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Global India Business Meeting26-27 June 2011, Naples, Italy

a Horasis-leadership event

co-hosts:

Region of Campania, Campania Innovazione, Naples Chamber of CommerceFederation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

Report

Horasis is a global visions community committed to enact visions for a sustainable future (http:/www.horasis.org)

Upcoming Horasis Meetings:Global Arab Business Meeting Ras Al Khaimah, UAE 9-10 October 2011Global China Business Meeting Valencia, Spain 7-8 November 2011Horasis Annual Meeting, Zurich, Switzerland 24-25 January 2012Global Russia Business Meeting Luxembourg 22-23April 2012

Co-hosts:Region of Campania, Campania Innovazione, Naples Chamber of CommerceFederation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

Co-chairs:Rahul Bajaj Chairman, Bajaj Auto, IndiaSubodh Bhargava Chairman,Tata Communications, IndiaLord Karan Bilimoria Chairman, Cobra Beer Partnership, United KingdomCarla Cico Chief Executive Officer, Rivoli, ItalyDinesh Dhamija Founder and Chairman, Copper Beech Group, United KingdomHans G Ekdahl Managing Director, Neilsoft, IndiaSunil Godhwani Chairman and Managing Director, Religare Enterprises, IndiaCP Gurnani Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Satyam, IndiaRajive Kaul Chairman, Nicco Group, IndiaPraveen P Kadle Chief Executive Officer,Tata Capital, IndiaMohan Kaul Director-General, Commonwealth Business Council, United KingdomHarsh C Mariwala Chairman, Marico, IndiaTidu Maini Executive Chairman, Qatar Science &Technology Park, QatarEfrat Peled Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,Arison Investments, IsraelDeepak Puri Chairman & Managing Director, Moser Baer, India

Strategic Partner:Baker & McKenzie

Knowledge Partners:B-InternationalDefconErnst &YoungFrankfurtRhineMainIESE Business SchoolKorn/FerryInvitaliaValue Partners

Meeting Supporters:Ordine dei Dottori CommercialistiUniCredit

Co-organizers:All India Management Association (AIMA)Associazione Italia IndiaCommonwealth Business CouncilEurope India Chamber of Commerce (EICC)Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO)

Media Partners:International HeraldTribuneIl Denaro

Preparing for the welcome dinner

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Table of Contents

Foreword 6

Indian Business Leaders of theYear 22

India’s Infrastructure Disconnects 24

India’s Sustainable Future 38

India Has Big Scope for Foreign Banks 40

The Royal Palace of Naples - venue of the opening dinner

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Foreword

You are reading the highlight review ofHorasis’ signature convention on India, theannual Global India Business Meeting –which was held in Naples, Italy on 26-27thJune 2011. Since 2009, the Global IndiaBusiness Meeting has earned the praise ofinvestors, businessmen and policymakersalike, who appreciate the opportunity togather to debate topics and set the agenda.But it not just an Indian meeting - the 2011meeting drew a collective audience of 300delegates from 31 countries, so assembleda panoramic picture of both the Indianeconomy and other world economies: norwere the emerging markets lost to view.The Meeting was organised by Horasis inpartnership with the Region of Campania,Campania Innovazione, the Naples Chamberof Commerce and FICCI (Federation ofIndian Chambers of Commerce andIndustry).

The star contingent of panellists for manyhas become the hallmark of the Global IndiaBusiness Meeting.The following co-chairsrepresented the meeting vis-a-vis the govern-ment or regional authorities and the generalpublic: Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto,India; Subodh Bhargava, Chairman,Tata

Communications, India; Lord KaranBilimoria, Chairman, Cobra BeerPartnership, United Kingdom; Carla Cico,Chief Executive Officer, Rivoli, Italy;Dinesh Dhamija, Founder, ebookers.com,United Kingdom;Hans G Ekdahl,Managing Director, Neilsoft, India; SunilGodhwani, Chairman and ManagingDirector, Religare Enterprises, India; CPGurnani, Chief Executive Officer,MahindraSatyam, India; Rajive Kaul, Chairman,Nicco Group, India; Praveen P Kadle,Chief Executive Officer,Tata Capital, India;Mohan Kaul, Director-General,Commonwealth Business Council, UnitedKingdom;Harsh C Mariwala, Chairman,Marico, India; Tidu Maini, ExecutiveChairman, Qatar Science &TechnologyPark, Qatar; Efrat Peled, Chairman andChief Executive Officer,Arison Investments,Israel;Deepak Puri, Chairman & ManagingDirector, Moser Baer, India.

The 2011 Global India Business Meetingfocused on the changing paradigm of theglobal and Indian economies and discussedmany questions - how might the fallout ofthe Japanese disaster and the changes in theArab world impact the Indian economy?Will the dramatic cuts in public sectorspending in much of the developed worldderail global recovery? Could the disruption

Virtual Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, with the co-hosts and co-organizers

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of financial flows unsettle emergingmarkets, including India? Given thatemerging markets were not the root causeof the 2008 crisis and given their ability torecover swiftly, is the recent lowering ofrisk aversion toward emerging marketslikely to be a long-term phenomenon?Willglobal growth adversely impact on Indiagrowth perspectives? Can and will changesin legislation, coupled with the advent ofmeaningful pools of domestic savings, resultin further growth of financial centres inemerging countries like India?What are thechallenges and opportunities facing Indiancorporations and investors?

A noticeable positive mood at the meetingwas evident: India’s strong growth figuresclearly instilled robust optimism among theaudience. India sits ‘… at the top of theheap’ in terms of economic expectationsfor the current year, as business leaders inEurope, Japan and the U.S. worry aboutpossible setbacks. 'Most of us entrepreneursare optimistic about the country’s economyfor 2011,' saidMalvinder M. Singh,Chairman, Fortis Healthcare, India. RahulBajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, India, com-mented that 'India’s trade with the EUcould face severe problems due to theongoing crisis facing Greece and otherdebt-ridden EU economies’. He noted thatVesuvius - the famous volcano overlookingNaples - is an appropriate metaphor forEurope’s tragedy.The mountain signifies thesudden emergence of the profound crisis

Dinesh Dhamija, Founder, ebookers.com,UnitedKingdom - Indian companies have to continuetheir quest for innovation excellence

Vincenzo Scotti, Undersecretary of ForeignAffairs, Italy - our objective is to furtherstrengthen our relationship with India

N.K. Singh,Member of Parliament, India -pitching India as a global leader in thenext wave of globalization

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Subodh Bhargava, Chairman,Tata Communications, India,talking about inclusive globalization

Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, India,making a point at the opening plenary

‘Over the past two decades, India hastransitioned from a savings-driveneconomy to a consumer-driven one’N.K. Singh,Member of Parliament, India

afflicting Europe. On India, he added that'… despite founded optimism, there areseveral challenges to be met in the shortand medium term, including governanceissues that were surfaced during theCommonwealth Games in 2010.' Accordingto Rajan Bharti Mittal,Vice Chairman &Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises,India,‘there are issues around the easeof doing business in India. Governancechallenges remain, and infrastructurestill remains an issue. Still, we in India aretalking more about our problems - andthe world is seeing India as a great place tocome and invest.That’s what we need tocelebrate.’ He summoned participants ‘tohave full belief in the India story.’ Further,we heard that ‘… the socio-economicdisparities between rich and poorcommunities pose a significant obstacleto the sustainable growth of the Indianeconomy,’ cautioned Sanjay Dalmia,

Chairman, Dalmia Group of Companies,India,‘… we need the last burst of reforms,which are now under debate.’

Participants focused on what emerged asthe three key themes of the meeting:

• the centrality of India and other emergingcountries for the future economic growth

• the need to develop strongentrepreneurial initiatives to diversify thedomestic economy

• and the drive of both the public andprivate sectors for sustainable andinclusive growth

... in the longer term India’s economy will growat the coveted 10% mark - Rajive Kaul,Chairman,Nicco Group, India

Hans G Ekdahl,Managing Director,Neilsoft -contrasting the Nordic Model with Indianachievements

Praveen P Kadle, Chief Executive Officer,TataCapital, India - Indian investors should look atglobal markets

CP Gurnani, Chief Executive Officer,Mahindra Satyam, India,greated by Frank-Jürgen Richter, Chairman,Horasis

Sunil Godhwani, Chairman and Managing Director, Religare Enterprises, India, asserting participantsthat India’s GDP record growth will continue

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‘India’s trade with the EU could facesevere problems due to the ongoingcrisis facing Greece and otherdebt-ridden EU economies’Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, India

In his welcoming speech, N.K. Singh,Member of Parliament, India, set the tonefor the Global India Business Meeting bypitching India as a global leader in the nextwave of globalization. He put forward thegovernment’s agenda for the near future. Inthe macroeconomic sphere, stability remainsthe top priority. Other factors includerobust small enterprises and abundantpublic sector funding. 'Over the past twodecades, India has transitioned from asavings-driven economy to a consumer-driven one,' he said. He promised that thegovernment is paying a lot of intention toimprove the investment climate and he alsocommitted to upgrade the country’sinfrastructure to accommodate and sustaingrowth. N.K. Singh concluded by sayingthat 'any economic activity, includingglobalisation, should be directed atimproving the human condition.'

Speaking on behalf of the host region ofthis year’s Global India Business Meeting,GuidoTrombetti, Minister of Innovationof Campania, Italy, said that there is ahuge potential for increasing trade andinvestment ties between Italy and India.Governments must devise policies to makeglobalization more responsive to issuessuch as poverty and health. GiuseppeZollo, President, Campania Innovazione,Italy, added that ‘the region of Campaniais forging trade and investment ties withIndia in services, higher education andinnovation.’‘There is great potentialfor growth,' stated Sergio Sgambato,Secretary General,The Indo-Italian Chamberof Commerce and Industry, India.

Deepak Puri, Chairman & Managing Director,Moser Baer, India

Efrat Peled, Chairman and Chief ExecutiveOfficer,Arison Investments, Israel - India is nowthe intellectual capital of the world

Lord Karan Bilimoria, Chairman, Cobra BeerPartnership,United Kingdom

Harsh C Mariwala, Chairman,Marico, India,speaking on behalf of FICCI

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Tidu Maini, Executive Chairman,Qatar Science &Technology Park,Qatar;Mohan Kaul,Director-General,Commonwealth Business Council,United Kingdom

‘India’s 8.9% GDP record in 2010 willremain on the same level in 2011’Sunil Godhwani, Chairman and Managing Director,Religare Enterprises, India

'We want to work together side by side tobolster our ties,' concludedMaurizioMaddaloni, President, Naples Chamberof Commerce, Italy.

‘Our objective is to further strengthenour relationship with the Indian economy,’said Vincenzo Scotti, Undersecretary ofForeign Affairs, Italy, during the welcomedinner.‘The economic crisis is not just inEurope, but the world over.This is a periodof concern. But we are confident to over-come the European debt crisis and toengage in trade with India and otherhigh growth economies,’ he continued.'Protectionist sentiments are not a solutionto tackle the global economic problems,' hestated, reiterating the Italian government’scommitment to free trade.

The role of India in global recovery fromthe economic crisis was recognized by mostparticipants. 'India can be a key partner inaddressing global challenges relating to

economic growth, global trade, climatechange, renewable energy, food security,and development goals,' felt Carla Cico,Chief Executive Officer, Rivoli, Italy.Theopening plenary panel focused onidentifying the key factors that will shapeIndia’s economy over the next 6 to 12months.The forward-looking approachused for this plenary session tried toprovide participants with new perspectivesand genuine take-home value. SunilGodhwani, Chairman and ManagingDirector, Religare Enterprises, India,asserted participants that India’s 8.9% GDPrecord in 2010 will remain on the samelevel in 2011. But Harsh C Mariwala,Chairman, Marico, India, believed that'India’s rising inflation and a wideningcurrent account deficit may slightly lowerthe pace. Food prices are the primary driverof inflation. India’s Central Bank has beentightening policy for some time, so pricesshould stabilise. Rising oil prices may yetcreate an uneasy situation, but on thewhole, the situation seems to be manage-able.' Behind this veneer of worries over2011 is a solid belief, according to RajiveKaul, Chairman, Nicco Group, India, that'in the longer term India’s economy willgrow at the coveted 10% mark.'

Italian Secretary of State Vincenzo Scotti with participants

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‘We are confident to overcome theEuropean debt crisis and to engagein trade with India and other highgrowth economies’Vincenzo Scotti,Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs,Italy

R KMehrotra, Executive Chairman,Foresight Limited, United Kingdom,highlighted that the recovery in the globaleconomy is asymmetrical. Emergingmarkets, in both output growth and trade,are growing substantially faster than thedeveloped economies. India is one of thefew countries in the G20 to bounce back tothe growth rates that prevailed before thecrisis.With global recovery well under way,

it is time for Indian industry to once againexplore opportunities outside India’s shoresand proactively proceed on the globalisationpath. 'The Global India Business Meeting isan important vehicle for such engagement,'said Pramit Mehta, Partner, Ernst &Young,Switzerland. Cooperation, along withcompetitiveness, is the need of the hour, headded, calling for innovation and efficiencyacross functions.

'India has a lot to offer in the long run,'ParagAmin, President and Partner, Radiqal,USA, told participants. 'The country willalso remain attractive simply because of thesheer size of its domestic market,' addedGuy Spier, Chief Executive Officer,

Rajive Kaul, Chairman,Nicco Group, India, exchanging business cards with Carla Cico, Chief Executive Officer, Rivoli, Italy

GuidoTrombetti,Minister of Innovation ofCampania, Italy, speaking on behalf of the co-hostof the 2011 Global India Business Meeting

... we want to work together side by side to bolsterour ties - Maurizio Maddaloni, President,NaplesChamber of Commerce, Italy

Giuseppe Zollo, President, Campania Innovazione- the region of Campania is forging trade andinvestment ties with India

‘The region of Campania is forgingtrade and investment ties with India inservices, higher education andinnovation’Giuseppe Zollo, President, Campania Innovazione,Italy

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Aquamarine Capital, Switzerland. India isgoing through a major transformation in itsbusiness practice, institutional set-up andeven in terms of its mindset. 'This trans-formation means that you invest in India asan emerging country offering high-growthpotential but at a relatively lower risk in thelong run,' saidMarco Ferretti, ManagingPartner, Defcon, Italy . 'Aspiration andupward mobility drive consumption.Government spending has not played amajor part in growth and consumption didnot dip during the crisis. India’s economyis decoupled from some of the underper-forming economies of theWest,' AnilKumar, Chief Executive Officer, RansatGroup, United Kingdom continued.

Panels at the Global India Business Meetingexplored a wide range of topics, coveringtrade and investment, entrepreneurship,branding and technology. Proponents ofcontrasting visions of India’s global tradedebated over what kind of economy willemerge. 'India is certainly at a crossroads -trade and FDI (Foreign Direct Investment)-figures are still low in comparison with

other emerging economies like China,' saidLord Karan Bilimoria, Chairman, CobraBeer Partnership, United Kingdom. 'Thegovernment is concluding trade agreementsthat will give better market access toexporters and export promotion schemesthat will help exporters become pricecompetitive,' said Harjiv Singh, Co-founder, Gutenberg Communications,USA. 'We have launched negotiations forcomprehensive economic partnershipagreements with several of its maineconomic partners like the EuropeanUnion, the US and Japan, explained SudhirJalan, Chairman, Jalan Group, India. 'Theseinitiatives may financially help us but it isinnovation and leadership that will helpquantum jump in exports,' said DeepakPuri, Chairman & Managing Director,Moser Baer, India.According toMohanKaul, Director-General, CommonwealthBusiness Council, United Kingdom, 'Indianexporters should start focusing less on whatthe government does for them and see howthey can help themselves.Various exportsubsidies take the attention away frominnovation - the main factor that will givelasting competitive advantage in globalmarkets.'

There was also a focus at the meeting on'how global investors should look at India,

Harjiv Singh, Co-founder, GutenbergCommunications,USA - the governmentof India is concluding trade agreements

Guy Spier, Chief Executive Officer,Aquamarine Capital, Switzerland,makinga point on rural India

Sanjay Dalmia, Chairman,Dalmia Group ofCompanies, India and Claude Beglè,DirectorGeneral, Symbioswiss, Switzerland

‘We want to work together side by sideto bolster our ties’Maurizio Maddaloni, President,Naples Chamber ofCommerce, Italy

and how Indian investors should look atglobal markets, along with sector-specificdiscussions,' as Praveen P Kadle, ChiefExecutive Officer,Tata Capital, India,explained in one of the boardroom sessions.'It is time for India and emerging countriesin general to create enabling environmentsfor foreign direct investment (FDI),' opinedPeterV. Rajsingh, Managing Partner,Castellar Partners, USA. 'Foreign directinvestment in India has increased in recentyears. Still, there is a lot more space forinvestment in India,' stated DomenicoArcuri, Chief Executive Officer, Invitalia,Italy. Panellists emphasized the need forfaster and more systemic policy reforms inIndia for ensuring greater capital flow andinvestment security. Several participantspointed out that FDI flows into India were

nowhere near what India needs to financeits infrastructure requirements, despiteconsiderable progress in creating aninvestment-friendly climate. Jitesh Gadhia,Senior Managing Director, Blackstone,United Kingdom, felt that a suitablyregulated yet liberal policy environmentwould benefit India’s growth prospects.

On China, participants engaged in a livelydebate. Relations between India and Chinahave often diverged. 'Are they on the brinkof a new era of increased cooperation, orwill they be driven apart by historic forces?'asked Lili Zhao, Managing Editor, ChinaEthos, China. For sure, the relationship isindeed the best it has ever been. India-China bilateral trade has grown ten-fold inthe last five years. 'China has become our

Sudhir Jalan, Chairman, Jalan Group, India - we have launchednegotiations for economic partnership agreements with several ofour main economic partners

Anil Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, RansatGroup,United Kingdom, in discussion withparticipants

B.K. Rane, Executive Director,Urmila Chemopharma, arriving at the terrace ofthe Royal Palace

Riccardo Monti,Managing Partner,Value Partners;Marco Ferretti and Massimo de Falco,ManagingPartners, Defcon

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Sergey L.Demin, Chief Executive Officer,Snegiri, Russia

Anuj Khanna,QInvest, Qatar;Tidu Maini, Qatar Science &Technology Park,Qatar; Rajive Kaul,Nicco Group, India

largest trading partner in the world thoughthe balance of trade lies in favour of China,'said B. K. Rane, Executive Director, UrmilaChemopharma, India. He also emphasisedon the need for increasing investmentlinkages through collaborative ventures. OnIndia’s economic relationship with Russia,Sergey L. Demin, Chief Executive Officer,Snegiri, Russia, opined that there is a hugepotential for developing mutually beneficialbusiness partnerships. Anuj Khanna, Headof Investment Management, QInvest, Qatar,reckoned that ‘the vast Indian diaspora inthe Gulf countries is building bridges. SaudiArabia and its GCC-neighbours are greatlybenefiting from the education anddedication of the Non-Resident Indians.’

'Banking is developing into an Indiansuccess story, and is one of the most

advanced users of information technology,'declared Utpal Sheth, Chief Executive,Rare Enterprises, India, addressing aboardroom dialogue session on 'FinancialServices:The view from India.' RiccardoMonti, Managing Partner,Value Partners,Italy, noted that 'emerging marketseconomies like India that have developedtheir own financial systems are likely toresist better than those that depend heavilyon external financing. Still, 'ensuringcompetitive exchange rate in the wake ofsurging capital flows is an importantchallenge which the policymakers will haveto face, commentedMarco Magnani,Managing Director Investment Banking,Mediobanca, Italy. ' Now is the time forIndia to 'develop and improve domesticcapital markets,' advised R. Seetharaman,Chief Executive Officer, Doha Bank Group,

Utpal Sheth, Chief Executive, Rare Enterprises,India - banking is developing into an Indiansuccess story

Vikram Gandhi, Co-Founder, Giving BackFoundation,Hong Kong SAR - rules andregulations must meet current realities

Pankaj Dhingra, President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer,Nanostellar,USA

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Qatar.The emphasis should be on connectingthe financial world with the real economy,stressed Vikram Gandhi, Co-Founder,Giving Back Foundation, Hong Kong SAR,saying 'rules and regulations must meetcurrent realities with greater disclosuresand transparency.'

India is successfully building an innovativeeconomy. Pankaj Dhingra, President andChief Executive Officer, Nanostellar, USA,said that until recently India was perceivedas a socialist country with few prospects.

‘However,’ asMikael Hagström, ExecutiveVice President, SAS, USA, commented,‘Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s reformsallowed the country to advance. Demographyis one of the main advantages for the Indianeconomy.The country has a young andmobile population and people speakEnglish.’‘These factors helped create atechnology sector forming an importantpart of a globally significant economy. Forexample, 25% of theWindows code wascreated in India,’ said Gunjan Sinha,Chairman, MetricStream, USA. 'Indiancompanies have to continue their quest forinnovation excellence and make innovationpart of their DNA,' pinpointed DineshDhamija, Founder, ebookers.com, UnitedKingdom. He also urged companies tofocus on maintaining strong cash flows and

Man Mohan Bhagat, Chairman, Bhagat Group,India - the status of India’s infrastructure isimproving

The 2011 Global India Business Meeting drew a collective audience of 300 delegates from 31 countries

Mikael Hagström, ExecutiveVice President, SAS,USA and RanuVohra,Chief Executive Officer,Avendus Capital, India

‘It is innovation and leadership thatwill help quantum jump in exports’Deepak Puri, Chairman & Managing Director,Moser Baer, India

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Mahesh P Gandhi, Chief Executive Officer,AFII Corporate Advisors, India

LuisaTodini, President,Todini CostruzioniGenerali, Italy - listening to her co-panelists

Avi Basu, Chief Executive Officer and Founder,Connectiva Systems, India

Sergio Sgambato, Secretary General, Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and PeterV. Rajsingh,Managing Partner, Castellar Partners,USA

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tap the investment opportunities in highgrowth emerging markets, as key strategiesto meet contemporary challenges.

India’s information technology andcommunications sector (ICT) has been astrong pillar of growth.As a top outsourcingdestination and back office operations hub,India dominates the global IT servicesmarket. Businesses in all sectors look totechnology to raise productivity andimprove efficiency. '2010 has been a goodyear for India’s ICT with a healthy growth,we are viewing 2011 with optimism,' saidSubodh Bhargava, Chairman,TataCommunications, India. 'Should ICT becomplemented by a manufacturing-drivenelement?’ asked Tidu Maini, ExecutiveChairman, Qatar Science &TechnologyPark, Qatar. 'Bangalore and Hyderabad areamongst the epicentres of India’s ICTboom,' said CP Gurnani, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Mahindra Satyam, India. 'ICT has todeliver spill-over and multiplier effects, tobring new growth opportunities across all

regions and industries, especially manu-facturing,' he continued. 'We need anational policy aimed at making India amanufacturing hub leading to creation ofmore jobs and boosting sustainableeconomic growth,' reasoned AashishKalra, Chairman, Duranta Holdings, India.

India’s infrastructure continues to be aconstraining factor in maintaining a highgrowth rate. 'Urban infrastructure andservices continue to be pathetic,' observedMan Mohan Bhagat, Chairman, BhagatGroup, India. 'India lacks infrastructure butthis will be developed,' hopedMeirWietchner, Chief Executive Officer,Miya,Israel.According toMahesh P Gandhi,Chief Executive Officer,AFII CorporateAdvisors, India, '30 GW of power

‘The Global India Business Meeting isa new format of economic dialogue, anopportunity to learn about a diversityof ideas and viewpoints on the globalsituation‘Niraj Sharan, Chief Executive Officer,Aura, India

Gurjit Singh Lalli, Chief Executive Officer, Power of Youth,United Kingdom

Rekha Sethi,Director General,All India Management Association, India

generation capacity will be built over thenext few years.' Participants reachedconsensus that prospects for the futuregrowth of the Indian economy are verystrong as several states have embarked onambitious infrastructure projects that willguarantee significant stimulus for theeconomy over the coming years.‘Improvements in transportation networks,telecommunications and power supply arepowerful incentives that are expected tospur new investment,’ concluded LuisaTodini, President,Todini CostruzioniGenerali, Italy.

Sunder Mulchandani, Chairman,ArgusIndia, India, suggested that in the energysector attention should be paid todeveloping sustainable alternatives to

hydrocarbons, especially wind power andbio-fuel which could be an especiallypromising source of energy in India.MikeRosenberg,Assistant Professor, IESEBusiness School, Spain, added that theworld is on the brink of the next industrialrevolution based on renewable energy andthat India is already in the forefront ofdeveloping renewable energy.'Environmental markets in India are gainingtraction -opportunities abound', said Y SChowdary, Chairman, Sujana Group,India.

Rural India is home to a huge potential ofwealth, and agriculture is booming. 'Thecrucial agricultural sector posted animpressive performance last year,' saidDhruv M Sawhney, Chairman,Triveni

At a boardroom session

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Engineering & Industries, India.‘The goodmonsoon during the year has boostedthis performance. Performance of theagricultural sector holds the key to overallgrowth of the economy as it employs amaximum number of people, explained AviBasu, Chief Executive Officer and Founder,Connectiva Systems, India.According toKrishna Shriram, Executive Chairman,Usha International, India, there is still a'steady migration of India’s rural populationof over 800m to the cities - making theneed to invest in transport, housing andsanitation very pressing.'

Announcing the 2011 Indian Business Leadersof theYear, Horasis - together with ourstrategic partner Baker & McKenzie -celebrated three outstanding entrepreneurswho have been building and leadingsuccessful Indian firms: Rajan BhartiMittal,Vice Chairman & ManagingDirector, Bharti Enterprises, India;DhruvM Sawhney, Chairman,TriveniEngineering & Industries, India;MalvinderM. Singh, Chairman, Fortis Healthcare,India.We recognized and honour thosebusiness leaders as they excel in entre-preneurship, innovation and leadership.'The chosen leaders have decisivelyimpacted the economic development and

global integration of India,' said ThomasGilles, Partner, Baker & McKenzie,Germany, who announced the awardwinners during a special plenary.

The 2011 Global India Business Meetingwas wrapped up in an engaging valedictorydiscussion. Efrat Peled, Chairman andChief Executive Officer,Arison Investments,Israel, said that 'India is now the intellectualcapital of the world.' 'Indian firms shouldfoster and promote entrepreneurship, newways of learning and doing within theorganization. Individual creativity should berecognized and motivated,' noted VinetGupta, Co-Founder,AquatroveBiosciences, USA. Gurjit Singh Lalli, ChiefExecutive Officer, Power of Youth, UnitedKingdom, reminded participants that'India’s labour force is highly qualified andproductive.There is a pool of qualifiedmanagement talent, ready to go for the lastmile.' Lou Marinoff, Professor ofPhilosophy,The City College of NewYork,

Mohan Murti,Managing Director Europe, Reliance Industries and Kannan Ramaswamy, Professor,Thunderbird School of Global Management

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‘The meeting defined challenges,identified opportunities and laid thegroundwork for Global India BusinessMeetings for the years to come’Sunil Prasad, Secretary General, Europe IndiaChamber of Commerce, Belgium

USA, concluded: 'The most importantdriver for taking India to its rightful place inthe global community is the dynamism andvigour of its entrepreneurial class and theconcomitant expansion of the middleclasses.' His statement drew a round ofapplause.

The annual Global India Business Meeting isnot only a meeting place for exceptionalpeople capable of impacting the future ofIndia and the world, but - as Niraj Sharan,Chief Executive Officer,Aura, India, put it -

'a new format of economic dialogue, anopportunity to learn about a diversity ofideas and viewpoints on the global situationand a unique opportunity to speak withglobal investors, political leaders and headsof Indian and international corporations.'Seann Nelipinath, President, IndiaChamber of Commerce, USA, alsoreiterated that 'the India Story has justbegun'.As always, in spite of the deter-mined, business-like mood of participants,the numerous accompanying events andnetworking breaks of the event provided for

Signing Ceremony - Giuseppe Zollo, President, Campania Innovazione and Sunil Prasad, Secretary General, Europe India Chamberof Commerce

The interactive nature of the boardroom sessions allowed CEOs to sharing challenges they think should be addressed

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a convivial atmosphere of friendly andconstructive community building.The GlobalIndia Business Meeting was organized withgreater emphasis on open discussion andaudience participation rather than formalpresentations. Naturally, it is not our claimthat these discussions lead to incontrovertibletruth, but our goal was to present thedifferent sides to each issue in the broadestmanner possible.

The 2011 edition of the Global IndiaBusiness Meeting saw the world at a cross-roads in its developmental experience. Postcrisis, we need greater cooperation,coordinated action and closer and strongerpartnerships.‘The meeting definedchallenges, identified opportunities and laidthe groundwork for Global India BusinessMeetings for the years to come,’ as SunilPrasad, Secretary General, Europe IndiaChamber of Commerce, Belgium, put it.Preparations for the 2012 Global IndiaBusiness Meeting are already under way.Interest in the event continues to grow witheach passing year.We are confident thatnext year’s Global India Business Meetingwill be an even more extraordinary, high-calibre event.

Horasis looks forward to your continuedengagement and to welcoming you to the2012 Global India Business Meeting.

Dr. Frank-Jürgen RichterChairmanHorasis:The GlobalVisions Community

A noticeable positive mood at the meeting was evident - India’s strong growth figures clearly instilled robust optimism

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Frank-Jürgen Richter, Chairman,Horasis, welcoming participants

Continuing discussions over the farewell reception

The meeting provided for a convivial atmosphere of friendly and constructive community building

Closing reception overlooking the Castel dell’Ovo

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Indian BusinessLeaders of theYearByThomas Gilles, Partner, Baker &McKenzie, Germany

The third Global India Business Meetingwhich was organized by Horasis concludedin Naples on 27 June. More than 300delegates from the public and privatesectors - mainly from India - attended theprestigious meeting.The focus of this year’smeeting was on ‘Globalising Indian Firms’.

Thomas Gilles, partner in Baker &McKenzie’s Frankfurt office, presented theIndian Business Leaders of theYear-award toRajan Bharti Mittal,Malvinder MohanSingh and Dhruv Sawhney.

Mr. Mittal is isVice Chairman andManaging Director of Bharti Enterprises,one of India’s leading business groups. Mr.Singh is Group Chairman of FortisHealthcare, a leading healthcare player inIndia and Asia Pacific. Mr. Sawhney is theChairman and Managing Director ofTriveniEngineering & Industries Ltd, one of India’slargest producers of sugar, co-generatedpower and ethanol.Triveni is also the thirdlargest global manufacturer of steamturbines.

‘Most of us entrepreneurs areoptimistic about the country’s economyfor 2011’Malvinder M. Singh, Chairman, Fortis Healthcare,India

‘I urge you to have full belief in theIndia story’Rajan Bharti Mittal,Vice Chairman & ManagingDirector, Bharti Enterprises, India

Malvinder M. Singh, Chairman, Fortis Healthcare, India - most ofus entrepreneurs are optimistic about the country’s economy

Rajan Bharti Mittal,Vice Chairman & Managing Director,Bharti Enterprises, India, telling the India story

Rajan Bharti Mittal and Malvinder M. Singh

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In his speech, Mr. Gilles pointed out thatIndia’s resilience, even in these difficulteconomic times, is in large part due to thetremendous entrepreneurial spirit ofbusiness leaders such as the awarded whoare driving its economic growth anddevelopment.

All of the three award-winners had‘anticipated the internationalization of theIndian economy, are playing an active rolein civil society and possess an enormousentrepreneurial spirit.’

Outbound mergers and acquisitions (M&A)activities from India are on the rise, 2010saw an outbound deal-volume of nearlyUSD 25 billion, making it the most active

year in terms of outbound investment.Indian companies will continue to bid forattractive European targets in 2011,attractive valuations and increasingdomestic competition being the main dealdrivers.

‘Rural India is home to a hugepotential of wealth, and agriculture isbooming’Dhruv M Sawhney, Chairman,Triveni Engineering &Industries, India

Dhruv M Sawhney, Chairman,Triveni Engineering & Industries,India - rural India is home to a huge potential of wealth, andagriculture is booming

The three award winners withThomas Gilles, Partner, Baker & McKenzie, Germany

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India’sInfrastructureDisconnectsBy John B.Kidd, Lecturer,Aston BusinessSchool,United Kingdom

The third Global India Business Meetingwas held in Naples, Italy over 26- 27thJune, 2011.At the opening dinner in theRoyal Palace we noted in the programmethat ‘India is the world’s most populousdemocracy and a member of the G20.Whatare the country’s global aspirations? Howare political leaders connecting India withthe world?’ - questions that were reflectedon by N.K. Singh, Member of Parliament,India and by Vincenzo Scotti, Under-secretary of Foreign Affairs, Italy who notedIndia’s historic and worldly experiencewhich to some extent matched that of Italyand could help provide a base for future co-operation.Their sentiments were supportedbyMaurizio Maddaloni, President, NaplesChamber of Commerce, our host city.

It became clear during these introductorypresentations that we were all to bediscussing infrastructure in its variousguises in the subsequent sessions.The facetsof infrastructure represent ‘pipelines’ thatdeliver products – such as well-educated

young persons, or capital inflows forinvestment – but these effects cannot occurin isolation as considerable interdependencywith other ‘pipelines’ is involved; andbecause of the complexity involved,sometimes the interactive support is notgood, and the service in question is delayedor is poorly delivered.

The Global India Business Meeting gotunderway at 07:30 the next morning withfour Breakfast Sessions - Investing in Italy,Managing Risks, Reviving EconomicGrowth and the Quest for Sustainability: Ichose to follow the second discussionchaired by PaulTurner, Senior ClientPartner, Korn/Ferry, United Kingdom: heinvited his panel members to comment on‘…the global financial crisis showed us thateconomic risks can manifest themselves atany time.What lessons can investors –domestic and foreign – draw from the crisis– in terms of risk assessment and riskmanagement in India?

Many panellists chose to focus on thepotential difficulty that family ownedbusinesses have in recognising and managing

‘I am concerned that India addressesmany needed reforms quickly as thereware rapid changes occurring in Chinaand some instability in the US’Harsh C Mariwala, Chairman,Marico, India

The 2011 Global India Business Meeting was wrapped up in an engaging valedictory discussion

John B.Kidd, Lecturer,AstonBusiness School,United Kingdom

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the risks that impinge on their businesses,sometimes transferring one form ofmanagement to other sectors, which inhindsight is an unwise linkage. However,turning to the opportunity to undertakeglobalisation, or at least a modest cross-border expansion brings forward moreassessment needs. One suggestion was tohave India open its official database togreater public scrutiny though open access:the US does this and to some extent theUK. One obvious benefit of datatransparency is that the official statisticscannot be re-manipulated, and by havingthe data ‘sliced and diced’ by many analystssometime a better scenario analysis may beforthcoming – such as developing deeperstress testing both of national endeavours aswell as integrating a firm’s scenario into abroader framework.

Aashish Kalra, Chairman, DurantaHoldings, India thought that his fellowIndians forget how to deal with growth,tending to focus on mini-crises using ahighly technical analysis.They often alsoforget to incorporate experience into theanalysis – though this is not an infalliblevector as we too often over-rely on recentdata, and forget the true extent of olderdeviations from norms. In fact we arehuman, and somewhat poor in intuitiveanalysis. Roland Gieske, Managing Partner,Moving Minds, Germany brought forwarddiscussion of the risk-averse nature of a

family business in looking far into thefuture.A private/public relationship maylessen the perceived risk, though India hasembraced Market Capitalism leveragingfinance against muscle power which leads togreater risk in pushing efficiency in the useof novel materials or technology. Overallhowever, India needs more and betterintegration of its range of firms from theSMEs to multi-nationals and so needs tobetter understand risk – a concept thatinvolves politics as well as inter-personalpsychology.

These points were more broadly discussedthrough an acknowledgment that Indianfirms too often sent too low a staff levelinto an overseas appointment.This evolvedto the idea that Indian family firms oftenbecame involved in family-member in-fighting leading to a loss of financing and anerosion of its knowledge base. In additionthe family firms attempt to undertakeoverseas activity without the involvementof foreign capital (and the consequentaddition of oversight).Thus, when overseas,these low level managers - without fullknowledge of local mores - cannot fall-backon a Mr Fix-it that might be an acceptablethough corrupt action in India.

Curiously it was noted that the IndianReserve Bank is perhaps the best regulatedglobally (though there was some hint that itwas conservative like a small business so

Rekha Sethi,Director General,All India Management Association,India, with Frank-Jürgen Richter

Charles Moore, Executive Director, Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy,USA,moderating the session on sustainability

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had not become embroiled in the globalmess of 2007 onwards).As Indian firmsprogressed in the global market andbecome managed by Boards of Directors,PaulTurner reminded us of the Korn/FerryInstitute publication ‘Calculated risk?Theview from the boardroom‘ in which itsauthors were strongly of the opinion thatBoards must become much more sophisti-cated and indeed seen as more directing oftheir firms, suggesting that ‘… the principalopportunities are for developing a boardthat is deliberate and discerning on riskissues’. Its recommendations, includingdebating the boundaries of oversight,guarding against group-think, getting a realunderstanding of risk culture, and managingboard renewal, should resonate with boardsand, indeed, executive leadership teams inthe United States, United Kingdom, andcontinental Europe.

The Opening Plenary from 09:00 to 10:00was focused on India andWorld EconomicOutlook noted that the global economicoutlook for 2011 remains uncertain despiteIndia’s continued economic success.Whatare the near- and long-term perspectives inthis challenging environment? How willIndia ensure inclusive growth? Briefly,Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, Indiaagreed there was a long term continuedgrowth which would continue in the shortterm but there was a need to decouple thedeveloping economy from westernmodelling that might lead to new forms ofgrowth.Harsh C Mariwala, Chairman,Marico, India was concerned that Indiaaddresses many needed reforms quickly as

there ware rapid changes occurring inChina (rapid rise in wages bills) and someinstability in the US (where growth is notpresently assured).These reforms concerninvestment opportunities and in overallgovernance measures. Carla Cico, ChiefExecutive Officer, Rivoli, Italy echoed thesewishes stating she looked for opportunity toengage with a ‘level playing field’ withrespect to transparency and to corruptpractices that favour the Indian firm.Yet allwas not well in Europe as the EU operateswith a ‘new roof over the top’ and itimposes new regulations – we must insteadallow entrepreneurs to create wealth and tore-invest this in society in ways in which BigGovernment cannot do. Sunil Godhwani,Chairman and Managing Director, ReligareEnterprises, India demanded that financialregulators themselves need to be regulatedand in India, having a demographicadvantage we need to reduce the hoursworked coping with inadequateinfrastructures.There must be some bettermovement to a consumer society but thereare many schisms in the developingeconomy with many poorly understoodrisks. Rajive Kaul, Chairman, NiccoGroup, India however was optimistic. Hepointed out that India took 60 years after itsindependence to become a one trilliondollar economy, but needed only a furtherfive year (by 2012) to reach its secondtrillion.Yet with 40% of the populationaged below 24 the economy needs jobs; itneeds to increase its share of global tradeand to do this requires much more

‘India took 60 years after itsindependence to become a one trilliondollar economy,but needed only afurther five year to reach its secondtrillion’Rajive Kaul, Chairman,Nicco Group, India

CP Gurnani, Chief Executive Officer,Mahindra Satyam, India,one of the meeting co-chairs

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investment in all types of infrastructure.This will rapidly increase the numbers of‘middle class’ who will further acceleratethe economy through its savings and isspending.

Frank-Jürgen Richter, Chairman, Horasisasked his panel to reconsider the stepsneeded for India and Europe to continuegrowing. Rahul Bajaj found some contra-diction in the benefits of a governmentbeing ‘hands off’ or ‘Small’ – but noted thatuntil recently the US had a too-relaxedregulatory system creating a financial mess.Thus in India it needs to quickly sort outnew regulations that both enable and offerguidance and ultimately, control.The EU onthe other hand needs to sort out its present

issues to allow a longer term view to prevailthrough stability. Sunil Godhwani hopedthat India would not retrench into its oldform of conservatism, that the EU wouldbecome more stable and that the US wouldquit oscillating its regularity system. If allcould achieve better harmony growthwould ensue. Harsh C Mariwala consideredthat the government is hampered by beingtoo democratic, thus slow in action.Atpresent it is dysfunctional and it ought toreform to open-up the business climate.Oddly he noted that the rural activity wasadvancing ahead of the urban, but across allthe economy inflation was too high. CarlaCico suggested the government must lookto the needs of its people but that thisaction may be in conflict with the conceptof Small Government while also acting toenlarge all its infrastructures.

After our contact break and coffee it wastime to enter the Boardroom Discussions –herein there were four sessions: ManagingInvestments in India; Modernizing India’Infrastructure; India’s Next Generation ofTechnology Pioneers and InnovatingAgriculture. I was to chair the second topic.I exerted Chair’s privilege and set my viewof ‘modernising infrastructure’ before

‘Risk in India is often carried by theprivate sector,while in the EU it is thegovernment that supports risk as a lastresort’Francesco Passerin,General Manager, Finmeccanica,Italy

Stanley Jegede, Chief Executive Officer,Phase3Telecom,Nigeria

Rajeev Mantri, Executive Director,NavamCapital, India

Christos Alexakis, Chief Exective Officer, Invest in Greece, Greece;in discussion with Poonam Kumar, Chairperson,Mega Ace, India

... business sentiment rebounds - India upbeat

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opening up the panel discussion on ‘Thestatus of India’s infrastructure such as roads,airports, railway network etc is improving,driven by major investments efforts by thegovernment.What public-private partner-ship models for delivery of infrastructureare available?’

I reminded the audience of the concept ofinfrastructure being a pipeline with its owndelivery schedules having its own resourceneeds, before moving onto discuss transportinfrastructure and its dependence on oil as afuel and lubricant. On oil supplies specificallyI pointed out that the International EnergyAgency (IEA) in its 2010 Global EnergyReport had agreed that we had passed the‘oil peak’ in 2006. In other words we hadused half of all traditional oil and hereafteroil will be more difficult to extract and itscost will rise. Nevertheless in the samegraphic illustrating their expectations up to2035, they predicted a reasonably abundantoil supply based on a slight increase in bio-and non-conventional supplies (like oilshale/sands) but the bulk of the new supplywould be achieved (50/50) from fieldsdiscovered but not yet exploited, and fromfields not yet discovered. I drew attentionto an earlier session on ‘managing risks’ in

which we noted that there was quantifiablerisk (probability times value) and an un-quantifiable risk (nothing known of thesubject). How then can the IEA justify afuture continuance of oil supply based onpalpable guesswork?As far as I was concernedwe ought to plan on a future whereby in2035 tradition oil supply would be pumpedat 66% less volume than presently.

The panellists opened discussion byfocusing on the nature of private and publicpartnerships with Francesco Passerin,General Manager, Finmeccanica, Italy statedthat risk in India is often carried by theprivate sector, while in the EU it is thegovernment that supports risk as a lastresort. In India this PPP results in

Networking break

Mahendra Kothari,Managing Director,OneMindTechnologies, Belgium

KotaroTamura, Parliamentary Secretaryin the Cabinet Office of Economic andFiscal Policy (ret.), Japan

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disconnected infrastructures since unprofi-table or difficult to construct sectors arenot broached.There needs to be a littlemore regulation or oversight in India.Anhad Narula, Director, DSC Limited,India said that DSC was a full spectrumsupplier of solutions and some of theircontracts had been successfully re-financed.Even so, as there is no mature bond marketsuch re-financing is not easy and many goodsolutions falter from a lack of financialcontinuance and so many PPP tend to theshort-term which is not in accord with thelong planned life-cycle of infrastructureprojects. Even so, Narula thought themarket was maturing. LuisaTodini,President,Todini Costruzioni Generali, Italystated that although there were the thirdlargest Italian construction firm with two-thirds of its turnover overseas it is not yet inIndia. She found that new entry firms inIndia were expected to work only as a sub-contractor which precluded her firms’expertise being utilized fully – yet anaudience rejoinder suggested that newentrants must be proven first.Thus wecame again to the nub of Indian methods –aspects of conservatism, of timidity, and ofwishing to ‘go it alone’ without outsideinterference. She concurred that as thenumbers of PPPs were growing rapidly thenshe may have to bow to the local Indianpressure and commit to be ’small’ at first.And she was accepting that to enter Indiathe outside contractor must bring an

appropriate ‘price point’ to the table, nota value perceived by Indians as grosslyinflated from the western world.MeirWietchner, Chief Executive Officer, Miya,Israel had a different view to expound,namely water security. He said there was aglobal abundance of water, and though onlya tiny fraction was available for humanconsumption, and with good managementthere was sufficient for all.The problem inIndia was again a lack of good projectmanagement and good understanding of theneeded solutions – and essentially in Indiabetter regulation ought to lead to effectivePPPs yielding efficient water management.Mahesh P Gandhi, Chief ExecutiveOfficer,AFII Corporate Advisors, Indiaoperates a multi-advisory role across law,banking and investment sectors. He notedthere was in many cases a ‘last mile’problem and a widespread acceptance ofsupply theft of services (water andelectricity especially).Thus for PPPs towork well somehow the contractors needto persuade those presently profiting fromfree supplies need to pay to guaranteeservice. Of course this also highlights adeeper issue – in macro terms there maynot be enough bulk supply for all the beguaranteed secure supply, and in the case ofelectricity there are too often ‘brown outs’as systems fail to cope with demand.Againthere is a lack of interconnection betweengovernment and its relationship to serviceand the PPPs realisation of supply; there

Minister Plenipotentiary Massimo Roscigno, Italy- we must make globalization more responsive toissues such as poverty and health

Jitesh Gadhia, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone,United Kingdom; Sudhir Jalan, Chairman, JalanGroup, India - what challenges are facing global investors?

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seems to be a lack of dialogue. Ghandinoted that small segments were beingturned into more effective demand/supplysystems, but that refinancing, credit ratingsand a low effective tax rate hampers Indianprogress.As the government is committedto being ’small’ and not collecting highlevels of tax income it is not able to directlyfinance needed projects. Carla Cico, ChiefExecutive Officer, Rivoli, Italy as anotherItalian constructor operating in manyoverseas territories said she could not beexpected to act as a charity: there needs tobe a higher return to attract inwardinvestors, and there is a great need thatregulations have to be simplified and manyannulled.Man Mohan Bhagat, Chairman,

Bhagat Group, India is naturally adept inmanaging Indian development and hepresented to us early warning of a meetingin New Delhi in January 2012 focusedon stimulating ethically sustainabledevelopment. In the background ismanagement by ASSOCHAM a groupestablished in India in 1920 to influencegovernment with respect to trade andbusiness enhancements. But, maybe, it hasuntil recently been too accepting of theIndia love of discussion and democraticprocesses that coupled with the ‘smallgovernment concept’ assures us of a lack ofpalpable progress across all India.

Participants listening to the welcoming words

Massimo de Falco,Managing Partner,Defcon,Italy, talking to the media

Chandrakant Salunkhe, President, IndiaInternationalTrade Centre, India

Sudhipak Chirathivat, Chief Executive Officer,Central Pattana,Thailand

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After lunch we convened in plenary sessionto consider Rethinking India’sTrade andInvestments.‘As the global importanceof the Indian economy increases, neweconomic alliances between India and othernations will evolve.What are the prospectsfor India’s global trade and investments andwhat is the impact on business?’ TiduMaini, Executive Chairman, Qatar Science&Technology Park, Qatar was quiteoptimistic in general about India, yet notedthat its R&D was remarkably small relativeto its size: it also had a low PhD count.Asit is globally competitive in the IT sector,especially services it ought to look to ‘theCloud’ and to the further mobility oftechnology. Lord Karan Bilimoria,Chairman, Cobra Beer Partnership, UnitedKingdom reminded us that ‘India is an ideawhose time has come’ was from a quote ofthe Prime Minister Manmohan Singh whotransliteratedVictor Hugo ‘No power onearth can stop an idea whose time hascome’ during his speech in parliamentwhile presenting the budget in 1994-95.

In contrast to some of the delegates andpanellists who talked down Indians as

conservative, Praveen P Kadle, ChiefExecutive Officer,Tata Capital, Indiasuggested thatTata was sometimes bold. Itsglobalization is about getting access tomarket, so with the ensuing economies ofscale the product lines can be bettermanaged.A further aspect that aids itsdevelopment is their attempt to continuewith the original management as far as it ispossible.Deepak Puri, Chairman &Managing Director, Moser Baer, India.Asits name suggests Moser Baer was once aSwiss firm, though it was incorporated inIndia in 1983 also with a Japanese partner.Now it is a globally respected name inoptical storage media and PV systems withhuge daily outputs equivalent to 40 FEU(forty-foot equivalent containers).To dothis says Puri requires deep knowledge ofcore competences and a clear businessmission that embraces staff, suppliers andcustomers. CP Gurnani, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Mahindra Satyam, India, said theirfirm now globalised across 35 countrieswith some 30,000 employees must strivefor the achievement of excellence fromtalented people and indeed be globallyaware.This extra dimension may be lackingin some of the Indian workforce so hampertheir growth and contribute to theperception of their being ‘conservative’.Further, Indians talk too much while theapparent competitor, China, is promoted byits government forces.Mohan Kaul,Director-General, Commonwealth BusinessCouncil, United Kingdom spoke from abreadth of knowledge from his Common-wealth connections from which hesuggested that India is well placed to investin Africa and in the EU or even Australia.And while London is the preferred place foran initial listing the India regulations needto be more open to allow reciprocation andso permit inwards technical and managerialtransfer. In fact it is expected that India andthe EU will soon sign a free trade agree-ment to break many barriers to trade.

Hartmut Schwesinger,Managing Director, FrankfurtRheinMain,Germany, hosting the technology panel

‘Tata is bold in shaping globalization’Praveen P Kadle, Chief Executive Officer,TataCapital, India

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Generally the session concluded that lessregulation and more openness will increaseIndian vigour and prospects.

We moved from this plenary to a choice offour more Boardroom Dialogue sessions:Strategies for Success Overseas; Capitalizingon Renewable Energy; Leadership inTurbulentTimes; and Made in India.Again Ichose the second topic – Renewables –which was chaired byMike Rosenberg,Assistant Professor, IESE Business School,Spain who directed his panel to discuss ‘Tosustain the current economic growth overthe next years, India’s power generationcapacity will have to substantially increase.What partnerships are needed to stimulatea new wave of low-carbon growth?’

First to speak was Dorian Bishop, ChiefExecutive Officer, BV Capital Group,Andorra who stated that as Andorra was asmall land-locked country they had topromote several efficiencies which involvedgovernment, PPPs and the ‘teaching ofawareness’ to end-users. Unfortunately

these aims were not constant or consistentover time so the resulting take-up ofrenewables became a jumble of initiatives:yet this is not only the case in Andorra, butis commonplace in most developed nations.Sergey L. Demin, Chief Executive Officer,Snegiri, Russia confirmed that Russia alsohad the same problems where 80% of thepopulation needed easy-to-use energysaving in which ‘passive savings’ could beachieved via R&D. He gave as an examplethe pasteurisation of milk. Usuallypasteurization requires the heating of themilk and as Russia consumes 30 milliontonnes (where each ton needs 15 kWh ofenergy) but a new process of UV irradiation(using only 1.7 kWh/ton) saves muchenergy – that is an unseen (by the public)process. Furthermore, the UV does notdamage the vitamins in the milk. SatishBatra, Chairman, Horizon Group,Germany was concerned that small villagescould benefit from high-tech approachesand thus become connected to the world –so gain relevant data for its agricultural orother needs including education (we oughtto note here Barefoot College which wasestablished in 1972 as a non-governmentIndian organisation that has been providingbasic services and solutions to problems inrural communities, with the objective ofmaking them self-sufficient andsustainable). Y S Chowdary, Chairman,Sujana Group, India reiterated that it wasdifficult to do business in India as there arenational plans and local theft (for instance20 – 25% transmission losses of water orelectricity supply are commonplace) – butto request these users of a ‘free’ commodityought to pay is a difficult task.

Several discussions ensued at this stageupon the different regulations in eachIndian State or Province which reducedoverall efficiency of any provider.And thatoften there were too few incentives tointroduce new technology, for instance PV

Arriving at the Royal Palace

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systems – which could easily be attachedto the millions of water pumps across India.In terms of competition the Indian govern-ment too often uses a reverse biddingstructure to drive down costs, but this mayalso drive away overseas investors and stopknowledge transfer, whereas the Chinesegovernment in many cases offersguarantees.

The final four Boardroom Dialogue sessionsof the day after a brief contact break wereLeading Change through Entrepreneurship;Financial Services:The view from India;Innovation: Driving India’s Future; andEducation: Spearheading the Future. I choseto observe the ‘Education’ session chairedby Sharon Bamford, Chief ExecutiveOfficer,The Association of MBAs, United

Kingdom who asked her panel members toconsider ‘Education systems in India and theworld are being made ready for the nextwave of economic growth. In what areascan governments, academia and the privatesector collaborate to deliver the nextgeneration of business leaders?’

Rajeeb Dey, Founder and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Enternships.com, United Kingdomgave enthusiastic support for entrepreneur-ship that is, he and others in the meetingsuggested, in-built in most Indians. Further,the ‘demographic dividend’ of India with itsyoung population could lead to a ‘just do it’activity – but crucially Indian needs to betaught to be creative and not just befantastically good technicians.Too oftenthey may be brilliant with an Excel sheet

Naeem Ghauri, Chief Executive Officer,NetSol,USA

Enrico Marinelli,Member of the Board,Frette, Italy

Gunjan Sinha, Chairman,MetricStream,USA andYatindra R Sharma, Joint Managing Director, KHS, India

Delegates sharing a light moment

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but have no feelings for its data. ShirlayneQuayle, Director, University of Utah, USAwas concerned that young people need tobe mentored to see how the world outsideof college or university operated, evenexisting staff could be mentored withbenefit especially if deep access could becreated between the academic andpracticing managers. ShumanGhosemajumder, Founding BoardMember,TeachAids, USA told us how theiruse of ‘games’ could divert attention froman open discussion of taboo subjects – sex,Aids, HIV – and create a subtle educationexperience that transferred knowledge tosocieties where these taboos lead to thepromotion of disease. However, smartIndians now find it difficult to get into theUS because of visa restrictions.This is acommon problem in many nations wheretheir Ministers seem to think thatimmigration is a negative factor – whereason balance it has a strong positive effect.The locally educated who leave the ‘village’often send back remittances boosting theirfamily economy, causing many others thinkit is smart to be educated so the localknowledge base is benefited while the hostnation also benefits from new insights.Often returnees bring back ideas and start-up new local ventures. Isabel Jiménez,President, SLS International, Spain was

concerned that cross-cultural issueshampered many ventures in India - whatmay be of benefit is a scheme like the EUErasmus programme that allows manystudents (and staff) to visit other EUcountries. In India exchanges betweenProvinces could smooth out many instancesof strongly held negative beliefs.

Parag Amin, President and Partner,Radiqal, USA was positive about the powerof PC ‘games’ but finds that Indianuniversities are hampered by slow-t-changeregulations, especially regulationsconcerning accreditation. He gave anexample of teaching old-fashionedprocedural computer languages when themodern software demands knowledge ofobject oriented software – why not becomeaccredited under an umbrella like‘comparative programming languagesystems’ and so avoid over precision. He

‘Although we are the third largestItalian construction firm with two-thirds of its turnover overseas we arenot yet in India. New entry firms inIndia are expected to work only as asub-contractor which precludes ourfirms’ expertise being utilized fully’LuisaTodini, President,Todini Costruzioni Generali,Italy

Participants arrive for the opening reception

hoped that the Indian government wouldrelax rules forbidding overseas universitiesfrom operating in India, noting that severalmajor US universities having already aportfolio of overseas operation are lookingto India as their next opportunity. LouMarinoff, Professor of Philosophy,TheCity College of NewYork, USA stated hisprofessional stance was to ‘challenge’ asking‘if big government was good or bad’ and‘why US schools were not feeding the USuniversities with well-educated students’.He thought other nations had to look hardat their educational infrastructures and atthe intangibles connected with education,and India was no exception. Gurjit SinghLalli, Chief Executive Officer, Power ofYouth, United Kingdom pointed out thatIndia has a sever skills gap, many were verypoorly educated with poor literacy whilesome (in big numbers as UK readers maysay) are educated to the highest levels in theInstitutes ofTechnology on well certifiedcourses.Again the need for national reformwas evident and clarity is needed upon whomight be responsible for the delivery of‘new education’ – the government ofprivate ventures. However the private oroverseas educators may not enter thismarket yet.

The audience noted that it would bebeneficial if Indian educators deliveredcourse on ‘ethics’ – though I wonder whatthe correlation might be with such delivery(by country) and the CorruptionPerception Index offered byTransparencyInternational? It was also noted that therewere many disenfranchised youths in Indiawho may be the kindling for revolution, orat least internecine clashes between ethnicsections, and that (as in China or the GulfStates) the military may intervene tosuppress them with the inevitablebloodshed: quite the wrong reaction wasthe reply. But, until education reforms takeplace and this pipeline begins to deliver wewill see more and more of these youths. Itis a dangerous situation that could bemitigated by industrial leaders giving morein philanthropic ventures to bring togetherwell respected leaders and these youths inmentoring and possibly developing a newentrepreneurship system akin to the micro-financing revolution.

‘Indians talk too much while theapparent competitor, China, ispromoted by its government forces’CP Gurnani, Chief Executive Officer,MahindraSatyam, India

Opening plenary - focusing on identifying the key factors that will shape India’s economy over the next 6 to 12 months

35

Rounding off the day we returned to theclosing plenary sessionThe Road toInclusive Globalization - a conversation onwhat is needed to lead India on the roadtowards inclusive globalization.’ SubodhBhargava, Chairman,TataCommunications, India talked of the needfor inclusive globalisation where the twoparties – insider/outsider – were bothrequired to be somewhat sophisticated andwise in cross-culture management. It is tooeasy to close borders when governmentsare in dispute, but it is not the best wayforward as sovereign power comes frombeing inclusive. One is reminded of the pleaforWorld 3.0 – a world where integrationand regulation are complementary allowingwider technological, cultural and socialbenefits.While the agricultural sector hasbeen doing well recently its players are notrecognised as entrepreneurs and the landreform legal process is in a mess.Thegovernment at national and regional levelneed to become decisive, but first need tofully recognise the problems. Efrat Peled,Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,Arison Investments, Israel accepted herviews on globalisation had changed over theyears, but now recognises that being ethicaland working firmly this way is the best wayforward to create a sustainable firm – it is astate of mind looking to support basic needsof humanity. She recalled the first PrimeMinster accepted that India had poorresources and needed to be creative – yetnow it still looses 35% of food stocksbetween farm & fork so requires creativityacross the board to remove this loss: iemodify regulations, simplify infrastructureand educate its population.DineshDhamija, Founder, ebookers.com, UnitedKingdom said he was pleased by India’s

progression to today having been left in adire mess by the British at the time ofindependence in 1947, especially as earlierIndia was rich and diversified. One musthowever look at statistics with eyes wideopen – for instance the EU is not so veryweak financially as many US states ortowns, yet he is not 100% convinced thatthe Indian Reserve bank was so strongbefore the recent financial crisis – more likesimply conservative and slow to react.Andthat conservatism is also reflected in thelow numbers of indigenous Indian Nobelprizes, when other Indian persons achievehigh honours outside India when exposed tocritique and thoughtful creativity. Evenwith its present and historic unrest India hasnever been in a state of revolution once itwas in control of its own destiny andrunning its form of democracy.Hans GEkdahl, Managing Director, Neilsoft, Indiafocused on education and cross-culturaldifferences contrasting the Nordic Modelwith Indian achievements – there is theneed to be able to communicate and lead,not just be technically able.And while theIndian PhD numbers ought to be increased(by good research…) the PhD owner mustalso accept to ‘get his/her hands dirty’ astoo many did not wish to study the grassroots of their enterprises to createbetterment.This is manifest in a form ofarrogant management wherein they maynot fully empower staff.

The meeting brought the region of Campania to the global attention and opened the regions attractionfor trade and investment from India

Anand Ramkisoensing, ChiefExecutive Officer, InCar Group,Suriname

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Several themes re-occurred in thediscussions in panels, over coffee and alongthe corridors.These concerned allinfrastructures, or pipelines of delivery,which were sometimes working well,sometimes quite new but almost alwaysdisconnected one from the other.This factcoupled with the Indian propensity to bediscursive and indecisive leads to a malaiseof a form that can be recognised as ‘Indian’.However, there was also some resistanceexpressed against importing overseasmethods or models as these may not fully, ifat all, accommodate the distinct Indianheritage, the Indian way of working and itscomplexity.There was a hint of a furtherunderlying malaise due to the slowing downof government both big and small, a lack ofurgency, perhaps an unwillingness to graspthe global wish for greater transparency andbetter governance.This might manifestitself in India as reluctance to re-alignregulations and to connect allinfrastructures so they would effectivelydeliver their pipeline resources. Regulatorychanges would benefit all, but would alsocause short-term distress across a landdisplaying a huge diversity of education andliteracy, and in one well-known for itstalkative democracy.

India is a large land with a long history andcarries many indigenous discoveries. Butnow its government has to cope with manynational languages, religions and social

categorisations as well as border disputes onall fronts. It is vibrant in its way, yet slowand conservative. It would welcome outsidesupport provided such support was on itsterms, both with respect to the ‘pricepoint’ and more so with respect to itscultural fit.

The delegates were all open, full of goodhumour and yet quite sharp.After all mostwere leading members of that elite club ofglobal managers who knew intimately thechasm existing between their internal (inIndia) and external operations (sometimesin many overseas countries) – they spokeeloquently and authoritatively of desirablechanges required in India, but without theneed to be revolutionary: it is not their way.

‘Being ethical is the best way forwardto create a sustainable firm – it is astate of mind looking to support basicneeds of humanity’Efrat Peled, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,Arison Investments, Israel

Overlooking the historic center of Naples

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India’sSustainableFutureBy Roddy Gow, Chief Executive,AsiaHouse,United Kingdom

Is India a laboratory for converting rapideconomic growth into a broader form ofmore sustainable development that canreverse income disparities, or will Indiasquander gains from globalisation?What arethe key issues?They are energy, food, water,sanitation, public health, education andurbanization.

Government alone cannot solve theseissues. Sustainability must be a joint effortby the private sector joining with govern-ment and NGO’s to set the agenda andmutually support the implementation of afocused plan. In India where corruption inthe public and private sectors remains a keydrag on growth, how long will the Indianpeople put up with a system that is wastingprecious time. Is the tide beginning to turn?According toHari S. Bhartia, Co-Chairman& Managing Director, Jubilant Organosys,India:‘The public is demanding bettergovernance and is beginning to get it.’

China has effectively implemented what isbeing called 'State Capitalism' by decidingthe outcome first and playing it backwards,the way they want it. Can India competewith China if India’s government does notadapt and effectively support the privatesector?

At independence in 1947, India’s populationwas 300 million and has since grown to 1.3billion.Today, sixty percent of India’spopulation is under the age of 25 years old.Adding to this is the challenging figure that400 million people or nearly one third ofthe population of India is consideredilliterate. Will these young people face afuture of opportunities given the fact thattoday we know the agenda of challengesthat must be resolved - or will they face afuture of double jeopardy due togovernment and the private sector noteffectively joining together?

Educating, training and employing this vastpool of undeveloped talent is one of thegreat challenges of the next ten years.What are the consequences of notmobilizing this effort? The Arab Spring wasless to do with democratic Rights than toRights to Resources.And what of womenwho make up nearly 50% of the population?The fastest way to transform society is toeducate and empower women as theyeducate their children and transform theircommunities. Education at all levels is the

‘The ambitious agenda for health carein India presents great opportunitiesfor the private sector and jeopardy forgovernment if they do not set theagenda and promote a workable plan’Roddy Gow, Chief Executive,Asia House,UnitedKingdom

Roddy Gow, Chief Executive,Asia House,United Kingdom

During the welcome dinner

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highest priority.‘It must be opened up andmade available at every level,’ according toAjit Gulabchand, Chairman, HindustanConstruction Company, India.

India’s government must set a priority ofwhere clean water will come from andensure that a public/private partnershipwill usher in 21st century watertechnology. We have all heard the bleakprediction that in the future wars will befought over water. For India the future ishere; its most contentious neighbour,Pakistan, is now one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. Some areusing the shortage of clean water as anotherreason for violence against India. An articlewhich appeared in the March 7th 2010

issue ofTheTimes of India, offers thequote:‘India ImposedWar on Pakistan byConstructing Illegal Dams.’

The ambitious agenda for health care inIndia presents great opportunities for theprivate sector and jeopardy for governmentif they do not set the agenda and promote aworkable plan.

Commercial enterprise in India has theenviable opportunity to leap frog 20thcentury technology and move straight to21st century zero carbon technology. Willthe Indian government encourage andreward the private sector for their effort?The transition to a global green economyrepresents the single largest opportunity foreconomic growth in generations and, at thesame time, offers a solution to energysecurity, climate change and job creation.Governments and businesses are starting totake action, including setting targets forenergy efficiency or use of renewables, butseveral challenges must be overcome.Theyinclude ensuring a level pricing field forgreen technologies, and how to ‘green'behaviour.A key factor will also be greeninvestment and low-carbon innovation inthe emerging economies: much of it led byChina. Will India catch up?

Indian CEOs blending with political and economic leaders from Italy and the world

Plenary on Rethinking India’sTrade and Investments

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India Has BigScope for ForeignBanksBy GulfTimes, 28 June 2011

Doha Bank Group CEO, R Seetharaman,addressed a meeting of global Indianbusiness community in Naples, Italy,recently. More than 300 global industrialleaders participated in the programme,which was held under the theme‘Globalising Indian firms’. Seetharamanparticipated in the panel discussion on‘Financial services - the view from India’.The banker said the Indian economy, whichgrew at 7.8% in Q1, 2011 is expected togrow between 8-9% this year.This monththe Reserve Bank of India raised interestrates on account of higher inflation, whichhas currently exceeded 9%. In theNovember 2010 G20 meeting, anagreement was reached wherein India willbe one of the 10 largest members in IMF.Indian rupee has got a new unique symbol

in 2010. UN estimates India wouldcontribute a quarter of addition to world’sworkforce over next 10 years.

Seetharaman gave his view on regulationsfor presence of foreign banks in India. Hesaid the budget of 2011-12 has plans to givebank licences to new players. Rabbo Bankhas received banking licence in April 2011,Industrial and Commercial Bank of China(ICBC) was recently granted a businesslicence for branch in India in May 2011.Major MNC banks and Indian players arealso considering full-fledged bankingoperations in India.

According to PwC, banking assets ofemerging nations are likely to overtake thatof G7 economies by the year 2050, withIndia likely to emerge as the third largest

Man Mohan Bhagat, Chairman, Bhagat Group, India; Santosh B.Nayar,Deputy Managing Director, State Bank of India;R. Seetharaman, Chief Executive Officer,Doha Bank Group,Qatar;Utpal Sheth, Chief Executive, Rare Enterprises, India

‘The long-term fundamentals of Indianeconomy are sound,which encouragesboth institutional and retail investorsto enter the Indian capital marketthrough various routes’R Seetharaman, Chief Executive Officer,Doha BankGroup,Qatar

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domestic banking market in the world inthe next three decades.With an encouragingregulatory framework in a growingeconomy global and Indian players shouldstrive to obtain new licences and alsoexpand on new products in the comingyears.

Seetharaman gave his outlook on productsand services for foreign banks seekingpresence in India.‘India is a huge andgrowing economy, hence it gives amplescope for foreign banks across varioussegments. Industrial growth is expected toexpand in the coming years. Indian tradewith other foreign countries shows anupward trend. Sectors such as infrastruc-ture have immense scope. Hence there ispotential for both funded and non-fundedfacilities in India.’

However, the Doha Bank Group CEO said,the challenge is to determine pricing ofproducts based on inflation trends.‘Indiahas a rising middle class population andwith developments in global retailing, thepotential for retail products are immense.Indian retail customers are more tech savvyand constant innovation is needed tounderstand their needs. Due to rising

foreign trade innovative treasury and forexproducts can be introduced to addresscustomer needs. Derivatives and structuredproducts can also be designed to suitcustomer needs.’

Seetharaman spoke about foreign banks thatare seeking opportunities in Indian financialmarkets.‘The long-term fundamentals ofIndian economy are sound, whichencourages both institutional and retailinvestors to enter the Indian capital marketthrough various routes.The current budgetalso encourages Foreign InstitutionalInvestors (FIIs) to invest in mutual fundschemes and will lead to lot moreintegration of markets.’

‘Foreign investment also receivedencouragement with the recent budgetincreasing FII limit in corporateinfrastructure bonds by $20bn to $40bn.Private banking/wealth managementsolutions have good potential in India.’

Closing plenary - the road to inclusive globalization

Indian business leaders leaving for Capri

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