ET GBS: After keynote speech by PM Modi, top ministers to talk business with Global Inc leaders

NEW DELHI: A billion is not a small number — which is why the Economic Times Global Business Summit 2016 is a special gathering. Over two days — January 29-30 — in New Delhi, the summit will witness an eclectic gathering of global leaders of multi-billion-dollar businesses, political leaders who shape the destiny of more than a billion Indians, and thought leaders who shape the world view of the elite across the globe. In short, it will be Davos redux on Indian soil.

Don’t take our word for it. After painting the dream for a $20-trillion economy in the inaugural edition last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will again deliver the keynote address at the summit on Friday, January 29. Global and Indian business leaders will be keen to understand the vision of the leader of the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

The PM’s address will inaugurate a weekend of intellectual heavy-lifting in the course of which ministers, chief executives and thought leaders will speak on various aspects of the India opportunity.

These include heavy hitters of his Cabinet such as Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Communications & IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

On the first day, the bosses of global business behemoths like Andrew Witty (CEO, GlaxoSmithKline), Dominic Barton (MD, McKinsey & Co), John Rice (Vice-Chairman, GE) and Dennis Nally (Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers), will exchange views on the opportunities and obstacles for India with, among others, barons of India Inc such as Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sunil Mittal and Uday Kotak. At a time the world is unsure which way economic tides are flowing, the conference will also focus on setting course for the future.

Eminent thought leaders like economist Nouriel Roubini, author Nassim Nicholas Taleb and business guru Ram Charan will do some crystal ball-gazing about what lies ahead. On Saturday, a panel on Make in India will have Union ministers and bureaucrats sharing space with Tom Albanese (CEO, Vedanta Resources), Michael Thiemann (CEO, ThyssenKrupp) and Hans-Pal Bürkner (Chairman, BCG) to discuss what it will take to unleash India’s manufacturing potential.

A panel on Digital India featuring IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Wipro’s Rishad Premji and Google’s Rajan Anandan, to name a few, will look at the new rules India needs to put in place to encourage its new-economy businesses.

There’s more, lot’s more at GBS 2016. Watch this space.