New Delhi, (4/4/2019): Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) celebrated the first day of its Annual Session with the theme of India 5.0: India @75 and Beyond’ at Taj Palace in New Delhi.
The Annual Session brings together diverse stakeholders and some of the brightest minds from all walks of life including ministers, government officials, industry heads, policy experts, academics and media personalities, along with leaders from various fields to deliberate on a diverse range of national issues and identify solutions for the future of India.
The Inaugural session was graced by Finance and Corporate Affair Minister Arun Jatley as the Chief Guest along with, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, CII President, Uday Kotak, President Designate , CII, Vikram Kirloskar, Vice President, CII, and Chandrajit Banerjee, DG, CII.
In the inaugural speech Rakesh Mittal President CII, said “It was a pleasure to know this morning, that for the first time India’s trade deficit with China has come down. Non-tariff barriers such as restrictions on free movement of people are being taken up by the Government and we hope these will gain traction with partner nations”.
“Going forward, the global macro context is characterized by with uncertainty and change. Indian industry will need to strengthen its competitiveness in these times”, he added.
Speaking at the event FM Arun Jaitley, said “We are at an important cusp of history. We have changed, so it is important to keep our integrity. India’s socio-economic character has altered. By 2024, India’s middle-class will be the largest section. Our strategy has been to strengthen the middle class & get them to spend. With increase in tax base, there has been exponential increase in tax collection, providing resources for many schemes for the poor”.
Talking about the electoral bonds he said, “We have come a long way with electoral reforms. The electoral bonds is an improvement on transparency. Growth model has to be based on the growth of the market place, and economic growth should be used to elevate infrastructure and eradicate poverty”, he added.
Following the Inaugural session a Special Plenary and Presentation of Woman Exemplar award session took place in which Bhimawa Chalwadi, Vanlalruati and Nilima Tigga were awarded with Women Exemplar award in, Education, Health and Micro enterprise respectively.
Addressing the audience Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry, said “I compliment CII for honouring the real heroes of India who are working on the grassroots levels and motivating them and others to do more than they are already doing. We are aiming India should be 5 trillion dollar economy. I compliment CII for being a partner in taking action towards this”.
Speaking about growing entrepreneurs in India he said, “India’s growth story is driven by entrepreneurs. Therefore, removing hurdles the small entrepreneurs face is our biggest objective. Registered Start-ups hv jumped from 4,610 in 2017 to 15-16K as of today. We selected 6 districts from 5 states and baselined them. Now, we are identifying how they can grow 3-4% more. Such grassroots initiatives will help India to reach the double-digit growth”.
The third session VUCA, Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity focused upon the India 5.0 mindset. It is discussed that, India 5.0 which is India in 2022 to 2047 will exist in VUCA. Rapid emergence and adoption of disruptive technologies, frequent re alignment of geo politics and changing consumer behaviour are the key drivers of VUCA world.
The fourth session Science, Technology and Geo economics discussed the changing effects of these factors on the society and the apt adaptations that we must attain for achieving sustainable development
