WEF: FM Jaitley to speak on country's economic outlook soon

All the lowdown on the three-day India Economic Summit

BS Web Team | New Delhi Last Updated at October 5, 2017 19:38 IST

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7:01 PM The Indian economy is set to become the world's fourth largest in just 5 years, and GDP growth is expected to be above 7% this year.

6:53 PM

An Insight, An Idea with Arun Jaitley:

Join the Finance Minister as he talks about India's economic, political and social outlook at 7:15 pm.

6:14 PM

Suhasini Haidar: Connectivity is currency; the wealth of a nation will be decided by how much of a hub it is. Sovereignty is 19th century.
— World Economic Forum (@Davos) October 5, 2017

Smaller Asian countries see the benefit of getting involved in BRI but are there issues down the road?

With India's involvement in BRI, can we be sure that China will play by the rules? Or will they move the goalposts? Leela Ponappa. #wefindia
— World Economic Forum (@Davos) October 5, 2017

6:02 PM

The panel for this conversation included Vice-President, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Samir Saran, Member of Parliament, Parliament of India, Shashi Tharoor, Foreign Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, Shahidul Haque, Chairperson, Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific, Indian Council of World Affairs, Leela Ponappa, Diplomatic Editor and Deputy Resident Editor, The Hindu, Suhasini Haidar.

5:52 PM

World Economic Forum on Asia’s New Normal:

As new transnational infrastructure and economic projects come up across Asia, will the countries connect and work together, or contest and turn inwards?

One such project is the Chinese-led Belt and Road initiative, a project planned to reopen channels between China, its Asian neighbours, the Middle East and Europe. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the project a “colonial enterprise”, how will India – and other countries in South Asia – balance national sovereignty with the imperative of economic integration?

5:07 PM Prabhu added: "I will make sure that industry is able to do their business. It is my job to ensure that entrepreneurship blossoms.”

Read here to know more

5:04 PM Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu at World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit said:

"I am personally working to provide necessary policy as well as fiscal support to ensure the industry can actually produce far more than what they are doing today that will create jobs."

4:51 PM

Foreign companies have forced Indian start-ups to up their game, says Wharton's Prof Kartik Hosanagar. But Indian companies can take them on
— World Economic Forum (@Davos) October 5, 2017

4:51 PM Chairman of Dalmia Group Gaurav Dalmia says, "When bad ideas get funded, investors often blame the entrepreneurs rather than themselves."

4:47 PM

K T Rama Rao, IT Minister, poses the question: If WhatsApp was an Indian company, would it receive the same valuation? #wef #startupindia
— World Economic Forum (@Davos) October 5, 2017

4:45 PM Paytm CEO and Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma says there's a need for more "incredible engineers" in India.

4:43 PM

4:41 PM

Conference on Scale-Up India:

While India is among the fastest-growing start-up nations in the world, scalability and profitability remain the biggest missing pieces of the Indian start-up puzzle, how can it create mini-multinationals?

The panel for this conversation on India’s start-up economy featured The Wharton School’s Kartik Hosanagar, Quartz India’s Diksha Madhok, India's IT Minister K T Rama Rao, Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Dalmia Group Holdings Chairman Gaurav Dalmia.

3:50 PM Ajay Banga said: "The only countries where cash is smaller than card are South Korea and the Scandinavian countries. This is because government policies. India is heading in the same direction."

3:36 PM Goyal said, "I don't remember spending cash after Novermber 8, 2016, except in temples. However, overseas I have paid digitally in temples also."

3:33 PM Meanwhile, US-based payments company Mastercard said it is open to acquiring companies in India and will invest $800 million over the next 4-5 years.

CEO Ajay Banga said, "We have bought a couple of companies in India... that’s where the investments have been in the last 2-3 years. We are continuing with that. We are in the process of looking at other acquisitions and also organic investment."

Read the full copy here

3:29 PM

Goyal added, "People have realised that it pays to be honest to move the formal economy as transactions are becoming cheaper in digital India. The government didn't have to force anyone to make that shift."

3:12 PM Goyal said, "We have an opportunity to lead the world in digitisation. That is one big outcome of demonetisation."

3:10 PM Piyush Goyal said, "The country got too used to cash, the good thing that happened is that we are moving towards digitisation."

3:07 PM A conversation with Piyush Goyal and Ajay Banga. Watch it HERE

2:56 PM Terror organisations such as the UN designated entities — the Islamic State, Al Shabaab, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, LeT, JeM — continue to expand their reach across continents destabilising entire regions through their cross-border financing, propaganda, recruitment over cyberspace and social media, he told the UN committee.

2:53 PM India calls for closer and real-time intelligence sharing, coordination of operations and technology assistance to address the increasing challenges posed by transnational crime organisations.

2:43 PM

Minister of Railway and Coal Piyush Goyal and Mastercard’s CEO Ajay Banga discuss India’s transformation to a cashless society

2:40 PM

INDIA ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Struggling with pollution and environmental issues, India wants all new cars and trucks to be electric by 2030. One way to do this would be to reduce the number of petrol and diesel vehicles on the road. Check out this video:

2:34 PM

80 years on, India is closer to achieving Gandhi's vision https://t.co/imT0scNsnf pic.twitter.com/LyDzTtI0Ng
— World Economic Forum (@Davos) October 5, 2017

2:32 PM Check out the pictures of the World Economic Forum HERE

12:48 PM Adi Godrej said, "However, production might have taken place but it was not shown. For example, on Godrej's coumer product — toilet soap —GST rate was lowered by 7-8 per cent as compared to the earlier combination of excise duty and VAT."

12:43 PM Chairman of the Godrej Group Adi Godrej on Indian economy: "Doubts on reforms started when we (India) published the April-June GDP growth. In June, we had a low-growth rate due to the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST)."

12:36 PM What reforms will power India to a $10 trillion economy that is inclusive and broad-based? Watch it below

12:15 PM Click here to read more on what Sumit Mittal said

12:12 PM "If you look at climate change, mass migration and global trade, there is complete confusion and vacuum. If you keep that as a global backdrop and see what's happening in India, there is a refreshing change here." he added.

12:11 PM Creating Indian narrative: Sunil Mittal said, "As the world has lost its narrative in global leadership, there is an Indian leader in form of Narendra Modi, who has emerged as the strong and powerful leader driving Indian and global agenda."

11:53 AM

Describing her own struggle with depression, Deepika Padukone says she felt lost and didn’t understand what was happening to her #wef
— World Economic Forum (@Davos) October 5, 2017

11:51 AM

Education is the key to overcoming stigma about #mentalhealth. We need to talk about it, particularly with young people, says Dr Doraiswamy
— World Economic Forum (@Davos) October 5, 2017

11:50 AM Doraiswamy says, "Depression and mental disorders is a leading cause of disability - the average age for depression in India is 30"

11:49 AM Asked about when she knew she was depressed, Padukone says it started with "a feeling of not being completely there".

11:49 AM

Bollywood’s Deepika Padukone and renowned neuroscientist and physician Murali Doraiswamy examine the current stigma surrounding mental health.

11:12 AM

The discussion on Creating Indian narrative looked at how the world's largest democray stays on track of its regional and global engagement.

The panel included: Mastercard’s Ajay S Banga, Welspun’s Dipali Goenka, Minister of Railways and Coal of India Piyush Goyal, Minister of Textiles and Information and Broadcasting of India Smriti Zubin Irani, Malvika Iyer from the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development, Dharma Productions’ Karan Johar and Sunil Bharti Mittal from Bharti Enterprises.

11:06 AM

Indian millennials are the most aspirational generation ever, they see themselves as solution makers: @MalvikaIyer #wefindia
— World Economic Forum (@Davos) October 5, 2017

11:06 AM Malvika Iyer, disability rights advocate and member of the UN's Working Group on Youth and Gender, says she feels lucky to be a young person in India today, with affordable education and digital know-how.

11:05 AM Mittal added, "India is pushing forward on climate issues and is open to investment. Narendra Modi has emerged as powerful leader who is driving this new Indian agenda but also the global agenda."

11:05 AM Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as powerful leader who is driving this new Indian agenda but also the global agenda, says Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises.

10:45 AM

There's no better place to invest, 1 billion Indians are aspiring to better lives, says Piyush Goyal, India’s Railways and Coal Minister
— World Economic Forum (@Davos) October 5, 2017

10:44 AM Goyal said, "The country is increasingly being recognised as a place to invest, where the world economy can grow and flourish."

10:40 AM Goyal said that digital applications like BHIM will give India the technological shift that it needs.

10:40 AM Goyal said, "Earlier India was known for its yoga, cricket, Bollywood, however, now India is known for its honest dealings."

10:31 AM Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, "Narratives do tend to set agendas and the mood of the nation. This is exactly what India is going through - a changing narrative"

10:26 AM Srivatsan Rajan, Bain & Company India Chairman, said, "Indian government has brought in a lot of economic reforms but it is not moving fast enough in aiding the troubled banking sector."

10:18 AM Over 650 leaders from 35 countries will also participate in the event organised by the WEF in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry

10:14 AM Karan Johar on Indian economy: There is a certain glass half-empty, half-full syndrome that we (Indians) suffer from. We need to see both perspectives."

10:13 AM Goenka asks, "Can the farmers be given apps so that they can check the weather and other agricultural updates with their smart devices?"

10:11 AM Goenka says, "We need to create jobs for the poor, we need to do our part when the government is doing its part."

10:11 AM Goenka says, "We are talking about digitisation but have we forgotten about the craft of India."

10:10 AM CEO and joint MD of Welspun India Dipali Goenka says, "India is primarily an agricultural country and second to agriculture is textile in terms of employment."

10:06 AM Banga adds, "Why the heck should it not be India's turn to set a rule to be a leader. We have a great ruler with good entrepreneur pursuits"

10:03 AM Ajay Banga says with the withdrawal of a number of countries from the international order, we cannot leave it dereft of a leader.

9:59 AM Piyush Goyal says Modi has emerged as as a strong, powerful leader driving agenda

9:54 AM Panel includes Mastercard’s Ajay S. Banga, Welspun’s Dipali Goenka, Piyush Goyal – Minister of Railways and Coal of India, Smriti Zubin Irani – Minister of Textiles, Information and Broadcasting of India, Malvika Iyer from the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development, Dharma Productions’ Karan Johar and Sunil Bharti Mittal from Bharti Enterprises.

9:50 AM Day 2 of India Economic Summit starts in New Delhi. Panel discussion on: Creating Indian narratives

4:54 PM Seen 72% success rate of placements in textile industry by skilling labour in conjunction with industry: Smriti Irani

4:54 PM This government is trying to correct years and years of misgovernance: Smriti Irani on corruption and inequality

4:45 PM

India is on the rise - but it already leads the world in these sectors https://t.co/eRMOeZPyae pic.twitter.com/fQWGQRWDyS
— World Economic Forum (@wef) October 4, 2017

First Published: Thu, October 05 2017. 15:15 IST