The Economist India Summit 2014 - The Modi Era: Will India Rise Again?

Part of The Economist’s award winning country summit series, The India Summit 2014 today assessed India’s new political landscape and what it means for business, the economy, foreign affairs, political bureaucracy and society. The theme of the event was - will India rise again under the new government?

The event convened a diverse audience of industry leaders, ministers, academicians and observers in the capital who discussed the hopes and expectations ahead of the Narendra Modi government.

Delivering the Summit’s keynote address – “Powering India’s Future” in the capital today, Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy said that the greatest challenge he faced when he started as the Minister of State for Power was the transmission and distribution of power. He assured that “The Modi government will work to provide 24*7 power supply within the span of their tenure, with the expectation of making the country generator and inverter free.” The minister also stressed on the need of renewable energy, a sector in which he expects to see $100 billion invested in 5 years. He also urged large businesses to make investments in this sector and to utilize their CSR funds to support goals like skill development and building toilets. Transmission and distribution are also likely to see investments of up to $50 billion in next three to four years, according to the Power Minister.

Esteemed panelists at India Summit 2014 deliberated the expectations and challenges from Indian and foreign companies, women and other stakeholders and discussed how the new Prime Minister will approach the task of getting India’s economy moving again over the next five years.

“Overall we had a full day of strong and frank conversation, with some lively debates between panelists, as well as a great deal of interaction with the audience. That the room remained packed until the end was a testament to the usefulness of the day”, said Adam Roberts, The Economist South Asia bureau chief.

Gurcharan Das, author and columnist participating in the session on India’s challenges said that Prime Minister Modi had given wind to the sails of the bureaucracy who are now more upbeat and are working to clear projects. He said, “Modi is an implementer. He may not be a classical reformer but he is a modernizer. He is more like Lee Kuan Yew.”

 

In another session on India’s internet economy, senior leaders from the sector commented about how the internet has disrupted each and every sector because of its innovation and development of technology. “The penetration of internet market might not be very deep but in absolute numbers, it is huge and is still growing,” said Amit Agarwal, VP and Country Manager, Amazon.

Foreign Policy expert and distinguished fellow of Observer Research Foundation, Dr. C Raja Mohan said, “For the Prime Minister, the foreign policy is all about boosting the Indian economy. If he can improve the domestic economy policy, his success will be bigger in foreign policy.”

 

The session on the industry was divided between the Indian business and foreign companies. The representatives from Indian industries felt that major changes will come about with the direction that the government takes, whether it is towards power, housing or other sectors, it will contribute to growth and GDP of the country.

Sidharth Birla, President FICCI said, “It is important to concentrate on the breadth of development taking place, rather than the gradual or the incremental growth. Infrastructure will provide maximum jobs and the budget has addressed it wonderfully.” The foreign company representatives attracted attention towards the challenges faced by them which are similar to the ones faced by Indian companies. Foreign companies would like to see quicker decision making to improve investor confidence.

Sashi Mukundan of British Petroleum speaking on the energy sector highlighted that, “Oil and Gas in India is still being imported although it has the resources under the ground. 180 billion dollars of imports are coming in which may grow to 200-300.”

He also said that “PM should set up energy advisory board where he can hear of international experiences.” Speaking on the telecom sector, Marten Pieters, MD & CEO of Vodafone said, “Telecom sector needs more focus. Currently it maybe at the focus for this government, but it is a mess. The thinking of how to get to the goals is not there even in the new government.”

 

The last two sessions of the India Summit were attended by Jayant Sinha, Member of Parliament and Amitabh Kant, Secretary of Industrial Policy and Promotion. Mr. Kant highlighted government’s decisions to ease conducting business process in India. He said, “It has cut out rules, red-tapism and bureaucracy. Government is taking steps for fiscal credibility and consolidation, creating smart cities and improving confidence of investors. It is not against liberalization of trade policies. It will find the right path between food and trade policy. India has been a reluctant urbaniser, but this is changing. Strategy of this government is to have Chennai-Bangalore corridor, Amritsar-Kolkata corridor and others apart from DMIC leading to smart cities and hence manufacturing.”

 

Speaking on Goods and Services Tax (GST) he said, “Finance Ministry is working hard to get the backbone of the GST correct. A lot of hard work is going in.” Jayant Sinha, Member of Parliament highlighted the different Indias and how the NDA is working to catering towards them. He said “BJP’s ideology is not market-centric; it is a nationalist ideology. A lot of ideological discussions happen on Panchajanya, not on Foreign Affairs or EPW or English magazines or channels. 450 million Indians follow the Hindi media, only 50 million live in a westernised world. A party must cater to those 450 million.” Jayant Sinha highlighted the issue of FDI in multi-brand retail saying it should not be the litmus test.

 

Key sessions at the Economist India Summit 2014 focused on a wide array of discussions including what the new government can do to restore confidence and revive India’s corporate animal spirits; the current economic challenges including policy paralysis, stability, infrastructure, pollution and food security; how the internet has changed the Indian consumer landscape respectively and how are Internet-based firms poised to capture the new kings and queens of consumerism; if women can assert themselves among corporate hierarchies; if the new government’s reform efforts will get India’s growth rate moving towards double digits; if reform will help boost manufacturing and create enough jobs to absorb workers, and if the existing reforms are enough to ensure India is safe from a currency crisis.

 

Prominent speakers at the summit included Amit Agarwal, Vice President and Country Manager, India, Amazon; Banmali Agrawala, President and Chief Executive Officer, South Asia, General Electric; Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group; Indira Rajaraman, Former Member, Reserve Bank of India and Marten Pieters, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone India, Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Industry Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce.

Supporters for the India Summit 2014: Founding sponsor is Standard Chartered Bank and JSW is the platinum sponsor. Huawei is the Technology partner and Srei, the supporting sponsor. Edelman is the official PR agency.

 

For full details on the program, click here

 

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