The Hindu : Front Page : India Inc paying millions on lobbying in United States

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India Inc paying millions on lobbying in United States

Firms, including RIL, paid close to $2,75,000 in first quarter of 2009

WASHINGTON: On issues ranging from immigrant visas to bilateral trade and individual business ventures, Indian companies, including top corporate entity Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and industry body Nasscom, are paying lawmakers and government departments thousands of dollars for lobbying.

As per the disclosure reports filed by lobbyist firms with the Senate and the House of Representatives, just four Indian entities — RIL, Nasscom, Sun Pharma and Orchid Chemicals — have together paid close to $2,75,000 (about Rs. 1.4 crore) during the first three months of 2009. Out of this, RIL has paid $1,90,000 to Barbour Griffith & Rogers (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 the House of Representatives are currently considering new legislation to penalise, including a ban from doing business in the U.S., companies that supply petroleum products to Iran. RIL is on the hit-list.

Besides, Nasscom (National Association of Software Companies) has paid $70,000 to the same lobbyist, in the first quarter of 2009 for lobbying on international technology and immigration issues.

Sharp reaction

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 citizens’ petitions and FDA reforms.

While there are no past disclosures about RIL’s lobbying attempts, Nasscom, Sun Pharma and Orchid are known to have been quite active on this front. Besides, there are also disclosures about lobbying by companies such as Larsen & Toubro and industry body CII in the past.

As per the disclosures, Nasscom made a total payment of $3,40,000 towards lobbying on issues such as technology and immigration during 2008, while the figures for the previous years are $2,80,000 each in 2007 and 2006, $1,00,000 in 2005, $1,80,000 in 2004 and $2,00,000 in the year 2003.

Orchid Chemicals has also been paying $10,000 every quarter since the second quarter of 2008, while Sun Pharma has paid about $75,000 since 2008. — PTI

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