The eighth edition of the India Ideas Conclave was held last week in Bengaluru. Organised by the India Foundation, the conclave was attended by distinguished guests, eminent speakers, and around 400 delegates from diverse fields across the country.
The discussions of the three-day event revolved around building Brand Bharat and imagining India’s decade. Attending the inaugural session of the event, Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised the need to build ‘Brand Bharat’ as a nation practising responsible capitalism with ethical business practices. She highlighted the importance of reimagining the country’s identity by leveraging its cultural heritage, achievements in digital public infrastructure, and the promotion of startups with an innovative technological reputation. The Finance Minister stated that India must have global standards agencies, such as a Bharat FDA, similar to the US FDA.
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal projected India’s rise to becoming the world’s third-largest economy, backed by stable currency, substantial forex reserves of around $ 675 billion, and strong leadership under PM Narendra Modi. He added that private sector participation in deep tech and adoption of green technologies will remain the key pillars in building Brand Bharat. External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar highlighted that India helped many countries through ‘Vaccine Maitri’ at a crucial time during COVID, positioning itself as Vishwa Bandhu. He expressed that Brand Bharat can be built by combining technology and tradition. He underlined that the next world war would be fought on chips and emphasised the importance of investing in the semiconductor industry.
Dr Aravind Panagaria, Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, stressed the need for India to shift from an agrarian-based informal economy to an advanced manufacturing and services economy to achieve PM Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047. The significant achievement of 100% toilet construction and providing tap water to all has furthered the Prime Minister’s vision. While demographic dividends, political stability, and rapid progress in infrastructure are considerable advantages to India, the room for growth lies in implementing labor laws, bringing land reforms, negotiating trade agreements, and banking on the ‘China plus one’ strategy. Secretary to Govt. of India and Member, PM-EAC, Dr. Shamika Ravi led the panel on ‘$10 trillion economy for India in the next decade’ and expressed that while $10 trillion is a notable goal, the ultimate aim should focus on India becoming a developed nation. The panel highlighted that a significant increase in domestic demand presents a huge opportunity for growth. However, low female workforce participation and declining fertility rates must be addressed. Additionally, the panel underscored the critical importance of manufacturing for India’s growth and national security, citing the lessons from the Ukraine war and spotlighted the implementation of farm laws as vital to enhance agricultural productivity, without any loss of jobs in the sector.
Communicating the Indian story to the world is a significant aspect of soft power and imperative to building Brand Bharat. Senior Journalist Shekhar Gupta mentioned that given the current global instability and the rise of nationalism in many parts of the world, India has a big story to tell, and the world is interested in hearing it. India should shift the focus from selling the Indian story domestically to global audiences. India needs to communicate about its social cohesion, stability, and stable democracy, which is getting stronger by the day despite many economic and political troubles in the past. Highlighting the importance of foreign voices communicating the Indian story to the world, India should consider offering scholarships and grants to students and scholars in the neighbouring countries, similar to the approach taken by major powers in the past. Popular author Amish Tripathi pointed out that, for centuries, India’s story was told by outsiders, who propagated the misconception that India was never a unified nation and credited the British with its creation – an entirely false narrative. Since 1991, with economic and cultural resilience, Indians have increasingly taken control of their narratives, a movement further amplified by the rise of social media.
Creating a favourable business environment for entrepreneurs is crucial in building Brand Bharat. Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Ltd, pointed out that India’s major problem is not the growth but the uneven growth. Thirteen districts contribute half of India’s GDP, while the other 692 districts account for the other half. To address this imbalance and enhance capital availability, several measures are necessary, such as the protection of Indian talent from both internal and external challenges, reducing excessive regulation on Industry, encouraging the people to view gold as an investment instrument rather than just a savings option, and implementing judicial reforms to ensure ‘rule of law’ for businesses. Commending India’s performance in lowering the debt-to-GDP ratio, he noted that India is the only major economy that has succeeded in maintaining fiscal prudence despite the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID pandemic. At this crucial juncture, the country couldn’t afford to make policy missteps such as reverting to the Old Pension Scheme, which allows the bulk of the state revenue to be spent on pensions.
Eighth India Ideas Conclave discussed multiple other topics that can substantiate Brand Bharat in the next decade. Thematic discussions such as Future Tech and Gaming, Bharatiya AI, Education for the Indian Century, Cultural Entrepreneurship to build Brand Bharat, Global Capability centres, Industry & Society, New Age News Consumption, The Cosmopolitan Bharat, and Conquering Culture Wars were organised within special interest groups to encourage rich dialogue among the audiences. The conclave witnessed participants and speakers from multiple states in India and abroad.
