, Chamber premises
	Awards for Best Manufacturing Practices for the SMEs in the Eastern Region, 11th April 2008, Chamber premises.
	Corporate Sports Olympiad, April-May 2008
	1st Kolkata Education Fair 2008 - 25th, 26th & 27th April 2008 at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Besides Eden Garden, Kolkata more details>>

Happenings - February 2008

	Interactive Session on “Theory of Constraints Consulting”, 8th February 2008, Chamber premises A senior team from Satyam Computer Services Limited made a presentation on the "Theory of Constraints Consulting", which was invented and evolved over 30 years by physicist turned management strategist, Dr. Eliyahu M Goldratt. This was quite a unique programme, and attracted a niche audience comprising senior managers and consultants. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is premised around the notion that "Very often seemingly complex problems require essentially simple solutions." TOC is mainly about focus - focusing the efforts in the right place to achieve maximum benefit. The right place to focus would be on a factor that limits the organization from achieving its goal, defined as the constraint in TOC parlance. TOC believes in holistic approach and provides very powerful but simple solutions to address the needs of end - end supply chain that include operations, distribution, projects management, making win/win market offers, management accounting and strategy & tactics. Worldwide, numerous companies have adopted TOC as the main way of managing their organization and have obtained significant business results. TOC is a management philosophy, which facilitates rapid bottom-line improvement for organizations using a proven, break-through solution. The priority of TOC is to maximize throughput (and contribution) much faster than the operating expenses without exhausting resources. The concept cuts across businesses. Satyam is a leader in TOC Consulting and shared with us their approach to business transformation (a key focus area beyond cost savings) using the Theory of Constraints. Mr. Satish Kamath, Principal Consultant, SCM Practice, Satyam Computer Services Limited was the lead speaker. He spoke about business transformation towards an exponential profit growth with negligible investments. He noted that TOC is mainly about focusing efforts in the right place to achieve maximum benefits. He said that identifying the weakest section and focusing on that section could help us in achieving the maximum benefit. Mr. Kamath elaborated his points with the help of examples and drew upon the experiences of the audience. The bottom line was that TOC would focus on identifying the weakest link in the business process or chain and advocate its strengthening, which would ultimately result in increasing profits.
	Symposium on Fine Arts Insurance, 9th February 2008, Chamber premises This was a unique programme! The session was addressed by Mr. Masahiro Ogawa- Director Strategy, IFFCO TOKIO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, Mr. Amit Srivastav, Asst Vice President-Retail Lines, IFFCO TOKIO GENERAL INSURANCE CO. LTD. Mr. Robert Krozinek , Fine Art Underwriter, Hiscox , Mr. Prantik Mitra. Business Head- East, IFFCO TOKIO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED and Ms. R. Malini, IFFCO TOKIO General Insurance. Mr. Ogawa, in his speech explained various ITGI products. Mr. Amit Srivastav gave a brief presentation on the definition, feature and need of fine art insurance. Mr. Robert Krozinek focused on the coverage areas of fine art insurance. Mr. Prantik Mitra noted that art collection is an item of passion, and people are passionate about collecting art and want to make sure that their collection is properly insured. Whether the collection is at one or multiple locations, a proper insurance cover can give peace of mind. The Fine Arts Insurance Policy grants a very comprehensive cover in respect of valuable property and is normally issued only to clients with a good moral hazard and reputation. Ms. R. Malini also highlighted the same features of fine art insurance. The session concluded with an open house.
	DPSC Management Games, 21st-22nd February 2008, Chamber premises The Chamber presented the 2nd edition of the DPSC Management Games on 21st and 22nd February 2008 at the Williamson Magor Hall. In this simulating contest, the team from CESC (represented by M/s. A. Sarkar, T.S. Ramanathan, A. Basak, S. Sarkar) outperformed their competitors and emerged as Champion. DPSC (represented by M/s. Arunava Bhowmick, S. Paul, Jaydeep Basak and Ms. Jayeeta Ganguly) won the first runners up prize while Exide Industries Limited (represented by M/s. Subir Chowdhury, Surajit Sur, Sudarsan Maity) came third. The Game was conducted by Mr. D.K. Gupta, Assistant Director, All India Management Association. The software used was Chanakya, which provides multi-disciplinary and multifunctional scenarios. The sponsor for the above progamme was DPSC Limited.
	An Interactive Session with Ms. Janet Y Hashimoto, Manager, Monitoring and Assessment Office, Water Division, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, USA, 28th February 2008, Chamber premises Ms. Janet Hashimoto spoke on "The work of the Environmental Protection Agency and its synergies with India (focusing on environmental issues of concern facing a developing nation)". The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect human health and the environment. Comprising of engineers, scientists, and policy analysts in addition to legal, public affairs, financial and information management specialists, EPA is led by an Administrator, who is appointed by the President of the United States. EPA leads USA's environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts. The functions include development and enforcement of regulations that implement environmental laws enacted by Congress; financial assistance to States, non-profits and educational institutions and supporting environmental education projects. The Agency also offers information for State and local Governments and small businesses on financing environmental services and projects. The Agency works to assess environmental conditions and to identify, understand, and solve current and future environmental problems; integrate the work of scientific partners such as nations, private sector organizations, academia and other agencies; and provide leadership in addressing emerging environmental issues and in advancing the science and technology of risk assessment and risk management. This was a great opportunity to learn more about EPA, its work and its focus areas in the realm of environmental issues in today’s context. The event was attended by Chamber member corporates and manufacturers, NGOs and members of the academia and concluded with an Open House Session.