Global India Business Meeting21-23 June 2010, Madrid, Spain

a Horasis-leadership event

Report

Horasis is a global visions community committed to enact visions for a sustainable future (http:/www.horasis.org)

Co-hosts:Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)Casa Asia, ICEX-INVEST IN SPAIN, Municipality of Madrid,Region of Madrid

Co-chairs:Claude Beglé Former Chairman, Swiss Post, SwitzerlandSubodh Bhargava Chairman,Tata Communications, IndiaCarla Cico Chief Executive Officer, Rivoli S.P.A., ItalyDinesh Dhamija Founder and Chairman, Copper Beech Group, United KingdomAntonio Escámez Chairman, Spain-India Council Foundation, SpainSunil Godhwani Chairman and Managing Director, Religare Enterprises, IndiaCP Gurnani Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Satyam, IndiaPrakash Hinduja Chairman, Hinduja Group, SwitzerlandRana Kapoor Chief Executive Officer,Yes Bank, IndiaRajive Kaul Chairman, Nicco Group, IndiaKhater Massaad Chief Executive Officer, RAK Investment Authority, UAERajan Bharti Mittal Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Bharti EnterprisesGV Krishna Reddy Chairman, GVK Power & Infrastructure, IndiaDhruv M Sawhney Chairman,Triveni Engineering & Industries, India

Strategic Partner:IESE

Knowledge Partners:Arshiya InternationalBaker & McKenzieSpain-India Council Foundation

Co-organizersAll India Management Association (AIMA)Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO)

Media Partner:AseanAffairsGlobal AsiaInternational HeraldTribune

Upcoming Horasis events:Global Arab Business Meeting Ras Al Khaimah, 26-27 September 2010Global China Business Meeting Luxembourg, 21-22 November 2010Horasis Annual Meeting Zurich, 25-26 January 2011Global Russia Business Meeting Time/location to be announced

‘The Greek debt crisis will have minimal impact on the Indian economy’

Discussion during a breakfast session

Indian CEOs are finding themselves wooed by Europeanfirms seeking new avenues of growth

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Table of Contents

Foreword 6

Connecting Spain and India 24

India: Maturing Global Role 25

Europe and India Push to Seal Free-Trade Deal 30

India-EU FTA Likely byYear-end, Says Sharma 32

Indian Hunger for NewTechnology Fuels Acquisitions 33

Brand India & Made in India - A Promise Forever 35

India’s Gifts to the GlobalVillage 39

Reception at the Retiro ParkThe HotelWestin Palace -venue of the 2010 Global India Business Meeting

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Foreword

By all accounts, the second Horasis GlobalIndia Business Meeting which took placefrom 21-23 June 2010 in Madrid was a realsuccess.A large number of CEOs from Indiacame together with leaders from aroundthe globe to discuss India’s and the world’scurrent economic state under the heading‘Overcoming the Crisis – Opportunitiesfor India'.With more than 400 business andgovernmental leaders taking part in theevent, the Global India Business Meetingprovided the platform for India, Spain andthe rest of the world to shape the post-crisisenvironment.The meeting was conceived toreflect on the increased emphasis of Indianfirms to build global and sustainable brands– and thus contributing to the healing of theworld economy.

The Global India Business Meeting was ameeting of many powerful minds.Whatemerged was the thought that the nextdecade was a tipping point for both Indiaand the world.This report shall distil theoutcomes and observations that emergedfrom the meeting.We hope you find thisreport to be an insightful and timely guideto how the Indian and global leaders beingpresent in Madrid addressed the implicationsof the current economic, political and socialchallenges.

Business leaders from 30 countries cametogether for one and a half day retreat todebate the critical requirements for Indianfirms to successfully expand their operationstowards a global level-playing field.TheHorasis Global India Business Meetingwas co-hosted by the Federation of IndianChambers of Commerce and Industry(FICCI) and Casa Asia, ICEX-Invest inSpain,Municipality of Madrid, Regionof Madrid - and supported by a group ofpartners led by IESE, the Spanish businessschool.Rajan Bharti Mittal,Vice Chairman& Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises;President, FICCI, told participants that ‘theGlobal India Business Meeting provided anexcellent platform to discuss Indian firms’strategies, challenges and contributions toovercome the global economic crisis and todevelop into truly globalized corporations.’

Indian firm’s corporate globalization wasat the heart of the agenda indeed, with ajoining of forces among an engagedcommunity of business leaders, includingthe following co-chairs who representedthe meeting vis-a-vis to the governmentauthorities: Claude Beglé, FormerChairman, Swiss Post, Switzerland;

Arrival of Minister Shri Anand Sharma

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‘India will become one of the threebiggest economies of the world by 2030'Anand Sharma,Union Minister of Commerce andIndustry, India

Subodh Bhargava, Chairman,TataCommunications, India; Carla Cico, ChiefExecutive Officer, Rivoli S.P.A., Italy;Dinesh Dhamija, Founder and Chairman,Copper Beech Group, United Kingdom;Antonio Escámez, Chairman, SantanderFoundation; Chairman, Spain-India CouncilFoundation, Spain; Sunil Godhwani,Chairman and Managing Director, ReligareEnterprises, India; CP Gurnani, ChiefExecutive Officer, Mahindra Satyam, India;Prakash Hinduja, Chairman, HindujaGroup, Switzerland; Rana Kapoor, ChiefExecutive Officer,Yes Bank, India; RajiveKaul, Chairman, Nicco Group, India;Khater Massaad, Chief Executive Officer,RAK Investment Authority, UAE;

Rajan Bharti Mittal,Vice Chairman &Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises;President, FICCI, India; GV KrishnaReddy, Chairman, GVK Power &Infrastructure, India;Dhruv M Sawhney,Chairman,Triveni Engineering &Industries, India.

After recovering from the impact of globaleconomic crisis, the Indian economy ispoised for more expansion.After the govern-ment provided stimulus by cutting taxesand increasing public expenditure, theeconomy improved and expanded by morethan 7% from May 2009 to May 2010.‘TheGreek debt crisis will have minimal impacton the Indian economy', as Sunil Godhwani,Chairman and Managing Director, ReligareEnterprises, India, put it. Prakash Hinduja,Chairman, Hinduja Group, Switzerland,admitted that ‘India’s exports in short termto the European Union could face someproblems due to ongoing crisis facingGreece.’ Given the differences in macroeco-nomic conditions, the picture in Eurozonewas somewhat more of a mixed nature.On the current problems,Alan Rosling,Chairman, Griffin Growth, Hong KongSAR, said:‘It appears the Eurozone doesnot have institutions of adequate powerto ensure effective policy coordination,especially in a crisis of the current magni-tude.’ Javier Garoz, Chief OperatingOfficer,Telvent, Spain, agreed.This is ‘a

The Spanish Crown Prince,H.R.H.The Prince of Asturias,calling for a new global partnership

Subodh Bhargava, Chairman,TataCommunications, India - ‘Indian companiesare emerging as global corporations'

Antonio Escámez , Chairman, SantanderFoundation, Spain, commenting on theglobal economic outlook

Rajan Bharti Mittal,Vice Chairman & ManagingDirector, Bharti Enterprises - ‘when the worldwas melting, India still stood its ground

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time of distinct economic uncertainty,’ heobserved. But after two days of interactivediscussions, mealtime debate and soul-searching, participants together shapedan agenda of priorities to the enormouschallenges brought on by the economic crisis.

The general sentiment was that India isemerging stronger from the current globalcrisis.Will India and its companies play amore pronounced role in this new emergingglobal order? And will this open up newopportunities for foreign players to shapeand define economic development andhence to reposition themselves a worldstage with India at the core?These wereonly two of many questions that were raisedduring the different discussion at this year’sGlobal India Business Meeting.

Participants reached consensus that• The Indian economy is expected to per-form strongly in the years ahead. Of

course, there are still various challengesthat the country faces particularly onincluding the underprivileged in the activeeconomy.The growth prospects in Indiaare certainly more compelling than whatis being observed in the developed world.

• Investments in infrastructure, agriculture,healthcare and education will be the keydrivers to ensure long-term and inclusivegrowth.

• India’s influence as an internationalinvestor and reliable partner of the G20is growing.A new generation of Indianentrepreneurs is driving innovation andgrowth - not only in India but on a globalscale.

Union Minister of Commerce and IndustryAnand Sharma opened the meeting with aspecial address that was informative, enter-taining and hit the headlines.The Ministerpainted a lucid, inspirational grand visionfor the future of the Indian economy. He

Prakash Hinduja, Chairman,Hinduja Group,listening to a remark from the audience

CP Gurnani, Chief Executive Officer,MahindraSatyam, India, summarizing the results of theGlobal India Business Meeting

Rajive Kaul, Chairman,Nicco Group

Miguel Sebastián,Minister ofTrade, Industry andTourism, SpainAnand Sharma,Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, India,at the 2010 Horasis Global India Business Meeting

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spoke about the government’s plans to makeIndia one of the largest and most competitiveeconomies:‘India will become one of thethree biggest economies of the world by2030,’ he said. On growth prospect heforecasted that the Indian economy wouldgrow at anticipated rate of over 8 per centin the current fiscal year despite crises insome suffering economies like that ofEurope.The Minister was not worriedabout escalating inflation or higher interestrates.The strong growth is driven from thedemand side, predominantly by investment.The annual budget is only one of theinstruments to achieve planned economicgrowth as per the economic scenario on thenational as well as international level.

Minister Sharma also mentioned that ‘India’sexport sector is going to see a two foldincrease by 2014.This will help tremen-dously in increasing the share of India inworld trade.’ He expressed confidence that

foreign direct investments (FDI) into Indiawill continue to grow in coming years.‘Economic stimulus programmes launchedby the government in reaction to the globaleconomic crisis tended initially to focus oninfrastructure, but efforts are now underwayto direct stimulus spending towards efficient,capital-starved sectors - most notably,innovation-driven companies,’ he said.While India’s economic strength for the lastdecade has been built on the might of its ITsector, the government is currently attemp-ting to steer the economy to high-valuedadded manufacturing of durable and non-durable goods.

Dhruv M Sawhney, Chairman,TriveniEngineering & Industries, on prospects forIndias global trade and investments

Alan Rosling, Chairman,Griffin Growth,Hong Kong SAR

GV Krishna Reddy, Chairman,GVK Power & Infrastructure - the statusof India’s infrastructure is improving

Claude Beglé, Former Chairman, Swiss Post,Switzerland, listening to his co-panelists

Dinesh Dhamija, Founder and Chairman,Copper Beech Group,United Kingdom

Sunil Godhwani, Chairman and ManagingDirector, Religare Enterprises, on India’s impacton global growth

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‘How well we do in the next decadewill depend a lot on how India and itspartners work on the most criticalissues facing us - global imbalances,social well-being and the endangeredenvironment’Rajive Kaul, Chairman,Nicco Group, India

At the same session,Miguel Sebastián,Minister of Industry, Spain, reviewed Spain’seconomic relations with India.‘Economicand commercial relations between India andSpain have been growing steadily. Last fewyears have seen substantial growth in thetrade relations between the two countries -Spain is one of India’s emerging tradingpartner in the European Union and Indiawill continue to be one of the most impor-tant investment locations and tradingpartners for the Spanish economy,’ he said.‘I see signs of potential economic growthnext year as Spain will benefit from thecontinued economic stimulus generatedby fast expanding economies like India,’ heconcluded. Esperanza Aguirre, President,Community of Madrid, Spain, pointed outhow Madrid is engaging with India in generaland with India’s large cities in particular.She highlighted ongoing projects in thearea of urban planning, transportation and‘green’ construction.‘Madrid is delightedto co-host this second Global India BusinessMeeting,’ she told participants.‘Madrid willserve as important base for Indian firms toexplore the European market. Home to

respected brands of global reach, Madrid isone of Europe’s most important cluster forexpertise in construction and modernurbanism – a natural fit with India’sinfrastructure needs.’

In his special address,H.R.H.The Prince ofAsturias, the Spanish Crown Prince, calledfor a new global partnership.The economicpartnership between India, Spain and theworld has extensive synergies - especiallyduring the current global economic turmoil.He called on leaders from business andgovernment to restore trust in a decisivebut sustainable way. He also stressed thatSpain considers India a key partner asfrequent high-level visits between the twosides have deepened cooperation and win-win. Furthermore, he also predicted thegreat potentials for future bilateral economic

H.R.H.The Prince of Asturias, with participants

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‘None of the solutions to India’sinfrastructure challenges are simple,but we are committed to make thingsbetter’GV Krishna Reddy, Chairman,GVK Power &Infrastructure, India

and trade cooperation, which has beendeveloping quickly over the recent years.The Crown Prince said that the completionof the free-trade talks between India andthe EU would be good news for all of us.

Silvia Iranzo, Secretary forTrade, Spain,and Jesús Sanz, Director General, CasaAsia,Spain, noted that India’s trade with Spainhas risen sharply in recent years.‘The pros-pects for Spanish-Indian relations are verygood.This Global India Business Meetingaims at improving the cultural and economicdialogue between the two nations and givesa further boost to the already existing cordialrelations.’

Discussion topics for the meeting includedIndia’s role in global trade, as well as aspecific focus on themes like merger &acquisitions, branding, human resources,renewable energy, infrastructure and theefforts to ensure sustainable growth – allrather practical topics to support Indianfirms efforts to globalize their operations.The Global India Business Meeting offered20 individual sessions on those topics.Theaim of the Global India Business Meetingwas to not only jointly discuss the contem-porary business challenges but also toconcurrently identify ways of turning thesame into efficient, real-economic andprofitable growth opportunities in a globalIndian context.

The leitmotiv of the Global India BusinessMeeting was globalization and how Indianfirms can benefit from the ongoing globalshift from theWest to the East.‘We will getbrands fromall over the world competingagainst brands from all over the world,’said Subodh Bhargava, Chairman,TataCommunications, India.‘Indian companiesare emerging as global corporations, reachinga level playing field with the establishedMultinationals of theWest,’ he continued.The expansion of Indian companies intoEurope and North America is yet another

Jesús Sanz and Rajan Bharti Mittal exchanging giftsSilvia Iranzo, Secretary forTrade, Spain,‘country’s trade andinvestment exchanges with India had so far ‘not been at the heightof our economic scale.’

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The Spanish Crown Prince arriving at the Global India BusinessMeeting

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facet of the globalized economy.As thesecompanies get bigger, they need to startthinking about global positioning, and moreand more, they are seeing Europe andNorth America as more than just places totrade their products and services.‘Goodproducts are borderless.And made-in-Indiais increasingly perceived as guarantee forreliability and advanced intellectual property,’stated Dinesh Dhamija, Founder andChairman, Copper Beech Group, UnitedKingdom.‘India has the potential to improveits manufacturing competitiveness.We willbuild global firms of Indian origin, also inmanufacturing,’ added Dhruv M Sawhney,Chairman,Triveni Engineering & Industries,India.

Announcing the 2010 Indian BusinessLeaders of theYear, Horasis - together withour strategic partner IESE Business School -celebrated three outstanding entrepreneurswho have been building and leading success-ful Indian firms: Sunil Godhwani, Chairmanand Managing Director, Religare Enterprises;Rana Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer,YesBank and Rajive Kaul, Chairman, Nicco

Group.We recognized and honoured thosebusiness leaders as they excel in entrepre-neurship, innovation and leadership.‘Thechosen leaders have decisively impactedthe economic development and globalintegration of India,’ said Juan Roure,Professor, IESE, Spain who announced theaward winners during a lunch session.

‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail!’stated Sunil Patel, Chief Executive Officer,Orion Ornamental Iron, USA. Entrepre-neurs from India and elsewhere are oftentoo busy reacting to the latest crisis to taketime to focus on future growth strategy.According to Richard Heald,ViceChairman, Rothschild, India,‘it is thereforekey to think and plan for growth.’Allbusinesses go through successive stagesas they grow from start-up to maturity.Atsome point, development often involvesraising money for growth, looking atpotential acquisitions, and ultimately eitherdivesting through a trade sale or going foran Initial Public Offering (IPO) listing.‘Especially in India, where the pace of actionis quick, it is easy to forget to identify whatis the ‘next step’ for our business andanticipate the strategic drivers that willenable it to move forward,’ said ThomasGilles, Partner, Baker & McKenzie,Germany.

Sunil Patel, Chief Executive Officer, OrionOrnamental Iron,USA, on innovation in theIndian context

Rana Kapoor,Chief Executive Officer,Yes Bank,India, on what is needed to build global firms ofIndian origin

Karan A Chanana,Managing Director,AmiraFoods, India, listening to his co-panelists

‘The Greek debt crisis will haveminimal impact on the Indian economy’Sunil Godhwani, Chairman and Managing Director,Religare Enterprises, India

Heinz Dollberg, ExecutiveVice President,Allianz, Germany, agreed that Indian com-panies ‘would increasingly move into globalmarkets, most notably through their out-sourcing services and their exports.’The realimpact of ‘India Inc’s globalization wouldnot become evident for another three tofive years and the country would eventuallybecome a major source of foreign directinvestment, alongside China. Both AnilKumar, Chief Executive Officer, RansatGroup, UK and Josep Piqué, Chairman,Vueling, Spain, reckoned that Indiancompanies, particularly some of its largerplayers in the energy, IT and manufacturingsectors, would likely become major invest-ment players in Europe and North America.

It is important,Anil Kumar advised, forglobal firms to forge trading partnershipsand alliances with India.The key is toprovide services or technologies that theIndians need.‘Global firms with thetechnological capability to keep ahead ofIndia will benefit, while others will findtheir positions threatened,’ Josep Piquéconcluded.

Delegates heard from Karan A Chanana,Managing Director,Amira Foods, India,that ‘the last decade has seen many positivedevelopments in the Indian financialservices sector. Banking is developing intoan Indian success story and is one of themost advanced users of informationtechnology.‘During the recent growthyears, Indian banks increasingly began toresemble the banks everywhere in theworld,’ added D.C.Anjaria, President,International Financial Solutions, India.RanuVohra, Chief Executive Officer,Avendus Capital, India, told participantsthat ‘the interplay between regulation andmanagement strategies will determine theperformance of Indian financial servicesover the next few years.With increasedinterest in India, competition from foreignbanks will intensify.’

D.C.Anjaria, President, International FinancialSolutions, revisiting financial services in India

RanuVohra, Chief Executive Officer,AvendusCapital, India

Dhruv M Sawhney, Chairman,Triveni Engineering & Industries, andThomas Gilles, Partner, Baker & McKenzie

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Jesús Sainz, Chairman, Promomadrid, Spain,hosting the session on Foreign Direct Investmentsin India

Peter-Michael Schuster, General Manager, RAKInvestment Authority,UAE - what competitiveadvantages can host countries offer potentialinvestors from India?

Ron Somers, President,U.S.-India BusinessCouncil, USA

Niraj Sharan, Chairman,Aura, India Manish Prakash, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce inKorea, reviewing the making of a new world order with Indiaat the core

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In a plenary session on new frontiers forIndia’s global engagement, participantslearned about the newly emerging alliancesbetween India and other nations. Carla Cico,Chief Executive Officer, Rivoli S.P.A., Italytold participants that ‘India’s strength andprogress on world stage is deeply in thestrategic interest of Europe.’ Ron Somers,President, U.S.-India Business Council, USA,indicated that the Obama administrationwill soon take up the issue of expanding theUN Security Council and that ‘India’s timefor a permanent membership may havecome.’ Peter-Michael Schuster, GeneralManager, RAK Investment Authority, UAE,argued that ‘protectionism is not the answer– there should be collective cooperationamong the nations, with India playing aproactive role.’ In a similar vein, Niraj

Sharan, Chairman,Aura, India said that ‘itis time to bring down existing barrierssince multilateral trade will accelerate theprocess of recovery while the reverse willslacken the pace.’

It was also clear from the discussions thatpolitical and business leaders cannot expectthat the benefits of globalization will be soobvious for India.‘Strong leadership isrequired, but also a strong partnership,between India and the rest of the world.To realize its full potential, India must playon its strengths, particularly the creativepower of its young population,’ asManishPrakash, President, Indian Chamber ofCommerce in Korea, reasoned.MehulPatel, Member of the Board of Directors,Vantage Point Bank, USA, added that ‘the

change of economic patterns - especiallythe tightening of credit - may create abacklash against globalization in NorthAmerica and Europe. However, themajority of Indian entrepreneurs perceiveglobalization as a beneficial spread of libertyand capitalism. Still, we need to reflect thepolitical and economic balances of worldnations.’ Colette Mathur, President, Euro-India Center, France, concluded that ‘India ison the global agenda and India is good news.’

A major theme discussed at the meeting wasthe significance of technology to improveproductivity and boost the Indian economy’sknowledge base.‘India is set to become aglobal leader in technology services assoftware companies move up in the valuechain,’ opined Clas Neumann, President,

SAP Labs India, Germany.‘Multi-sectorefforts are needed to innovative methods tofund R&D in advanced technology andcreative ways to increase the efficient use ofresources,’ stressed Sudhir Sethi, Chairman,IDGVentures India Advisors, Globalcompanies have been moving to India forthe last decade, looking to reduce costs andincrease revenue by outsourcing parts oftheir value chain.And as India continue itsrise to become a global economic power,the trend continues.‘But is the perceptionof India as hub for BPO (Business ProcessOutsourcing) enough?’ asked CP Gurnani,Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Satyam,India.‘What we really need is to positionIndia as a global technology leader’.‘Innovation does not come without R&D,’as Sudhakar Shenoy, Chairman, IMC,

Mehul Patel,Member of the Board of Directors,Vantage Point Bank,USA,on the United States’ rolein overcoming the current global economic crisis

Colette Mathur, President, Euro-India Center,France - ‘India is good news'

Sudhir Sethi, Chairman, IDGVentures IndiaAdvisors, India

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Participants during a session

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU Commissioner (ret);Member of the Board, Gamesa, asking a question

Harsh Purohit, Executive Director, Cognito,India, speaking onThe Sustainable Corporation

Ranjit Jakkli,Managing Director,AssociatedPowercon Equipment, India, on RenewableEnergy - India’s Next Aspiration

Man Mohan Bhagat, Chairman, Bhagat Group, Jesús Sanz,Director General, CasaAsia, and Frank-Jürgen Richter, President,Horasis

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USA, put it. ‘Indian companies have toinvest more into real breakthroughs thanjust being me-too innovators.We need tochange from cost-driven strategies toinnovative ways to reposition our businessmodels.’

Business leaders debated what will be thenext big driver for India’s growth story.Many pointed to the latent potential inrenewable energy.There is a huge potentialin green technologies if India decides toadopt a growth strategy which is based onthe pillars of sustainability and inclusiveness.‘We need to take advantage of greentechnology as we have to address globalwarming', said Felipe Garcia Mina,Managing Director, Suzlon, India.‘Andwe have to promote the new industriesclustered around green,’ he continued.‘However, we need clear incentives for theIndian private sector to develop renewableenergy,’ added Ranjit Jakkli, ManagingDirector,Associated Powercon Equipment,

India.Harsh Purohit, Executive Director,Cognito, India, highlighted that ‘Indiacannot afford its current energy mix in thelong term - we need to promote wind andsolar energy and for this we needtechnological partners from Europe.’Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EuropeanCommissioner (ret.), Member of theBoard, Gamesa, Spain, told participantsthat renewable energy offers a real win-winfor India and Europe, in terms of energysecurity, economic and social development,and the welfare of our planet.‘In rene-wables, the revolution is just beginning,’ shesaid. Santiago Seage, Chairman,AbengoaSolar, Spain, reasoned that ‘we might needan open market framework to attractinvestments, stimulate technology transferand provide skilled jobs.’A smart employ-ment of India’s young population and a

‘Renewable energy offers a real win-win for India and Europe, in terms ofenergy security, economic and socialdevelopment, and the welfare of ourplanet. In renewables, the revolution isjust beginning’Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner(ret.),Member of the Board,Gamesa, Spain

Rajesh Shah, Co-Chairman and ManagingDirector,Mukand, India

Santiago Seage, Chairman,Abengoa Solar, Spai,on partnerships to stimulate a new wave of low-carbon growth

Mohan Chainani, Chairman, Chaincorp, Spain,chairing the session on infrastructure

decisive raise of living standards in ruralareas across the country will position Indiafor even stronger quantitative andqualitative growth.

Does India have the right infrastructure todrive double-digit growth?The country stillhas a deficit in key sectors – roads, ports,airports, power, telecommunications,irrigation and urban infrastructure. But ‘thestatus of India’s infrastructure is improvingrapidly, driven by major investments effortsby the government and the opening up ofthe market to foreign corporations,’ arguedRajesh Shah, Co-Chairman and ManagingDirector, Mukand, India. However,‘the keyimpediment to becoming a sustainableglobally positioned economy is still infras-tructure bottlenecks.There is always ashortage of long-term finance in infras-

tructure projects’ arguedMan MohanBhagat, Chairman, Bhagat Group, India.Mohan Chainani, Chairman, Chaincorp,Spain, suggested that ‘India has to decisivelyupgrade its infrastructure.Timing ispropitious.’ Ajay Mittal, Chairman,ArshiyaInternational, India, explicitly stressed theneed to recognize the importance of thenon-physical aspects of infrastructureinvolving the logistics industry.‘The infra-structure story in India is still evolving.None of the solutions to India’s infrastructurechallenges are simple, but we are committedto make things better,’ concluded meetingco-chair GV Krishna Reddy, Chairman,GVK Power & Infrastructure, India.

While India enjoys a major competitiveadvantage with its low cost of labour thecountry has to invest in developing India asa brand that stands for quality and sustainedintellectual capital. ‘The need to generate apositive image of India’s competitiveadvantage and a new awareness of India’semerging brands is of prime importance,’Sudip Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer,L&T Infotech, India, insisted.At a packedsession named ‘Indian Brands: Moving upthe Global Level Playing Field', AnkurBhatia, Chairman, Bird Group, India,stressed the point that ‘Indian brands shoulddemonstrate the country’s economictransformation, post-industrial thinking and

Sudip Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer, L&T Infotech, India, on outsourcing

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a new type of communication with theworld.’ PaulW. Bradley, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Caprica International, Singapore,proposed that ‘in India and elsewhere,business should focus on the real economy -to produce goods and create genuine value -rather than on making money in the financialeconomy through bets on market volatility.’

On regional development, AmbarishParalikkar, Director,TMT Investment,India, said:‘Regionalization and globalizationgo hand in hand.The Indian states are thebuilding blocks of the Indian economy.’Javier Sanz, Chief Executive Officer, Investin Spain, stressed how important India’sstates are to fuel economic growth inEurope – as the Spanish constructionindustry is a natural fit with India’semerging infrastructure needs.‘We areglad to be involved with India – that’s werethings happen right now,’ said RicardoMelchior, President, Government ofTenerife, Spain.

The co-chairs were equally candid about thepriorities India must pursue. In the closingplenary session, they reflected on the keytake-aways of the Global India BusinessMeeting and made the following proposals:

First, keeping the carrying out economicreforms at a fast speed. Partnerships betweenthe private and public sectors shall be

promoted to translate fiscal stimulus intoreal economic growth. People on thebottom of the pyramid should be includedin what the co-chairs called ‘real inclusivegrowth’.

Second, diversifying the economy, byimplementing a concerted strategy to investin sectors other than IT.The transformationof the Indian economy would reduce thecountry’s dependence on the outsourcingindustries and lead to massive technologicalinnovation in industry and infrastructure.The modernization of the agriculturalsector, which accounts for one quarter ofthe economy should be a prime priority.

And third, encouraging more and moresustainable Foreign Direct Investment aswell as trade. Foreign Direct Investmentwill increase management skills andintellectual property - in addition to themere delivery of money. Foreign directinvestment in those sectors which wouldattract advanced technology are key.

Sujata Mehta,Ambassador of India to SpainAmbarish Paralikkar,Director,TMT Investment, onIndian firms’ globalization

PaulW. Bradley, Chief Executive Officer, CapricaInternational, Singapore

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‘The strong engagement of leadersjoining the Global India BusinessMeeting showed ‘the importance ofIndia and entrepreneurial mentalityand spirit of people who look beyondthe crisis and see opportunities’Antonio Escamez, Chairman, Santander Foundation,Spain

The co-chairs called for fundamental shiftsin business models and government policiesto address the striking imbalances exposedby the global economic upheaval.‘Inheritedbusiness models must change for economicrecovery to be sustainable,’ said RanaKapoor, Chief Executive Officer,Yes Bank,India. People are much more willing to trynew things in times of turmoil than they arein time of status quo,’ said Claude Beglé,former Chairman, Swiss Post, Switzerland.In the same vein,Mike Singh, Chairmanand Chief Executive Officer,Telkom Caribe,USA/Barbados, observed that ‘companiesfrom India and abroad will need to worktogether with all stakeholders to applysustainability principles to the ecosystem

they are operating in.’ Sandeep Aneja,Managing Director, Kaizen ManagementAdvisors, India, surfaced a similar idea: thenecessity to give back to society. On a dailybasis, he said, Indian companies ‘may beconcerned most about success and survivalbut, undoubtedly, they have to be deeplyaware that they remain embedded within awider social framework.’

The closing plenary was followed in theevening with a Cocktail Reception atMadrid’s famous Retiro Park, which onceagain featured the format that Horasisintroduced since the inception of itsleadership events - structured discussions toprovide a maximum amount of knowledgein a relaxed atmosphere amongst peers.TheGlobal India Business Meeting is a place toforge enduring new friendships and enjoy arich personal experience. On this occasion,Sujata Mehta,Ambassador of India toSpain, told participants that ‘while therewas both appreciation and awarenessregarding India’s recent rapid economicgrowth, there were also concerns regardingour liabilities.’ But she predicted that ‘Indiawill balance equity and efficiency overtime.’ JuanTomás Hernani, Secretary

JuanTomás Hernani, Secretary General ofInnovation, Spain

Concepción Dancausa,Member of the GoverningCouncil, City Council of Madrid

Exchanging business cards

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General of Innovation, Spain, added:‘As thegloom of the financial crisis appears to begiving way to a brighter future, there couldbe no better place than India to tap into theextraordinary promise of the world’sgrowth economies.The key to economicgrowth is innovation - and India is aninnovation leader.’ Concepción Dancausa,Member of the Governing Council, CityCouncil of Madrid, Spain, added that shebelieves in the chosen growth pattern forthe Indian economy.And:‘The Indianmarket is one of our key markets of futuregrowth, especially in infrastructure.’

The mood for this year’s Global IndiaBusiness Meeting was celebratory,particularly on the bright future for India.The meeting closed on a note of optimismand called for stronger collaborationbetween private and public sector initiativesto address the global economic turbulences.As meeting co-chair Antonio Escamez,Chairman of both Spain-India CouncilFoundation and Santander Foundationstated, the strong engagement of leadersjoining the Global India Business Meetingshowed ‘the importance of India andentrepreneurial mentality and spirit ofpeople who look beyond the crisis and see

opportunities. India’s youthful populationcalls attention to a demographic dividendthat could see India at the forefront ofglobal economic growth.’Mukesh Patel,President, Diplomat Companies, USA,stated that ‘we experienced so much ofinterest to join us in Madrid for this GlobalIndia Business Meeting.This clearlyindicates that India has become a prioritydestination for partnership and investment.’‘While India still has to address manystructural problems, the country hasalready pushed through significant reforms,’Jacques-Etienne deT'Serclaes, Presidentand Founder,Agence du Don en Nature,France, added.‘Gradually, India is trying toget a vision of its future - a much clearer,

Opening Plenary Panel

Gunjan Sinha, Chairman,MetricStream,USAGlenn Proellochs, Chief Executive Officer,Travelpaper.com, Switzerland, reflecting oninnovation

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assertive and pronounced sense of destiny.’Rajive Kaul, Chairman, Nicco Group,India, concluded:‘Our hope is that themeeting will encourage a close partnershipbetween India and the world in order tostabilize the global financial system throughentrepreneurship, innovation and inter-nationalization. How well we do in the nextdecade will depend a lot on how India andits partners work on the most critical issuesfacing us - global imbalances, social well-being and the endangered environment.’This statement drew a round of applauseduring the closing session.

Horasis has created the Global IndiaBusiness Meeting to bring together business

leaders from India and the world. For twoyears now this international event hasattracted delegates from India and countriesall over the world.The presence of eminentpoliticians, entrepreneurs and experts isnot only an indicator of the growinginterest in the meeting, but a clear signal ofreadiness for mutual cooperation. Originally,an offshoot of the other programmesHorasis is conducting, the initiative tookmomentum at the inaugural meeting inMunich in 2009.We envision to attractleading Indian and global CEOs year afteryear, creating a community of engagedleaders from business and government.We are planning the expansion of thecommunity’s ranks in the years ahead.

Registering for the Global India Business Meeting

GustavoWelcker, Chief Executive Officer,Win Mate International, Portugal

Jeff Heenan Jalil,Head of Europe,WiproTechnologies,United Kingdom

Joachim Reidiess, President,Dr.Wirth Group,Germany

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Participants from India perceive themeeting as a global platform for aconstructive dialogue with leaders fromother world regions.With the Global IndiaBusiness Meeting, we are seeking to play aproactive role in India’s developmentprocess.The meeting has the mandate todevelop a road map for increasedpartnership and cooperation between Indiaand the world at the business level. It is ourhope that the meeting will continue toserve as an important conclave forstimulating thought and creative solutions.

On behalf of Horasis, I would like topersonally thank the co-hosts, co-chairs,partners from the private sector and allparticipants for the spirit of constructivedialogue and their active contributions.Thissecond Global India Business Meeting was aunique experience which would not havebeen possible without the dedication andenthusiasm of our friends from India, Spain,and the world.

Horasis looks forward to welcoming youback to next year’s edition of the GlobalIndia Business Meeting.

Dr. Frank-Jürgen RichterPresidentHorasis:The GlobalVisions Community

Congratulating the Indian Business Leaders of theYear

Frank-Jürgen Richter, President,Horasis, during theopening plenary

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Indian Business Leaders of theYear - Rajive Kaul, Rana Kapoor, Sunil Godhwani

Juan Roure, Professor, IESE, Spain, with the three award winners

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Connecting Spainand India

By Jesús Sanz,Director General,Casa Asia, Spain

Madrid has successfully hosted the secondedition of the Global Indian BusinessMeeting. More than 400 businessmen,political leaders and representatives fromcivil society met in Spain to discuss the roleof India in the twenty-first century.Thissymbolizes our keen interest to streng-thening links with this fascinating country.

Spain is developing several initiatives topromote relations with India. Casa Asia,whose primary mission is to bring thereality of India to our citizens and advancein our knowledge in the country, togetherwith Casa de la India, the Spain- IndiaCouncil and the Center of the CervantesInstitute in Delhi are some of our key piecesin the implementation of our bilateralrelations. Moreover, we enjoy full supportof the Embassy of India in Madrid and ourEmbassy in New Delhi.

We are facing difficult moments due to theglobal economic environment.Therefore, itis important to have global perspectives,seek solutions and create shared spaces andsynergistic action to overcome the currentsituation.This meeting has proved to be anexcellent opportunity to discuss about newmodels of cooperation in a changing world.

On behalf of Casa Asia, the Region ofMadrid, the City of Madrid, ICEX andINVEST IN SPAIN I would like to thankyou for your participation, support andinvolvement in the Global India BusinessMeeting.

Our most sincere congratulations also toHorasis on attracting business leaders fromall around the world to participate in thisedition.

Jesús Sanz,Director General, Casa Asia, with participants from India

‘This meeting has proved to be anexcellent opportunity to discuss aboutnew models of cooperation in achanging world’Jesús Sanz,Director General, Casa Asia, Spain

A question during the closing plenary

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India: MaturingGlobal Role

By Rajan Bharti Mittal, President, FICCI,Vice Chairman & Managing Director,Bharti Enterprises

The current global financial crisis has beenone of the most turbulent times that wehave seen since the Great Depression.Thecrisis which started due to the disturbancein the US housing market and was thoughtto be a localized event has shaken both theglobal financial system and the real economy.The critical phase of the global economiccrisis and the recent Eurozone is perhapsbehind us, but the process of recovery isstill fragile and uneven.

The impact of the crisis has been felt byalmost all countries, either directly throughthe financial channel or indirectly throughthe real channel. Economies around theworld are recovering from the global financialand economic crisis, and Multilateralorganizations like IMF and theWorld Bankhave been continuously revising upwardstheir estimates of global growth in the past

one year.The latest available report fromPeterson Institute for International Econo-mics forecast world GDP growth for theyear 2010 at 4.5 percent and about the samerate for the year after. India witnessed aslowdown in economic activity in 2007 witha GDP growth of 6.7 percent in 2008-09bounced higher to 7.4% in fiscal 2009-10.

The monetary and fiscal stimulus measuresput in place by the Indian governmentplayed an important role, first in mitigatingthe adverse impact from contagion and thenin ensuring that the economy recoveredquickly. In the year 2010-11, we expect oureconomy to grow by 8.5%.There is also aremarkable improvement in the businesssentiment as indicated by the FICCI’sBusiness Confidence Survey along with arapid build-up in momentum of investmentactivity. The results of FICCI’s latest ExportSurvey have also shown some optimismwith regard to near term performance ofIndia’s exports.

India’s USD1.2 trillion economy not onlyacts as a market for goods & services butalso as a supplier of a range of services andincreasingly knowledge-intensive goods.With India’s strong human capital base and

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Rajan Bharti Mittal,Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises;President, FICCI, addressing the Global India Business Meeting

Arrival of the Spanish Crown Prince

cutting-edge innovation, it is clear that theknowledge and technology content – thereal competitive smart-edge of India’sexports – is only going to rise. India is alsoincreasingly becoming a centre for low costinnovation and new business models. Globalcompanies with R&D centers in India arenow designing low cost models in India andpropose to use these in new emergingmarkets.

India is a rising economic power that iscontributing to world growth in new andpowerful ways – not in the least in the formof multinational Indian firms.The story ofthe rise of Indian multinationals can betraced back to the start of this century

when the process of internationalization ofIndian enterprises through OutwardForeign Direct Investments (OFDI) beganwith their increasing involvement indeveloped countries. Over the last fewyears India’s OFDI has surged with somevery large scale acquisitions being made byIndian multinationals. This clearly signals anew wave of internationalization takingplace in the world economy with emergingIndian multinationals posing criticalchallenges to leading global firms. With anunprecedented growth at 526.4 percentduring 2004 to 2007, India is much aheadin terms of OFDI growth when comparedwith other emerging countries like China,Malaysia, Russia and Republic of Korea.Thefavourable economic conditions combinedwith continuous liberalization of OFDIpolicy, an urgency to acquire additionalfirm-specific intangible assets, rising exportcompetitiveness and growing corporate andbond markets all contributed to this trendof rising outward investment.

The global economic meltdown, continuousfall in international demand and steady

Keynote speakers at the end of the welcome ceremony

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‘The Global India Business Meetingprovided an excellent platform todiscuss Indian firms’ strategies,challenges and contributions toovercome the global economic crisis andto develop into truly globalizedcorporations’Rajan Bharti Mittal,Vice Chairman & ManagingDirector, Bharti Enterprises, India

decline in exports has no doubt, taken a tollon the performance of Indian companiesand their subsidiaries abroad.After years ofoverseas expansions, the Indian firms areconsolidating their foreign operations andpreparing themselves for reduced businessopportunities caused by financial andeconomic crisis in the global economy.

The major problem faced by Indian firmshas been the credit crunch in both Indianand overseas markets.The Indian bankingsector which was less exposed to the toxicassets of western nations also adopted acautious lending policy during the recenttimes.This reluctance on part of banks tolend to the corporate sector along withdrying up of liquidity in the internationalmarket resulted in the postponement ofseveral domestic and overseas projects ofIndian firms last year.

Secondly, the negative impact of globalfinancial crisis also intensified theproblems in Indian equity foreign exchangeand money market.These in effectundermined the accessibility of Indiafirms to cheap sources of finance andreduced their profitability. Further, thesudden depreciation of the Indian rupee

against US dollar in 2008 also led to asubstantial increase in the overseas debtobligation of Indian companies in termsdomestic currency during the crisis period.

Although profit margin remain unchanged,Indian multinational companies on astandalone basis have suffered seriouslyfrom contracting domestic and exportdemand and substantial reversal in profitgrowth in the slowdown period.At thesame time, Indian companies are working ina variety of ways to tide over the problemsat hand and working out innovative albeitcautious strategies to contest the fallout ofthe economic upheaval.

'Indias rise to global eminence will be a measure of how emerging markets can cope with the crisis.’

Joan Rosás, La Caixa, Spain, on India’s financial sector

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Coming to the Indian economy in thecurrent scenario, certain sectors of theIndian economy would continue to bedrivers of high growth in the coming decade:telecom, automobiles, and infrastructure.To consolidate recovery, the financial sectorand international capital flows should con-tribute to economic growth rather thanencourage speculation and volatility in theinternational system.At the same time,focus should be on greater investments inscience, innovation, infrastructure, humancapital, education and inclusive growth.Wemust work together to create new sourcesof growth.

I would also like to touch upon aninteresting dimension of India’s maturing

role internationally: Our engagement withthe world today goes beyond trade andinvestment flows.We are also an activeinterlocutor on matters related to globaleconomic policy. India plays an importantrole in the G20 level exercises on globaleconomic management.We coordinatedwith other countries on fiscal and monetarystimulus measures. Based on our experiencewe are also contributing to the evolvingdebate and discussion on a new globalfinancial architecture and bankingframework. FICCI plays an active role inthese exercises and will also be taking adelegation toToronto. Be it climate changenegotiations, trade talks atWTO orinternational efforts to change governancestructure in multilateral institutions such as

Rajan Bharti Mittal, President, FICCI and Mohan Chainani,Vice Chairman, Spain-India Council Foundation, signing an agreement asMinister Anand Sharma and Minister Silvia Iranzo look on

Rajiv Gujral,Member of the Board,Taj International Hotels, India

Per Olofsson, Chief Executive Officer,ClimateWell, Sweden

Mohan Murti,Managing Director, RelianceIndustries, reviewing the pros and cons ofglobalization

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IMF andWorld Bank, India is a key nego-tiating party in all these efforts.Today, Indiais indeed a global citizen and a countrywithout which any major global initiativecannot be complete.And there are severalreasons behind this.

• We are one of the fastest growingeconomies of the world. During thecrisis India maintained a strong growthof 7% and is now clawing back to the 9%growth trajectory. Given our high savingsand investment rates, we may well crossthe 10% growth mark over the next fewyears and surpass China in terms ofeconomic growth.

• With a billion strong population, andmore importantly, the demographicdividend, we represent over a sixth ofhumanity.

• We are a storehouse of knowledge and ofcutting edge technology. Indiancompanies are taking up challenges,which no other company anywhere in theworld has dealt with before.There aremany examples of cutting edge workbeing undertaken by Indian corporates.

In conclusion, we see today that the centreof economic gravity is shifting from west tothe east. Given the strength of its minds andmarkets, India is destined to play a criticalrole in and contribute to global economicand geo-political issues in times ahead.

Oltmann Siemens,Trustee, Orient Institute, Germany and FlorianTaeube, Professor, EBS,Germany

Participants listening to the remarks of the Spanish Crown Prince

Miguel Otero, General Manager, Leading Brands of Spain Forum,Spain

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Minister Anand Sharma and Minister Miguel Sebastián signing a bilateral agreement

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Europe and IndiaPush to Seal Free-Trade Deal

By Raphael Minder andTom Redburn,International HeraldTribune, publishedon June 22, 2010

Madrid -With global trade negotiationsstalled, India and the European Union arepressing to complete a bilateral free-tradeagreement in the autumn that is intended totriple their 53 billion euro ($66 billion)trade flow within five years.

After nine rounds of negotiations, India andEurope are closing in on such a free-tradeagreement, Anand Sharma, the Indianminister of commerce and industry, said inan interview. Mr. Sharma said that he wouldmeet with the European tradecommissioner, Karel De Gucht, inSeptember and that ‘we hope that both of uswill be able to reach an agreement.’ Bothsides are aiming for a framework agreementin time for a Europe-India summit meetingin Brussels, scheduled for October.

Europe and India started their tradenegotiations in 2007, but talks initiallymade only slow progress. Given the impassein the Doha world trade talks, however,countries have renewed their focus onbilateral deals as a less ambitious but usefulproxy for increasing trade flows. Europesigned separate free-trade agreements lastmonth with a group of Central Americancountries, as well as Peru and Colombia.

Mr. Sharma was speaking on the sidelines ofan India business conference in Madridsponsored by Horasis, a global networkinggroup based in Geneva. His speechcoincided with the start of a visit to India by

Catherine Ashton, the European Union’snew foreign policy chief, also meant toprepare the ground for the summit meetingin Brussels.

'The willingness is definitely there, and bothsides are now putting a lot of effort intocompleting the work on the remainingissues so that the E.U.-India summit in theautumn can give the final push forconcluding this deal, which we do think ispossible,’ said John Clancy, a tradespokesman for the European Union.

'We won’t reach a multilateral agreementthis year, but the E.U.-India bilateralagreement is much advanced,’ RajanBharti Mittal, President of the Federationof Indian Chambers of Commerce andIndustry, said at the Madrid conference.Such an agreement, he added, would be‘beneficial to both sides.’

European companies are increasing theirpresence in emerging markets like India inpart to offset sluggish domestic growth.

‘If an industrial group thinks that itdoesn’t have to be in India, it’s makinga real strategic mistake’Germán Lorenzo,Managing Director Asia-Pacific,Mondragón, Spain

That is also true for Spanish companies thathave traditionally focused on former LatinAmerican colonies rather than onAsia.

'If an industrial group thinks that it doesn’thave to be in India, it’s making a realstrategic mistake,’ said Germán Lorenzo,the Asia-Pacific managing director of theMondragon Corporation, a Spanishconglomerate that recently bought land inIndia.‘Our domestic market is shrinking soour boys have to go for Asia, particularlyIndia.’

Silvia Iranzo, the Spanish secretary fortrade, conceded that her country’s tradeand investment exchanges with India had sofar ‘not been at the height of our economicscale.’ She added:‘Spain is going througheconomic difficulties so we are putting inplace policies of internationalization to helpour companies overcome the crisis, andthese policies inevitably involve India.’

India is expected to spend as much as $50billion in the next five years to modernizeits military equipment, but barriers toforeign investment in this sector wereunderlined recently.The Indian governmentblocked an electronics joint venturebetween European Aeronautic Defense and

Space and Larsen &Toubro, an Indianengineering company.The concern was thatEADS would breach the 26 percent equityownership limit for foreign investors in thesector.

But Thomas Homberg,Vice President ofEADS, insistedTuesday that ‘definitely wehaven’t given up’ on the joint venture.Facing such hurdles in the ‘sensitive field’ ofmilitary contracting did not preclude EADSfrom developing commercial aircraftmanufacturing in India, as EADS has donein China by setting up an Airbus assemblyline.‘I would not say that this is impossiblein India, not at all,’ he said.

European and other investors also wantIndia to loosen foreign ownership curbs insectors like insurance and retail. Otherconcerns include India’s manufacturing ofcounterfeit drugs and its unwillingness toinclude procurement in a trade deal.

Among outstanding issues for India isgreater access to Europe’s highly subsidizedagricultural market, which also was a majorobstacle in the Doha talks. India also wantsto make it easier for its work force to worktemporarily in Europe.

When asked whether the euro’s declinecould influence the pace of Indian corporateinvestment in Europe, Mr. Sharma said,‘Idon’t think these decisions are takenbecause of currency fluctuations.’

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‘Spain is going through economicdifficulties so we are putting in placepolicies of internationalization to helpour companies overcome the crisis, andthese policies inevitably involve India’Silvia Iranzo, Secretary forTrade, Spain

Thomas Homberg,CorporateVice President, EADS,Germany - ‘I would not say that it is impossible inIndia to develop commercial aircraft manufacturing.’

Germán Lorenzo,Managing Director Asia-Pacific,Mondragón, Spain - ‘our domestic market isshrinking so our boys have to go for India.’

India-EU FTALikely byYear-end, Says Sharma

By Pallavi Aiyar, Business Standard,published on June 22, 2010

Madrid - Both multilateral trade nego-tiations at theWorldTrade Organization(WTO) and bilateral free trade agreements(FTAs) like the India-EU (European Union)FTA, need to be speedily concluded inorder to aid global recovery from theeconomic crisis, Commerce and IndustryAnand Sharma said on Monday.

Speaking at the Global India BusinessMeeting, a gathering of Indian and Europeaninvestors, in Madrid, Sharma said an ‘inprinciple’ agreement between India and theEU on the FTA was likely to be had by theend of this year.

He added it was India’s desire to bring theDoha Round of theWTO to a successfulend because a ‘fair, rule-based system ofinternational trade would ensure globaleconomic benefits in excess of $700 million.’Sharma urged Spanish and Europeaninvestors to participate in India’s growthstory in particular in the agro processing,tourism, renewable energy and infrastructuresectors. He claimed India would be theworld’s third largest economy in real termswithin the next two decades, creating hugeopportunities for business.

The two-day India-Europe investment meetis co-chaired by amongst others, FICCI.Several dozen Indian CEOs are

participating and finding themselves wooedby European firms seeking new avenues ofgrowth at a time of economic stagnation athome.

But despite India’s increasing economicclout, countries like Spain remain unsureabout how to leverage that growth. SpanishMinister ofTrade Industry andTourismMiguel Sebastian said he hoped the eventwould spur cooperation between the twocountries, which currently remains low.

Although badly hurt by the global economiccrisis, Spain is nonetheless the world’s ninthlargest and Europe’s fifth largest economy.It is also the sixth biggest foreign investor inthe world. In 2008, its total foreign tradewas worth close to 500 billion.

Yet bilateral trade between Spain and Indiais paltry, at less than 4 billion.To put this inperspective, at 8.8 billion India’s trade withBelgium, a country of only 10 millionpeople, is worth more than double its tradewith Spain, which has a population of 40million.

‘I hope the event would spurcooperation between Spain and India’Miguel Sebastián,Minister ofTrade, Industry andTourism, Spain

During one of the breakfast sessions

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Indian Hunger forNewTechnologyFuels Acquisitions

By AFP, 23 June 2010

Madrid -The pursuit of technology is drivingthe growing number of foreign acquisitionsby Indian firms as much as the search fornew markets, top Indian business leaderssaid during a business conference in Spain.

Since 2000 Indian companies - bolstered byrapid economic growth at home and looserrules on investing abroad - have announcedover 1,000 international mergers oracquisitions worth over 70 billion dollars(56.5 billion euros), according to researchfirm Dealogic.

Vijay Chandok, the managing director ofICICI Bank UK, the British subsidiary ofIndian bank ICICI, said these overseas pur-chases are being fueled by the desire todiversify geographically as well as the needto acquire know-how in order to boostgrowth.

'They are looking to build capabilities byacquiring access to brands and patents,’ he

said at the Global India Business Meeting, atwo-day gathering of top Indian businessleaders in Madrid which wrapped up onTuesday.

In an example cited at the gathering, India’sTata Steel went from having not one singleAmerican patent to owning over 80 after itbought Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus in2007 for 12 billion dollars.As Indian firmshave grown bigger, they have boosted theirspending on research and development tohelp them move up the value chain. Butsuch investments take time to bear fruit andbuying a foreign firm is an attractive short-cut to getting more sophisticatedproduction equipment.

'Acquiring knowledge and the potential forresearch will continue to be a major driverof foreign acquisitions by Indian firms,’ saidRavi Chaudhry, the Chairman of India’sCeNext Group. Often firms gain staff withneeded skills that are scarce in India along

Studying the programme

‘Overseas purchases are being fueledby the desire to diversify geographicallyas well as the need to acquire know-how in order to boost growth’Vijay Chandok,Managing Director, ICICI Bank

Vijay Chandok,Managing Director Europe,ICICI Bank, on best practices when breaking intoforeign markets

Ravi Chaudhry, Chairman, CeNext Group, India

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with new technology when they buy aforeign firm.Tata Steel for instance gainedalmost 1,000 research staff when it boughtCorus.

Indian universities churn out millions ofgraduates each year but a large number lackthe skills needed to satisfy the new globalambitions which many Indian companiesnow have.

International consultancy McKinseyestimates that only one-quarter of India’sengineering graduates and 15 percent of itsfinance and accounting professionals arequalified to work for a multinationalcompany.

'We have the financial resources, theintellectual power.We need to look atbuying technology, buying engineeringcompanies, brands.What India really lacks

are brands, we do not have brands,’ saidRana Kapoor, the chief executive of Indianprivate lenderYes Bank.

The number of Indian firms on theFinancialTimes’ list of the world’s 500largest companies by market value doubledfrom eight in 2007 to 16 this year.

This was the second edition of the GlobalIndia Business Meeting.The first was heldlast year in Munich, Germany.

Among the Indian companies that took partthis year were Religare Enterprises, NiccoGroup, Fortis Healthcare andAmira Foods.

Closing Plenary - Building Global Firms of Indian Origin

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‘Acquiring knowledge and thepotential for research will continue tobe a major driver of foreignacquisitions by Indian firms’Ravi Chaudhry, Chairman, CeNext Group, India

‘We have the financial resources, theintellectual power.We need to look atbuying technology, buying engineeringcompanies, brands.What India reallylacks are brands,we do not havebrands’Rana Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer,Yes Bank,India

Brand India &Made in India -A Promise Forever

By Swarup Roy, Founder & Chairman,Asean Affairs

A thirty page special feature titled‘Spotlight on India’ is being published inAseanAffairs global magazine in the July-August 2010 edition. www.aseanaffairs.com

I begin with a story, variations of which wehave all heard before.An Indian business-man from Calcutta was visiting his client inUS and he was presented with a beautifulpainting depicting life of the red Indians intheWildWest. He asked his host where inAmerica such paintings were now beingmade since the red Indians had dwindled innumbers and it was difficult to find suchauthentic works. His host turned thepainting around and on the back of theframe at the bottom were the words ‘Madein China’.

There is something about the tag ‘Madein….’. I wonder when the ‘Made in India’tag will be seen on products across theglobe.When that happens, we can allproudly claim that ‘Brand India’ or ‘GlobalIndia’ has arrived. Now is not the time tocelebrate based on the facts that we escapedthe global crisis because we were smart, orthat we are the hired hands (cyber-coolies)of the American outsourcing industry.Weescaped all these crises because we areinsular, not connected to the global economyas a global brand. CEO’s after CEO’s keptup the rhetoric at the recently concludedHorasis Global India Business Meeting(21-23 June, 2010 in Madrid) how India

A celebration to harness Indias past, present and future

35

S Roy, Chairman,Asean Affairs,Thailand,moderating the session on sustainability

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stands on a solid base of fundamentals andthat we are on the track for great growthand even double digit growth.These soundgreat because of the abysmal growth ratefigures in the first 40 years of ourindependence, the so called ‘Hindu rate ofgrowth'. For real prosperity to trickle downto the bottom of the pyramid, as anyeconomist knows, we have to not onlydouble but treble our GDP in a short spanof time. As Carla Cico, CEO, Rivoli SPA,Italy put it during one of the plenarysessions:‘One of the reasons why China hasdeveloped so fast is due to the fact that inthe last 15 years a lot of investment hasbeen poured into the upgrading of theinfrastructure. India should follow thisexample. Good infrastructure is the key tofast development.Therefore, this shouldbecome the focus of the Indian governmentin the next 5-10 years. I think that India hasnot yet shown to the world its real potentialand value: they should look to the Chineseto learn how to advertise themselves.’‘Indian markets are the backyard and mustbe defended but the best defence is to growfast and an important part of that isinvesting overseas', Rana Kapoor, ChiefExecutive Officer,YES BANK, India,concluded.

A devastated, warn torn, divided Germanyrose from the ashes like a Phoenix toachieve an export figure of $1 trillion plus

to become the world’s leading exporter.Just the exports, mind you, the GDP of acountry with a mere 80m population ismuch higher at $3.673 trillion (2008).‘Ours is a domestic led growth model',declares the policy makers and businessmenof India. Does that mean we will produceproducts of ‘Indian’ quality or ‘GlobalQuality’ meant to be sold to Indians only?With a mere population of 5m, Finland hasa global brand name such as Nokia.Microsoft,Apple, Nike, IBM, Dell and thelist goes on, they set their benchmarksagainst a global standard for the domesticconsumers of America first and because ofthe great quality they produced theirproducts found ready markets overseas andbecame gold standards in their industry. Sothe debate is not of a domestic versusexport model, but to set our sights skyhigh, to create and produce products of thehighest standard and not lean on a ‘Cheap’or ‘Low cost’ model only.A country likeIndia with 700m at the bottom of thepyramid cannot afford products of a highquality may be the argument. If so then noglobal brands can succeed in India is mycounter argument.And therefore we cannot

‘I think that India has not yet shown tothe world its real potential and value:they should look to the Chinese to learnhow to advertise themselves’Carla Cico, CEO,Rivoli SPA, Italy

Tom Schick, ExecutiveVice President,AmericanExpress,USA - on the next big driver for India’sgrowth story

Carla Cico, Chief Executive Officer, RivoliS.P.A., Italy - ‘the global importance of theIndian economy increases'

Gulu Lalvani, Chairman, Royal Phuket Marina,Thailand - does India have the rightinfrastructure to drive double-digit growth

and should not aspire to be a globaleconomy.As Professor Jorge Gonzalez ofIESE Business School showed us in hispresentation in Madrid, a brand is createdby reaching out and touching the lives ofpeople. Chinese products are doing justthat, they are reaching out across the globethrough all kinds of products (from hightech to the most mundane) with the ‘Madein China’ tag.The result, the China name isgetting imprinted on the minds of peopleall over the world and telling us all thatChina has arrived on the global stage as aglobal power.

One of the greatest missed opportunitiesfor India Inc was during the outsourcingboom. Indian IT industry had the wholefield to them when wave after wave ofAmerican companies outsourced theirbusiness processes to Indian IT firms.Wehad the resources, the revenues and theattention of the world.We could have used

this opportunity to spur a silicon valley inBangalore and possibly (at least we couldhave tried) given birth to world class startups who could dream to be a Google, aMicrosoft or an Apple. Instead we basked inour limited glory and each of thesecompanies hired hundred of thousands ofhands to be faithful cyber–coolies toAmerica.

In 2001 Jim O’Neill, global economist atGoldman Sachs, coined the term ‘BRIC’ forfour countries, Brazil, Russia, India andChina. In the style of a forced marriagethese four countries were joined together,due to their perceived economic potentialin the 21st century.The four countriesaccount for more than 25 percent of theworld’s land mass and 40 percent of theworld’s population and have a combinedgross domestic product of US$ 15.5 trillion.Yet, there are significant differences be-tween each of them and as the spotlight ofthis issue of Asean Affairs is India, it will bedifferentiated most vividly from Brazil,Russia and China, although as a group,BRIC is anticipated to overtake the G7nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy,Japan, United Kingdom, and United States)very soon. Tom Schick, ExecutiveVicePresident,American Express, USA, statedthat ‘this already-large domestic market ispoised to grow significantly over the comingyears. I believe that Indian incomes arelikely to grow threefold in the next twodecades and India will become the world’sfifth largest consumer market by 2025'.

In a recentWorld Bank report,‘India andthe Knowledge Economy', authors CarlDahlman andAnuja Utz cited a number ofobstacles to India’s continued development.These were: speeding trade reform byreducing tariff protection and phasing outtariff exemptions, encouragement ofincreased foreign direct investment,stimulating the growth of manufactured and

‘This already-large domestic market ispoised to grow significantly over thecoming years. I believe that IndianIndian incomes are likely to growthreefold in the next two decades andIndia will become the world’s fifthlargest consumer market by 2025’Tom Schick, ExecutiveVice President,American Express,USA

Sharing a light moment

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service exports, strengthening intellectualproperty rights, simplifying procedures forthe entry and exit of firms, easing therestrictions on employing and dischargingemployees, improving access to credit forsmall and medium enterprises, dealing withproblems in the use and transfer of land,improving transport services, improvingthe efficiency of government and usingICTs for delivering social services,especially in health and education.

This is a substantial laundry list that fliesheadlong into the hidebound ways of doingthings in India, particularly at the provincialand local levels. If most of these obstaclesare surmounted then India could return toits glory days around 1770, when it was theworld’s second largest economy.‘There isno question that India’s infrastructureshortages present a major hurdle toattracting greater investment flows into

India. But infrastructure development ishappening – and to a mind-boggling –degree', declared Ron Somers, President,U.S.-India Business Council, USA.

But first we have put our nose to the wheeland immerse ourselves into building theIndia of our dreams. It is a long and arduoustask and the day will come when we areready to pop the bottle of bubbly andcelebrate the arrival of ‘BRAND INDIA’ onthe global stage.

Juan Pablo Lázaro,Vice President, CEIM, Spain,reasoning about the risks when advancing froma start-up to a global business

Kamil Hasan,General Partner,Hitek Venture Partners,USA

Utpal Sheth, Chief Executive Officer, RareEnterprises, India

Timothy Beardson, Chairman,Albert PlaceHoldings,Hong Kong SAR, on the future ofeconomic growth

Sachin Dev Duggal, Chairman,Nivio, India, onIndia’sTechnology Pioneers

Renè Seifert, President, Level 360 - ‘do what youcan do best and outsource the rest'

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‘There is no question that India’s infra-structure shortages present a majorhurdle to attracting greater investmentflows into India.But infrastructuredevelopment is happening – and to amind-boggling – degree’Ron Somers,President,U.S.-India Business Council,USA

India’s Gifts tothe GlobalVillage

By Lou Marinoff, Professor of Philosophy,The City College of NewYork,USA

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries,three outstanding Germanic thinkers -Frederick Nietzsche,Thomas Mann, andOswald Spengler - independently foresawthe decline ofWestern civilization.

Although undeniably correct in theirprognostications, they neither envisagednor addressed the complementary andconcomitant rise of Asia. Fast-forward tothe 1960s, when Canadian media theoristMarshall Mcluhan coined the term ‘globalvillage,’ and most Asian nations still laggedfar behind theWest in terms of culturaldynamism and economic development. Butduring the past few decades the tide ofglobalization has dramatically turned.The

West’s decline has become more palpableand precipitous, while Asia’s rise isundeniable and ineluctable.The BRIC hasemerged as a major constellation ofdeveloping nations, and India is showingevery sign of becoming a leading player onthe 21st century’s global stage.

India and China are the two most populousnations on earth, as well as two of theplanet’s most ancient civilizations. Bothhave been long-sustained by theirindigenous philosophical systems –Confucianism,Taoism and (intermittently)Buddhism in China, and a tapestry ofinterwoven ‘schools’ on the subcontinent,manifested in Hinduism and associatedreligions, and grounded inVedic philosophy.India and China have both endured politicaloccupation, economic exploitation, andreligious proselytization by various foreignpowers.Yet their national characters havebeen conserved.They both regained theirindependence in the late 1940s, andadopted distinctively different models ofgovernance. Now they are both thrivingeconomically, exerting ever-increasinginfluence in and on the global economy.

‘Indian civilization will make itspresence increasingly felt in the globalvillage’Lou Marinoff, Professor of Philosophy,The CityCollege of NewYork,USA

Lou Marinoff, Professor of Philosophy,The City College of NewYork,USA

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Community building at the Global Indian Business Meeting

In a previous Horasis Report on the GlobalChina Business Meeting (Lisbon, November2009), I contributed an article concerningthe influence of Chinese philosophy on theWest. In this Report, I would like tocelebrate India’s philosophical gifts - notonly to theWest, but to the global villageentire.While there has been a good deal ofdiscussion and admiration of India’semergent role in IT, and of the outsourcingthat has become a driver of Indian growth,we should not lose sight of a much earlierand more long-standing phenomenon: theworld-wide dissemination of Indianphilosophy, and its uplifting and enduringimpact on humanity. India represents aneclectic mosaic of religions, cultures,ethnicities and spiritual practices.A greatcivilization took root in the IndusValleyperhaps ten thousand years ago, during the

late Neolithic revolution. It evolved andbequeathed to humanity an incomparablyrich mythology and advanced philosophy,embodied in the voluminousVedas.Theindigenous Indian religions are social mani-festations of schools of Indian philosophyemanating fromVedic lore, and itsculmination in the Upanishads.

In contrast to the Abrahamic faiths, whichare paradigms of monotheism (one God,one prophet, one book), the polytheism andpluralism of indigenous Indian philosophiesare mind-expanding.Westerners havelearned of nine recognized ‘traditions’ or

‘This is a time of distinct economicuncertainty’Javier Garoz, Chief Operating Officer,Telvent, Spain

Miryam Sanchez Porcel, Director General,ValdemingûmezTechnology Park, Spain

Yatindra R Sharma, Joint Managing Director,KHS, India

Tom Redburn,Managing Editor, InternationalHeraldTribune, France

John Cook and Jitesh Gadhia Satish Batra, Chairman,Horizon Group, -‘how will India achieve its growth objectives'

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‘schools’ in Indian philosophy, six orthodoxand three heterodox.The orthodox schoolsthat accept the authority of theVedas areNyaya,Vaisesika, Samkhya,Yoga, Mimamsa,andVedanta.These schools are interrelated,and highly nuanced.Yet their common spiritis shaped and pervaded by a trio of immortalworks –the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads,and theYoga Sutras of Patanjali – beacons ofspiritual light to all humanity.The heterodoxschools, which rejectVedic authority, areCarvaka, Jainism, and Buddhism. Carvaka isa form of materialism, which even Buddhalambasted for its immorality. Jains arerenowned for their practice of ahimsa, non-harm to all sentient beings, a practice whichmany Buddhists also share.

It is fascinating that the orthodox Indianschools regard the so-called ‘heterodox’

schools that rejectVedic authority as part ofVedic tradition nonetheless. If theVedanta istruly the ‘summit of knowledge’ – that is,of knowledge conducive to spiritual progressand reunion with the Godhead – theneverything after theVedas must be containedor presaged in theVedas. Perhaps this is whyso many Indian faiths, especially in contrastto the Abrahamic ones, are seemingly opento everything. Not confined to ‘one God,one prophet, one book,’ they blissfullyabsorb ‘all Gods, all prophets, all books.’Only in India can someone who rejects theVedas still be considered an adherent of theVedas.This ancient and enchanting open-ness is reflected in the Bhagavad Gita, whenKrishna declares to Arjuna,‘By whateverpath they follow, they come to me at last.’

In terms of cosmic pathways, modernscience agrees more closely withVediccosmology than with any other of antiquity.The kalpa, or age of the universe, is ofcloser order of magnitude to currentscientific calculation than any other ancientestimate.The cyclical nature of theVedicpicture, in which the universe passesthrough vast cycles of development, decay,

‘Madrid will serve as important basefor Indian firms to explore theEuropean market’Esperanza Aguirre, President, Community ofMadrid, Spain

Esperanza Aguirre, President, Community of Madrid, welcoming participants

Sonya Madeira, President, Rice Communications,Singapore, taking notes

Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director,ApolloHospitals Group, India

Sriram Chandresekaran, Chief Executive Officer,Broadvision Group, debating globalization

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destruction, and rebirth, is thoroughlycompatible with current cosmologicalthought. Indian insight into the nature ofthe phenomenal world, the orders of beingsit contains, and the laws governing not onlytheir physical but also their soulful inter-actions, is truly profound. From thiscosmology springs a complex theologyand nuanced philosophy, possibly the oldestphilosophy known to man.The spiritualrichness of India more than offsets itssocio-economic disparities.To digest andexperience the Bhagavad Gita (among othergreat Indian books) as a work of practicalwisdom for one’s life is also to fall in lovewith Indian philosophy for life, and to shareits conviction that there is nothing elseworth knowing in this life.

Alexander the Great reached and occupiedpart of India, but left little trace of histeacher’s – Aristotle’s – philosophicaltradition.The Macedonian conqueror cameeast not to build Lyceums, but to destroy

the Persian Seleucid dynasty that had almosttoppled Athens and theWest.When Indiawas finally ready to absorb Aristotle, heappeared in the form of the British Empire.Britain’s dominance of global sea lanes,and the docility of millions of Indians inpermitting the English to rule their sub-continent (for a short while) allowed theBritish East India Company to monopolizeIndia’s cotton and salt markets, and morenotoriously to create a microstate of opiumaddicts in China, coercing Indian farmers togrow the opium poppy.Yet India absorbedthe English language, which helped unifyits five hundred tongues and innumerabledialects, absorbed the British Civil Serviceand its Mandarin model of government,and began to absorbWestern democracy,science, technology, commerce, andeducation. (It appears to have absorbedsome bureaucracy, too.)

India’s capacity for absorption seemsboundless.The all-embracing worldview oftheVedas remains effortlessly receptive to‘all Gods, all prophets, all books,’ andremains tolerant of all interpretations ofeverything, including itself. Indian philosophyviews the cosmos as a theatric spectacle,where illusory matter meets playful spiritand where material bodies are but castaway

Sushil Premchand, President, PRS Services, Switzerland and Perry Madan, Executive Director, Elixir, India

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‘Gradually, India is trying to get avision of its future - a much clearer,assertive and pronounced sense ofdestiny’Jacques-Etienne deT'Serclaes, President andFounder,Agence du Don en Nature, France

garbs for souls, which skip on steppingstones of lifetimes to their serendipitousimmersion in Brahma’s sea of light and love.Ideas are the emanations of divine con-sciousness, not the tokens of academicdispute. So Indians exposed to modernWestern mathematics and physics absorbedthem with great facility – on the foundationsof their more ancient mathematical prowess– and began to make significant contributionsthemselves in the 20th century, fromSrinivasa Ramanujan’s representation of�to Subramanyan Chandrasekhar’s physics ofblack holes.

Scattered drops of Indian culture had rainedon the 19th-centuryWest, preceding the20th century’s monsoon. InconsolableArthur Schopenhauer recognized Indianphilosophy as a panacea against suffering,while Russian theosophist George IvanovitchGurdjieff sought mystic revelation in theEast. Canadian physician R. M. Buckeembarked on a lifelong spiritual pilgrimageafter a spontaneous kundalini experienceopened his crown chakra. But when theIndian yogiVivekananda settled in NewEngland in the early 1900s, he was probably

regarded as a cultural freak. It was duringthis period that Rudyard Kipling predictedof East andWest that ‘never the twain shallmeet.’As it turned out, Kipling was a farbetter poet than prophet.

An Indian named Mohandas Gandhi, trainedin British law and Socratic philosophy, andinfluenced by New England idealist HenryDavidThoreau’s treatise on nonviolent civil

Dorian Bishop,Chief Executive Officer,BV CapitalGroup,Andorra - what can Indian entrepreneurslearn from their global counterparts?

Alfredo Bonet,Director General,Ministry ofForeign Affairs, Spain

Discussion during a break

On the sidelines of the Global Indian Business Meeting

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‘Made-in-India is increasinglyperceived as guarantee for reliabilityand advanced intellectual property’Dinesh Dhamija, Founder and Chairman,Copper Beech Group,United Kingdom

disobedience, absorbed these teachings andblended them with austere Hindu practices.Over decades, Gandhi cultivated enoughspiritual force, and attracted sufficientfollowers, to convince the British torelinquish India pacifically and graciously.Gandhi’s form of militant but nonviolentresistance to oppression – ‘Satyagraha,’ orunflinching adherence to truth – was alsoadapted in the United States by MartinLuther King Jr., who found it equallyeffective in catalyzing civil rights for AfricanAmericans.Although both Gandhi and Kingwere assassinated, their moral influence onthe global village is imperishable.

Nowadays New England, like America coastto coast, abounds with gurus, ashrams, andyoga camps of every kind.The 1960s wasthe pivotal decade during which Asianphilosophies – Hinduism, Buddhism,Taoism– pervaded mainstreamWestern culture,thanks partly to celebrity musicians, poets,and authors who took them up for thesake of their own spiritual development,popularizing them in the process.Thesepractices paid large dividends for theirartistic development too.

In pop music,The Beatles and their involve-ment with Maharishi MaheshYogi importedtranscendental meditation wholesale intoWestern public consciousness. On Chicago’slegendary South Side, the Paul ButterfieldBlues Band recorded their East-Westalbum, whose title track blended Dixielandwith raga. Sri Chinmoy became the guru ofjazz-rock fusion guitarist John McLaughlin.Jazz immortalsWayne Shorter, HerbieHancock, and Larry Coryell discoveredNichiren Buddhism – a Japanese tradition

based the Lotus Sutra – which elevatedtheir energy, clarity, and creativity, andinspired their musical evolution.Thanks tothe genius of Ravi Shankar, Indian classicalmusic also became well-known in theWest,attracting the likes of violinistYehudiMenuhin, whose recordings with Shankar arecelebratory meetings of India’s ancient andEurope’s more recent classical traditions.Al Di Meola and L. (Lakshminarayana)Subramaniam further fusedWestern andIndian forms. Intellectual Richard Alpertreincarnated himself as Ram Dass.Atriumvirate of generation-defining Jewishpoets – Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, andLeonard Cohen – all flirted with Buddhism,as India’s extended family of philosophiesmigrated to theWest.The industry of Indian

‘It is time to bring down existingbarriers since multilateral trade willaccelerate the process of recovery whilethe reverse will slacken the pace’Niraj Sharan, Chairman,Aura, India

Continuing discussions over lunch

Reception at the 2010 Global India Business Meeting

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gurus burgeoned too.The orange-cladsunsyasin of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, theblissed-out premies of Guru Maraji, theHare-Krishna chanters of Swami Prabhupada,along with eclectic dharma bums anddie-hard hippies, all received, absorbed,reflected, and transmitted sat-sang intoWestern thought.

And because Indian philosophy is so well-attuned to the fundamental vibrations thatcreate, sustain, and annihilate the cosmos,Western physics and Indian cosmology alsomerged in the atomic age.When RobertOppenheimer, the ‘father’ of the A-bomb,witnessed the first nuclear detonation atAlamogordo, New Mexico, he was movedto think not of Prometheus stealing firefrom the gods, but of Krishna metamor-phosing into Kali, the goddess of destruction,and of her terrible words to an awestruckArjuna:‘Now I am becomeTime, thedestroyer of worlds.’The next generation ofthis lineage is more pacific. David Bohm, astudent of Oppenheimer’s, who subsequentlyrevealed the implicate order and discoveredthe quantum potential, also teamed up withIndian guru Jiddu Krishnamurti to developdialogues on education and betterment fora global humanity.

Indian civilization will make its presenceincreasingly felt in the global village. ButIndia’s greatest gift of all may be among itsmost ancient: Buddhism.Viewed in oneway, Buddhism is a world religion, deeplyembedded in Asia and increasingly popularin the post-ChristianWest.Viewed anotherway, Buddhism is a heterodox school ofIndian philosophy:Vedanta withouttheology; Nirvana without a Godhead;karma as volition instead of fate. SiddharthaGautama reformed orthodox Indianphilosophy without schism, revolution orbloodshed. He crafted a universal andperennial humanistic philosophy that – trueto its tolerant roots – is compatible witheverything under the sun. Expressingcompassion for all and disparagementtoward none, eliciting that which is noblestand best in the hearts and minds of humanbeings regardless of origin, and demandingno commitment to dogma, the secularphilosophy of Buddhism is helping illuminatethe globalized world. Notwithstandinghumanity’s economic progress, there is atevery juncture a dire need for moral clarity.Indian philosophy affords this in abundance.

Amit Shahi, Co-Chairman and ManagingDirector,The IdeaWorks, India

Colin Hill, Executive Chairman,Hill & Associates,Hong Kong SAR

Gian LucaTabarrini,Managing Director,Ros Roca Group, Spain

When Bodhidharma ventured from India toChina in the 5th century C.E., transmittingBuddhist lore and Dhyana yoga, (whichbecame ‘Chan’ in China and ‘Zen’ in Japan),he sowed a seed that took root in the verybedrock of East Asian philosophical culture.By the 7th century, Mahayana Buddhism hadbecome ensconced in theTang Dynasty,alongside Confucianism andTaoism, as oneof the ‘Three Jewels’ of Chinese philosophy.Indian Buddhism was transformed in thecrucible of China, spreading to Korea, Japan,and (centuries later) to theWest. In the20th century, China was also instrumentalin disseminatingTibetan

Buddhism, Mahayana’s other main branch,westward. So this heterodox yet compellingvoice of Indian philosophy, namelyBuddhism, has become a legacy to theglobal village entire. As India modernizesand adapts herself to the challenges of theglobal economy, she also assumes herrightful place as a seminal civilization, well-spring of philosophical sagacity, absorberand transmitter of influential cultures. Letus celebrate India’s myriad and preciousgifts to the global village. May her venerablewisdom traditions continue to enlightenhumanity.

Valentin Romanov, Executive Director, SUNGroup, Russia

Luis Villarroya, Chief Executive Officer, Eptisa,Spain

Mark Runacres, India Advisor, Confederation ofBritish Industry,United Kingdom

Networking break

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