Horasis convened the 2014 Global India Business Meeting on 22-23 June in Liverpool, United Kingdom, co-hosted by the City of Liverpool. This year’s Global India Business Meeting was part of the International Festival for Business, a series of global business events held in Liverpool to celebrate entrepreneurship and economic growth. The Global India Business Meeting emphasised the Festival’s focus on emerging markets with India at the core. Download the Report, and visit the photo gallery:
The Global India Business Meeting is the foremost annual of Indian business leaders and their global counterparts. The meeting gathered 250 senior decision makers from business and government. Informed by the outcomes of the national elections, the meeting engaged participants to provide a holistic and timely perspective on the future direction for India.
In his welcoming speech, N.K. Singh, Former Member of Parliament, Former Member of the Planning Commission, Former Secretary to the Prime Minister, India, announced that the Indian government will push for more economic reforms in the months ahead, including the easing of limits on foreign direct investment in various sectors. Addressing participants, Gregory Barker, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, United Kingdom, said that India holds great promise for economic engagement with the United Kingdom.
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| N.K. Singh, Former Secretary to the Prime Minister of India | Gregory Barker, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change |
Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, United Kingdom, reported that UK firms are the largest European investors in India and there is more Indian investment in the UK than the rest of the EU combined. Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, India, opined that now – with the optimism linked to the new government – economic growth is expected to come back to 8-10% within the next 3-5 years. Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament, Former Union Minister, India, told participants that while the economic turnaround won’t be quick, the ongoing reform process is reason to hope.
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| Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, India, co-chair of the Global India Business Meeting | Shashi Tharoor, Former Union Minister, India |
Awarded as Indian Business Leaders of the Year were Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman, NIIT; Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group; Deepak Premnarayen, Chairman, ICS Group; and Amit Sarin, Chief Executive Officer, Anant Raj Group.
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| Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group | Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman, NIIT, India |
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| Mac Maharaj, Spokesperson of the Government of South Africa | The Indian Business Leaders of the Year |
A special plenary panel focused on Mac Maharaj, Spokesperson of the Government of South Africa, and his unique contribution to world history. Mac Maharaj who was sent to Robben Island in 1964 after being convicted of sabotage, helped to negotiate South Africa’s transition to majority rule. ‘Change must always be accompanied by the crafting of a new vision,’ he said.
The co-chairs were:
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Nazir Alli, Chief Executive Officer, South African National Roads Agency, South Africa |
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Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, India |
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Subodh Bhargava, Chairman, Tata Communications, India |
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Lord Karan Bilimoria, Chairman, Cobra Beer Partnership, United Kingdom |
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Ashish Chauhan, Chief Executive Officer, Bombay Stock Exchange, India |
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Jochum Haakma, Director, TMF Group, The Netherlands |
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Mikael Hagström, President International, SAS, USA |
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Rajive Kaul, Chairman, Nicco Group, India |
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Naina Lal Kidwai, Immediate Past President, FICCI and Country Head, HSBC India, India |
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David Landsman, Director, Tata Limited, United Kingdom |
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Sunil Kant Munjal, Jt Managing Director, Hero MotoCorp, India |
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Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group, India |
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Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman, NIIT, India |
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Niraj Sharan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Aura, USA |
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Bhav Singh, President, Pearson English, United Kingdom |
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Gunjan Sinha, Chairman, MetricStream, USA |
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Jyotsna Suri, Senior Vice President, FICCI and Chairperson, Bharat Hotels, India |
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Harshbeena Zaveri, President, NRB Bearings, India |
With the Global India Business Meeting, Horasis offers business and government to discuss a wide range of issues related to the Indian economy. The location of the meeting rotates annually, and was held so far in Munich (2009), Madrid (2010), Naples (2011), Antwerp (2012) and Belfast (2013).
About Horasis (www.horasis.org):
Horasis as an independent international organization is committed to enacting visions for a sustainable future through the active participation of global business leaders in series of annual meetings. In addition to the Global India Business Meeting, Horasis holds meetings on China, Russia and the Arab world.
About the International Festival for Business (www.ifb2014.com):
The International Festival for Business is a 50-day business festival hosted in Liverpool during June-July 2014. It will be an ambitious global showcase for great British industry across multiple sectors, and will champion UK businesses to new markets, new products and new partners. Comprising over 100 world-class events, the festival is a key part of the UK government’s ambition to promote economic growth, rebalance the economy and double UK exports by 2020. Backed by UK government, IFB 2014 will cast a light on the spheres of commercial endeavour that are transforming the new economies and business landscapes of Britain and beyond. Key themes of the festival include: manufacturing, science & technology; maritime, logistics & energy; knowledge, professional & financial services; higher & further education & research; low carbon & renewables; cities, enterprise & urban business; knowledge, creative & digital.
We want to create 100 million skilled jobs. This is critical to meet the socio-economic needs of India’s youth
Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, India
We need more and better reforms to boost the economy, which has been hobbled by inflation as well as by fiscal and current account deficits
Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, India
The reform package has signalled a renewed intent by the administration to escape the policy deadlock in which it was languishing
Ashish Chauhan, Chief Executive Officer, Bombay Stock Exchange, India
With India’s economy at crossroads, what are the prospects for political and economic reforms? How do business leaders advance their corporate agenda in an environment of policy change?
Karan Thapar, President, infotainement Television, India
Structural reforms to bolster resilience to shocks are necessary to increase India’s competitiveness
S. D. Shibulal, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys, India
Of late the interest in Indian culture in general and in Bollywood in particular has become huge
Imtiaz Ali, Film Director and Writer, India
We are closely collaborating in our efforts to battle climate change. And we want to promote more widespread solar adoption to help displace fossil power generation and, in turn, limit greenhouse gas emissions that accelerate climate change
Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, India