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The annual session and national conference 2014 of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is being held on March 26 and 27, and is centered around the theme of 'Managing Change
The objective is to introspect on the transitions our nation is undergoing, the roles of leadership and institutions, the vision we should outline and the paths that we must take to build a strong, empowered and secure India.
Coming in the backdrop of the largest democratic exercise the world has ever seen, it elicits ideas on the agenda for the new government.
"CII is bringing together a variety of stakeholders including politicians, industry, civil society, bureaucracy and media - on a single platform to discuss and introspect on the future of our country," said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.
The conference will be inaugurated by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma
India's young population, growing literacy and higher education and rising aspirations have been the key trends that have marked its ascent on the global stage over the past decade.
It is now critical to steer the country in the right direction. Leadership and institutions would need to play an increasing role across all domains of the country in order to shape the India that we want.
The major concern now is the deceleration of GDP growth in the last two years. To discuss 'The Indian Economy: Is a Recovery in Sight?', we have Dr. Subir Gokarn, Director-Research, Brookings India and Dr. Janmejaya Sinha, Chairman - Asia Pacific The Boston Consulting Group, among others.
To discuss 'Managing Elections in India', H.S.Brahma, Election Commissioner. Dr.Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Member of Parliament (RS), Indian National Congress and Sitaram Yechury, Member of Parliament (RS), Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dy Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha will be discussing 'Economy, Institutions and Change: The Promise' in another session.
The general elections are a celebration of the strong democratic traditions that India has crafted over the decades since Independence. The numbers involved are staggering - 814 million eligible voters, 500 political parties, around 15,000 candidates, and 1.9 million electronic voting machines in almost a million polling stations. The estimated expenditure of some USD 5 billion alone could be enough to impart an economic boost to the country.
The change in position of women in society is being reflected in greater freedom to new women entrants to pursue job opportunities. More women are going in for higher education with commendable increase in the female gross enrolment ratio.
At the same time, there is evidence of growing incidents of crimes against women and rising power of village-level social arbiters such as khap panchayats. To discuss issues around 'Women and Effective Leadership', a panel of women in leadership roles, including Shobana Kamineni, Executive Director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, Vanitha Narayanan, MD - India/South Asia, IBM India Pvt Ltd, and Vandana Luthra, Group Founder and Mentor, VLCC among others, will deliberate.
To discuss 'Accelerating Growth: the Role of Bureaucracy' in accelerating growth, a panel of bureaucrats, including Rajiv Takru, Secretary-Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, M.F.Farooqui, Chairman, Telecommission Commission; Amitabh Kant, Secretary, DIPP, Ajit Seth, Cabinet Secretary, Sindhushree Khullar, Secretary, Planning Commission and Anup K Pujari, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, will discuss the issue.
The development of infrastructure has been one of the most vexed issues in recent times with several challenges being faced.
To discuss 'Indian Infrastructure: Realizing the Trillion Dollar Opportunity', a panel of experts, including Dr Rakesh Mohan, Executive Director, International Monetary Fund, Ashok Lavasa, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Pradeep Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Dr Vishwapati Trivedi, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping and Anil Swarup, Chairman, PMG, Cabinet Secretariat, will deliberate on various aspects.
Other sessions in the conference include one on the 'Role of Public Sector Enterprises in the Modern Indian Economy' with chairmen of leading PSEs and one on 'Delivering Better Governance: Perspectives'.
Panelists include Pradeep Kumar, Central Vigilance Commissioner, T.S.Krishna Murthy, Former Chief Election Commissioner of India and Ranjit Sinha, Director, Central Bureau of Investigation.
A session on 'Can Activist Media be Responsible' will have a lively discussion among leading editors and CEOs from the media.
