CII – A reference point for Indian Industry and the International business community – June 13th, 2015
by Mr Sathish Raman, Director & Head, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) South East Asia Regional office
Genesis of CII in India
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India, partnering industry, Government, and civil society, through advisory and consultative processes.
CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization, playing a proactive role in India’s development process. Founded in 1895, India’s premier business association has over 7400 members (53% manufacturing, 42% Services and 5% others), from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 100,000 enterprises from around 250 national and regional sectoral industry bodies.
CII has a regional office in Singapore.The institution started as an Engineering & Iron Trades Association and after embracing many changes became the Confederation of Indian Industry in the year 1992 with membership from the organized manufacturing and services sector. CII Celebrated its Centenary in 1995. CII has 236 Affliated Associations and a network of 64 offices in India and 7 overseas offices in Australia, China, Egypt, France, Singapore, UK, and USA, as well as institutional partnerships with 300 counterpart organizations in 106 countries and serves as a reference point for Indian industry and the international business community.
CII charts change by working closely with Government on policy issues, interfacing with thought leaders, and enhancing efficiency, competitiveness and business opportunities for industry through a range of specialized services and strategic global linkages. It also provides a platform for consensus-building and networking on key issues.
The CII service portfolio includes four key pillars of Policy Advocacy, creating a business friendly climate, solutions to nurture competitiveness, international and business development services and connecting with society.
Policy &Industry connect
CII works closely on Government engagement on industry issues, policy formulation and policy changes at regional and national level through Sector specific Task Forces and Sector / State Specific Vision Documents and Joint Task Forces with State Governments.
CII also organizes closed door meetings, public Sessions, consultative forums on policy and procedural Issues with Government Officials on a regular basisand partners with Government to organize Global Investment Summits in India & abroad.
CII has 437 ‘Intellectual Groups’ in form of Councils, Committees, Forces and Forums that acts as ‘Think Tanks’. CII provides a regional, national and international networking platform.
CII organizes business fairs, conferences and seminars, buyer seller meetings and business meets with overseas governments and industry, inward and outward trade / business missions. It also comes up with CEO level surveys, business forecasts, trends, analysis and vision documents at federal and state levels.
Global engagement
CII has seven overseas offices in Singapore, China, Australia, USA, UK, France and Egypt. CII works internationally to create access to foreign markets; facilitate business and investments into India; and showcases India through focused trade fairs in India and abroad.
CII plays a role in creating conducive foreign policies for trade and investments: works closely with Governments (State & Federal), international Institutions, Indian Missions and Foreign Embassies in India and through multi-lateral Summits and platforms like ASEAN; BRICS; EU; G-20; IBSA; RTAs, WTO etc.
CII has partnered with the Government to connect with Indian diaspora through the Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC)
CII champions the India Business Forum in Singapore, USA, UK and China – a grouping of Indian companies. CII also has several Country and Regional level Committees, CEOs Forums and Joint Task Force. CII also regularly conducts international conferences, CEO Missions and Strategic Dialogue series with select countries. CII’s Partnership Summit – CII’s flagship international event started in 1995 has seen several world leaders including from Singapore.
CII organizes the annual CII-WEF India Economic Summit in India and coordinates the Indian presence at Annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. CII had organized the India ASEAN Car Rally in 2004 and 2012 and the India SAARC Car Rally in 2007 and the BCIM Car Rally in 2013. CII also organized India Shows abroad in various countries.
CII also coordinates Indian industry’s interaction to deepen global linkages in G20, B20, ADB, AfDB, World Bank, IMF, IFC, OECD, BIAC, WTO, UNIDO, UNCTAD, SAARC, EU, ASEAN, MIEC, BRICS, IBSA, BIMSTEC, BCIM, Commonwealth Forum, GCC etc
Achieving Competitiveness
Apart from administering the role of an apex industry association, CII also runs and manages exclusive Centre of Excellences across India. They span different sectors and subject areas like:
• CII Institute of Quality, Bangalore
• CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, Hyderabad
• CII Naoroji Godrej Centre of Excellence, Mumbai
• CII Institute of Logistics, Chennai
• CII-Avantha Centre for Competitiveness for SMEs, Chandigarh
• CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, Delhi
• CII Suresh Neotia Centre of Excellence for Leadership, Kolkata
• CII-Jubilant Bhartia Food & Agriculture Centre for Excellence, New Delhi
• CII-Triveni Water Institute, Delhi, Jaipur, Pune, Bangalore
CII also has Technology Development Centres in
• Andhra Pradesh Technology Development & Promotion Centre
• Tamil Nadu Technology Development & Promotion Centre
• Gujarat Knowledge Application Facilitation Centre
• Global Innovation and Technology Alliance
• Center of Excellence on Nanotechnology, Gujarat
• Intellectual Property Facilitation Centers (Mysore, Indore, Gandhinagar)
In the area of Skill Development, CII has several Sector Skill Councils on
• Healthcare
• BFSI (with BSE)
• Logistics
• Beauty & Wellness
• Hospitality & Life sciences
And Skill Training Hubs in
• Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh
• Balasore, Orissa
• Bhiwadi, Rajasthan
CII also has Skill Gurukuls in 17 Gurukuls with Pan IIT reach for India.
The CII Foundation works towards inclusive development bridging marginalized communities and donors, specially the corporates. Its work encompasses several core areas like education, skills, Gender Equality, Women Empowerment and Safety, Skilling, Employment, Environment Sustainability and Water, Diversity Management, Special Ability, Public Health, Sanitation and Disaster Management.
CII also engages specific sections of society and industry through special initiatives and exclusive networks like
• Young Indians (Yi) / India@75
• Indian Women Network
• VLFM (Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing) Programme
• CII-Family Business Network [India] Chapter
• National Foundation for Corporate Governance (NFCG)
• Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC)
In its 120th year of service to the nation, CII in India and overseas through its office provide the gateway and connecting point for the Indian industry to go overseas to embrace business opportunities globally and at the same time helps the international business community connect with the Indian industry to tap into the vast domestic market in India.