Global India Business Meeting24-25 June 2012, Antwerp, Belgium

a Horasis-leadership event

Co-host: Government of Flanders

Report

Upcoming Horasis events:

Global China Business Meeting Riga, Latvia, 25-26 November 2012

Global Arab Business Meeting Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, 9-10 December 2012

Horasis Annual Meeting Zurich, Switzerland, 22-23 January 2013

Global Russia Business Meeting Limassol, Cyprus, 14-15 April 2013

Horasis is a global visions community committed to enact visions for a sustainable future (http:/www.horasis.org)

Global India Business Meeting24-25 June 2012, Antwerp, Belgiuma Horasis leadership event

Co-host:Government of Flanders

Co-chairs:Sanjiv Ahuja Chairman, LightSquared, USA

Subodh Bhargava Chairman,Tata Communications, India

Lord Karan Bilimoria Chairman, Cobra Beer Partnership, United Kingdom

Eddy Bruyninckx Chief Executive Officer,Antwerp Port Authority, Belgium

Binod K. Chaudhary President, Chaudhary Group, Nepal

Sunil Godhwani Chairman and Managing Director, Religare Enterprises, India

Praveen P Kadle Chief Executive Officer,Tata Capital, India

Rajive Kaul Chairman,Nicco Group, India

Jason L. Ma Founder and Chief Executive Officer,ThreeEQ, USA

Sunil Kant Munjal Jt Managing Director, Hero MotoCorp, India

Ajay G. Piramal Chairman, Piramal Healthcare, India

Deepak Puri Chairman & Managing Director, Moser Baer, India

Dhruv M Sawhney Chairman,Triveni Engineering & Industries, India

Shivinder Singh Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Fortis Healthcare, India

Rajiv Vastupal Chairman & Managing Director, Rajiv Petrochemicals, India

Strategic Partner:

Baker & McKenzie

Knowledge Partners:

Ernst & Young

FrankfurtRheinMain

MetricStream

Media Partner:

Maxposure Media Group

Media Coordination:

Pulse Nation Media and Events

Co-organizers:

All India Association of Industries (AIAI)

All India Management Association (AIMA)

AECA

Antwerp Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VOKA)

European Business and Technology Centre (EBTC)

Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC)

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

TiE Global

World Trade Center Mumbai

Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO)

Engaging the Global Visions Community Participants in front of the Antwerp Town Hall – venue of the opening reception

Table of Contents

Foreword 6

Flanders Welcomes India 26

Indian Business Leaders of the Year 28

Europe holds great promise for us 30

India optimistic about sealing EU trade deal 32

India to go ahead with FDI in multibrand retail: Sharma 34

The Hilton Antwerp – venue of the 2012 Global India Business Meeting

Foreword

On 24-25 June 2012, the fourth HorasisGlobal India Business Meeting took placein Antwerp, Belgium.The event gathered a collective audience of 300 Indian andglobal entrepreneurs, business leaders andgovernment officials.With this Global IndiaBusiness Meeting, Horasis aimed to presentan interdisciplinary and systemic view ofthe major economic, societal and techno-logical drivers currently at work in Indiaand the world.The Global India BusinessMeeting – Horasis’ flagship event on India– brings together business and governmentleaders from India and beyond for relevantdiscourse on the current state of the econo-my, and to evolve a roadmap for leveragingentrepreneurship for growth and develop-ment.This report – which builds on theoutcome of the meeting – shall add valuableinsights on the way forward.

The Global India Business Meeting wasorganised by Horasis in partnership withthe Government of Flanders.The meetingfocused on the changing paradigm of theIndian economy and discussed a set of pos-sible trajectories. In a vulnerable global

economic environment, India remains oneof the world’s growth engines. Its outwardengagement in terms of trade and invest-ment with the rest of the world continuesat an elevated pace, and it is viewed as aland of opportunities.Yet, India facesmyriad challenges of poverty and back-wardness. It may not even look like aslowdown because by OECD standards,India’s growth – estimated by the IMF(International Monetary Fund) at 6.9 per-cent for 2012 – is still strong. But Standard& Poor’s 11 June’s announcement of pos-sibly downgrading India’s economy to junkstatus is a clear warning. ‘The Indian eco-nomy is slowing and will continue to do sofor some time,’ said Naina Kidwai, SeniorVice President, FICCI; Country Head India,HSBC, India.

The star contingent of participants hasbecome the trademark of the Global IndiaBusiness Meeting.The following co-chairsrepresented the meeting vis-a-vis thegovernment, regional authorities and thegeneral public: Sanjiv Ahuja, Chairman,LightSquared, USA; Subodh Bhargava,Chairman,Tata Communications, India;Lord Karan Bilimoria, Chairman, CobraBeer Partnership, United Kingdom; EddyBruyninckx, Chief Executive Officer,

Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry –Europe holds great promise for us

Pieter de Crem, Minister of Defence, Government of Belgium, meeting participants

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Antwerp Port Authority, Belgium; BinodK. Chaudhary, President, ChaudharyGroup, Nepal; Sunil Godhwani, Chair-man and Managing Director, ReligareEnterprises, India; Praveen P Kadle,Chief Executive Officer,Tata Capital, India;Rajive Kaul, Chairman, Nicco Group,India; Jason L. Ma, Founder and ChiefExecutive Officer,ThreeEQ, USA; SunilKant Munjal, Jt Managing Director,Hero MotoCorp, India; Ajay G. Piramal,Chairman, Piramal Healthcare, India;Deepak Puri, Chairman & ManagingDirector, Moser Baer, India; Dhruv MSawhney, Chairman,Triveni Engineering& Industries, India; Shivinder Singh,Vice Chairman and Managing Director,Fortis Healthcare, India; Rajiv Vastupal,Chairman & Managing Director, RajivPetrochemicals, India.

Participants reached consensus that• economic growth creates more access

and opportunities for India’s citizensand future generations. A new kind ofbusiness-government cooperation shalllead to more sustainable and resilientgrowth.Yet clearly, the long-term futureof the Indian economy is bright.

• strong entrepreneurial initiatives aregoing to bolster growth prospects of the

domestic economy. Still, the govern-ment needs to monitor and supportgrowth initiatives. Critical policy actionsare needed to further unlock the vastpotential of economic growth.

• with the coming EU-India Free TradeAgreement, India is going to welcomemore Foreign Direct Investment as wellas trade. Participants gave a clear man-date to the Indian and EU governmentsto accelerate the process of trade.

Opening Plenary – India andWorld Economic Outlook

Kris Peeters, Minister-President of Flanders – India is our second most important trading partner outside Europe

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In his welcoming speech, Anand Sharma,Union Minister of Commerce and Industry,India affirmed that ‘partnerships of the sizeand scale of that between India and Europeare an important demonstration that byacting together we can achieve more thanwe would alone.’ ‘The prospect of conclu-ding a Free Trade Agreement between Indiaand the EU – possibly the single biggest freetrade agreement in the world, between atotal of 1.7 billion people, is a once in alifetime opportunity,’ the Minister said.The European Union is India’s first partnerin terms of trade and investment. Overallbilateral trade amounted to 90bn Euros.

Also, Europe is one of India’s major partnersin the field of economic and developmentcooperation, particularly in the areas ofeducation and social affairs. Minister Sharmaexpressed confidence that ‘India would beattracting more direct investment fromEurope this year, despite the gloomy worldeconomy and despite India’s own economicchallenges.’ He affirmed that ‘the govern-ment of India will calibrate the necessarymacroeconomic policies for addressing thecountry’s downside risks like Rupee de-preciation, declining exports and slowingdown of industrial production.’ ‘We willprovide an investment climate that encoura-ges sustainable foreign capital flows.We willrevive investor sentiment in the country,’he said.The Minister further expressedconfidence on boosting the annual growthrate back to 8-9 % p.a.

Speaking on behalf of the host country ofthis year’s Global India Business Meeting,Kris Peeters, Minister-President, Govern-ment of Flanders, Belgium, said that Europe

‘We will provide an investment climatethat encourages sustainable foreigncapital flows’Anand Sharma,Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, India

Participants arrive for the welcome reception Patrick Janssens, Mayor of Antwerp, welcoming participants

Minister Anand Sharma and Kris Peeters Vineet Agarwal,Managing Director,TCI, India

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Koen Debackere, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Leuven R&D

has been doing a lot to address its sovereigndebt problems. ‘Our bold and comprehen-sive reforms have not always been accuratelyunderstood,’ he indicated. According to theMinister-President, Europe’s approach torestoring economic growth is based on mea-sures to resolve the crisis in the short-term,deep reforms to prevent any future crisis,and a long-term growth strategy based onopen markets.‘India and Europe are naturalpartners in a globalised and changing world,and that together, we can make a majorcontribution to finding and implementingsolutions to common challenges,’ he main-tained. He further explained that ‘Flandersis committed to collaborate with India toaccelerate global economic growth.’ KrisPeeters told participants that ‘Flanders willserve as important base for Indian firms toexplore the European Market.’

The 2012 Global India Business Meetingfocused on the on-going negotiations be-tween India European Union and the EU toconclude the EU India Free Trade Agree-

ment. India is in talks with the EU since2007 for liberalising their commerce ingoods, services and investment through aFree Trade Agreement (FTA). ‘Roadblocksfor concluding the FTA are concessions onautomobiles from the Indian side and aliberalising visa regime for Indian profes-sionals from European side,’ explainedRajiv Kumar, Secretary General, FICCI,India.The Indian automotive industry hasapprehensions that with the FTA, importduties on passenger cars may be slashed.At present, high-end passenger cars attractimport duty of over 100 percent. Accordingto Vineet Agarwal, Managing Director,

‘The Global India Business Meetingwas the largest Indian businessdelegation ever hosted in Belgium’Kris Peeters, Minister-President of Flanders, Belgium

Listening to the remarks of Minister Anand SharmaEddy Van de Voorde, Professor,University of Antwerp

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Rajiv Kumar, Secretary General, FICCI,summarizing the Global India Business Meeting

GeoffreyVan Orden,Member of the European Parliament

Ajay G. Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Healthcare,speaking on a plenary panel

Harjiv Singh, Co-founder,Gutenberg Communications

TCI, India, ‘there is a fear is that if Indiaagrees for cuts in these duties, there wouldno incentives for global automakers to setup their manufacturing base in India.’ Onthe other side, ‘the EU views Indian soft-ware houses as potentially overwhelmingthe software workers of the EU,’ as SunilPrasad, Secretary General, Europe IndiaChamber of Commerce, Belgium, observed.Geoffrey Van Orden, Member, EuropeanParliament, Belgium, asserted that ‘Indianeeds to strengthen partnerships with itstraditional partners as well as with newmarkets.’ ‘India’s trade profiles and invest-

ment relations with a resurgent China anda vibrant Africa would be particularly re-levant for its future interests,’ suggestedJason L. Ma, Founder and Chief ExecutiveOfficer,ThreeEQ, USA.

‘The United States and India are committedto working together to stimulate a globaleconomic revival and to strengthen globaleconomic and financial institutions,’ affir-med Geoff Pyatt, Principal Deputy Assis-tant Secretary of State, USA. Bilateral tradebetween the United Sates and India isgrowing and is likely to triple in the nextfive years. ‘To capitalize on the opportuni-ties afforded by this bi-national relationship,we need to intensify cooperation on alllevels,’ he continued.

On the opening plenary, Sunil KantMunjal, Jt Managing Director, HeroMotoCorp, India, remarked that ‘thegradual rise in incomes and opportunitiesfor millions of Indians is a welcome source

‘The gradual rise in incomes andopportunities for millions of Indians is a welcome source of optimism’Sunil Kant Munjal,Jt Managing Director, Hero MotoCorp, India

Geoff Pyatt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretaryof State, USA, addressing the audience

Lord Karan Bilimoria, Chairman, Cobra Beer Partnership – theslowing world economy has a negative effect on India’s industrialoutput

Sunil Kant Munjal, Jt Managing Director,Hero MotoCorp – the gradual rise in incomes is a welcome source of optimism

Jason L. Ma, Founder and Chief Executive Officer,ThreeEQ, USA Jetu Lalvani, Managing Partner,Kaizen Management Advisors

James Fierro, Chairman,Recipco, United Kingdom,on the Indian diaspora

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of optimism.’ Still, ‘the slowing world eco-nomy, including Europe, has a negativeeffect on India’s industrial output,’ asLord Karan Bilimoria, Chairman, CobraBeer Partnership, United Kingdom, com-mented.‘The euro zone uncertainty coloursthe outlook for India’s growth, serving as areminder that serious disruptions like cur-rently in Europe are part of the operatingenvironment Indian businesses have to beprepared for. Recent market volatilityworldwide confirms how integrated theglobal economy has come,’ added EddyBruyninckx, Chief Executive Officer,Antwerp Port Authority, Belgium.

Binod K. Chaudhary, President,Chaudhary Group, Nepal, feared that ‘thebiggest risk to South Asia is a global reces-sion leading to a steep fall in demand forour services and products.’ Jetu Lalvani,Managing Partner, Kaizen ManagementAdvisors, India, believed that ‘what isworrisome is that much of the decline in

growth is distributed unevenly, with thegreatest burden falling on the poor.’ ‘If theslower rate continues, many millions ofIndians will fail to rise above extremepoverty,’ said Praveen P Kadle, ChiefExecutive Officer,Tata Capital, India. Indiamay not be alone in this slowdown. ‘Thereis a more general worry that the groupingof emerging countries known as the BRICSnations – Brazil, Russia, India, China andSouth Africa – has, for some reason, lostsome of its previous momentum,’ stressedMukesh Aghi, Chief Executive OfficerAsia-Pacific, Steria, France.

‘The biggest risk to South Asia is aglobal recession leading to a steep fallin demand for our services and products’Binod K. Chaudhary,President, Chaudhary Group, Nepal

‘The slowing world economy, includingEurope, has a negative effect on India’sindustrial output’Lord Karan Bilimoria, Chairman,Cobra Beer Partnership, United Kingdom

Sanjay Dalmia, Chairman, Dalmia Group of Companies,hosting the panel on Economies of Transition

Idesbald Goddeeris, Professor,Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Guna Mahalingam, ManagingPartner, NMG InternationalFinancial Services, Switzerland

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Binod K. Chaudhary, President, Chaudhary Group, Nepal, one ofthe meeting co-chairs

Eddy Bruyninckx, CEO,Antwerp Port Authority,Belgium – what are the risks at the top of theglobal agenda in 2012

Praveen P Kadle, Chief Executive Officer,TataCapital – if the slower rate continues, millions of Indians will fail to rise above extreme poverty

The challenge of inflation, the currentaccount deficit and the weakness of theRupee are downside risks to India’s eco-nomic growth.Within this scenario, theurgency of reforms remains keen as collec-tive action for recovery continues to be animperative. Most importantly,‘the economicimbalances that are at the core of India’scurrent woes need to be redressed,’ pleadedRajeev Mantri, Executive Director,Navam Capital, India. ‘Pounded by abarrage of bad news, we want action onlong-promised-for measures to encourageeconomic growth. New creative thinkingcould alleviate some of the prevailing

quagmire,’ said Sanjay Dalmia, Chair-man, Dalmia Group of Companies, India.‘The weakness of the Rupee has been a bigdrag when comparing India’s performancewith that of other emerging markets,’commented Arnaldo Abruzzini, Secre-tary General, Eurochambres, Belgium.‘I have been critical about the Indian govern-ment not doing enough in terms of suppor-ting the Rupee,’ said R K Mehrotra,Executive Chairman, Foresight Limited,United Kingdom.‘Why are we still seeingweakness in the currency for India?’ askedRajiv Vastupal, Chairman & ManagingDirector, Rajiv Petrochemicals, India. ‘Theweak Rupee is related to the overall currentaccount deficit.We made our own mistakesin terms of introducing General Anti-Avoi-dance Rules (GAAR).The problem still re-mains that we need to bring current accountdeficit under control,’ replied V L Dutt,Chairman, The KPC Ltd, India.

‘The changes underway across India,and in particular the growth in eco-nomic access and activity for so many,have been exciting to witness duringthe past decade’Subodh Bhargava,Chairman,Tata Communications, India

Arnaldo Abruzzini, Secretary General, Eurochambres, Belgium– on risk management in times of crises

Rajiv Vastupal, Chairman, Rajiv Petrochemicals,signing the golden book of the city of Antwerp

Rajeev Mantri, Executive Director,Navam Capital

Kanesan Veluppillai, President, Scomi International, Malaysia

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V L Dutt, Chairman,The KCP Ltd

Commenting positively, Subodh Bhargava,Chairman,Tata Communications, India, saidthat ‘the changes underway across India,and in particular the growth in economicaccess and activity for so many, have beenexciting to witness during the past decade.’‘One of the few bright spots in the globaleconomy, India is proving influential onbusiness strategies globally,’ impliedKanesan Veluppillai, President, ScomiInternational, Malaysia. Frugal innovation,or jugaad, is such a strategy – resourceful-ness amid serious constraints.While jugaadmay also be a way of life in India, where, asYatindra R. Sharma, Managing Director,KHS India, India, put it, ‘inventing whatyou need by using only what you got’ is animperative, it also has been the source ofbreakthroughs that have improved the livesof millions in India and beyond.The TataNano, a car sold for $2,500, is an examplefor frugal innovation. For India and otheremerging economies, inspiration is neededto develop cost-competitive new productsto meet felt needs of the emerging middleclasses – for education and healthcare, forconnectivity, and for sustainable lifestyles,’said Alain Denis, Managing Director,Enthoven Associates, Belgium. Continuedgrowth of India’s GDP, even if growthmoderates as is projected for 2012, would

generate billions in economic activity. ‘Thepotential is supporting the business case toinvest,’ urged Sudhir Sharma, Chairman,Mitkat Services, India.

Panels at the Global India Business Meetingexamined how business leaders can best

‘The United States and India arecommitted to working together tostimulate a global economic revivaland to strengthen global economic andfinancial institutions’Geoff Pyatt,Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, USA

Shivinder Singh,Vice Chairman and Managing Director, FortisHealthcare and Subodh Bhargava, Chairman,Tata Communications

General Sudhir Sharma, Chairman, Mitkat Services, IndiaAlain Denis, Managing Director,Enthoven Associates

Plenary on India’s New Breed of Multinationals

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R K Mehrotra, ExecutiveChairman, Foresight Limited,United Kingdom

stimulate the Indian economy and identifygrowth opportunities in sectors such as IT,infrastructure, energy and commodities,real estate and healthcare. Panelists alsoexplored a wide range of topics, coveringtrade and investment, entrepreneurship,branding and technology. ‘The panelshighlighted India as a new centre of globaltrade, and provided insights on the bestpractices in education, social responsibilityand philanthropy,’ said Rajeeb Dey,Founder and Chief Executive Officer,Enternships.com, United Kingdom.

‘A major concern for us investors,’ critici-zed Gary Collar, Senior Vice President,AGCO Corporation, USA,‘is the increasingwariness about foreign direct investment.Twenty years after the license Raj – thecountry’s earlier subpar economic perfor-mance under a regime of heavy governmentregulation – foreign investors are too oftenperceived as menacing, rather than benignpartners in the growth India needs.’ ‘I hateto say it but it seems that the days of the li-cense Raj have returned,’ said Parag Amin,President and Partner, Radiqal, USA.‘Theunpredictable, bureaucratic climate is adamaging deterrent to investment,’juxtaposed Kimball J. Andrews, Execu-tive Chairman, Asia Star Capital, Australia.‘Labour laws, tax policies, and other aspectsof the country’s business climate need fullattention if India is to attract more FDI,’declared Gunjan Sinha, Chairman,MetricStream, USA. And, according toSanjiv Ahuja, Chairman, LightSquared,USA, ‘inconsistent regulations and corrup-tion are among the top barriers to growth,with each having the effect of raising thecost of business and casting uncertaintyover investments.’The government hasbeen assessing retroactive taxation onforeign businesses years after incomes areearned and reported – a very unusual move

‘ Inconsistent regulations and corruptionare among the top barriers to growth’Sanjiv Ahuja, Chairman, LightSquared, USA

Sanjiv Ahuja, Chairman, LightSquared, USA – proposing key imperatives for accelerating inclusive economic growth

Rajeeb Dey, Founder and Chief Executive Officer,Enternships.com, hosting the panel on education

Gunjan Sinha, Chairman, MetricStream, USA,hosting the session ‘Thrive on risk’

Parag Amin, President andPartner, Radiqal, USA

Sunil Prasad, Secretary General,Europe India Chamber ofCommerce

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which ‘will shy away foreign investors,’according to Rajive Kaul, Chairman,Nicco Group, India.

Recently, the Indian government has madecommitments to combat corruption. Indiasaw an anti-corruption movement gatheringmomentum since 2011, with a widespreadsupport of the younger generation. ‘Thetrigger point of the movement was allega-tions of organised scams in government,which allegedly had support of some poli-ticians.The magnitude of scams was high,for example, the estimate of 2G SpectrumScam was over USD 40 billion,’ saidAnanth Guruswamy, Director India,Amnesty International, United Kingdom.The protests were – according to ManishAgarwal, Director, MSP Group, India –inspired by ‘Gandhian philosophy’... therewere no reports of violence by the protes-tors. ‘Unlike other countries, there werealso no major crackdowns by the govern-ment,’ exclaimed Lou Marinoff, Professor

of Philosophy, The City College of NewYork, USA. People rallied around civilsociety crusader Anna Hazare who sat on ahunger strike till citizens were listened to.Bollywood actors, industrialists, small &medium enterprises, and others supportedthe movement.There is a growing supportboth inside and outside the governmentfor making a new legislation for a strongeraction against organised corruption. ‘TheIndian government swiftly took actionagainst the figureheads behind corruptionand several government officials are cur-rently imprisoned,’ stated Ishan Raina,Chief Executive Officer, OOH Media, India.

‘Serious disruptions like currently in Europe are part of the operatingenvironment Indian businesses have to be prepared for’Eddy Bruyninckx, Chief Executive Officer,Antwerp Port Authority, Belgium

Lou Marinoff, Professor of Philosophy,The City College of New York, making a point during a breakfast session

Rajive Kaul, Chairman, Nicco Group, on best practices for Indian Multinationals

Ananth Guruswamy, Director India,Amnesty InternationalManish Agarwal, Director,MSP Group, India

Jiten Doshi, Founder and CIO,Enam Asset Management Company– India’s financial services sectorin has witnessed a fundamentaltransformation

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India now outlaws bribing governmentofficials. ‘Our expectations have been raisedfor some actual progress.Yet concernspersist as implementation is lacking. Thegovernment is not following through onthe training, reporting and enforcementsrequired to give anti-bribery initiativesadequate force,’ warned Vinod Juneja,Managing Director, Braj Binani Group ofIndustries, India. ‘The bill against corrup-tion looked set to be passed, but finally didnot become law,’ concluded Jiten Doshi,Founder and CIO, Enam Asset ManagementCompany, India.

India’s complex, tumultuous political realitycan slow progress to a crawl.The govern-ment has recently had to abandon much,though not all, of a plan to allow foreignretailers into the country, for example.‘Let’s recall the Indian government’sreversal of its previous willingness to letWal-Mart and other foreign retailers enterthe retailing sector,’ said Daan Schalck,Director-General, Port of Ghent, Belgium.

Over all, ‘India does not seem headedtoward further liberalization and market-oriented reforms,’ contended MarcRunacres, Director, Confederation ofBritish Industries, United Kingdom.‘Initiatives like the Retail Bill are a must,’concluded Niraj Sharan, Chairman andChief Executive Officer, Aura, India.

‘Another big problem is the country’senergy infrastructure, which has not gearedup to meet industrial demand,’ saidHartmut Schwesinger, ManagingDirector, FrankfurtRheinMain, Germany.Coal mining is dominated by state-ownedcompanies and there are various pricecontrols on both coal and natural gas. Indiahas one of the highest potentials for theeffective use of renewable energy and it isalready the fifth largest producer of windpower. ‘Europe has a large know-how inthe green economy which can be sharedwith India,’ offered Dirk Fransaer, Chair-man, Flemish Institute for TechnologicalResearch, Belgium. On a special panel onrenewables and cleantech, participantsexamined what partnerships are needed tostimulate a new wave of low-carbon growth.‘To sustain the current economic growthover the next years, India’s power genera-tion capacity will have to substantially

‘The bill against corruption looked set tobe passed, but finally did not become law’Jiten Doshi, Founder and CIO,Enam Asset Management Company, India

Anil Kumar, CEO, Ransat Group; Ishan Raina, CEO, OOH Media;Vijay G. Kalantri, Chairman,The Balaji Group

Vinod Juneja, Managing Director,Braj Binani Group of Industries

Daan Schalck, Director-General,Port of Ghent, Belgium

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increase,’ said Deepak Puri, Chairman &Managing Director, Moser Baer, India.‘Innovation within Indian high-tech circlesshould be related to carbon emissions andenergy efficiency. India is already a labora-tory for the world in many of these areas,’said Vibhav Kant Upadhyay, Founderand Director General, IJGPS, India.

Despite the current difficulties on theinvestment and infrastructure front, Indiais successfully building an innovative eco-nomy. India is setting the pace for a neweconomic model that is increasingly definedby innovation. ‘Driven by domestic con-sumption, an innovative entrepreneurialclass, and global integration, India’s newdevelopment experience can be labeledthe ‘innovation-based economic develop-ment model,’ proposed Ajay G. Piramal,Chairman, Piramal Healthcare, India.Themain characteristic of this model is creatinga climate for doing business that enablesrapid expansion of the economic pie, accom-

panied by targeted government schemesfuelling income to those who need it most.N.K. Singh, Member of Parliament, India,opined that, unfortunately, the Indian eco-nomy is perceived by many as ‘a slow-moverwith few prospects.’ Colin Hill, ExecutiveChairman, Hill & Associates, Hong KongSAR added ‘that India needs a new wave ofreforms if its economy is ever going to liftthe hundreds of millions of people still miredin poverty.’ Suneel Kumar Muttoo, ChiefResident Commissioner, Government ofUttarakhand, India, commented that ‘thegovernment’s planned reforms will allowour state to advance. ‘And its demographic

‘Europe got a large know-how in thegreen economy which can be sharedwith India’Dirk Fransaer, Chairman, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Belgium

Suneel Kumar Muttoo, Chief Resident Commissioner, Government of Uttarakhand and Mukesh Aghi,Chief Executive Officer Asia-Pacific, Steria, France

N. K. Singh, Member of Parliament, IndiaNiraj Sharan, Chairman,Aura

Hartmut Schwesinger,Managing Director,FrankfurtRheinMain

Deepak Puri, Chairman & Managing Director, Moser Baer –India is already a laboratory for the world

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profile is one of the main advantages forthe Indian economy.The country has ayoung and mobile population, and peoplespeak English,’ according to Dileep Patil,Chief Executive Officer, Crompton Greaves,Belgium. Certainly, the country retains apopulation with remarkable talent, energyand entrepreneurship. It has worldwidenetworks of trade and migration, andworld-class achievements in entertainmentand design. ‘These factors already helpedcreate a technology sector forming animportant part of a globally significanteconomy,’ acknowledged N. S. Bala, SeniorVice President,Wipro Technologies, India.

‘Indian companies have to continue theirquest for innovation excellence and makeinnovation part of their success,’pinpointed Tom Heyman, Chairman,Janssen Pharmaceutica, Belgium. He alsourged companies to focus on attractingglobal talent to make this transition happen.

India’s financial services sector in haswitnessed a fundamental transformationsince the country was liberalised. ‘Whatshould domestic and foreign firms do tothrive in this strategic environment? ‘askedArun Sharma, Chief Investment Officer,IFC, USA. ‘In 2006, the Reserve Bank ofIndia allowed us to increase our stake inKotak Mahindra Bank to 10 %.This is thefirst time an investor has been allowed tohold more than 5 % in a private sector bank,’said Dalip Pathak, Managing Director,Warburg Pincus, USA. ‘The next stage forIndian banking has been set up with theproposed relaxation for foreign invest-ments,’ he continued. Prakash Johari,Managing Director, MaXposure Media

‘Unfortunately, the Indian economy isperceived by many as a slow-mover withfew prospects’N. K. Singh, Member of Parliament, India

Mark Runacres, India Adviser, Confederation of British Industry, in discussion with Vijay G.Kalantri, President, All India Association of Industries

Dalip Pathak, Managing Director,Warburg Pincus, USA

Naina Kidwai, SeniorVice President, FICCI, with Anand Sharma Dileep Patil, Chief Executive

Officer, Crompton Greaves, Belgium

Arun Sharma, Chief InvestmentOfficer, IFC, USA – exploring thefuture of financial services

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Group, India, held that the demand forbanking services, especially retail banking,mortgages and investment services isexpected to be strong. ‘One may expectmergers, takeovers, and asset sales,’ he said.

Indian business leaders are overhaulingapproaches toward innovation to take partin the promise of a networked global eco-nomy. ‘We are moving toward greater useof mobility technologies. And we want toconnect employees together and collabo-rate with external partners to facilitateinnovation,’ said Shoummo Acharya,Chief Executive Officer, eTrans Solutions,India. Neena Gill,Vice President, SAS,USA, pointed out that ‘innovation at alllevels of economic activity is the keyelement of the new Indian growth model.’India’s services-based growth spurt mayhave run much of its course. ‘It’s impres-sive that those achievements in ICT havebeen possible,’ said Vineet Gupta, Co-Founder, Aquatrove Biosciences, USA, ‘butthese economically segregated islands of

higher productivity suggest that success isachieved by separating oneself from thebroader Indian economy, not by integratingwith it.’ Indeed, even the major ICT pro-duction centres like Bangalore, Hyderabador Pune could not transfer the benefits oftechnology to other economic sectors. ‘Atrickle-down effect of technology is notwidely detectable,’ said John Cook, Chair-man, Rock Lake Associates, Switzerland.

India’s infrastructure continues to be aconstraining factor. ‘We need to think ofhow infrastructure projects can create thegreatest impact in terms of qualitative and

‘The government’s planned reformswill allow our state to advance’Suneel Kumar Muttoo, Chief Resident Commissioner,Government of Uttarakhand, India

John Cook, Chairman, Rock Lake Associates, Switzerland andDiana Wais, Managing Partner,Wais & Partners, Switzerland

Shoummo Acharya, Chief Executive Officer, eTrans Solutions, IndiaN. S. Bala, SeniorVice President,Wipro Technologies, India

Vineet Gupta, Co-Founder,Aquatrove Biosciences, USA

Dirk Fransaer, Chairman, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, chairing the panel on renewables

Neena Gill,Vice President, SAS, USA

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quantitative growth,’ stated Sudhir Jalan,Chairman, Jalan Group, India. Participantsreached consensus that the basic infra-structure is not just mended, but is alsoproperly planned, initialised and joined-up.After that the secondary infrastructures cangrow more easily – the important waterdelivery and sanitation infrastructures, theelectricity distribution and new townships;and ‘above all,’ as Shivinder Singh,ViceChairman and Managing Director, FortisHealthcare, India put it, ‘coherent schoolingfor all children so they can escape the illi-teracy trap and learn to be critical thinkers.’

The complexity of supply chains in India isrelatively high – ‘... wherein lies the Indianlogistics sector’s Achilles heel’ saidAdarsh Hegde, Executive Director,Allcargo Logistics, India. How can Indiabenefit from supply chains offered by itsglobal trading partners? For retail venturesto flourish successfully, it should have anefficient and well established supply chain.‘Retailers such as Wal-Mart will need tofirst tackle India’s logistical headachesmaking them heavily dependent on localexpertise,’ said Wolfgang Lehmacher,Managing Director, CVA, Hong Kong SAR.

‘Rural India is India’s reality,’ pinpointedDhruv M Sawhney, Chairman,TriveniEngineering & Industries, India. Agricultureemploys about half of India’s work force.Yet productivity increases in agricultureare still to come. Crop yields remain low,transport and water infrastructure is verypoor, and the legal system is hostile toforeign investment in agriculture and tomodern agribusiness.The mass of poorpeople in Rural India do not possess land-

‘Rural India is India’s reality’Dhruv M Sawhney,Chairman,Triveni Engineering & Industries, India

Johan Cattersel, Chief Executive Officer, Inno.com, Belgium and Paul De Knop, Rector,VUB, BelgiumRekha Sethi, Director General, All India Management Association

Dhruv M Sawhney, Chairman,Triveni Engineering & Industries,on infrastructure

Wolfgang Lehmacher, ManagingDirector, CVA, Hong Kong SAR,hosting the panel on logistics

Laurent Demortier,Chief Executive Officer,Crompton Greaves, India

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rights documents.These are needed toallow sales of land to the developers and toprevent the massive fraud that does takeplace when infrastructure needs to be built.And, according to Rekha Sethi, DirectorGeneral, All India Management Association,India, ‘half of all Indian children under theage of 6 suffer from malnutrition.’ RuralIndia cannot nourish its people.There arestill many imbalances between Indian states– in education, per capita GDP, savingsrates, and consumer spending. ‘These makeit difficult for businesses and governmentsto determine optimal policies to be imple-mented in rural India,’ said Kamil Hasan,General Partner, Granite Hill India Oppor-tunities Fund, USA.

Ambitious Indian firms want to becomebranded players in developed markets.Panelists reasoned in a session entitled‘making Made in India a preferred tag’ whatit will take to establish brand awarenessoverseas and how to build sustainablebrands. Participants agreed that – relativeto their global counterparts – most Indianfirms have only just begun the process ofglobal integration, building widely ack-nowledged brands. ‘India has so far notcome up with truly international brands,’alleged Stacy Kenworthy, Founder and

Chairman, OptiGlobal, USA. ‘I think Indiais below its ambitions or even possibilitieswhen it comes to providing a positive imageto the outside world.What India as a countryin general and Indian firms in particularshould do more is very active promotionof business interests overseas, maybe byusing events like the Global India BusinessMeeting, to tell the kind of good thingshappening in the country,’ Imtiaz Ali, FilmDirector and Writer, India asked for boldly.

Dan Oiknine, Chairman, India Trade Centre, France and Sven C. Oehme, President,European-American Business Organization, USA

Planning the next panels

Kamil Hasan, General Partner,Granite Hill India Opportunities Fund, USA

Sudhir Jalan, Chairman,Jalan Group – how to managesuccess in India

Vibhav Kant Upadhyay,Chairman, India Center

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90% of all the worlds’ diamonds passthrough Antwerp. Indian entrepreneursdominate more than half of Antwerp’s roughand polished diamond trade, contributingsignificantly to Belgium’s overall exports.‘The diamond industry is a true Indo-FlemishJoint Success,’ stated Ari Epstein, ChiefExecutive Officer, Antwerp World DiamondCentre, Belgium. ‘We are in this businessfor the long term not the short-term so we

are looking to expand our activities inAntwerp,’ asserted P N Prasad, ChiefExecutive Officer, State Bank of IndiaAntwerp, Belgium. Antwerp’s role as thediamond industry’s global hub has beenunderscored over the past decade with theentry into the city of Indian banks. ‘Thepresence of Indian banks not only empha-sises Antwerp’s function as the industry’sprimary financial services provider, butalso the increased share of Indian compa-nies in the city’s diamond sector,’ reportedKarl De Borger, Chief Executive OfficerMumbai, Antwerp Diamond Bank, Belgium.However, further Rupee weakness, whichleads to higher gold prices in local currencyterms, may keep interest in Indian gold je-welers at bay, I believe,’ Kaushik Mehta,Chairman, Eurostar, Belgium, concluded.

Claire Tillekaerts, Chief Executive Offi-cer, Flanders Investment & Trade, Belgium,pointed out how Flanders is engaging withIndia in general and with some of India’sleading states in particular. She highlightedon-going projects in the area of urbanplanning, logistics and sustainable energy.Patrick Janssens, Mayor, City of Antwerp,Belgium, and Bernard Van Milders, Pre-sident, Antwerp Chamber of Commerceand Industry (Voka), Belgium, highlighted

‘The diamond industry is a true Indo-Flemish Joint Success’Ari Epstein, Chief Executive Officer,Antwerp World Diamond Centre, Belgium

Ari Epstein, Chief Executive Officer,AntwerpWorld Diamond Centre and Anish Aggarwal, Chairman, Gemdax

Nikhil Treebhoohun, Chief Executive Officer,Global Institutional Investor Forum, Mauritius

Claire Tillekaerts, Chief Executive Officer,Flanders Investment & Trade

Tarun Gupta, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer,T&A Consulting

Cathy Berx, Governor,Province of Antwerp

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that ‘here is a home to respected brands ofglobal reach; Antwerp is one of Europe’smost important clusters for expertise inmodern urbanism – it is a natural fit withIndia’s global aspirations.’ ‘I see signs ofpotential economic growth next year asFlanders will benefit from the continuedeconomic stimulus generated by fast ex-panding economies like India,’ JoachimCoens, Chairman and Managing Director,Port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, added.

‘This meeting is a chance to know how wework here in Flanders. It is also a good op-portunity for Indian firms to get to knowFlemish trademarks in order to establishtheir own here,’ Geert Gemis, Partner,Ernst & Young, Belgium, said.The eventwill ‘place Antwerp as an important pointlinking India with Europe,’ Cathy Berx,Governor, Province of Antwerp, Belgium,summarized.

Announcing the 2012 Indian Business Lea-ders of the Year, Horasis – together with ourstrategic partner Baker & McKenzie –celebrated two outstanding entrepreneurswho have been building and leading suc-cessful Indian firms: D.K. Jain, Chairman& President, Luxor Group, India andKushal P. Singh, Chairman, DLF, India.We recognized and honour those business

‘India’s new development experiencecan be labelled the ‘innovation-basedeconomic development model’Ajay G. Piramal,Chairman, Piramal Healthcare, India

‘If the slower rate continues, manymillions of Indians will fail to riseabove extreme poverty’Praveen P Kadle,Chief Executive Officer, Tata Capital, India

Many consultations were held on the sidelines of the Global India Business Meeting Community building

Kushal P. Singh, Chairman, DLF, in discussion with N.K. Singh,Member of the Indian Parliament

Santosh Kedia, Chairman,Diamond Creations, Belgium

Geert Gemis, Partner,Ernst &Young, Belgium

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leaders as they excel in entrepreneurship,innovation and leadership. ‘The chosenleaders have decisively impacted the eco-nomic development and global integrationof India,’ said Thomas Gilles, Partner,Baker & McKenzie, Germany, whoannounced the award winners during aspecial plenary.

The 2012 Global India Business Meeting waswrapped up during the gala dinner at theworld famous Antwerp Zoo. Kris Peeters,Minister-president, Government of Flanders,Belgium, said that ‘the path to the futurewill require deeper cooperation betweenIndia, Europe and the world.’ ‘When Ilook ahead to 2020, I believe the biggesttransformation for India will come fromthe depth of connectedness of both peopleand businesses through a vast array of new

services and technologies – includingmany that have yet to be dreamed up,’added Vijay G. Kalantri, President, AllIndia Association of Industries (AIAI).Anil Kumar, Chief Executive Officer,Ransat Group, United Kingdom, said thatin today’s complex world ‘no country is anisland, no country is self-sufficient and nocountry is immune to global impacts.’Sham L. Bathija, Senior Adviser forEconomic Affairs to the President ofAfghanistan, Afghanistan reckoned that ‘we need to provide a model for sustainablegrowth, for openness and for shared valuesto the world at large.’ ‘In order to continueits mission of growth and sustainable deve-lopment, India needs strong partnershipswith other economies and a new format ofinnovation in its economic DNA,’ surmisedAshok Rao, Chairman,TiE Global; Chair-man,Whodini Inc., USA. His statementdrew a round of applause.

‘We need to provide a model forsustainable growth, for openness andfor shared values to the world at large’Sham L. Bathija, Senior Adviser for Economic Affairsto the President of Afghanistan

Virtual ribbon cutting ceremony

Kai Vettel, Managing Director, Pack Performance, Germany Sham L. Bathija, Senior Adviser forEconomic Affairs to the President ofAfghanistan

Mohammed Ridouani,Alderman, City of Leuven

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On behalf of Horasis, I would like topersonally thank Kris Peeters, Minister-president of Flanders who generouslyagreed to act as patron of the 2012 GlobalIndia Business Meeting. My thanks go alsoto the co-chairs, co-organizers, partnersfrom the private sector and all participants.This Global India Business Meeting was aunique experience which would not havebeen possible without the dedication andenthusiasm of our partners, members andparticipants. ‘Besides being a platform todiscuss and debate key issues of concernfor India and the world, the event providedexcellent opportunities for delegates tonetwork within the Horasis community,’summarized Charles Moore, ExecutiveDirector, Committee Encouraging Corpo-rate Philanthropy, USA.

It is our hope that the meeting will continueto serve as an important platform forstimulating thought and creative solutions.Horasis looks forward to welcoming youback to next year’s edition of the GlobalIndia Business Meeting which will be heldin Belfast, Northern Ireland / UK, asannounced by Guy Spence, Councillor,Belfast City Council, United Kingdom,during the closing dinner, who also gave apreview of what delegates can expect.Horasis looks forward to your continuedengagement and to welcoming you to the2013 Global India Business Meeting.Wealso take great pleasure to invite you totake part in our other upcoming meetings,namely the Global Russia Business Meeting,Global China Business Meeting, GlobalArab Business Meeting as well as theHorasis Annual Meeting.

Dr. Frank-Jürgen RichterChairmanHorasis:The Global Visions Community

The meeting provided for a convivial atmosphere Guy Spence, Councillor, Belfast City Council,announcing the 2013 Global India Business Meeting

a call to action during the Global India Business MeetingCharles Moore, Executive Director,Committee Encouraging CorporatePhilanthropy, USA

Sushil Premchand,Managing Director, PRS Services

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By Kris Peeters, Minister-president of the Government of Flanders

Every end is a new beginning. So the end ofthe Horasis Global India Business Meetingin Antwerp, was not a goodbye.

If this event has proven anything, it is thatIndia and Flanders are ready to reinforcetheir cooperation.This meeting has laid anew foundation on which we can build ouralready strong relationship.

This edition of the Horasis Global IndiaBusiness Meeting would not have beenpossible without the efforts of manypeople. Not just during the conference,but also in the months of preparationbefore. First and foremost, there was ofcourse our wonderful chairman of theconference, Mr. Richter. He did a great jobin bringing the largest Indian businessdelegation ever to Flanders.We will reap thebenefits of his work for many years to come.Many thanks are due also to my own colla-borators and to our co-organizer VOKA formaking this all possible. Finally, I wouldlike to highlight the efforts of the co-chairsand all the others that have contributed tothe debate.

Of course, the real outcome of this meetingwill take place in the weeks and monthsahead, when new contacts are transformedinto partnerships; when new insightsgathered here lead to concrete businessideas. But I already dare to state that thismeeting was a great success.

No less than 21 different sessions wereorganized – dealing with a wide array ofsubjects; from entrepreneurship to edu-cation, from the creative industry to thediamond industry, and from infrastructureto innovation.What all these topics have incommon, is that they are all explicitlyfuture oriented.This leads to a positive vibethroughout the day. All participants haveshown a clear will to progress, to cooperateand use each other’s strengths for mutualbenefit.

This will to progress, is also what the twowinners of the ‘Indian Business Leaders ofthe Year’ have in common. I can only hopethat this visit to Flanders was not their last.I hope that they will return to do businesshere, as will all our other guests, whetherfrom India or from a different part of theworld.

Kris Peeters, Minister-President, Government of Flanders – the path to the future will require deeper cooperation

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Flanders Welcomes India

During the opening dinner

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As I mentioned, this is only a new begin-ning. Our cooperation doesn’t stop here.My government will continue to supportinitiatives that foster the relationship be-tween India and Flanders. For example, inOctober this year, our foreign trade agencyFlanders Investment and Trade will go toIndia with a delegation of business leadersactive in the cleantech sector, a topic thatwas also discussed today.They will look forcooperation opportunities on the Indianmarket.

In February 2013, Flanders Investment &Trade will have a group pavilion at AeroIndia in Bangalore. Also in this area, Flemishcompanies are eager to further developIndia’s aerospace sector.

The future clearly looks bright. But for now,let’s celebrate the success of this HorasisGlobal India Business Meeting. It was a trulypleasant and inspiring experience for me,and I can only hope the same goes for allparticipants.This will be the start of a newmelody of Indian-Flemish cooperation.This meeting will be a catalyst for stronger,sustainable and prosperous contacts be-tween us all.

Participants share a light moment

Farewell reception at the Antwerp Zoo

View from the balcony of the Town Hall

By Thomas Gilles, Partner, Baker & McKenzie

The global economy is still recovering fromone of the most severe crises in recenthistory and Europe’s economy is in turmoil.India’s resilience, even in these difficulttimes, is in large part due to the tremen-dous entrepreneurial spirit of the businessleaders driving its economic growth anddevelopment.We would, therefore, like totake the opportunity at this fourth GlobalIndia Business Meeting to recognize andhonour two business leaders who exemplifythis spirit.

• D. K. Jain, Chairman and President of Luxor Group

• Kushal P. Singh, Chairman of DLF

There are some common key features thatstand out when we look at the business patheach of them has pursued:

• they have anticipated the internationali-zation of the Indian economy

• they play an active role in civil societyand

• they possess a tremendous entrepre-neurial spirit

D. K. Jain started off in his father’s tinystationery shop at the age of 12. Aftergraduating from college, he began manu-facturing his own pens in 1961 with a staffof five and a daily output of 1,000 fountainpens. Nowadays, Luxor, Pilot,Watermanand Parker are leading brands in its sectorwith a market share of more than 20%.Today, over 500 million pens are producedby the Luxor Group every year. Luxor isvery well known Indian brand and isregistered in 126 countries in the world,Luxor products are exported to more than85 countries world-wide. Apart from that,Luxor group is also active in the hospitality,fibre optics, real estate, retail, digital andfashion business. Among other awards,Luxor is also involved in the invention ofnanotechnology in the field of surfacecleaning and protection, aimed at finding anenvironment friendly way to clean productswithout harmful chemicals. Mr Jain hasbeen honoured with the DistinguishedEntrepreneurship Award in 2005 by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former Presidentof India, in recognition of his OutstandingEntrepreneurship.

Indian Business Leaders of the Year

D. K. Jain, Chairman & President, Luxor Group, receiving the award

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Kushal P. Singh joined his father in law’scompany, Delhi Land & Finance, DLF, in1961, after his own company, AmericanUniversal Electric, merged with DLF. Hethen went on to transform it into India’sbiggest real estate developer, then theworld’s biggest real estate developer.Earlier than others, he saw the potential ofGurgaon, which was a barren village in theoutskirts of Delhi back then. In the end ofthe 1970s, he bought huge plots of land inthe area – nowadays, Gurgaon is one ofIndia’s real estate hotspots. DLF wasinstrumental in bringing a large number ofmultinationals to India, including GeneralElectric and Nestlé. Mr Singh showedtremendous entrepreneurial spirit when he overthrew his earlier decision to sell thecompany in 1975 after being frustratedover India’s urban development policy:a decision that proved to be wise and very foresightful.When DLF went publicin 2007, it was the biggest IPO in India’shistory.

Indian Business Leader of the Year – Kushal P. Singh, Chairman, DLF

Thomas Gilles, Partner, Baker & McKenzie,announcing the award winners

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By Firstpost, 25 June, 2012

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma hascalled for closer economic engagementbetween India and Europe. Addressing theHorasis Global India Business Meeting in theport city of Antwerp Sunday night, Sharmasaid that Europe holds great promise foreconomic engagement with India.

‘Eurozone today is talked more because ofthe turbulence but it is clearly indicative ofthe fact that we live in a world where youhave to take notice what is happening else-where. Both India and Europe being greateconomic partners that we are will findthe ways to further deepen and diversifyour economic engagement,’ he said.

The commerce minister noted that therewere a large number of Indian entitiespresent in the northern region of Belgium,known as Flanders, and that many Belgiancompanies are participating in India’s eco-nomic growth.

‘Europe holds great promise and so is forus this country and the city of Antwerp inparticular,’ said Sharma.

On his part, Kris Peeters, Minister-president, Government of Flanders, saidthe Global India Business Meeting was ‘the largest Indian business delegation everhosted in Belgium.’

He said that in 2011 the total exports fromthe Flanders region to India amounted to7.8 billion Euro: an 18 percent increasefrom 2010, and 79 percent increase com-pared to 2009.

‘This makes India our seventh tradingpartner and the second most important oneoutside Europe.The Flanders region is re-sponsible for 98 percent of Belgian exportsto India,’ he said noting that over 80 per-cent of Belgian exports to India are madeup of diamonds and 43 of Belgian importsfrom India.

Europe holds great promise for us

Press conference

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Closing Plenary – Towards Inclusive Growth

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Over 300 business leaders representingmultinationals, large corporations, smalland medium-scale enterprises and confede-rations, multilateral and regional institu-tions from Europe and India are gatheredin Antwerp for a two-day meet to boosttrade and economic links.

On Monday, participants will discuss anddebate several topics like EU-India – newpartnership, new possibilities, managingsuccess in India, and India’s new breed ofmultinationals.

The GIBM is organised by Horasis and theFlanders government with collaboration ofseveral organisations such as the EuropeIndia Chamber of Commerce and Federa-tion of Indian Chambers of Commerce andIndustry.

Capitalism Needs Transforming – interview at the Horasis Global India Business Meeting The Global India Business Meeting attracted broad media interest

Minister Sharma receiving a memento for extraordinarycontributions to the collaboration between India and the EU

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By Reuters, 25 June 2012

Antwerp – India is optimistic it can seal afree trade deal with the European Union andis urging its negotiating partner to settlethe details of an agreement it says wouldbenefit both their stumbling economies.

The two sides have disagreed over dutieson car imports – India’s tariff on Europeancars being nearly 10 times greater thanEurope’s on Indian vehicles – and access forIndia software companies to the EU market.

‘For us the services sector is very, veryimportant.We recognise the interest of theEU on wines and spirits, on automobiles,’Indian Trade Minister Anand Sharmatold a news conference in the Belgian cityof Antwerp.

‘So it’s not that there is a lack of recognition.It is fine-tuning the details that are on thetable. It is not the substantive issues at all

... Most of the issues stand concluded tothe best of my understanding,’ he said onthe sidelines of the Horasis Global IndiaBusiness Meeting.

Sharma said he would meet European Com-missioner for Trade Karel De Gucht onTuesday to assess progress.

India, Asia’s third largest economy afterChina and Japan, has enjoyed two decadesof rapid growth powered by IT and out-sourcing, even if manufacturing has lagged,weighed down by red tape and creakyinfrastructure. Sharma said India plannedto increase manufacturing’s share of grossdomestic product to 26 percent within adecade from 16 percent now and wouldinvest $1 trillion over five years on infra-structure.

The minister said he could envisage foreigncompanies investing in both sectors, parti-cularly in planned greenfield industrial sites.

India optimistic about sealing EU trade deal

Greetings from Bollywood – Imtiaz Ali, Film Director and Writer

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A Free Trade Agreement would help India’sgrowing companies expand into the EU, thecountry’s biggest trading partner and thebuyer of more than 40 billion euros ($50.14billion) of Indian goods and services in 2010.Europe wants access to a vast, young mar-ket of 1.3 billion potential customers.

Negotiations started in 2007 and India’strade minister said the two sides hadagreed to finalise an FTA by the end of2012. ‘I remain optimistic that we will beable to conclude an agreement,’ Sharmasaid, without giving a specific timeframe.

The minister stressed the need for bothsides to reach a deal, particularly given theeconomic stress. Europe’s economy isexpected to stagnate or contract slightlythis year, while India’s would grow by 6 to7 percent, a figure Sharma described as„depressing“ when compared to the normof 9 percent. ‘An ambitious free-tradeagreement between the European Union

and India will be the best message that theglobal economy can have in the challengingtimes,’ he said.

Over 300 business leaders representingmultinationals, large corporations, small andmedium-scale enterprises and confedera-tions, multilateral and regional institutionsfrom Europe and India are gathered in Ant-werp for a two-day meet to boost trade andeconomic links.

On Monday, participants will discuss anddebate several topics like EU-India – newpartnership, new possibilities, managingsuccess in India, and India’s new breed ofmultinationals.

The GIBM is organised by Horasis and theFlanders government with collaboration ofseveral organisations such as the EuropeIndia Chamber of Commerce and Federa-tion of Indian Chambers of Commerce andIndustry.

Anand Sharma – How can India and the EU forge a new growth partnership

By Press Trust of India

Antwerp: India has assured global investorsthat the country will move forward withits decision to open multi-brand retail toforeign investment and it has not pressedthe „reverse button“ on the proposal.

Following strong protests from its key allyTrinamool Congress, the UPA governmenthas suspended its decision to allow 51 percent FDI in the politically sensitive multi-brand retail sector.

‘We know that partisan politics delayedthe implementation or notification (of FDIin multibrand retail).We had to press thepause button, but we have not pressed thereverse button,’ Commerce and IndustryMinister Anand Sharma said while ad-dressing the Global India Business Meeting2012 in Antwerp.

Sharma, who is leading a two-day high-levelbusiness delegation to Belgium, has said thatthe government is in the process of libera-lising foreign investment regime in thecountry.

The decision to open multi-brand retail to FDI was taken by the Cabinet, he said,adding ‘the decision stands and I can saywith absolute clarity in my mind that thecountry and the government are commit-ted to go forward.We do not believe infaltering.’

He said that the decision was taken in theinterest of farmers and consumers. ‘Wehad made it very clear that we will havemore consultations to arrive at a consensus.The government is engaged in that exercise.I have reached out to chief-ministers of non-Congress states,’ the visiting minister said.

The Minister had written letters to theChief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Punjaband Odisha seeking their support on theissues. ‘We are a union of states and Iensure that spirit of the constitution isrespected.’

India to go ahead with FDI inmultibrand retail: Sharma

Discovering Antwerp At the Grote Markt,Antwerp’s Town Square

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Participants gather prior to the closing dinner

Continuing discussions in the tram

Leaving for the closing dinner

Transfer by traditional Antwerp trams

The closing dinner took place at the Marble Hall of the Antwerp Zoo

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Horasis:The Global Visions CommunityThurgauerstrasse 40CH-8050 ZurichSwitzerland

phone +41 79 305 3110fax +41 44 214 6502

www.horasis.org