21st century belongs to India: Mukesh Ambani

MUMBAI: Demonstrating confidence in India���s youth, Reliance Industries (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani said India has a huge demographic advantage, emphasising that the 21st century is destined to be India���s century.

���India will become richer before it gets older and the Chinese will become older before they get richer,��� Mr Ambani said at the International Bar Association (IBA), while addressing a conference on ���Taking India to the next millennium��� in Mumbai on Friday.

Talking of poverty, Mr Ambani said the responsibility of eradicating poverty lies ���with all of us���, adding it���s not fair to hold only the government or the industry responsible for it.

When asked about social responsibility of corporates and corporate governance issues, Mr Ambani said, ���In the past few decades, we did a pretty good job in terms of poverty alleviation. Going forward, the responsibility lies with civil society, which means all of us... Everybody should get an equal opportunity, quality of life, health and education. I think it���s the responsibility for all of us. It���s not government, it���s not corporation, it���s all of us.���



Mr Ambani said Indian corporates are among the best governed in the world. ���We really have a free press, that���s a big advantage in India. We have a sensible regulation. The good thing is that all of that works. I don���t think you can take isolated instances: if there���s a Madoff, the whole Wall Street doesn���t become bad.���

���We have to recognise that there is an imbalance of wealth distribution in the world. Before the financial crisis, 20% of the world���s population had 80% of the wealth. What this financial crisis is going to teach us is that we really have to reinvent ourselves and prosperity really has to be for all. But we have to redefine what prosperity means,��� he said.

Interestingly, Mr Ambani admitted that he has not seen the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire yet. But billionaire Ambani is very keen to watch the film as soon as he can, and wants every slum dweller to become a millionaire.