Former DRDO chief V K Saraswat joins as full-time member of NITI Aayog

ET Bureau

The Economic Times Global Business Summit turned out to be one of its kind of forum – full of unexpected delights and charms. From PM Narendra Modi setting a $20-trillion target for the economy, to his ministers painting a picture of how they will work to realise the dream, we take a look at the biggest takeaways from a forum that had the best of thought leaders and corporate minds debating on how to script an economic change...

In pic: Times Group MD Vineet Jain welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the man of the moment, with a shawl at the ET Global Economic Summit.

Don't miss the full coverage of the Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dared India to dream big as he laid out details of his grand economic and development vision for the country for the first time. Heralding the dawn of a New Age India, he said the country was making the transition from a 'winter of subdued achievement' to a 'new spring'.

"India is a $2-trillion economy today. Can we not dream of an India with a $20-trillion economy?" the prime minister asked in an address that detailed the Narendra Modi doctrine of development in a comprehensive manner, each element segueing into the next.

Driving the prime minister's vision is his desire for the uplift of all Indians, especially the poorest.

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Times Group MD Vineet Jain welcomed PM Narendra Modi and FM Arun Jaitley at the Summit, saying, "The pace at which the government is working has come as a breath of fresh air."

The world is flying on a single engine of the US economy. Can India become the second engine, asked Vineet Jain, flagging off Summit.

Jain said the Modi government had hit the ground running, enacting major reforms, resisting the obstruction of the opposition.

The PM also made it clear that he doesn't see the ET Global Business Summit as just a meeting of great minds, but also a conclave that will generate ideas and help the government draw up an agenda for New Age India.

That the government is eager for and open to ideas was clear from the number of ministers in attendance, led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, taking precious time off from drawing up a budget that's expected to contain an array of policy changes to be unveiled at the end of next month.

PM Modi said FM Jaitley has referred to GST as one of independent India's biggest reforms and getting the states to agree to the proposed levy should be seen in that context.

After his speech, PM Narendra Modi interacted with corporate honchos at the ET Global Business Summit.

In pic: PM Narendra Modi shares a light moment with Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy

Earlier in the evening, delivering the welcome address MoS Finance Jayant Sinha emphasised on the need to ensure an 'Innovative India'. "We all want to see India grow at 7-8%. We also have to have an innovation-driven economy, apart from being globally competitive," he said.

"We want to ensure that people entering the workforce get good quality jobs. We have to keep entrepreneurs in India, to make sure that we innovate in India," Sinha said.

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Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy stressed on need to create jobs in order to make India economically strong. "We have to ensure that tax collection goes up, and that the taxes are utilized properly," Murthy said.

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Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu spoke of the challenges that India faces and expressed faith that the 21st century 'belongs to India'. "We have many challenges to overcome, be it in ease of doing business or HDI. I am confident that India will see reforms in all walks of life under PM Narendra Modi," Naidu said.

"Government is preparing good ground for state governments to compete with each other. India is going to move forward under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi," Naidu said.

Inviting investors to invest in his state, Naidu said, "Those interested in investing in our state are welcome. We can give 24*7 power."

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Adding a global viewpoint to the India story was Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman who said that 'India is definitely a country of the future'. "India is definitely a country of the future, if not the definitive country of the future," Krugman said.

"China has shown the ability to grow faster than most nations, but when it comes to global turbulence, India has shown more resilience than China has been able to. China has too little consumption and too much investment. India has no such problem. China scares me. India, on the other hand, shows promise," Krugman added.

Sunil Mittal of Bharti Enterprises, Economist Jagdish Bhagwati, Analjit Singh of Max Group, Hans-Paul Burkner of BCG & Kiran Majumdar Shah of Biocon took part in a panel discussion on 'Relaunching the India Story - The New Imperatives'.

While praising PM Narendra Modi-led NDA government for its swiftness in acting on reforms, the panel emphasised on the need for policy clarity and assurance to investors.

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Former DRDO chief V K Saraswat joins as full-time member of NITI Aayog

A PhD in Combustion Engineering, Saraswat played a very significant role in the development of the country's first Liquid Propulsion Engine, DEVIL.

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