The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is a

non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. Through collabor ...

and

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

based in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

History

Established in 1927, on the advice of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

by Indian businessman G.D. Birla and Purshottamdas Thakurdas. It is the largest, one of the oldest and the apex business organisation in India. It is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation. FICCI draws its membership from the corporate sector, both private and public, including SMEs and MNCs. The chamber has an indirect membership of over 250,000 companies from various regional chambers of commerce. It is involved in sector-specific business building, business promotion and networking. Currently, it is headquartered in the national capital

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

and has a presence in 12 states in India and 8 countries around the world.

Allied organisations

Confederation of Indian Food Trade and Industry

Confederation of Indian Food Trade and Industry (CIFTI) caters to the Indian food Industry. It deals with policies, trade affairs and capacity building. CIFTI provides institutional support and partners with the Government and the Indian private sector in promotion and development of Indian food processing industry. CIFTI was established by FICCI in 1985. It is currently led by Sanjay Khajuria who serves as its president.

Arbitration and Conciliation Tribunal

FICCI Arbitration and Conciliation Tribunal (FACT) provides arbitration services for settling commercial disputes. FACT was established in 1952 and aims at settling business disputes outside the traditional framework offered by courts of law through arbitration and conciliation, as the case may be.

Alliance for Consumer Care

FICCI Alliance for Consumer Care (FACC) is a dedicated centre set up by FICCI along with Department of Consumer Affairs (India) to enhance consumer care practices and facilitate stakeholder interaction. It facilitates prompt redressal of consumer grievances, a dialogue between the business and consumers and promotion of responsible business practices.

Ladies Organisation

FICCI Ladies Organisation was established in 1983 to promote entrepreneurship and professional excellence among women in India.

Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence

Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence is a joint initiative of FICCI and the Aditya Birla Group. The center aims at development of inclusive and holistic CSR practices. This centre also organises the Businessworld FICCI CSR Award, an annual award aimed at identifying & recognising remarkable CSR initiatives.

Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (CMSME)

Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is an affiliated body of FICCI. It was established in December 2013. It aims to connect MSMEs with mentors, incubators and accelerators and assist them through capacity building programs and services; deliberate of policy concerns of the sector; and provide regular interface between Industry, Government and regulators. In terms of the scope of work, CMSME is similar to FICCI with the only differentiation being the exclusive focus on Micro, Small and Medium enterprises in India.

CASCADE

FICCI Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying Economy (CASCADE) was launched on 18 January 2011 and aims to run consumer sensitisation drives on the impact of using smuggled, contraband and counterfeit products across India. The body is also engaged in capacity building of law enforcement agencies and research. It has estimated an annual tax loss to government of India due to smuggling and counterfeits at Rs 26,190 crore.

Technology commercialisation

DRDO–FICCI Accelerated Technology Assessment and Commercialisation (ATAC) Programme

DRDO and FICCI started the ATAC programme in February 2009 with an objective to create commercial linkages for DRDO technologies for use in civilian products and services. The Explosives Detector Kit developed by DRDO is being commercialised under this initiative. Bio-toilets based upon the bio-digester technology developed by DRDO is another such technology being commercialised under the program. It is projected that DRDO will install 18000 bio-toilets across India in cooperation with various states, Union Territories, FICCI and Ganga Action Plan. Besides, over 10000 bio-digesters are being installed in passenger coaches of the Indian Rail.

Taskforces

* Aerospace and Air Defence Taskforce; headed by Air Marshal M. Matheswaran (retd.),

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

. * International Migration and Diaspora Taskforce; headed by Alwyn Didar Singh, former Indian civil servant. * Land Reforms and Policy Taskforce; headed by R V Kanoria, Kanoria Chemicals * Edtech Taskforce; headed by

Divya Gokulnath Divya Gokulnath (born 1987) is an Indian entrepreneur and educator who is the co-founder and director of Byju's, an educational technology company founded in 2011 in Bangalore, India. Early life and education Divya was born and raised in Ban ...

. * Nutraceutical Taskforce; headed by Sanjaya Mariwala, Executive Chairman and MD, OmniActive Health Technologies.

Initiatives

Millennium Alliance

FICCI's Millennium alliance aims at supporting and scaling-up low-cost, innovative solutions. It is a joint initiative of FICCI, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India and the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

. It was launched during July 2012 as an inclusive platform for social impact funds, venture capitalists, corporate foundations, early investors, and donors to support and scale innovative solutions for base of the pyramid populations in India and around the world.

Invest India

Invest India is a public-private partnership between Government and FICCI. A joint venture between FICCI (51% equity), Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (India) (34%) and State Governments of India (0.5% equity each), Invest India was given a clearance by the Indian cabinet during September 2009 to set up under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. The initiative aims at speedy implementation of foreign investment projects in India and improving the climate for domestic investments.

Services

ATA Carnet

FICCI is India's sole national issuing & guaranteeing association for

ATA Carnet The ATA Carnet, often referred to as the "Passport for goods", is an international customs document that permits the Tax exemption, tax-free and Duty-free trade, duty-free temporary export and import of nonperishable goods for up to one year. It ...

s. ATA Carnets are used by TV / Film crews,

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

s and industry for temporary moving equipment across borders. FICCI issues and endorses carnets, guarantees the payment of duties and taxes to customs (both domestic and foreign) authorities.

Notable alumni

* Uday Shankar (2020–2021) * Sangita Reddy (2019–2020) * Krishna Kumar Birla (1974–1975) * Hari Shankar Singhania (1979–1980) * R. P. Goenka (1986–1987) * Chirayu Amin (2000–2001) * Rajeev Chandrasekhar (2007–2008) * Rajan Mittal (2009–2010) * Amit Mitra, noted economist and the current Finance Minister of the Indian state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

was Secretary General, FICCI during 1994–2011. * Naina Lal Kidwai is the Past President, FICCI. She is the first Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School. and currently is the Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC India.

References

External links

*
FICCI blog

FICCI Official channel
on Veblr.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry 1927 establishments in India Trade associations based in India Chambers of commerce in India Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Non-profit organisations based in India Organisations based in Delhi Organizations established in 1927