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| Infrastructure development plays a key role in economic growth and poverty reduction. Citizens, investors and policy makers in India today acutely feel the constraint of physical infrastructure on economic growth. |
| The Indian economy has been growing at a rate of 8% plus in the last few years. However India’s principal advantage of a large, low-cost labor force is eroded by high charges for infrastructure services. Except for telecom, most other infrastructure services in India are between 50-100% more expensive than China. Visitors to the country are immediately struck by the lag in such services between India and the rest of the South East Asian region, not just China. |
| This provides for a great opportunity however for the private sector. The Indian government has realized that this problem will not be solved by the government alone. A sign of intent is that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself chairs the government body on infrastructure. The body estimates that India’s infrastructure sector alone can absorb more than $150 Billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) over the next 5 years or $30 Billion annually. India’s total FDI inflow in 2006 was $11 Billion and bringing in $30 Billion a year in infrastructure alone will be a radical step in the economic reforms process. |
| Our 2007 conference, titled “India – Marching Ahead” aims to highlight the extensive work done by policy makers, businesses and academics to improve infrastructure in the country. IBF-2007 wishes to highlight some of these challenges and opportunities and address issues that will make India one of the most attractive places for international business and trade. |
| Confirmed Keynote Addresses |
Praful Patel – Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Government of India
Shanta Devarajan – Chief Economist, South East Asia Region, World Bank
Rajiv Lall – CEO and Managing Director, IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation) |
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| Build India – Opportunities and Challenges in Growth |
The economic boom that India is currently going through is built on the shakiest of foundations. Highway bridges, world class airports, reliable power, modern transportation network and clean water are in desperate short supply. What’s there already is crumbling. GDP would run more than 2 percentage points higher if India had decent roads, railways and power according to industry estimates. This panel will discuss contemporary issues in Telecoms, Energy, Transportation and Distribution, Construction and Special Economic Zone sectors in India.
The panelists that have confirmed their participation are:
- Chintan Parikh – Chief Executive Officer, ATRECO SEZ
- Malay Mukherjee – Senior Executive Vice President and Member of Group Management Board, Mittal Steel Company
- G Kiran Kumar – Director, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited
- Nikhil Gandhi – Group Chairman, SKIL Infrastructure Ltd.
- Himadri Banerji – Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Energy CTS
- Ameeta Chatterjee– Associate Director, KPMG
- Colin Harris - Deputy Chairman, Global Infrastructure Business, Arup
- Suraj Moraje – Associate Partner, McKinsey
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| Finance India – Role of Capital Markets and PPP |
The commercialization of infrastructure needs to occur at a faster rate. The infrastructure sector alone can absorb three times current FDI levels in the country. However, the risks of financing infrastructure projects are high with long gestation periods, high costs and budgetary constraints. Recognizing this, the Indian government has proposed a flexible funding scheme which will find support from budgetary allocation to fund Public-Private Partnerships for infrastructure projects. Therefore the role of the capital markets and PPP are crucial in providing the capital required for developing world class infrastructure in the country.
The panelists that have confirmed their participation are:
- Helen Alexander, Chief Executive, The Economist
- Elif Acar, Associate Director, Standard & Poor
- Jon Sibson – Partner, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
- Sudhir Mathur – Chief Marketing Officer, GMR Group
- Vinay Jayaram – Director, Morgan Stanley
- Akshaya Prasad – Executive Director, Goldman Sachs
- Ravi Suri –Managing Director. Standard Chartered
- K P Krishnan – Joint Secretary, Finance Ministry, Government of India
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| Case Study – India CEO Champions |
In numerous instances we find examples of individuals or organizations in India that have made a great impact on society or business in spite of some of the teething issues in Indian infrastructure. They have been guided by a laser focus on execution and future growth keeping the Indian context in mind. They have generated wealth for themselves and others. As part of this panel discussion, we wish to unearth on the what, how and why of their success story, through the infrastructure lens.
The panelists that have confirmed their participation are:
- Shivinder Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Fortis Healthcare
- Professor Nirmalya Kumar, Professor of Marketing, London Business School
- Ajit Gulabchand – Chairman, Hindustan Construction Company
- Hemant Kanoria, Managing Director, SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd
- Sajjan Jindal, Head, JSW Group
- Sarthak Behuria, Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation
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| Closing Address – Hon. Kamlesh Sharma, High Commissioner of India, UK |
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