The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) hosted a Flagship Seminar on 29 March, 2023 from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm on “India’s New Growth Recipe”. The seminar will be chaired by Rakesh Mohan, President and Distinguished Fellow, CSEP. The panelists include, V Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser of India, Ajay Shriram, Chairman & Senior Managing Director of DCM Shriram and past President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and Ireena Vittal who is one of India’s top advisers on sustainable growth, digital transformation and organisational scale- up, formerly partner with McKinsey & Co.

Shishir Gupta, Senior Fellow, CSEP and Rishita Sachdeva, Research Associate, CSEP will kick-start the seminar with a presentation on their recently released paper, “India’s New Growth Recipe: Globally Competitive Large Firms”.

The Flagship Seminar can be attended in-person at the CSEP auditorium (6 Jose P Rizal Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi) or via Zoom. The event will also be livestreamed on CSEP’s YouTube channel.

Register here to attend online: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8116787041524/WN_psOJOB63TsSw_27FktnCAg

About the event

The upcoming seminar will discuss India’s growth performance over the last 25-30 years and what is needed to accelerate growth going forward. India’s GDP growth accelerated significantly to 7.0% per annum between 1994 and 2012 as compared to 5.2% in 1980s. However, between 2012-20, annual growth had fallen to 6.6% with last two-year growth (2018-20) being a modest 5.2%.  The rise and fall in India’s growth has been due to a combination of domestic and external factors. Realising faster growth in the future is more dependent on domestic reforms since global economy is going through unprecedented uncertainty caused by a combination of factors like slowing down of global trade, COVID-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war, geopolitics, etc. with significant downside risks.

Currently India is at an inflection point in its economic journey. If it can face its challenges head-on it can grow at 7-8% per annum otherwise it may slide down further to 4.5-5% per annum. Through this discussion we will gain insight from our illustrious panel on some key questions that need to be answered; what are the reasons which have inhibited growth since 2012? What will it take India to become globally competitive and grow at 7-8% per annum over the long run?

Chair:

• Rakesh Mohan: Rakesh Mohan is the President and Distinguished Fellow at CSEP. He is a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. Previously, he was Senior Fellow at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University, Professor at Yale’s School of Management, and Distinguished Consulting Professor at Stanford University. Closely associated with the Indian economic reforms process since the late 1980s, he has served in senior roles as the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India; Secretary, Economic Affairs; Chief Economic Adviser of the Indian Ministry of Finance, and Economic Adviser in the Indian Ministry of Industry. He has authored books on urban economics, urban development, monetary policy, and economic reforms.

Discussants:

• V Anantha Nageswaran: An author, teacher and consultant, V Anantha Nageswaran was appointed India’s Chief Economic Adviser in January, 2022. He has written a weekly column for Mint since 2007. He has co-authored four books: (i) The Rise of Finance – Causes, Consequences and Cures; (ii) Derivatives; (iii) Can India Grow?; and (iv) The Economics of Derivatives. He has taught at several business schools and institutes of management in India and in Singapore. He was the Dean of the IFMR Graduate School of Business and a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Economics at Krea University. He was one of the founders of Aavishkaar Venture Capital Fund and the Takshashila Institution. He has served on the Academic Advisory Board of DAV Schools in Tamil Nadu and the Indian School of Public Policy. He was a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India from 2019 to 2021. In his corporate career spanning seventeen years (1994 to 2011), he was a Currency Economist at the Union Bank of Switzerland, Head of Research and Investment Consulting in Credit Suisse Private Banking in Asia, and Head of Asia Research and Global Chief Investment Officer at Bank Julius Baer. He was an independent Director on the Boards of TVS Supply Chain Solutions, Sundaram Fasteners, TVS Sri Chakra Tyres, Delphi TVS and Aparajitha Corporate Services. In 1985, he received a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1994 for his work on exchange rate behaviour.
• Ajay S Shriram: He is the Chairman and Sr Managing Director of DCM Shriram Limited, a leading business conglomerate with a group turnover of US $1.2 billion, and is engaged in Agri-Businesses, Chlor-Vinyl Businesses, and UPVC & Aluminium Windows and Doors. The Group’s R&D based Hybrid Seeds business has its presence in India and the Philippines. He obtained a Bachelors degree in Commerce from Sydenham College, Bombay and has attended the “Programme for Management Development” (PMD) at the Harvard Business School.He has been conferred with Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) by BML Munjal University, Manesar (Haryana). He was awarded the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award 2020’ by the Indian Chemical Council. He was President of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) during 2014-15 and is currently the Chair of the CII Task Force on Ease of Doing Business. He has chaired several CII Committees, as well as represented CII at various ministerial delegations. He is the Chairman, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh); and Chairman, Governing Body, Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC). He has been Member, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) (2015-18); Member, Board of Governors, The Doon School, Dehradun (2002-08); Member, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (2002-07); and Member, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi (2003-06). He was the President and Chairman of the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA), Paris, (2009-11); Chairman, Fertilizer Association of India (2000-02); President, Doon School Old Boys Society (2000-02); President, Alkali Manufacturers Association of India (1995-97); and President, Northern Indian Textile Mills Association (1995-97). He has been Member, Asian Food & Agribusiness Advisory Board, Asia, Rabobank International (2006-09); Member, National Sports Development Fund, (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports); Trustee, SOS Children Villages of India; and Patron, Save the Children India.
• Ireena Vittal: One of India’s top advisers on sustainable growth, digital transformation and organisation scale- up, Ireena Vittal serves on select boards in India and globally, including HDFC, Wipro, Godrej Consumer, Diageo and Compass. She is on the advisory boards for non-profits working in areas such as education, legal reform, rural livelihoods, water, and urbanisation. Earlier, as a partner with McKinsey & Co. for 16 years, she served companies across the world and worked on/co-authored reports in areas related to economic growth, agriculture and urbanisation. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics from Osmania University and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.

Presenters:

• Shishir Gupta: Shishir Gupta is a Senior Fellow and Chief Operating Officer at CSEP in New Delhi. His work focuses on many aspects of Indian economy ranging from economic growth, governance and institutions to urbanisation and sub-national reforms, among others. Prior to joining CSEP in August 2020, Shishir was with the McKinsey Global Institute for 14 years. He is an economist by education, with an MA and MPhil from the Delhi School of Economics.
• Rishita Sachdeva: Rishita Sachdeva is a Research Associate in the Growth, Finance and Development vertical at CSEP. She joined CSEP in 2020 and has been conducting data driven research which is relevant in policy discourse. Her research focus is macroeconomics, sub-national reforms, and urbanisation in India. She is also part of the in-house Macro Policy Committee which regularly provides a comprehensive view of the national and international global economic environment. She has an Msc. Development Economics from University of Sussex and Bachelors from Hansraj College, Delhi University.

Media:

The Indian Express: States have higher role to play in India’s growth: CEA

Money Control: States to have bigger role in pushing growth over 6.5%: CEA Nageswaran

CNBC TV18: Anantha Nageshwaran says India will see 6.5% average GDP growth

Please contact Manmeet Ahuja at MAhuja@csep.org for event-related inquiries or Trishna Wahengbam at TWahengbam@csep.org for media inquiries.

All content reflects the individual views of the speakers. The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) does not hold an institutional view on any subject.