Volume 5 Issue 5

President’s Message
Dear Friends,

September-October 2019

Seminar on Automotive Industry :Potentials & Prospects of Japan-India
Cooperation - 14th September

I was extremely sad to know
the severe damages caused by
the recent Hagibis Typhoon inNagano, Niigata, Miyagi,
Fukushima, Ibaraki,
Kanagawa and Saitama
Prefectures, claiming several precious lives. I offer mysincere prayers to the victims and their families.
Friends, the year 2019 poses a great challenge tocountries globally. One major factor is the slow down ofeconomic growth and the other being global warming.
The year 2019 is viewed to be the hottest in the last ten
years globally.
As far as India is concerned, the Government of India istaking various economic initiatives to accelerate thedomestic market and usher-in-foreign investments. Also,
the switch over to electric vehicles, though good for theenvironment, causes a big concern to auto industry, small
and big, and its ancillary units. This switch over ismandatory and our generations will gratefully
acknowledge our contribution. Like how we havesurvived tough situations earlier, we will go through thecurrent period and come out of red soon, successfully.
Chennai is becoming more and more important of late.
The launch of a direct flight service between Chennai andTokyo is a boon for us. The neighbouring Southern Statesof India will also stand to gain by this initiative and I takethis opportunity to congratulate ANA for it.

Chief Guest : Mr. Srivats Ram, M.D., Wheels India Ltd.

(From L to R) Mr. R. Natarajan, Publisher, Motor India; Mr. Anil K. Unni,
Regional Secretary, ACMA(SR); Ms. Suguna Ramamoorthy, SecretaryGeneral, IJCCI; Mr. N. Haribabu, Advisor, Rane Holdings;
Mr. T.P. Imbichammad, President, IJCCI; Dr. Hiroshi Osada, Professor
Emeritus, Tokyo Institute of Technology; Mr. Harish Lakshman, ViceChairman, Rane Group; Mr. Srivats Ram, Managing Director, Wheels
Inida; Mr. Rajesh Rahavan, President Rane NSK Steering Systems andMr. N. Balakrishnan, President, Sundram Fasteners.

The Festival of Lights - ‘Deepawali’ was well celebrated
on 27th October by Indians all over the world. It is ofutmost importance that we stand united, especiallyduring tough times and help each other. I sincerely wish
and greet every one of you for the season.
With best regards,
T.P. Imbichammad

A section of Seminar Participants

Mr. Venu Srinivasan conferred with the Deming Distinguished Service Award in Tokyo
Mr. Venu Srinivasan, Chairman of TVS Motor Company and Sundaram Clayton,
was conferred with the Deming ‘Distinguished Service Award for Dissemination
and Promotion Overseas’, at a ceremony held in Tokyo on November 06, 2019.
Mr. Venu Srinivasan becomes the first Indian industrialist to be bestowed withthis prestigious award for his contributions in the field of Total Quality
Management (TQM). This award is given to individuals who have madeoutstanding contributions in the dissemination and promotion of Total Quality
Management (TQM) and is sponsored by Japanese Union of Scientists andEngineers (JUSE). Candidates require recommendations from the members ofthe Deming Prize Committee, and their primary activities must also be outside
Japan. Mr. Venu Srinivasan was President of IJCCI for the period 1995-99, madesignificant contributions in bringing Japan and India closer. IJCCI congratulates
Mr. Venu Srinivasan for this achievement and wishes him many more laurels.

Japanese Goodwill Industrial TeamA 9-member Japanese Goodwill Industrial Team from Kyosan, a leading Japanese company providing controls andequipments to Indian Railways called on Mr. T.P. Imbichammad, Chairman Avalon (Eigth from left).

Japanese Film Screening

Japanese Film Screening (Subtitled in English) “Nobody to Watch Over Me” (Daremo Mamotte Kurenai) supportedby The Japan Foundation, was organised by IJCCI & the Consulate General of Japan, Chennai on 5th October.

From noodles to sushi, Japanese cuisine makes inroads in India
Japanese food favourites such as udon noodles and sushi are gaining their presence in India. With the growing
economy and population, Japanese restaurateurs are planning to woo Indian diners with Japanese-style curry.
Makoto Morikawa, runs three udon shops in and around New Delhi, and plans to have 30 branches within the next few
years.“In the beginning, most of my customers were Japanese, but now around 50% are Indians,” says Morikawa,
who opened the first ‘Makoto Udon’ outlet in Gurugram in Dec. 2017. ‘Sushi Junction’, aimed at higher income
brackets makes home deliveries of Sushi and other special Japanese dishes in New Delhi since 2015. Also Yoshinoya
chain famed for its gyūdon beef bowl dishes opened its first shop in India in Gurugram last year. The famous Japanesecurry shop ‘Ichibanya Co.’ plans to open its first branch in India early next year, a joint venture with Mitsui & Co.

IKIGAI

Okinawa, the southernmost prefecture of Japan had a devastating history, losing over 2000 lives during the end ofWorld War II. But Okinawans do not cultivate the feeling of animosity towards outsiders, they live by principle
ichariba chode meaning “though we meet once, even by chance, we are friends for life”.
Among the many places that adorn Okinawa, one special place catches the attention is a small village on the northernend of the island called Ogimi, nicknamed as “the village of longevity”. It boasts of the highest life expectancy in theworld. This village having a population of over 3000 has incredibly friendly residents who live amidst lush green hills
embedded with crystalline waters. There are around nine centenarians with the eldest being 107 years old, and thepeople are very humble. A close knitted community of happy citizens grace the village and welcome any visitors with
an open heart. The secret seems to be in the mysterious Ikigai.
Ikigai roughly translates to “A reason for being”. In other words, the happiness of always being busy. According to theJapanese, everyone has their Ikigai. Some have found them, whereas others are still looking. Over the past decade,researchers have clearly noticed that the lifestyle of individuals play a vital role in the longevity and contemptuous life.
Rain bow diet:
As a rural village, Ogimi’s people depend on local produce and seasonal crops for their everyday consumption. A
typical November lunch would contain fennel, tofu, fish and sweet potato. There are at least 5 servings of fruits andvegetables every day or “eating the rainbow” as they call it. More than 30 percent of their calories come fromvegetables. They rarely consume sugar and if they do, they consume cane sugar. They also have a salt intake of 7 grams
per day whereas the average Japanese consumes 12 grams. The concept of hara hachibu seems to be prominent among
existing centenarians. This concept insists on eating only till we are 80 percent full. An easy way to follow that is to skip
dessert or to reduce the quantity of consumption.
Stress:A major killer of longevity is stress. Most of the world is filled with it. Stress is said to be the biggest contributor forpremature ageing, high blood glucose levels and elevated blood pressure. In Ogimi people are on constant move, keep
themselves active and occupied and this keeps them physically fit there by adding years to their life. Finding one’sIkigai plays a major role in keeping the mind young and not caving in when faced with difficulties.
Resilience:“Nana Korobi ya oki” (fall seven times, rise eight) is a Japanese proverb that reinforces cultivation of antifragility. Zen
Buddhism promotes building emotional resilience by the art of meditation. In meditation, one becomes aware of
his/her desires and emotions and thereby freeing themselves from them.
Community:
Celebrations are an essential part in Ogimi. All of them belong to some form of neighborhood association where they
feel cared for like a family. The residents conduct competitions and there is no age limit for participation. Birthdays andother special occasions of residents are celebrated in the local community centre. People of Ogimi believe that thishuman connection keeps their outlook towards life positive and healthy.
A framed statement of the public declaration of Ogimi is hung on the wall of a roadside cafe and it reads:“80 Years old, I am still a child. When I come to see you at 90, send me away to wait till I’m 100 ; Let us keep goingstrong as we get older, and not depend too much on our children in old age ; Come to our village in your old age, andwe will provide the blessings of nature and teach you the secrets of longevity ; We, the senior citizens of Ogimi
proudly declare this the longest lived village in Japan”.
(Anussha Hariprassad)

Changes in the Income Tax Act Rates through OrdinanceIn order to give a great thrust to the economy , the Government of India, on 20 th September 2019, promulgated anordinance – called The Taxation Laws ( Amendment ) Ordinance -2019 . This ordinance which is applicable for thecurrent financial year FY2019-20 ( AY 2020-21) has given certain NEW WAYS to reduce the effective corporate tax
for companies paying more than 25.17 % by allowing them to exercise option at the time of filing the Return for theyear ended 31-3-2020
Some Salient Features of this Ordinance are :For companies paying effective tax more than 25.17 % :(1) OPTION UNDER SEC 115BAA
If these companies , ready to forego certain allowances like additional depreciation or contribution to Scientificresearch Institutions ( deduction under section 35 (1) (ii) etc ) or certain deductions falling under part C of Chapter
VIA ( excepting deduction under section 80 JJ AA )or deductions under Sec 32AD , 10AA, , sec 35 CCC, or sec
35CCD or any losses attributable to these sections , they can opt for lower tax at 22 % ( plus fixed surcharge of 10 %plus 4 % cess )aggregating to 25.17 % from the present rate ;Some important conditions are :

••
•••
•
•

Option once exercised cannot be with drawn ;MAT will not be applicable
MAT credit will not be available for future set off ; (Government has stated that the companies can exhaust MAT
credit first and then can switch over)
MAT rate reduced from 18.5 % to 15 % for all assessees The advantages are :Companies can pay lower advance tax for the current Financial year even though the option has to be exercised on
the due date of filing the Return in sep / November 2020.
There are ways to reduce even the new rate below 25.17%
Even GAAR will not be applicable here (2) NEW MANUFACTURING UNITS : OPTION UNDER SEC
115BAB Tax rate for manufacturing companies @ 15 % plus surcharge plus cess @17.16 % Newly started
companies set up and registered after 1-10-2019 engaged solely in the manufacturing or production of article andresearch in relation to or distribution of such manufactured articles – is eligible to opt for tax rate @ 15 % , subject
fulfilment of certain conditions ;Even MAT will not be applicable to these companies. Even these companies
cannot claim those allowances like additional depreciation etc as mentioned in the sec115BAA. Both these newsections have galvanised the approach of big corporates on their future expansion plans , and also started theprocess of achieving zero debt company status . Even Companies having SEZ and enjoying tax holiday benefits
are contemplating big corporate restructuring exercise like amalgamation / demerger etc so that in the next few
years they will move into lower effective tax rate . For achieving all this , one should have a clear vision about thefuture expansion plans of the business before exercising the option under these sections.
S. Ramanujam, AK Mylsamy & Associates LLP
Kudos to ANA, Chennai gets direct flight to Tokyo

The long awaited wish of the Indian and the Japanese business community has now been fulfilled. Japan's All Nippon
Airways (ANA) has launched a new route connecting Chennai and Tokyo from October 27. ANA is the only airline
providing direct flights from Japan to South India, and this will be ANA's third route offering service to India, alongwith flights from Narita to Mumbai and Delhi. The Boeing 787-8 aircraft, with 169 seats, is said to offer 46 businessclass seats, 21 premium economy class seats and 102 economy class seats, operating thrice a week in the route. Withthe increase in business interest in the Southern India, the flight service assumes significant importance.
Editor : Suguna Ramamoorthy Secretary-General, IJCCI.; Publisher : IJCCI; Designing & Printing : J.G.S. Johnson - 93845 93262
For Private Circulation only.
Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IJCCI), No. 21, Kavignar Barathidasan Road, Teynampet, Chennai - 600 018, Tamilnadu, India.
Phone : 044-2435 2010 / 2435 4779 / 4855 6140 Email : indo-Japan@ijcci.com Web :www. ijcci.com