At the 14th Annual Wharton India Economic Forum held Saturday at the Park Hyatt in Center City, India’s leading businessmen, politicians and film personalities discussed a wide variety of topics ranging from health care and performing arts to entrepreneurship in India.
The event was attended by over 600 students and professionals from across the East Coast. The keynote speakers included Praful Patel, Indian Minister of State of Civil Aviation and Aditya Puri, CEO of HDFC Bank, one of India’s largest commercial banks.
The keynote speakers emphasized the enormous opportunities available in India today.
“When we started out, India had limited opportunities. But today India offers countless opportunities and I want to tell students this,” Puri said.
The theme of the conference was “Breaking Boundaries,” and various prominent speakers gave examples of how India will break economic and social boundaries over the next decade.
“India’s economy could be 40 times bigger by 2050,” said Sachin Pilot, Indian Minister of State for the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. He also highlighted the importance and need for double-digit growth in India over the next few years to alleviate poverty.
“India needs to play a bigger role in global governance and more Indians should lead global institutions,” said Kalpana Kochhar, the country head for India at the International Monetary Fund.
Other panels discussed the role of social enterprises and non-profits in India, infrastructure development and role of women in India’s corporate sector. There was also a film panel that debated globalization of Indian cinema. Anil Kapoor, who played the TV show host in Slumdog Millionaire and more recently the role of Kamistan President Omar Hassan in television show 24, spoke about the growing market for Bollywood movies in the West and his experiences working in Hollywood.
The attendees got an opportunity to discuss and interact firsthand with people on the forefront of India’s economic and social development.
“[The conference] was a good way to bring all these high-profile people from India together and to learn ... what they are trying to achieve for the country,” College freshman Ayesha Kadan said.
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