Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, has called for upgradation of educational standards so as to develop skills in industrial sectors. He was speaking at the first Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held outside India with the theme of ‘Engaging the Diaspora: The way forward’, organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre in New York.
Addressing the session on Investing in India, Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, said that there has been a huge difference in perception of India, and the diaspora represents the intellectual and entrepreneurial talent of India. India is valued in the world for its arts and culture and its ethos of unity and harmony, said the Minister. The most important aspect of India’s growth trajectory is its credibility of laws and institutional strengths which scores over other countries. Lauding the Indian diaspora, the Minister said that the community has made its mark across the world and is the face of India.
Mr Nandan M Nilekani, Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited, emphasized the opportunities for the diaspora in the services sector. The IT sector will double to $ 50-60 billion in 3-4 years, doubling employment as well. Its larger social purpose in education, urban governance, healthcare, etc will increase.
A special session on India@75 was held featuring Professor CK Prahalad, Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. Sharing his vision for India in 2022, he stated that the country has the potential to actively shape the world order through economic strength, technological vitality and moral leadership. For this India needs to balance its aspirations and resources, the mismatch of which creates innovation. India should fold the future rather than extrapolate the past, and take small clear steps. The emerging issues will be about income inequality rather than poverty, and about lifestyles, universality of aspirations, impact on world prices, moving from ‘bottom of the pyramid’ to ‘straddling the pyramid’ and the environmental impact of development.
The session on education and health partnerships was addressed by Mr Sam Pitroda, Chairman National Knowledge Commission, and Chairman, CII Indian American Council, Rajat Kumar Gupta, Senior Partner Worldwide, McKinsey and Co. and Chairman, Public Health Foundation of India, B Ramalinga Raju, Founder and Chairman, Satyam Computer Services Ltd, Mr Thomas Abraham, Chairman, Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin, Hemant Patel, President, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, and Mr Analjit Singh, Chairman, Max India Group of Companies and Chairman, CII International Council. They outlined their experiences in the social sectors and the lessons arising from them for Indian Americans keen to take part in the sectors
