Indian engagement beyond government corridors

Venkat Raman

New Zealand businesses will have a unique opportunity of listening to the presentation of at least three high-ranking officials from India on the existing and emerging potential to do business with the world’s largest democracy and the most potent economy.

Indian New Zealand Business Council (INZBC) is organising this year’s edition of ‘Indian New Zealand Business Summit’ on March 13, 2015 at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Auckland Central Business District, focusing on the opportunities available in India and the opportunities that are being missed or ignored by Kiwi businesses.

The Summit will be held under the theme, ‘Growing with India: Inspire, Innovate and Grow.’ The event will have two sessions with as many keynote addresses. The sessions will also include presentations by New Zealand companies followed by a Panel discussion comprising business leaders from India and New Zealand.

Guest Speakers

Nandan Nilekani, a successful entrepreneur and former Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India (UDAI), Dr Reuben Abraham, Chief Executive and Senior Fellow at the IDFC Institute and Ajay Shriram, Chairman & Senior Managing Director of DCN Shriram Limited and President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will be among the keynote speakers at the Summit.

A number of New Zealand government officials will join them in articulating issues of concern and the underlying challenges.

Veritable platform

Sunil Kaushal, Chairman of INZBC said that the Business Summit aimed to provide a platform for government-to-government, government-to-business engagement.

“We also hope to establish a stronger people-to-people contact between New Zealand and India. We are inviting key decision makers in leadership positions in either business or government from both countries to discuss ways and means of promoting commercial opportunities. We are confident that they will use this opportunity to build ties and enhance their existing relationship,” he told this reporter during an interview.

He believes that the Summit has the single most important Unique Selling Proposition (USP), namely the presence of key people under one roof.

“INZBC has worked tirelessly to build a positive profile of New Zealand in India and with Indian entrepreneurs; the results are becoming visible,” he said.

Good governance

Mr Nilekani’s keynote speech will be heard and analysed with abiding interest by the New Zealand government and other Summit participants.

He was among the seven engineers who established Infosys Technologies Limited with a meagre capital of US$250 in 1981 and nursed it to become one of the largest conglomerates in the global IT industry with the current annual revenue of more than $8.25 billion.

As the Chief Executive of Infosys from 2002 to 2007, he was responsible for a number of initiatives going on stream. He is a master of investment expertise and corporate government with a deep understanding of the Indian psyche, vital for successful commercial engagement.

Mr Kaushal was happy about the visit of Mr Nilekani, who was appointed by the then Congress-led government in 2009 to promote a project that would bring more than 1.2 billion Indians under a single identity system.

The idea was to create a nationwide database to provide quality public services, assess the need for upgrade and maintenance of infrastructure and most important of all, ensure national security and safety.

“Mr Nilekani has put in place a sound identification process which will bring a positive change in the lives of millions of Indians. He is a visionary and was listed by Time as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2006 and 2009,” he said.

Another Scholar

Dr Reuben Abraham is a non-resident scholar at the Urbanisation Programme at the New York University. He also serves as a member on the boards of many prestigious organisations such as the Indian School of Business (Hyderabad), Soros Economic Development Fund (New York), TED Fellows Programme (New York), Unicredit Bank (Milan, Italy) and THNK: Amsterdam School of Creative Leadership.

Technology Partner

Describing the ‘Make in India’ campaign launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2014 as ‘enormous,’ Mr Kaushal said that it provides many opportunities for New Zealand companies to participate in India’s progress.

“India needs the technology, the knowhow to skill its people and has food security free for the Indian people. These can be achieved through collaboration and coordination with businesses in New Zealand,” he said.

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