Emerging India in a Global Economy

Panels 2006

Panels were made up of four or five experts from industry, academia, government and journalism. These sessions enabled students and invited audience members to exchange opinions from a range of perspectives and engage interactively with experts in these areas.
Based on participant interest, the panels were as follows:

Panel 1: Investing in India
Chair: Dr Dibyesh Anand - Lecturer in International Politics, University of Bath
Dinkar Jetley - Global Head of Trust & Securities Services, Deutsche Bank
Iain McCoo - Senior Vice President, Lehman Brothers
HE Kamalesh Sharma - Indian High Commissioner to the UK

In 2005, India attracted over £6 billion in foreign institutional investment and £5 billion in foreign direct investment. Big name Investment banks including JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers have invested vast sums in outsourcing their operations to India. In late 2005 Microsoft, Intel and Cisco Systems each announced plans to invest more than $1bn each in India over the next four years, mostly towards the expansion of R&D facilities. This panel discussed the long term benefits of such operations.

India also attracts several billion dollars a year in portfolio investment and private equity. Panellists will examine the relative risks and rewards of these various investment types.

Key question: Do the benefits of investing in India outweigh the risks?

Panel 2: India and China in Comparative Perspective
Chair: Prof Andrew Pettigrew - Dean of School of Management,
University of Bath
Asif Ahmad – Director, UK Trade and Investment, Asia-Pacific
Dr Gareth Price – Head of Asia and India Project, Royal Institute for International Affairs, Chatham House
Devyani Vaishampayan – Regional HR leader, BG Group

This panel explored the similarities and differences of the two most populous countries in the world, which find themselves at a comparable stage of economic development. The panel discussed the vast differences in FDI between India and China, as well as the sources of GDP growth; whereby India generates more than 50% of its GDP from Services, whilst in China it is Industry.

How important is India’s supply of graduates with fluent English compared to their Chinese counterparts? How do China and India’s cultural attitudes towards business differ and are these significant factors behind their relative economic success?

Key question: Is economic prosperity in India and China interdependent?