BIZ ~ COM
Chennai, Feb 11:
The Madras Management Association (MMA) hosted its annual convention under the theme ‘India@2047: Leapfrogging to the Future’ in Chennai on Saturday
Dr. V Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor of the Government of India, in his inaugural address said India has been growing by more
than 4 percent for consecutive years post Covid.
He attributed it to how India managed the situation initially through a centralized and later on, through a decentralized approach by development of vaccines, by its ability to administer vaccine to the entire population and by building a robust digital public infrastructure.
He applauded the government for the way it has ensured energy supply at a reasonable price, post the Ukraine conflict. The strength of the financial and corporate sector that we have now was missing in the second decade, he added.
Dr Nageswaran made a fervent appeal to business houses to view regulators as enablers of business and not as impediments. Regulations are essential for long term growth, he argued. “Health, education and
skilling deserve top focus,” he said
He lamented that MNCs see India as a frontier for processed food. “We need a healthy population and India should not become sicker before it becomes richer. These are individual responsibilities and not that of the
government,” he said He said that our skilling efforts in the face of AI must be such that we must be able to generate employment for the youth. Geopolitical churn is the biggest threat, he said.
He said that economic sovereignty of developing nations is under threat because of the climate change agenda followed of developed nations.
“We may have to depend on rare earths and minerals from one or two nations and wishing away nuclear energy is not an easy option. On India’s path to 2047, we tend to temper our optimism. We need
patience, persistence and paranoia. While we can pride in our achievements, we have to be realistic of our own limitations and strengths,” he said
Vini Mahajan, Secretary in the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India in her keynote address said India has great potential to surpass Europe in per capita income by 2047 but pointed out the critical importance of ensuring equity in asset ownership, income distribution, and access to opportunities Mahajan said there is an urgent need for sustained investments in skill development and healthcare to propel India towards its envisioned future
Highlighting the challenges and opportunities facing the nation, Mahajan shed light on the Ministry of Jal Shakti’s ambitious initiative to provide potable water to every rural household.
She said global uncertainties will pose serious challenges and pointed
out that steep rise in prices of pipes has become a bottleneck as the Jal Jivan mission requires huge quantities of pipes. She said India is on the path to become an egalitarian and transparent society by 2047
Group Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd) Executive Director of MMA, unveiled a special issue of the MMA Digital Business Magazine titled ‘Business Mandate.’
K Mahalingam, President of MMA, welcomed the gathering and V Shankar senior vice president of MMA gave an overview of the convention. A.R. Unnikrishnan, Managing Director of Saint Gobain and
Vice President of MMA proposed the vote of thanks.
Some of the distinguished industry leaders and country’s top bureaucrats addressed the annual convention. Soumyadeep Ganguly, Partner and Leader of Manufacturing and Supply Chain Practice
moderated a special panel on Future of Industry – Capturing the $ one Trillion opportunity in shifting global supply chains with; Shriram Viji, Managing Director of Brakes India Ltd and Rahul Mammen Mappillai,
managing director of MRF Ltd. Varun Prakash, Partner and Leader of Chennai, McKinsey & Co
moderated a special session on New Technology Frontiers How India can become the Innovative Engine for the world with panelists – Jaideep Sarkar, Professor of Practice and Entrepreneurship IIM Bengaluru, and
Velusamy R, President of Automotive Technology and Product Development and Member of Group Executive Board of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.
Anurag Sharma, Associate Partner and Leader of People Supply Chain Practice, McKinsey & Co moderated a special session with Viswanath PS, Managing Director and CEO of Ramstad India, Poonam Narang, Vice
President (HR) Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Sriram Rajagopal, founder and director of Diamondpick
S Seetharaman, chairman of Super Auto Forge Pvt Ltd welcomed the gathering at the valedictory session and Dr Santrupt B Misra former director Group HR of Aditya Birla Group delivered the key note address
Leadership Lessons from the Frontline.
