core sector communique

PRIME MINISTER MANMOHAN SINGH OF INDIA TO INAUGURATE MILESTONE INDIA ECONOMIC SUMMIT

• World Economic Forum celebrates 25 years of collaboration and active engagement in India
• 800 participants from over 40 countries will take part from 8 to 10 November  

New Delhi, India, 5 November 2009 – The World Economic Forum is celebrating 25 years of active engagement in India at its annual India Economic Summit, taking place in New Delhi from 8 to 10 November. This year’s Summit has set a new record for total participation with over 800 leaders from industry, government, civil society and academia from over 40 countries. The theme for this year’s Summit is “India’s Next Generation of Growth”.

Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, will inaugurate the landmark Summit on 8 November. Other key public figures from India include: Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Finance; Palaniappan Chidambaram, Minister of Home Affairs; Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry; Kamal Nath, Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Montek S. Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission; Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development; Murli Deora, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; Ambika Soni, Minister of Information and Broadcasting; Sam Pitroda, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations; Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs; Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry; K. V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture and Consumer Affairs; Mullapally Ramachandran, Minister of State for Home Affairs; Kiran Walia, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Women and Child Development and Languages, Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi; and Ajay Shankar, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The six top industry leaders serving as Co-Chairs for the Summit are: Shumeet Banerji,Chief Executive Officer, Booz & Company, United Kingdom; Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Renault, France; President and Chief Executive Officer, Nissan, Japan; William D. Green, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Accenture, USA; Baba N. Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Forge, India; Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ICICI Bank, India; and Indra Nooyi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo, USA.

“While the Indian economy registered 6.7% growth – outshining the developed economies and many emerging economies during the year of global economic and financial crisis – the need for further reforms and drive to be a globally competitive economy cannot be under-emphasized. The India Economic Summit in partnership with the World Economic Forum is the global platform to find ways to further reforms and build competitiveness at the next level,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director-General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India.

“The programme for this year’s Summit will lead to concrete recommendations for addressing key challenges such as skill development, financial empowerment of the poor and development of female talent,” remarked Sushant Palakurthi Rao, Director and Head of Asia at the World Economic Forum. “Next to its strong economic fundamentals, India’s youthful population calls attention to a demographic dividend which could see India become a hub for manufacturing and technological innovations,” added Palakurthi Rao.