Manish Singhal Appointed Secretary General of ASSOCHAM

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), one of India’s oldest apex business chambers (established in 1920), has appointed Manish Singhal as its new Secretary General. Singhal, an industry veteran with over 35 years of experience, takes over from Deepak Sood, who served for five years and transformed the chamber’s operations, leaving behind a robust financial foundation. Singhal’s career spans leadership roles in organizations like Tata Motors, Eicher (Volvo), and FICCI, where he was Deputy Secretary General.

Leadership Transition and Contributions

Incoming Leadership: Singhal brings proven expertise in policy advocacy and international business, expected to help ASSOCHAM scale new heights.

Outgoing Legacy: Deepak Sood is credited with revitalizing ASSOCHAM, ensuring a healthy balance sheet, and enhancing the chamber’s influence.

Strategic Focus and Advocacy

ASSOCHAM continues to advocate for policy measures that bolster India’s economic ecosystem, representing 4.5 lakh members, including large corporations and MSMEs.

Pre-Budget Recommendations: The chamber recently suggested extending presumptive taxation to new-age businesses like data centers and cloud computing to simplify compliance and reduce tax disputes.

MSME Growth: Recommendations include establishing MSME universities for skill development and creating Integrated Infrastructure Townships to revive industrial estate programs.

Summary of the news

Key Point	Details
Why in news	Manish Singhal appointed as the new Secretary General of ASSOCHAM, replacing Deepak Sood.
Outgoing Secretary General	Deepak Sood served for five years and revitalized ASSOCHAM’s financial foundation.
Experience of Manish Singhal	Over 35 years of experience, including leadership roles in Tata Motors, Eicher (Volvo), and FICCI.
Established Year of ASSOCHAM	1920
Membership	Represents over 4.5 lakh members, including large corporates and MSMEs.
Focus Areas	Policy advocacy, MSME growth, pre-budget recommendations on presumptive taxation, and infrastructure.
Recent Recommendations by ASSOCHAM	Extending presumptive taxation to data centers, cloud computing; establishing MSME universities.