9th Annual India Business Forum London Conference

Envisioning India's New Landscape

19TH MAY, 2010, London Business School

Registration : 8:30 am

Dress Code: Business Formal

Born out of necessity, India's economic liberalization program has now achieved critical mass and is able to generate a momentum on its own. Over the last two decades India has seen a transformation in most aspects of its economy and society. India today has healthy GDP and industrial output growth rates and large foreign exchange reserves and is an important player in the global trade of goods and services. A significant number of people have been lifted out of poverty and human development parameters such as illiteracy rates have improved. Technological developments are readily available to the society who have more reason to feel empowered. Along with this growth and development has come increased power in international affairs and vastly improved perception of the country and its capabilities. It would have been difficult to predict India's current status just before the start of the liberalization program in 1991. While countries such as China and South Korea had liberalized trade and investment long before India did, even their development status back then would not have provided definitive indicators of success of the reforms program. After all, India's society and governance systems are unique and vastly different from most emerging countries. Implementing a steady and consensual system of reforms in a country with so many different languages, regional centres of power and frequently changing national government was bound to be a complicated task. While there is a general consensus about the benefits of the reforms and more certainty today about the country’s development, there are still critical differences among policy makers and within business on several important issues that will have an important bearing on shape of future growth. There is also widespread acknowledgement that India’s growth will take a different path than those taken by most export or commodity driven emerging economies, with domestic consumption being a key driver of growth. Against this backdrop London Business School’s ‘India Business Forum’ will this year dwell on subjects and issues that will influence India’s future. The conference this year is being held at what is turning out to be a critical period for the current national government. There are high expectations on all fronts for the stable central government to implement important reforms. We bring together leading industrialists, policy makers and thinkers who will go into topics such as financial regulation, infrastructure, retail and consumer issues, and the globalization of the Indian industry. The full day conference will gather critical thoughts on these issues at a gathering of friends and well-wishers of India. We look forward to seeing there.