India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a global audience from 52 countries kickstarting the India Global Week 2020 hosted by India Inc. Group, a UK-headquartered media house.
The conference named 'Be The Revival: India And A Better New World' is being held virtually for the first time this year, because of the ongoing global pandemic. This is the 7th year for the event which was formerly called UK-India Week, held every year in the UK. The forum is also marking the 100th birth anniversary of Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar.
In his inaugural address at the conclave, that started from today and will run till Saturday 11 July 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that the government is equally focused about the health of the economy and health of people.
Highlighting about ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, he said that it does not mean India is closed to the world, but instead, means a ‘self-sustaining’ and 'self-generating' India helping the world.
“Aatmnanirbhar Bharat merges domestic productions and consumption with global supply chain,” he said. “‘Aatmnanirbhar Bharat’ is not being self-contained or closed to the world. It is about self-sustaining and self-generating. We will peruse policies, that promotes efficiency, equity and resilience.”
Calling India’s economy one of the most open economies and inviting global companies to establish presence in India saying India provides opportunities like no other country in the world. "India remains one of the most open economies in the world. We are laying a red carpet for all global companies to come and establish their presence in India. Very few countries will offer the kind of opportunities India does today," he said.
Saluting India’s talents, Modi spoke about India’s tech professionals, “India is a powerhouse of talent, eager to contribute and ever ready to learn.”He added, “Indians are natural reformers, India has overcome every challenge, social or economic.”
“On the one hand India is fighting a battle against the global pandemic, with an increasing focus on people’s health, we are equally focussed on the health of the economy.”He added, “Indians have the spirit to achieve what is believed to be impossible, no wonder in India we are already seeing green shoots of economic recovery. In this time of pandemic, we have provided relief to our citizens and undertaken deep structural reforms. We are making the economy more productive, investment friendly and competitive.”
Speaking about India’s different industries, including Start-Ups and pharma, he recounted the steps taken by the government so far to revive Indian economy. There are opportunities in India’s sunrise industries, and we are opening our doors to global investors, he said. “India awaits you all.” He added, “The pandemic has shown that India’s pharma industry is an asset not to just India but also to the world. It has played a leading role in reducing the cost of medicine in the world.
Speaking about India's role in developing and producing vaccines to eradicate coronavirus, he said, “Vaccines made in India are responsible for two-third of the vaccine needs for children in the word. Today also they are a part of the international effort of development and Covid-19 vaccine. I am certain that India will have an important role in developing and scaling production of vaccines when it is discovered.”
The speakers in this 3 day conference include Dr S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, Government of India, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Communications, Electronics, IT, Law and Justice, Government of India, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Minister of Commerce & industry, Government of India, Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, Dr Shashi Tharoor, Dominic Raab, UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, UK’s Home Secretary Priti Patel, UK’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
I am enormously proud of the British Asian Trust : HRH The Prince of Wales
On day two of the India Global Week 2020, HRH The Prince of Wales urged for an integrated international focus on sustainability, he said, “I am enormously proud of the way that the British Asian Trust, which I set up thirteen years ago now, has taken major steps in this field, having already deployed the Quality Education India Development Impact Bond with great success. As we rebuild from the current crisis we have an unparalleled opportunity to put people & planet at the heart of global value creation & move to sustainable markets for long-term value, balancing natural, social & physical capital' India's philosophies and values have emphasized a sustainable way of life and a harmonious relationship between humanity and nature. Looking forward, new employment opportunities, entirely new industries & markets rooted in genuine sustainability are within our grasp. They are now embarking on another such bond, with the National Skills Development Corporation of India, to address the skills shortage in critical sectors for Covid-19 recovery development.” HRH Prince of Wales also said that he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the importance of "sustainable living". He quoted the ancient yogic concept of 'Aparigraha', and said it's the time when the world learnt this ancient wisdom from India as it seeks revival amid the pandemic. He accepted that he’s always been encouraged by the Indian Diaspora to build a sustainable future. "In many of my discussions with the Indian Diaspora community in the United Kingdom, I always felt so encouraged by their ambition to build a sustainable future," he said. "One of the most innovative ways, in which the diaspora is already involved - and a way that re-thinks the deployment of capital - is through the use of social finance,” he added.
“Global governance which may be the real vaccine the international community needs”: Shashi Tharoor
“When the pandemic is over, the globe has to learn lessons about what happened, and how to prevent what happened from happening again, and how international systems and institutions can possibly strengthen and radically reform in order to forestall its recurrence. Otherwise, we’ll again be lamenting global governance and be facing one more crisis if not next year but within a few years certainly,” Tharoor said. He also stated that the very things he and his co-author Samir Saran wrote about in their book titled ‘The New World Disorder and the Indian Imperative’, are seemingly coming true. “As an Indian writer I’ve co-authored...my book’s co-author Samir Saran who runs a think tank in Delhi. We've called for the indian government to do much more. And perhaps for example Mr. Trump’s US would be inclined to do so because we’ve felt that a country like India should help reboot the ethic and method of global cooperation. That it should really offer to the world a sort of new ethic for global governance which may be the real vaccine the international community needs to navigate the new decade.” He said that the indulgence of the chinese line for far tooling is a case in point . “I really worry about where we are headed,” as he spoke about problems with the WHO (World Health Organisation).
Tharoor, who has spent three decades at the United Nations, said: “Member states had designed the institutions to help and never to challenge. We have to face a reality that says listen member states still call the shots, he who pays the piper, will call the tune.” He added, “Our critique of global governance recognises the interdependence and fragility of our global society. It doesn’t mean we don’t need global governance, it means we need something better and more effective.” He discussed how Wuhan buffed independent experts from WHO and said, “Granting a visa is their sovereign right and refusing one in their national interest is a sovereign privilege.”
Tharoor believes that when Covid-19 gets over, the 75th anniversary of the UN that falls this year, is a great opportunity to reinvent the way the entire UN works. “We need 21st century world leaders to step up. The rapid and global spread of Covid-19 pandemic is a devastating reminder of the consequences of global governance.” “If India too succumbs to the trap of putting sovereignty ahead of collective humanity, in the files of its timeless ethos that says ‘the whole world must become one family’, if India forgets that ethos, I do believe that we will lose a very valuable voice for knitting the world together,” he added. He also spoke about the schengen agreements that essentially collapsed when borders were sealed. Tharoor feels that the Europeans have to ask themselves some tough questions. He fears that if those negative trends are the ones that continue to dominate, then the UN may not live to see its centenary.
Let’s Not Waste a Good Crisis: India’s Economic Reform Imperative
In this session, the panel shared its perspectives on India's current reform path, its response to the COVID-19 crisis and the path ahead.
Ashu Khullar, CEO, Citi India and Regional Head for South Asia said, “The resilience that most businesses have gone through when everything shuts down thet working from home is the new contenting of business. More than 90% of employees are working, there’s a lot of thinking going around the future of work, saving money on real estate, work from home has a stigma in india which hasn’t been in the west and opens opportunities for women.” On luring business away from China, he said that the fact that we have a young population, the digital backbone the credit for creating the digital backbone goes to the government along with world class infrastructure, ongoing consumerism trends and urbanisation. “The secular trends in India through this period of uncertainty are very strong. He also thinks that China wasn’t sitting idle, “I’m pleased that the government is taking this seriously.” He sees this as an opportunity in India, as a big trend where whole digitisation of every part of the economy beyond the manufacturing chain has occurred.
Jitesh Gadhia, Member, House of Lords discussed whether the scale of reform packages is enough or not. He said, “I think it’s a question of calibration.” He cited the UK's example, according to which it will have an approximate deficit of 350bn pounds. “Frankly, that may be necessary but this will ultimately have to be paid and handled. For India, to handle those types of deficits is not realistic. RBI is independent and there’s a lot more that could be done. This is almost a situation where any amount of stimulus will not be enough. When you got a supply shock and demand shock, stimulus could make it worse,” he added. Gadhia believed that the nations need to focus on “relief in the short term, recovery now”. He felt that there’s a trilogy to this. “Planning for reform and revival is so crucial this is again back to the india opportunity. It would be such a waste to this crisis if we had the same issues next year or after. We got the cease the moment now,” he insisted. “Sometimes, countries have to reform out of choice, in pandemic calls for the necessity for reforms.”
Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Adviser, Government of India discussed the “payment shock after moratorium”. According to him, MSMEs are more vulnerable to this. Ben Thompson mentioned the reforms of 1991 and stated that we’re on track for some double digit contractions. In this unprecedented crisis, would that be enough or not, Sanjeev answered, “There are few things that you need to understand in terms of what are our degrees of freedom. Remember all the money you’re flowing is eventually out of debt, it is not free money. The demand boost you would have expected by giving the money out doesn’t come back the way in which it is expected. We have to be careful not to spray money everywhere. So far, this has been done much more step by step in one big package kind of approach. For the more vulnerable sections of our economy, the analogy with 1991 is very interesting. Yes, the economy slowed down but there’s one major difference. Our inflation is very well controlled, it’s close to zero. On some fronts the economy is extremely stable. There are many areas where in fact the economy has gained in a certain sort of way. When we wrap up demand we will not have to fear triggering inflation. There are many degrees of freedom, big structural supply side reforms. The bounds from it must be kind strong.” Amid a bonfire of red tapism, he said, “Huge number of changes are being made, we’ll be very happy to consider changes, both at central and state level govt level, we’re always open to feedback, tell us the changes you need.”
Partners in Revival: Time to Refresh & Re-ignite
UK International Trade Secretary,Liz Truss took to the digital stage of India Global Week 2020 for the Partners in Revival: Time to Refresh & Re-ignite session with a message of post-Brexit opening up to India & the wider world. She said: “During the COVID crisis, we have been working with India to keep supply chains open and keeping trading routes alive; it is vitally important we don’t move to protectionism. On the trade side, we are not letting the grass grow under our feet; UK-India are carrying on negotiations virtually given the current crisis. At #JETCO2020, we will be looking at removing barriers to trade between the UK & India. What excites us about India is that we want to diversify our trade and we want to work with countries that share our values.” Liz closed the session with a promise of huge opportunities for UK & Indian industries from Edtech to Medtech by the minister.
In a special address, Priti Patel, Secretary of State for Home Department, UK Government said, “We’ve all been going through a terrible period with covid and now with the post Covid world in particular. Our condolences to both our countries for devastating loss of lives.” She spoke about how the UK’s new immigration system impacts people who come to work in the UK. She cited the change in the UK’s immigration policy after January 1, 2020, as the “biggest change we’re seeing since 1971 in the UK”. “People can come to the UK to check balances for other countries around the world.” She clarified that if someone has got something to contribute to the UK, and has got the required sponsorship is there, he/she can come to the UK. Patel stated that this is a “significant signal to the world” of how the UK has been “embracing people for their skills and values they bring to the country”. Speaking about the women in the diaspora, she said, “The diaspora has always gone from strength to strength.” She insisted that it is imperative to really engage in bilateral relationships and economic ties for women in particular. “Our relationship with India is deeply rooted in shared history, culture and our people to people ties. It is difficult to think of two other countries so deeply intertwined as the living bridge between our nations strengthens. Our partnership for the future is based upon our shared values and determination to be a force for good as we collectively embark upon new challenges and new shared opportunities.”
Healthcare Collaboration: Building a New Healthcare Paradigm
Matt Hancock, UK Health Secretary said that the latest UK govt figures show that India is the second-highest in terms of countries from around the world from which people have come into the NHS, and he flagged it as a “very real” UK-India partnership atthe India Global Week 2020. He also hailed India as a tech powerhouse & the UK’s work with Indian health-tech firms: “Prime Minister Modi has called India the pharmacy of the world, and it’s true.” “Undoubtedly one of the key pillars of the India-UK partnership, the opportunities for both countries from closer healthcare collaboration are obvious. India’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat programme has a number of areas where NHS expertise can be highly beneficial, both countries are in need of digital solutions to overburdened systems. More than ever, the Covid-19 pandemic has put the spotlight on these issues.”
100 Most Influential: Launch of the UK-India Women in Leadership Forum
The India Global Week 2020 launched the UK-India Women in Leadership Forum to bring these efforts together. The forum is supposed to serve as a unique platform to raise awareness and help boost opportunities for women’s empowerment in both countries.
Janhavi Dadarkar, CEO & Founder, Maiora on the barriers to opportunities for women."When we look at cultural factors in the UK, sticking BAME together skews the stats. Sometimes, culture actually helps women. For me, my Indianness and family actually helped me. An unconscious bias & cognitive biases within all sectors & businesses really need to tackle around the world, not just in India. There needs to be a real change in people's mindset."
Baroness Usha Prashar : "The way work processes are built now is for men & their working patterns. They do not take into account the responsibilities that women have & how they may come into conflict. If we really want to Be The Revival then we must take these factors in mind. The domestic responsibilities of women, & the time they need to take off to have children, really impacts their career growth. This is where digital technology can help in introducing flexibility in work processes.”
Shalini Arora, CEO, Savannah Wisdom: "We need to focus on building skills and confidence of women when it comes to addressing gender disparity. We need to look at the push factors from parents, society, culture and businesses when we look at changing perception and mindset."
Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson & Managing Director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group: "I've taken it upon myself to increase the ratio of women in management roles. The mindset is what really needs to change, not just in India but world over. And if we can be a catalyst to this change, then that would be a big achievement."
Poonam Gupta, CEO, PG Paper Ltd.: "The industry needs to create roles that are more flexible so women can manage the many responsibilities they juggle. Also, industries address things like pay/wage gap - which don't even make sense in the 21st century. When I entered the recycling business a few years ago in the UK, a male-dominated industry, I was ignored in meetings & often needed a man to speak just so people would pay attention."
