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India Inc paying millions on lobbying in U.S.
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India Inc paying millions on lobbying in U.S.
Indian companies, including top corporate entity RIL and industry body Nasscom, are paying thousands of dollars on lobbying with lawmakers and government departments in the U.S. on issues ranging from immigrant visas to bilateral trade and individual business ventures.
Four Indian entities - Reliance Industries, Nasscom, Sun Pharma and Orchid Chemicals - have together paid close to $2,75,000 (about Rs 1.4 crore) towards lobbying their causes during the first three months of 2009, says the disclosure reports filed by lobbyists firms with the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Out of this, RIL has paid $1,90,000 to BGR Holding, a high-profile lobbyist group that has many Fortune 500 firms and foreign governments as its clients, for providing `strategic counsel on issues related to trade.`
Incidentally, the U.S. Congress and House of Representatives are currently considering new legislations to penalize companies that supply petroleum products to Iran, which includes RIL. The penalty could include a ban from doing business in the U.S. Besides, Nasscom has paid $70,000 to the same lobbyist, BGR, in the first quarter of 2009 for lobbying on international technology and immigration issues.
Indian software industry has reacted sharply to the recent moves by the U.S. administration to put curbs on H1-B visas, a skilled foreign worker visa that have largely been given to Indian IT professionals in the past.
While the payment made by Sun Pharma in Q1 2009 is below $5,000, Orchid Chemicals has paid $10,000 for lobbying on issues related to the U.S. drug regulator FDA`s policies. Sun Pharma`s lobbying issues have been related to the citizens` petitions and FDA reforms. While there are no past disclosures about RIL`s lobbying attempts, Nasscom, Sun Pharma and Orchid have been quite active on this front in the past.
Source:
http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/India_Inc_paying_millions_on_lobbying_in_US
Four Indian entities - Reliance Industries, Nasscom, Sun Pharma and Orchid Chemicals - have together paid close to $2,75,000 (about Rs 1.4 crore) towards lobbying their causes during the first three months of 2009, says the disclosure reports filed by lobbyists firms with the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Out of this, RIL has paid $1,90,000 to BGR Holding, a high-profile lobbyist group that has many Fortune 500 firms and foreign governments as its clients, for providing `strategic counsel on issues related to trade.`
Incidentally, the U.S. Congress and House of Representatives are currently considering new legislations to penalize companies that supply petroleum products to Iran, which includes RIL. The penalty could include a ban from doing business in the U.S. Besides, Nasscom has paid $70,000 to the same lobbyist, BGR, in the first quarter of 2009 for lobbying on international technology and immigration issues.
Indian software industry has reacted sharply to the recent moves by the U.S. administration to put curbs on H1-B visas, a skilled foreign worker visa that have largely been given to Indian IT professionals in the past.
While the payment made by Sun Pharma in Q1 2009 is below $5,000, Orchid Chemicals has paid $10,000 for lobbying on issues related to the U.S. drug regulator FDA`s policies. Sun Pharma`s lobbying issues have been related to the citizens` petitions and FDA reforms. While there are no past disclosures about RIL`s lobbying attempts, Nasscom, Sun Pharma and Orchid have been quite active on this front in the past.
Source:
http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/India_Inc_paying_millions_on_lobbying_in_US
