PANELS

Keynote Panel: India – Breaking Boundaries

India in the last decades has repeatedly broken the boundaries of what was thought possible for the country. The gains are significant. Yet, as India gains prominence on the world’s economic and political stage, significant challenges must be overcome for India and its people to regain their rightful share of this world’s prosperity. The resilience that India has shown during this economic crisis reflects both, its inherent strengths and the country’s relative economic isolation.

The India – Breaking Boundaries panel shall discuss the economic, political and demographic factors that underlie India’s current state of development; and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

The India Way - Interview with the authors

The India Way: How India's Top Business Leaders Are Revolutionizing Management

by Peter Cappelli, Harbir Singh, Jitendra V. Singh, Michael Useem

India's top companies are scoring remarkable success with exploding growth, soaring investment and huge talent. How? The India Way explains what Indian managers do differently: instead of adopting management practices that dominate Western businesses, Indian companies are innovating and applying fresh practices of their own in strategy, leadership, talent, and organizational culture. Based on the research of Wharton's top management Professors Peter Cappelli, Harbir Singh, Jitendra Singh and Mike Useem, The India Way draws on interviews with over 100 leaders of India's largest firms including Subhash Chandra, Naveen Jindal, Praveen Kadle and Aditya Puri and gives fresh insight to global management practices. Come hear as Mukul Pandya, Editor-In-Chief for Knowledge@Wharton leads a panel discussion with the authors about their findings.

Education & Employment: Training India's Workforce

As India marches on a period of consistent economic growth, the demand for an educated and skilled workforce continues to grow. Providing quality education and creating employment remains high on the government’s agenda, however increasing labor force participation rates and reducing unemployment also requires the resources of the private sector. This panel will assess how public and private institutions can work together to create an employable workforce and thereby reduce poverty levels.

Emerging India

India’s GDP recently crossed the coveted one trillion dollar mark, and is forecast to grow between 5% and 7% annually for the next decade. There are several drivers that are expected to fuel this growth, including investments in infrastructure, healthcare, and education; growth in personal consumption both in urban and rural areas; disinvestments and fiscal discipline; and strong FDI flows. At the same time, implementing the required initiatives involves overcoming key obstacles. This panel will discuss the opportunities, challenges, and enablers of the emerging Indian growth story, and predict the country’s ability to deliver on its potential.

Entrepreneurship: At the Crossroads of Technology and Media

There is a new generation of entrepreneurs that is building India's new economy. Many are first-time entrepreneurs, who have left attractive traditional careers to create products and services that will shape our lives in the years to come. In the minds of those of us who aspire to start a company in India some day, there are a number of questions. How easy is it to set up a new business? What challenges do first generation entrepreneurs face? What types of business opportunities are most conducive to scaling quickly? Is there true innovation driven new businesses in India? Who are VCs betting on? Does government policy provide sufficient incentives for entrepreneurial risk taking? The panel will take a critical look at the entrepreneurial environment in India through the lenses of these brave young entrepreneurs.

Performing Arts & Entertainment: A New Era, A New Face

How do you cater an unfamiliar, esoteric art form to a global, diverse audience? What imprint do Indian music and dance leave in the global art world? What role do Indian entertainment firms play in the international sphere? How does technology come into play while promoting Indian entertainment? Has international “business culture” seeped into the Indian creative world? If so, how does it impact the performing arts and larger entertainment industry? Does India’s booming economy draw attention to the rich performing arts platform that defines the country’s heritage? Some of the biggest names in the dance, music and entertainment world discuss these issues while drawing upon their own experiences over the years.

Healthcare in India: An Evolving Market for Promoters and Investors

The discussion will encompass delivery of care across India’s diverse population, from the rapid growth of private specialty hospitals to business models to reach patients at the bottom of the pyramid. In addition, panelists will explore issues of insurance and other financing mechanisms to achieve universal coverage, the wave of recent public-private partnerships in health care delivery, and the expanding markets for vaccines, pharmaceutical and medical devices, including how multinational companies are adapting their products and practices to the Indian context.

Fashion Retail

Moving Towards Organized Fashion Retailing

Indian retail has taken rapid strides in the last few years reflected by the sprawling multiplex malls and complexes in metropolitan areas. Fashion retail has been at the forefront of this growth with an innumerable number of middle and high-end brands entering the market as a result of increasing disposable income and aspirations. However fashion retail faces several challenges including the unavailability of sound infrastructure-backed real estate, lack of transparency and corporate governance, import tax regulations and human capital training and retention. Yet foreign and domestic luxury brands continue to invest heavily and foresee a bright future. How can we address these challenges to unlock the potential behind this sector?

Investing in India

The current financial crisis has fundamentally reshaped the private equity and venture investing landscape globally. Yet, significant opportunities still exist for PE / VC investments in India and the region promises to be the one of the focus areas for the investment community in the coming years. At the same time, PE / VC landscape in India differs markedly in many ways and successful investing requires a deep understanding of India’s legal, business and social terrain. Building upon their collective experience in successfully investing in India, the panelists will deliberate on these issues and share their insights on the present and future dynamics of the investment landscape in India.

Social Enterprises & Non Profits: Delivering Where it Matters

As India marches on, the danger that the country's impoverished millions get left behind is very real. The non-profits' sector in India fills a very important gap that exists in every developing nation. Whether it be education, women's rights, employment or healthcare, the professionals and volunteers who work in this sector are essential to the progress of Indian society as a whole. The non-profits panel will attempt to bring together leaders who've tackled issues where the magnitude is daunting and the logistics, disheartening. The panel will focus on organizations and individuals who've achieved success beyond the ordinary and who've influenced many others to follow in their footsteps. Some core issues that will be addressed include financing non-profit activities, feasibility of for profit social initiatives, running an efficient non-profit organization, as well as policy and other obstacles in the area.

Film: Globalization of Mainstream Indian Cinema

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Women, Beyond the Glass Ceiling: India's Emerging Leaders

Indian women have been remarkably successful in a variety of different fields due to their innovation and ingenuity. With leaders from the worlds of media, business, and biotechnology, this panel will explore how Indian women are building upon this initial success. Specifically, in light of the current global recession, the panel will address the proactive steps Indian women are taking to mitigate the negative effects of the slowdown by discussing the following questions--What unique characteristics do Indian women have to combat the crisis? How has the role of Indian women evolved to meet these challenges? What are the areas in which Indian women need to improve in to remain competitive in the future? Indeed, while celebrating the past successes of Indian women, the panel will be a frank and open dialogue on what remains to be done.

Developing Indian Infrastructure

Driven by a virtuous cycle of strong economic growth, rising government revenues and foreign investment, India’s real construction sector registered growth of 20% and 14% per annum in 2006 and 2007, making it one of the most rapidly growing industries in the country. The global economic downturn has had a significant negative impact on this growth. With interest rates for project financing operations increasing sharply, the financial viability of several planned and ongoing projects has been threatened. Furthermore, the fall in real estate value and adverse impact on government tax collection has made funding from both private and public sector scarce. The panel will focus on discussing the future of infrastructure in light of these issues.

Aegis presents Outsourcing & Technology: Global Integration

For the last two decades India IT industry has grown exponentially and has established India as the world’s front and back office. However, the current financial crisis is threatening to derail this status. This panel will ponder on the current and future challenges facing the Indian IT Industry and will provide thought leadership on how the industry should navigate these challenging times. In particular, the panel will try to find answers to the following questions - Has Indian IT industry's export driven growth model run out of steam given the current global economic turmoil? Will the local demand provide a cushion against the global slow down? Are the days of labor-arbitrage based model over? Is the industry in need of a more sustainable, robust and scalable growth model?

The Energy Equation: Innovations and Policies for a Greener India

Awareness about pollution and climate change is growing worldwide. As a rapidly developing country, India can create many different energy equations. With the rise of green technologies and environmentally friendly policies in nations around the world, and the adoption of many of these policies and technologies in India, it remains to be seen what actions India will take to increase its environmental sustainability as a nation. This panel will outline technologies, policies and trends both in the status quo and in the future in order to give us a better glimpse of India's dynamic growth in this sector.