



The complete Ideas India 2008 Proceedings Report is now available.
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Aspen Institute India organized IDEAS INDIA 2008 from 17-20 December 2008, in New Delhi - an effort to bring together diverse sections of society to ideate on issues of crucial importance to India#39;s development. About 95 speakers addressed a varied audience composed of participants from educational institutions, research organizations, think tanks and NGOs, as well as many students. The range of subjects and issues included India#39;s geo-political relevance, internal and external security, rural development and poverty, security and terrorism, healthcare, education, demographic challenges, clean drinking water, new media and technology, lifestyle diseases, the reach of mobile technology, media ethics and so forth.
The uniqueness of IDEAS INDIA lay in the fact that most of the sessions were designed as panel discussions, which provided more space for deeper engagement with the issues.
Some of the key speakers during the conclave included Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam (Former President of India), Prof.Amartya Sen (Lamont University Professor, and Professor of Economics and Philosophy, Harvard University, USA), Viswanathan Anand (World Chess Champion) Nandan Nilekani (Executive Co-Chairman, Infosys Technologies) Sam Pitroda (Chairman, National Knowledge Commission), Prof.C.K.Prahalad (Professor of Corporate Strategy, University of Michigan Ross School of Business), Sunita Narain (Director, Center for Science and Environment) and Shashi Tharoor (Chairman, Afras Ventures and former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations)
The speakers also included 13 Fellows from the India Leadership Initiative (ILI), part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN). As young practitioners, they brought in a fresh and innovative approach to the myriad issues being discussed.
Given the atmosphere in India today, where there are urgent calls for better governance and responsible political activism, there is the danger that the space for debate and frank discussions may shrink. IDEAS INDIA thus provided a platform for people to share their views and opinions with speakers who are leaders and experts in their particular fields.
The programme was very well received in terms of audience, quality of discussions as well as engagement with the issues.
THE SESSIONS
Special Plenary Session with Dr.Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate
"India#39;s mature reaction post - Mumbai siege has surprised the world" says Dr. Amartya Sen.Read more »
Panel:
- Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman, Aspen Institute India; Chairman and Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co.Ltd.
- Gautam Thapar, Vice Chairman, Aspen Institute India; Chairman, Avantha Group
- Tarun Das, President, Aspen Institute India, and Chief Mentor, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
India and the World: Prospects and Challenges
"The importance of India#39;s soft power can hardly be overestimated. But at the same time, economic diplomacy is equally very important.Read more »
Moderator: Ravi Bhoothalingam, Founder and Chairman, Manas Advisory
Panel:
- Ashley Tellis, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA
- Shashi Tharoor, Chairman, Afras Ventures and former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Indrani Bagchi, Diplomatic Editor, Times of India
- S.K.Lambah, Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of India
Gender and Society: What Women Want
Economic independence and empowerment of women emerged as the main route to bring respect into gender equation.
Read more »
Moderator: Suhel Seth, Managing Partner, Counselage
Panel:
- Naina Lal Kidwai, Group General Manager and Country Head, India, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.
- Kavita Bhartia, Founder, Ogaan
- Manju Bharat Ram, Chairperson, Shriram School
- Navita Mahajan, Researcher & Academic, Punjabi University
- Krishna Bose, Former Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs in India
Rising Income Inequality: An Irreversible Trend?
Improving access, transforming social structures and undertaking governance reforms, including fiscal and labour reforms, are essential if we are to effectively tackle rising income disparities and increasing social inequality...Read more »
Moderator: Amit Bhatia, CEO, Aspire Human Capital Mgmt Pvt. Ltd.
Panel:
- Abhijit Banerjee, Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
- Ajay Mehta, Executive Director, National Foundation for India
- Shankar Acharya, Member, Board of Governors and Honorary Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)
- Suman Bery, Director General, National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER)
Ideas Shaping India
A nation should first have a vision, for it is this vision that will help generate the ideas that will propel its growth.Read more »
Keynote: Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Former President of India
Panel:
- Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman, Aspen Institute India; Chairman and Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co.Ltd.
- Gautam Thapar, Vice Chairman, Aspen Institute India; Chairman and CEO Avantha Group
- Tarun Das, President, Aspen Institute India and Chief Mentor, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
The Environment: Whose #39;Problem#39; Is It?
"If we bring right technology at the lowest level, it would not only make enormous difference to the life style of these people but do a lot of good to the environment also,".Read more »
Moderator: Karti Sandilya, Resident Director General, Asian Development Bank, Washington, D.C.
Panel:
- Bunker Roy, Founder Director, Barefoot College, Rajasthan
- Naina Lal Kidwai, Group General Manager and Country Head, India, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.
- Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, World Wildlife Fund India
The Challenge of Identity in a Globalizing World
Globalization poses no danger to people#39;s identity as long as a robust democracy and political system is in place. Read more »
Moderator: Arun Maira, Senior Advisor, Boston Consulting Group, India
Panel:
- Sumantra Bose, Professor of International and Comparative Politics, London School of Economics, UK
- N.K. Singh, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
- Elliot Gerson, Executive Vice President, The Aspen Institute USA
- Ashley Tellis, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA
India and the Global Economic Challenge
The ongoing global slowdown will certainly impact India but this will be overcome to a substantial extent by the strength of the domestic market.Read more »
Moderator: T.N.Ninan, Editor, Business Standard
Panel:
- Shankar Acharya, Member, Board of Governors and Honorary Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations
- Analjit Singh, Chairman, Max India Group of Companies
- Tushar Poddar, Chief Economist, Goldman Sachs
- Omkar Goswami, Founder and Chairman, CERG Advisory Private Limited
Marginalized India: Beyond Affirmative Action
Better education and providing equal opportunities to the marginalized is an imperative need to achieve inclusive growth in our country.Read more »
Moderator: Ravi Bhoothalingam, Founder and Chairman, Manas Advisory
Panel:
- Ajay Mehta, Executive Director, National Foundation for India
- Karti Chidambaram, Member, All India Congress Committee
- Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
- Lakshmi Venkatesan, Founding Trustee and Executive Vice-President, Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST)
- LSudheendra Kulkarni, Advisor to L.K.Advani , Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha
Young India: A #39;Demographic Dividend#39; or Nightmare?
Good governance and education are keys that can help the nation to go on the path of progress and development irrespective of the huge population.Read more »
Moderator: Anand Shah, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Indicorps
Panel:
- Amit Bhatia, Aspire Human Capital Mgmt Pvt. Ltd.
- Sanjeev Sanyal, President, The Sustainable Planet Project and Adjunct Fellow of the Institute of Policy Studies at the National Univ. of Singapore
- B J Panda, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (Biju Janata Dal)
- Tushar Poddar, Chief Economist, Goldman Sachs India
Lifestyle Diseases - The Collateral Damage of Urbanization?
Urban pressures and lifestyle choices seem to be taking a toll on the lives of millions of Indians today. Life threatening diseases like diabetes.Read more »
Moderator: Sudha Iyer, Chairperson and Managing Director, Srijana Group of Companies
Panel:
- Shikha Sharma, Director, Nutri-Health Systems Pvt. Ltd.
- Prathap Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group
- Shivinder Mohan Singh, Managing Director, Fortis Healthcare
- Tushar Poddar, President, Public Health Foundation of India
India @ 75 and Beyond: What is the Big Idea?
While technological expertise and economic vitality are important, but what is more important is that we have the moral leadership if we are to leverage the country#39;s strength and provide space for development.Read more »
Moderator: Rajan Navani, Managing Director, Jetline Group
Panel:
- C.K.Prahalad, Professor of Corporate Strategy, University of Michigan Ross School of Business, USA
- Bunker Roy, Founder, Barefoot College
- Shashi Tharoor, Chairman, Afras Ventures and former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
New Media and Technology: Empowering the Indian Youth?
New media has opened up huge possibilities for the Indian youth but a large part of the potential remains untapped due to various constraints inherent in the Indian reality.Read more »
Moderator: Kishan Rana, Professor Emeritus, Indian Foreign Service Institute/Former Ambassador of India to Germany
Panel:
- Govind Ethiraj, Professor of Corporate Strategy, University of Michigan Ross School of Business, USA
- Jehangir Pocha, Founder, Barefoot College
- Abhishek Singhvi, Chairman, Afras Ventures and former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Sudhir Nair, Vice President - G2, South Asia
Reverse #39;Brain Drain#39;: Reality or Myth?
"When we talk about the phenomena like brain drain or its reverse process, we normally register our subjective experiences. It is really a matter of perspectives. However, what is important to look at.Read more »
Moderator: Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of History and Director of the South Asia Initiative Harvard University, USA
Panel:
- Ashok Soota, Chairman & Managing Director, MindTree Ltd.
- Rajan Navani, Managing Director, Jetline Group
- Anupama Arya, Managing Director, Mobera Systems Pvt. Ltd
- Shashi Tharoor, Chairman, Afras Ventures and former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
Clean Drinking Water for All: A Distant Dream?
If India has not been able to guarantee clean drinking water for all even after 60 years of Independence, it is because the subject is not on the priority list of mainline political agenda parties.Read more »
Moderator: Karti Sandilya, Former Director of North America Regional Office, Asian Development Bank
Panel:
- Manoj Kumar, CEO, Naandi Foundation
- Deepender Hooda, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (Indian National Congress)
- Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, World Wildlife Fund India
- Atul Singh, CEO, Coca Cola India
Seeking Energy Security for India: Options and Opportunities
"The recent India-US nuclear deal has not only opened up for India opportunities to have access to new technologies and the required nuclear fuel but also access to large world markets where India can contribute through exports of its own technologies and services and gain immensely".Read more »
Moderator: Pal Chaudhuri, Senior Editor, The Hindustan Times
Panel:
- Ashley Tellis, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA
- Arundhati Ghosh, Former Ambassador of India to Egypt and South; Permanent Representative to UNESCO and to UN Offices in Geneva
- Tejpreet Singh Chopra, President and CEO, General Electric - India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh
- Atul Punj, Chairman, Punj Lloyd Group
The Plague of Corruption: Solutions to the #39;Developing Country#39; Syndrome
There is an urgent need to set up a system for funding electoral campaigns in India, bringing in both transparency and accountability in the process.Read more »
Moderator: Kishan Rana, Professor Emeritus, Indian Foreign Service Institute/Former Ambassador of India to Germany
Panel:
- Sumantra Bose, Professor of International and Comparative Politics, London School of Economics, UK
- M.V.Subbiah, Retired Chairman, Murugappa Group
- Nikhil Kumar, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (Indian National Congress)
- Samik Ghosh, Principal, Shri Ram School
Mobile India: A Marriage of Democracy and Technology?
India#39;s telecom revolution will be precursor of yet another revolution, one that will enable social transformation on scale that has not been seen so far.Read more »
Moderator: Elliot Gerson, Executive Vice President, The Aspen Institute USA
Panel:
- Karti Chidambaram, Member, All India Congress Committee
- Sam Pitroda, Chairman, National Knowledge Commission
- S D Saxena, Director, Finance, BSNL
Rural Development: The Challenge of Livelihood and Poverty
There is an urgent need to focus on improving infrastructure in rural areas and to have a re-look at the loan process to bridge the gap between rural India and rest of the country as the nation#39;s future is linked to the rural population.Read more »
Moderator: Anand Shah, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Indicorps
Panel:
- Manoj Kumar, CEO, Naandi Foundation
- Adarsh Kumar, Executive Director, All India Artisans and Craftworkers Welfare Association
- Yashashree Gurjar, Group Head, Corporate Social Responsibility, Avantha Group
- Abhijit Banerjee, Foundation International Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
The Undisputable Link between India#39;s Universities and its Economic Growth
TThe country#39;s education system needs greater autonomy along with more inclusive private sector participation was the consensus that emerged.Read more »
Moderator: N.K.Singh, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Panel:
- Deepak Pental, Vice Chancellor, Delhi University
- Rajiv Kumar, Director and Chief Executive, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)
- Y.S.Rajan, Principal Advisor, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
Are Women the Missing Link to Building Sustainable Business?
"It is time we accept that fact both men and women stand on equal footing and women are equally good or bad administrator as men are.Read more »
Moderator: Arun Maira, Advisor, Boston Consulting Group, India
Panel:
- Anu Aga, Director, Thermax Ltd.
- Minal Vazirani, Founder, Saffronart
- Rumjhum Chatterjee, Managing Director, Feedback Ventures
- Lakshmi Venkatesan, Founding Trustee and Executive Vice-President, Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST)
- M.V.Subbiah, Retired Chairman, Murugappa Group
24-Hour News Media: A Re-evaluation in Order?
It is not the lack of code or ethics or regulation but the unprecedented crisis of market leadership that is responsible for the brickbats the media, whether electronic or print, is receiving today.Read more »
Moderator: Kishan Rana, Professor Emeritus, Indian Foreign Service Institute/Former Ambassador of India to Germany
Panel:
- Govind Ethiraj, Editor-in-Chief, UTVi!
- Tarun Tejpal, Founder and Editor, Tehelka
- R Sukumar, Managing Editor, Mint
Spiralling Food Prices: Time to Panic?
Though India has comparative advantage compared to the rest of the world on the issue of food security, there was an urgent need to focus on agricultural infrastructure to retain that advantage.Read more »
Moderator: Sudha Iyer, Chairperson and Managing Director, Srijana Group of Companies
Panel:
- Suman Bery, Director General, National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER)
- Sanjay Jaju, Commissioner(Civil Supplies) & Ex Officio Secretary to Government of Andhra Pradesh
- Jayanta Roy, Principal Advisor, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
Old and New India: Is Anything the Same?
"India has always been culturally and economically close to the world. We have the ancient example of an Harappan outpost acting as the go-between for trade with Iran and beyond".Read more »
Moderator: Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of History and Director of the South Asia Initiative Harvard University, USA Panel:
Panel:
- Nayanjot Lahiri, Professor of History & Dean of Colleges, Delhi University
- M.V.Subbiah, Retired Chairman, Murugappa Group
- Harsh Neotia, Chairman of Ambuja Realty Development Ltd.
- Sanjeev Sanyal, President, The Sustainable Planet Project and Adjunct Fellow of the Institute of Policy Studies at the National Univ. of Singapore
Security and Stability in India: A Bridge to Nowhere?
"The foreign policy of any country cannot be divorced from its domestic affairs," said Mr Kanwal Sibal, Former Foreign Secretary.Read more »
Moderator: Jehangir Pocha, Editor, Businessworld
Panel:
- Vikram Sood, Former Secretary, RAW
- B G Verghese, Visiting Professor, Center for Policy Research
- Vice Admiral P S Das, Former Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command
- Lt General Satish Nambiar, Director, United Service Institution of India
- Kanwal Sibal, Former Foreign Secretary, Government of India
Educating India: Priorities and Prospects for a Brighter Future
The primary responsibility to ensure education for all at an affordable price lies with the State and today the need is to strengthen public education.Read more »
Moderator: Anu Aga, Director, Thermax Ltd.
Panel:
- R S Pawar, Chairman and Co-Founder of the NIIT Group
- Rakesh Mittal, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises
- Viswanathan Anand, World Chess Champion
- Rakesh Mohan, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
Balancing Quality Healthcare and Basic Accessibility
Dr Naresh Trehan, Senior Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon, Apollo Hospitals, advocated a mobile health delivery system combined with.Read more »
Moderator: Ranjit Roy Chaudhary, National Professor of Pharmacology of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, Chair of the Task Force of the Apollo Hospitals Educational and Research Foundation.
Panel:
- Abhijit Banerjee, Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
- Dr.Naresh Trehan, Senior Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon, Apollo Hospitals
- Dr.Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India
- Dr. A.K.Mukherjee, Director General, Indian Spinal Injures Centre
Making the Market Work for the Poor
"Physical infrastructure is the most important requirement for the market to be able to work for the poor".Read more »
Moderator: Elliot Gerson, Executive Vice President, The Aspen Institute USA
Panel:
- Adarsh Kumar, Executive Director, All India Artisans and Craftworkers Welfare Association
- Lakshmi Venkatesan, Founding Trustee and Executive Vice-President, Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST)
- Deepender Hooda, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (Indian National Congress)
- Amitava Chattopadhyay, The L#39;Oreal Chaired Professor of Marketing-Innovation and Creativity, INSEAD, Singapore
Is Gandhi Relevant Today?
"Gandhi was in reality a man of information age. He knew the power of information and how to utilize it in the most effective manner," said Mr Sam Pitroda, Chairman, National Knowledge Commission.Read more »
Moderator: Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of History and Director of the South Asia Initiative Harvard University, USA
Panel:
- Sam Pitroda, Chairman, National Knowledge Commission
- Vinay Lal, Associate Professor, Department of History University of California Los Angeles, USA
- Harsh Neotia, Chairman of Ambuja Realty Development Ltd.
- Kishan Rana, Professor Emeritus, Indian Foreign Service Institute/Former Ambassador of India to Germany
Can India Go Green?
"In many industrial fields India has shown the way to go green in cost effective manner. We have developed expertise and attained a leading edge in the world in the field of bio-mass plants.Read more »
Moderator: Elliot Gerson, Executive Vice President, The Aspen Institute USA
Panel:
- Sunita Narain, Director, Center for Science and Environment
- Suhel Seth, Managing Partner, Counselage
- Dhruv Sawhney, CEO, Triveni Group
- Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman, Aspen Institute India; Chairman and Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co.Ltd.
Imagine India
Panel:
- Nandan Nilekani, Executive Co-Chairman, Infosys Technologies
- Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman, Aspen Institute India; Chairman and Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co.Ltd.
- Gautam Thapar, Vice Chairman, Aspen Institute India; Chairman, Avantha Group