 "BS Manthan: From Viksit Bharat by 2047 to AI, Here's what happened on Day 1")
At the Business Standard annual summit, Manthan, union ministers, and top industry executives came together to share their ideas and observations on India's current goings and upcoming potentials and challenges. Helmed by Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the event, held at Bharat Mandapam, shed light on India's economy, technology, sports, etc and gave a peek into the roadmap for the country's ambition to become a developed nation by 2047. Here's a look at how the event unfolded throughout the day:
FM Sitharaman says tariffs not a permanent stance of the Centre
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the imposition of tariffs is not the government's permanent stance and that calibrations are being made on the policy. She also said that the increase of tariffs does help the industry grow within the country, and the decisions on these are driven by the fact that the Centre thinks India cannot afford to have cheap imports coming in.
"But if your production is not of a certain quality, or cost competitive, obviously you'd have to face the music and artificial protection creating efficiencies can be supported and we are conscious of them," she said in a fireside chat with AK Bhattacharya, editorial director at Business Standard.
She added that the Centre is closely monitoring the valuation of public sector companies and is working on improving it before their listing.
Further, she said that it cannot be only the central government's responsibility to have a better system of functioning, governance and ease of doing business. State governments and the urban local bodies also have a "big role to play" she said.
Maintaining credibility vital to brand equity: TN Ninan, Akila Urankar
In a candid discussion with A K Bhattacharya, editorial director of Business Standard, TN Ninan, former editor & chairman, and Akila Urankar, director of Business Standard, said that staying true to benchmarks of quality and integrity and maintaining credibility is vital to ensuring that media house's brand equity holds up.
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As Business Standard enters its 50th year on March 27, 2024, Ninan and Urankar reflected on the remarkable journey of the publication, delving into the challenges, triumphs, and future aspirations of the business newspaper during the Business Standard Manthan, the annual thought leadership summit.
Looking towards the future, Ninan and Urankar spoke on the importance of embracing technology and innovation to stay ahead in an ever-evolving media landscape.
"As Indians, we should be proud of our progress over the last 49 years," Ninan stated. "But to thrive in the next 50 years, we must adapt to technological advancements and maintain our commitment to quality and integrity."
Here's what experts said on AI's impact on India's future
Irina Ghose, managing director (MD) of Microsoft India, highlighted Artificial Intelligence's potential to contribute a staggering 400-500 billion to India's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025. Ghose revealed that 70 per cent of organisations are already at advanced stages of AI adoption, with a remarkable return on investment (ROI) of 3.5X for every dollar spent.
Amith Singhee, research head of IBM India, underscored the shift in technology innovation from closed industrial labs to open collaboration. Singhee further emphasised the need for consumers to develop in-house technological expertise to navigate the rapidly evolving tech landscape effectively.
Ravi Jain, head of strategy at Krutrim, expressed a vision to make AI accessible to every Indian and outlined a commitment to democratising AI tools. Ankur Puri, Partner at McKinsey, echoed the sentiment, stressing that AI offers meaningful opportunities across all sectors, driving positive deployment.
Balaraman Ravindran, head of AI at IIT Madras, provided a nuanced perspective, highlighting AI's role in addressing India's shortage of skilled workers in key sectors. However, he noted that the current cost of advanced AI systems poses a barrier to widespread adoption in India.
Education, health key for Viksit Bharat plan, says Rohit Lamba
India must bolster its education and health care systems to become a developed country by 2047, said economist Rohit Lamba on Wednesday, calling for sustainable growth that is not K-shaped.
"We just need to get our basic primary and secondary education right. We are reasonably far away from being able to produce a fit, healthy and able workforce that will allow us to become Viksit Bharat by 2047. In our development path today, the biggest binding constraint is the human capital of our demographic dividend. Currently, this focus is massively missing," Lamba, an assistant professor of economics at Penn State University, said at the Business Standard Manthan 2024 in New Delhi.
Catch them young: Schools should play key role in cultivating talent, says Anju Bobby George
Sportspersons are slowly attaining the status of heroes in India, and people are now warming up to non-cricket sports too, former long-jumper and Khel Ratna awardee Anju Bobby George said at the annual Business Standard summit, Business Manthan, today.
She was part of a panel discussion, which also included Arjuna award winner Abhishek Verma, and CEO of Jamshedpur football club Mukul Choudhari. Together they discussed a host of possibilities and challenges that Indian sports face in the run-up to the 2036 Olympic games.
Choudhari, while answering the question of whether India can see a Tata athletics league like the Tata IPL, said that they are not supporting any individual sport. "I am chasing numbers. It's not only for cricket but for the numbers it generates," he said.
India will become a product nation in PM Modi's next term: Vaishnaw
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's next term, India would become a product nation, and many of these products will come from deep tech.
"Mark my words, India will become a product nation, and many products will come from deep tech sectors, which will affect every citizen's life," he said at the Business Standard Manthan in a fireside chat with Nivedita Mookerji, the newspaper's executive editor.
Vaishnaw added that regulations need to be imposed on social media platforms. He said that unlike in the 1990s when the internet was limited and there was no liability of the content provider, now its responsibility has to be taken by the platforms.
"And that is a global consensus which is forming among all the communication and digital ministers that I've met in the last two and a half years," he said.
Poor standard of living makes democracy difficult to maintain: Martin Wolf
Chief economics commentator at the Financial Times, London, Martin Wolf said the foundational principles of liberal democracy include individual civil rights, the rule of law, and respect for election outcomes. Addressing the decline in political freedom observed worldwide, Wolf raised questions about the future of liberal democracy. He noted the inclusion of the US and India in the list of countries experiencing a decline in political freedom, as identified by Freedom House.
Markets anticipate comfortable win for incumbent govt: Shankar Sharma
Speaking in a fireside chat, GQuant Investech founder Shankar Sharma said that the markets anticipate the current government's victory in the upcoming elections. "The key point to remember is that markets are not faithful bed followers. Markets don't care about who runs the country. Markets fell 10 per cent when UPA first came to power," he said.
"Right now, markets are anticipating a comfortable win for the govt in power. It's already baked in. Markers are an excellent pricing mechanism. The only surprising reaction could be on the negative side, not positive," he added.