WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

India Economic Summit

Meeting New Expectations

New Delhi, 26-28 November 2006

INSIGHTS
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 Contents

Preface 3

Summary – Meeting New Expectations 4

State and National Competitiveness 7

Managing Growth 12

Infrastructure Development 15

Risk Management 18

The Creative Imperative in India 21

Acknowledgements 23

1
India Economic Summit
 Preface

The theme, “Meeting New Expectations” clearly captured the imagination of the 600 leaders
from government, business, media and civil society who joined together in New Delhi for the
22nd India Economic Summit. India’s growth rate has averaged over 7% over the last three
years, which has clearly raised expectations economically, politically and developmentally. And
the consensus going forward is that the economy will achieve 10% growth and higher over
the next several years.

But the mood at this year’s Summit was neither that of complacency nor that of hubris;
instead it could be characterized as one of responsibility. The challenge of spreading high
growth across more state economies, infant industries and into rural communities was what
galvanized the various stakeholders this year. Moreover, participants from India and from
abroad understood that high growth was not synonymous with either inclusive or equitable
growth, both of which are at the foundation of any market-based democracy. Sonia Gandhi,
Chairperson, United Progressive Alliance and President, Indian National Congress, reminded
us all that “the economic growth we are experiencing must not be at the cost of social
awareness and social responsibility.”

The result was frank and open discussions that highlighted the need for greater alignment of
India’s public policy, development and industry agendas at multiple levels. As has been the
tradition for over 20 years, we introduced innovations aimed at building a stronger consensus
among business, civil society and government on critical growth challenges.

For example we launched our “India@Risk” report in collaboration with the Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII). Building from the Forum’s Global Risk Network, this project identified six
major global risks that have the greatest impact on India’s future growth and development. At the
opening plenary, the Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram identified HIV/AIDS as
the most “frightening” among the six risks. Later in the Summit, mitigating this risk was
explored in depth with Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, Minister of Health and Family Welfare of
India, in a session on partnership models for business action on HIV and TB – epidemics that
kill approximately 1,000 people each day in India. One such successful model discussed at
the Summit was the India Business Alliance to Stop TB, a public-private partnership
supported by both the Forum and CII and their respective member companies. And for the
second consecutive year, the Schwab Foundation presented the 2006 India Social
Entrepreneur of the Year Award on the occasion of the Summit. Vikram Akula, Founder and
CEO of SKS Microfinance Private Limited received the award from Sonia Gandhi. SKS
Microfinance has been hailed as the “Starbucks of Microfinance” for adopting global business
practices in microfinance leading to over US$ 71.6 million in loans benefiting 1.5 million
Indians.

As you read the thematic essays and data presented in this report, three important
conclusions emerge as we prepare for the 23rd India Economic Summit, scheduled for 2-4
December 2007. First, India must now seize the opportunity to strengthen the foundation of
its remarkable growth by developing its rural economy, as agriculture contributes over 20% of
GDP and employs roughly 70% of the population. Second, India must remain in the vanguard
of globalization. Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath remarked in the
closing plenary: “The great champions of globalization have now started shirking it, but we in
India trumpet globalization because we are getting globally competitive.” And third, to
maintain this competitiveness, most of the burden will fall on state governments. It is at the
state and municipal levels where most of the barriers that impede investment into agriculture,
power, transportation and, most importantly, human development are to be found.

Lee Howell
Director, Head of Asia
3
India Economic Summit
 Summary – Meeting New Expectations

“The economic growth we are

experiencing must not be at the
cost of social awareness and
social responsibility.”

Sonia Gandhi
Chairperson, United Progressive
Alliance and President, Indian
National Congress

This has been India’s year. Perhaps no other economy
has enjoyed such a buzz over its prospects or such
celebration over its progress. The irony of this notoriety is
that it only raises the pressure on policy-makers to do
even better, particularly for India’s thousands of
impoverished rural communities, where news of the
country’s growing prosperity has also arrived. Meeting
their expectations will require that governments and the
private sector focus on four issues identified as top
priorities at the India Economic Summit:
• Improving higher education standards and technical
training, and broadening learning opportunities
nationwide
• Recruiting, managing and retaining the most skilled and
talented workers
• Reversing environmental degradation in terms of climate
change and water scarcity
• Improving the national supply chain by upgrading
physical infrastructure and introducing administrative
and tariff reforms
It became clear through the discussions that much of the
impetus would need to come from state governments. A
thicket of regulations from state to state is impeding
investment into agriculture, power, transportation, and
most importantly, human development. While India has
managed to create a sizeable urban middle class, the
fastest growing segment of its population, its rural farming
community, is also the poorest. With two-thirds of the
population still working on farms and agriculture shrinking
as a percentage of the economy, the need to give the
rural poor the tools to upgrade is clear.
All the biggest risks to India’s development ultimately
come back to how they might exacerbate the plight of
this group – and whether their protest would manifest
itself at the ballot box or in social unrest. If there was one
message that permeated all the discussions at this year’s
Summit, it was the urgent need for better education from
the smallest primary school to the biggest universities.

Now, thrust somewhat reluctantly into the vanguard of

globalization, India must seize the opportunity to
strengthen the foundations of its remarkable growth by
uplifting its rural poor. “The economic growth we are
experiencing must not be at the cost of social awareness
and social responsibility,” stated Sonia Gandhi,
Chairperson, United Progressive Alliance and President,
Indian National Congress.

4
India Economic Summit
 Managing Growth
India aims to boost economic growth from 8 to 10%
by 2010 but a number of obstacles stand in the way.
• Poor infrastructure, a weak agriculture sector and
skills shortages are placing constraints on growth.
• India will need to double growth in the farm sector
to 4%, if it is to meet its goals and achieve more
inclusive growth.
• Educational reforms are vital for alleviating a
shortage of labour that has pushed IT salaries up
20% a year.
• To promote innovation, India must make it easier for
companies to access capital and encourage
enterprises to go global to improve competitiveness.
Activators and Innovators: The Role of Business in HIVAIDS and TB in India – Jo Johnson, K. Srinath Reddy, Anbumani Ramadoss, Leonard Tauro
and Jamshyd N. Godrej
India Economic Summit
State and National Competitiveness
India’s global competitiveness compares well with those
of China, Brazil and Russia. But if the Indian economy is
to achieve and sustain 10% growth, a number of
shortcomings have to be addressed, particularly in
education, governance and the rural economy.
• India’s states are the principal shareholders in India’s
development. Given India’s democratic system,
India’s future competitiveness will depend on the states
and their capacity to adopt reforms and tackle their
respective problems. The competition among the states
for investment will spur them into action.
• India aims to replicate across the rest of the economy
the successes attained in the IT, pharmaceutical and
telecommunications sectors. India’s competitive
advantage may be its ability to deliver innovative, quality
goods and services at a low price.
• Increasing the productivity and efficiency of the rural
economy is essential. The goal is to create a domestic
common market through supply chain management
and regulatory reform that resolves the anomalies that
characterize cross-state commerce.
• Improving higher education standards and technical
training is critical if India is to improve its global
competitiveness by confronting the range of challenges
it faces.
5
 Infrastructure
Improving India’s inadequate infrastructure is essential to
sustaining economic growth and reducing disparities in
income.
• Energy and water remain two crucial areas for
investment. India needs to find more domestic sources
of natural gas and promote investment in power plants,
water treatment and irrigation.
• Growing trade has created an urgent need for
investment in logistics, particularly roads, ports and
railways. Customs facilities need to operate around-
the-clock.
• Private investment is crucial. Special purpose vehicles
should be used to manage infrastructure projects and
eliminate red tape.
• The maze of state regulations still needs trimming. The
financial industry should be further deregulated to
facilitate fund-raising and risk management.
Vikram Badshah, Head of Public Policy, Confederation of Indian Industry, India; Pawan Munjal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer,
Hero Group, India; Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto, India; Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman, Hero Corporate Service Limited, India
6
Risk Management
The risks to economic growth are urgent, requiring
tailored solutions.
• Healthcare should be seen as an investment
opportunity; priority should be given to HIV and TB
awareness, diagnosis and treatment.
• Protectionist forces are rising, emphasizing the need for
stronger ties with trading partners in the West and
South Asia.
• Oil prices and air pollution are also rising; India must
invest in alternative energy sources and in supplies
overseas.
• Global climate change threatens India’s fragile water
supply, raising the need to conserve, discourage waste
and price water to reflect its scarcity.
• India’s youth is a positive force but its schools need an
overhaul if it wants to truly leverage its demographic
dividend. Companies should invest in vocational training
and help design college curricula.
India Economic Summit
 State and National Competitiveness
“The great champions of
globalization have now
started shirking it, but we
in India trumpet
globalization because we
are getting globally
competitive.”
Kamal Nath, Minister of
Commerce and Industry, India
At the India Economic Summit, many participants
called for India to repeat in other sectors the
successes it has achieved in IT, pharmaceuticals and
telecommunications. Its move towards greater
innovation capabilities has been significant.
(See Figure 1) The message of this refrain: that India
should find new drivers of growth, reform and open up
its markets further, and find niches in which it can shine
internationally. India’s global competitiveness – it is
43rd on the World Economic Forum’s latest
competitiveness ranking – compares well with those
of the three other large, emerging economies with
which it is often grouped: China (54th), Russia (62nd)
and Brazil (66th). India’s rise has turned it into a
globalization booster, said Indian Minister of
Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath. “The great
champions of globalization have now started shirking
Figure 1. India Transforming into an Innovation-
Driven Economy
India Economic Summit
“We have a low-cost
economy and a high-quality
resource base so we will be
able to produce quality
goods at a low price. But
we need to build that
resource base further.”
Kapil Sibal, Minister of Science
and Technology and Earth
Sciences, India
it, but we in India trumpet globalization because we
are getting globally competitive.”
But India’s drive for competitiveness is complicated by
its federal system. A lot depends on the states – and
how they address the competitive pressures they face
will be critical to determining India’s global
competitiveness. After all, the states are the principal
shareholders in Indian development, as Montek S.
Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of India’s Planning
Commission, once described them. Explaining why
the national government cannot issue fiats to state
governments to resolve nagging problems such as
supply chain complications resulting from the array of
taxes and fees that hamper cross-state commerce,
Nath acknowledged that “some things possible in
China aren’t possible in India.” He added, however,
that in India, “states are [now] looking for revenues
[and so] we are inducing and counselling states to
make them see the larger growth picture.”
Some states have started rationalizing their tax
systems, spurring others to act, Nath noted. States
differ widely in income level, quality of infrastructure
and governance standards. Foreign investors are
increasingly more discriminating in their choice of state
to target. As in China, this has naturally sparked
rivalries. Said Nath: “The new thing that is happening
is the competitive atmosphere among the states.” The
more responsive are taking stock and adopting better
governance practices, eschewing knee-jerk ideology
for solid results. Indeed, some of the more pragmatic
states have come to understand the value of forging
public-private partnerships with the private sector to
address their shortcomings in areas such as
infrastructure, water management, healthcare and
education that are crucial to attracting investors.
7
 “Running a state is like
running a business.”
Vasundhara Raje
Chief Minister of Rajasthan
The aspirations of citizens are much higher and they
demand much more of their leaders, Vasundhara Raje,
Chief Minister of Rajasthan, acknowledged. “Running a
state is like running a business,” she said. Rajasthan has
put a lot of emphasis on developing its already
established tourism sector and on improving
infrastructure. Power production is being privatized and
wind power projects expanded. The state expects to have
a surplus of power within two years. Meanwhile, the Chief
Minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Sheila
Dikshit, stressed the need for privatization and better
management of resources. The private sector can be
instrumental in multiplying the positive effects of reforms.
For example, while power sector liberalization has
significantly improved the quality of service and
distribution, consumers still feel their needs are not being
met, Dikshit explained. Private companies can step in to
raise service standards even higher.
For his part, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao
Deshmukh, told participants that his government is
“cutting red tape and rolling out the red carpet.” Already a
major recipient of FDI, his state contributes 13% of the
national GDP. It was the first state in the nation to set
aside 25% of live water storage capacity for domestic and
industrial use. It is also aiming to maintain its power
surplus position by investing US$ 13 billion in the sector.
The state is also pushing the development of special
economic zones (SEZs) that will offer world-class
infrastructure, liberal tax regimes, one-stop-shop
clearance procedures and a hospitable working
8
“We need to revamp the
higher education system.
We have no talent going
through the postgraduate
programme.”
Hari S. Bhartia
Co-Chairman and Managing
Director, Jubilant Organosys,
India
environment. Even a poorer state such as Bihar is
mobilizing to create an investor-friendly business climate.
It is focusing on developing its agro-processing and
tourism sectors and improving healthcare and education
facilities, as well as roads and other infrastructure.
The states and the competitive spirit they generate will
certainly be instrumental in helping India within five years
to achieve and sustain 10% growth, the level where China
is today. India will need their contribution and
collaboration to address serious competitive
shortcomings, particularly in education and human
resources, governance and the rural economy. The
country as a whole will also need to exploit its competitive
advantages, especially its youthful demographics – over
half the population is under the age of 25 – and the value-
for-money proposition that won it 85% of the global
business process outsourcing (BPO) market or more than
US$ 6 billion in revenues. “Every consumer in the world
wants a product at the lowest possible price and at the
highest quality,” said the Indian Minister of Science and
Technology and Earth Sciences, Kapil Sibal. “We have a
low-cost economy and a high-quality resource base so
we will be able to produce quality goods at a low price.
But we need to build that resource base further.”
It is a unique business plan, one that builds on India’s
recent successes, particularly in IT services and
pharmaceuticals. Indeed, India’s pharmaceutical firms are
moving beyond generic production to innovative R&D in
partnership with global companies to develop new drugs.
India Economic Summit
 The same is true in software development. In the BPO
market, India is expanding its repertoire to include so-
called knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), or the
offshoring of high-end knowledge work in various
fields including engineering, design, medicine, finance
and law. And India is aiming to develop an effective
innovation ecosystem. “Innovation is not buying up
technology,” reckoned Sibal. “It may be quality, but it’s
not affordable. We need to partner with industry to
adapt technology and innovate to meet the needs of
the common folk.”
It is all about competitiveness through increased
efficiency. “What makes Indian firms more competitive
is that they can absorb technology,” said Rajiv Kumar,
Chief Executive and Director, Indian Council for
Research on International Economic Relations
(ICRIER). “We are increasingly a productivity-driven
economy.”
Yet India’s competitiveness drive has long been
stymied by its poor infrastructure and lack of viable
supply chains. Rural development and agriculture
have suffered without adequate transport, storage and
handling facilities. India’s supply chain, said Pankaj
Chandra, Professor, Operations and Technology
Management, Indian Institute of Management, is
“fragmented, complex and lacks discipline.” Added
Hans-Joachim Körber, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, Metro, Germany: “If we get a proper supply
chain, then the vision of India as the food factory of
the world may be possible.”
That future for India’s agribusiness sector depends not
just on the building of the physical infrastructure
needed in rural areas, but also on other issues
including the modernization of the retailing sector and
distribution networks, and how effectively India can
resolve the anomalies that characterize cross-state
commerce, the software of supply chain management.
These problems are also hampering growth in the
manufacturing sector. A major obstacle: the variety of
tariffs and fees levied on goods and transport entering
states. It can take eight days for a truck to deliver
goods from Kolkata to Mumbai, a distance of
approximately 2,000 kilometres. “The goal is to create
a single Indian common market,” said India Economic
Summit Co-Chair Nandan M. Nilekani, President,
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Infosys
Technologies, India. “To create that single market
requires government intervention if you are going to
reform all of this. There are a lot of stakeholders with a
claim on these taxes.”
This is a crucial challenge to which the states hold the
key. But there are doubts that this stumbling block
can be effectively addressed soon, given India’s
federal structure and democratic political system. Yet
relying on the market and the competition among
states to produce better governance may be the best
– and perhaps the only – approach that democratic
India can take. Indian companies, meanwhile, are
working around the problems. The automotive parts
sector, for example, has managed to build up a 7%
share of the global market, supplying components to
BMW, DaimlerChrysler and other global automakers.
The main reason behind such successes is the
availability of the right skills and talent. All of India’s
competitive ambitions really depend on its ability to
improve higher education standards and technical
training. “We need to revamp the higher education
system,” Hari S. Bhartia, Co-Chairman and Managing
Director, Jubilant Organosys, India, said, noting the
low number of Indian PhD students. ”We have no
talent going through the postgraduate programme.”
India’s low R&D spending relative to GNP is also
hampering the development of its innovation
ecosystem. (See Figure 2)
Figure 2. R&D Spending Not Keeping Pace with
Economy

9
India Economic Summit
 Other participants hailed India’s educational achievements
so far, while acknowledging that there is enormous room
for improvement. “We should really give some credit that
the Indian education system has done something,”
argued Mohamed A. Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar
Properties, United Arab Emirates and Co-Chair of the
India Economic Summit. Said Jaggi Vasudev, Sadhguru
and Founder, Isha Foundation, India: “The important thing
is that there is a huge volume of intelligence in the rural
area – 70% of the intelligence is out there – so we are not
really increasing our knowledge base.” Certainly the
relationship between GDP per capita and the number of
regional polytechnic institutes is significant. (See Figure 3)
Figure 3. Polytechnic Institutes Play a Role in
State Economic Development
10
That plea to focus on the poor and remote neatly sums
up the two factors that will determine India’s future
competitiveness: how well the nation as a whole and the
states in particular can develop their resources,
particularly their people’s skills and talents, to meet the
country’s growth and equity goals as well as the demands
of globalization, and how well Indians can tap the vast
potential of the rural economy. Concluded R. Seshasayee,
Managing Director, Ashok Leyland, India, and President,
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII): “You can’t attack
the top end unless you nurture the bottom end.”
“The depth of education
needs to continue for India
to remain competitive.”
Sir Michael Rake
International Chairman
KPMG
United Kingdom
India Economic Summit
 India’s Economic Competitiveness

India ranked 43rd overall in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007. The subcontinent
received excellent scores in capacity for innovation and sophistication of firm operations. The Report noted that while firm
use of technology and rates of technology transfer were high, penetration rates of the latest technologies are still quite
low by international standards. This reflects India’s low levels of per capita income and high incidence of poverty, the
Report concluded.

“The quality of the business environment in India has improved tangibly in recent years, with goods, labour and financial
markets making gains in efficiency. There have also been substantial improvements in the underlying institutional climate
in such areas as property rights, the operation of the judicial system and other indicators which capture essential aspects
of building a sound investment climate,” noted Jennifer Blanke, Senior Economist at the World Economic Forum.

Further progress in fiscal consolidation should enhance the ability of the government to respond to pressing needs,
particularly in the areas of education, public health and infrastructure. Insufficient health services and education as well as
a poorly developed infrastructure are limiting a more equitable distribution of the benefits of India’s high growth rates. The
available evidence suggests that the Indian economy may have entered a high growth plateau. The challenge for the
authorities will be to ensure that this process is sustained and that it precipitates further progress in poverty reduction,
the Report noted.

The Most Problematic Factors for Doing Business

11
India Economic Summit
 Managing Growth
“The demand for people is
just going through the roof.
Many industries are simply
competing for the same
pool of labour.”
Nandan M. Nilekani, President,
Chief Executive Officer and
Managing Director, Infosys
Technologies, India; Co-Chair,
India Economic Summit 2006
India’s economy grew by 9.2% in the third quarter of
2006, the sixth time in the past seven quarters in which
GDP growth has surpassed 8%. The economy is clearly
climbing to a higher altitude. “Our overall macroeconomic
position is very strong,” said Montek S. Ahluwalia, Deputy
Chairman of India’s Planning Commission. “The external
position is very strong; Indian business has gained a lot of
self-confidence; and international perceptions of India are
better than they were four years ago.” The good news
has prompted Ahluwalia and his team to target 9%
growth for the first three years of the next five-year plan to
be launched in 2007 and then aim for 10% for the
remaining time covered by the blueprint. Achievable goals
– but is such growth sustainable?
The trouble is that as India manages its growth higher, the
going will only get tougher. Constraints such as poor
infrastructure, the underperformance of the agriculture
sector and the shortage of skills will make it more difficult
to sustain the fast pace unless significant progress is
made in resolving bottleneck problems. It will be even
more difficult to ensure that growth is equitable, the top
priority for India’s leaders. “Many years ago people used
to doubt whether we knew how to grow fast,” Ahluwalia
observed. “Now the question is can we make growth
inclusive.” (See Figure 1)
12
“Many years ago people
used to doubt whether we
knew how to grow fast.
Now the question is can we
make growth inclusive.”
Montek S. Ahluwalia, Deputy
Chairman, Planning
Commission, India
It will take strong partnerships between the public and
private sectors and better political and corporate
governance to address the drags and disparities that
could spoil India’s ambitions. “Industry will do what is
necessary to achieve the targets we set provided we do
what we can to provide them a decent level of
infrastructure,” Ahluwalia reckoned. But the government
alone cannot come up with the US$ 350 billion in
investment needed over the next five years to construct or
upgrade the airports, ports, bridges, roads, ports and
other facilities it needs to support 10% growth. Public-
private partnerships and significant private investment are
essential.
Figure 1. Poverty in India Varies Greatly by State
India Economic Summit
 “The agriculture sector will
be India’s powerhouse.”
Jyotiraditya Scindia
Indian Member of Parliament
Another critical factor is agriculture, which still employs
70% of the population. The sector has slowed down
since the mid-1990s and is currently growing at just
2%. For the economy to achieve 10% growth,
agriculture will have to grow by at least 4%. “The
agriculture sector will be India’s powerhouse,”
predicted Indian Member of Parliament Jyotiraditya
Scindia. But for this to come true will require
significant restructuring. The sector must diversify
beyond traditional cereal production into more high-
value businesses such as horticulture, floriculture and
fisheries. But this will involve the production,
distribution and marketing of perishable products.
Rural supply chains today are highly inefficient. About
40% of Indian produce is wasted due to insufficient
transport, storage and handling facilities. “If you want
to develop the agricultural sector, one of the
preconditions is a proper supply chain,” said Hans-
Joachim Körber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Metro, Germany. “It is still very difficult to move food
and vegetables from one state to another. There should
be a focus on the supply chain to secure future growth.”
A further constraint on growth is human resources.
Pay increases in IT are running at a staggering 20%,
indicating how tight the labour market is in India’s
flagship services sector. Companies complain of
inadequate talent among graduates and difficulties
retaining personnel after spending money and
resources on their training. If manufacturing and
agriculture are to expand, if the retail sector is to
modernize to cater to the expanding ranks of middle-
class consumers and to the untapped rural market, if
the infrastructure the nation badly needs is to be built,
India Economic Summit
“If you want to develop the
agricultural sector, one of
the preconditions is a
proper supply chain.”
Hans-Joachim Körber,
Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, Metro, Germany
if the health and education facilities and programmes
the country requires are to push ahead, and if the
economy’s knowledge base is to widen, what India
needs are workers with the skills to carry out this
ambitious growth agenda. “The demand for people is
just going through the roof,” said India Economic
Summit Co-Chair Nandan M. Nilekani, President,
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Infosys
Technologies, India. “Many industries are simply
competing for the same pool of labour.”
The onus is on the education sector, particularly
India’s universities. “You can’t have rapid growth or
inclusive growth unless the education system is
providing enough expansion of the relative skills,”
explained Ahluwalia. “As we move towards 9% or
10% growth, the constraint in terms of available skills
will become marked in certain areas.” Added Sunil
Kant Munjal, Chairman, Hero Corporate Service, India:
“For India, innovation will be the key to moving
forward. Our labour costs are already not that low
when you compare them to some other nations. The
supply of people is large, but what matters is our
ability to train people. It’s not just formal education; it’s
all manner of skills and vocational education.”
Again, the participation of the private sector will be
vital. At the closing plenary, Indian Minister of
Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath announced that
the cabinet is moving to introduce legislation to allow
foreign educational institutions to set up in India. The
twin aims: to boost the quality of education by
opening the market to foreign competition, and to
attract accomplished Indian educators at universities
abroad to come home.
13
 This landmark measure is the sort of bold decision that Metro in partnership with local firms. It means letting the
the government has to make to eliminate or at least private sector step forward and promoting a wide range
reduce the obstacles to sustaining 10% growth and to of public-private partnerships. “The private entrepreneurial
ensure that the benefits of high growth are fairly shared. spirit that has come out of economic reforms is a genie
“There are many countries that use education as an that has been let out of the bottle and is impossible to put
excuse for an underperforming economy,” said Graham back in,” said Rajiv Kumar, Chief Executive and Director of
Mackay, Chief Executive, SABMiller, United Kingdom, who the Indian Council for Research on International Economic
was also a Summit Co-Chair. “Most of the time the Relations (ICRIER).
question is whether there is an enabling environment for
growth. Is there a business-friendly enabling India, to be sure, is in “a new growth trajectory,” Kumar
environment?” The key is good governance, Mackay concluded. “While 10% growth is very possible, anyone
argued. (See Figure 2) who assumes that it is a given is being complacent.” In
managing the growth of this large, sprawling economy of
Unfortunately, India’s record so far is patchy, he reckoned. over a billion people, there is certainly no room for
India can do better. The battle to get the economy in complacency.
shape to sustain 10% growth is inextricably linked to the
drive to improve state and national competitiveness. While
making workhorse sectors perform better and more
efficiently, India needs to find new sources of growth. This
means making it easier for companies to access capital
and encouraging capable enterprises to go global to hone
their competitiveness. It means further reform of the
financial services sector, including the deepening of the
bond markets. (See Figure 3) It means modernizing the
retail sector to trigger a consumer revolution with the
participation of international players such as Wal-Mart and

Figure 2. States Perceived as Most Corrupt Tend Figure 3. India’s Corporate Bond Market Lagging
to Have Lower Per Capita State GDP

14
India Economic Summit
 Infrastructure Development

“We are cutting red tape “There is progress, but a lot

and rolling out the red more needs to be done.”
carpet.”
Peter Bakker, Chief Executive
Vilasrao Deshmukh Officer, TNT, Netherlands; Co-
Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Chair, India Economic Summit
India 2006

Poor infrastructure may be the single most important For the nation’s teeming cities, the government has
issue India faces. Despite impressive economic created a US$ 110 million programme to revamp
growth, India’s dilapidated roads, congested ports, urban infrastructure in exchange for legal reforms. The
inadequate power and labyrinth of state regulations state of Maharashtra, for example, will repeal a law
are braking development. It can take up to eight days restricting land ownership, said Vilasrao Deshmukh,
to truck goods from Kolkata to Mumbai. Steven Okun, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, India, to gain roughly
Vice-President, Public Affairs, UPS, Singapore, said it US$ 80 million in infrastructure funding for Mumbai.
took him more time to travel from Delhi to Mumbai
than to go from Singapore to Hong Kong. Such “There is progress, but a lot more needs to be done,”
experiences do little to encourage investment. said Peter Bakker, Chief Executive Officer, TNT,
Netherlands and Summit Co-Chair. Indeed, the list of
Improving India’s infrastructure would propel economic areas where India needs to invest is only growing, as
growth, create jobs, boost domestic consumption, antiquated infrastructure creaks under the burden
lower costs and stimulate exports. If its infrastructure imposed by accelerating growth.
were better, the country’s impoverished rural sector
could even be transformed into a leading exporter. On Burgeoning trade and travel have clogged India’s
the other hand, if infrastructure improvements ports and rail system. Customs facilities, likewise,
continue to lag, foreign investment could stall and need to operate around the clock. Power demand is
development would concentrate in service industries
such as IT outsourcing. This would exacerbate income
disparities, feed social pressures and raise the
potential for unrest. Figure 1. Wealthier States Tend to Have Broader
Power Grids
The government has ambitious plans to improve the
situation. Montek S. Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman,
Planning Commission, India, outlined the
government’s aim, as detailed in its 11th Five-Year
Plan, to raise infrastructure spending from 4.7% to 8%
of GDP. The government has committed to developing
35 new airports by 2009 and has embarked on a
project to add 6,000 kilometres of highways connecting
Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. And, recognizing
the link between a broad power grid and state wealth,
the government announced in October it will sell stakes
in its four largest power companies to help finance
expansion of the nation’s power supply. (See Figure 1)

15
India Economic Summit
 “We’re amazed by the
achievements made by
India over the past 10
years.”
Hoang Trung Hai
Minister of Industry of Vietnam
surging, yet half of the country’s villages still lack electricity
and industry cannot rely on the existing power grid. India
depends on expensive imported oil and polluting
domestic coal, yet natural gas-fired plants operate below
capacity for want of fuel. More investment is needed in
finding domestic sources of natural gas and building
networks to distribute it to consumers.
The nation’s water supply is shrinking and India needs
billions of dollars in irrigation pumps, dams, rainwater
harvesting facilities, water treatment and desalination
plants. (See Figure 2)
Villages need schools and all but the top universities are
in disrepair. India’s cities require a massive overhaul of
their transport and waste systems, yet are growing so fast
that some participants recommended India should begin
scouting out sites to start building cities from scratch.
Figure 2. Access to Renewable Water Dropping
16
“Over the next 30 to 40 years we’ll be building a new
Delhi every year,” said Ashok Khosla, Chairman,
Development Alternatives, India. “There are plenty of
places we can go to put our cities that won’t compete
with agriculture.”
The government estimates it will need US$ 350 billion to
meet the goals of the five-year plan, at least US$ 100
billion of which will need to come from private investors.
But many investors remain uncertain about whether the
rewards of investing in infrastructure projects that could
span decades will compensate them for the risks of
partnering with governments who face election pressures
every few years.
This mismatch in performance horizons is made trickier
by the fact that governments – both state and national –
want to retain control over key public assets. As a result,
infrastructure aims will require public-private partnerships
that bridge the gap in expectations. India is establishing
special economic zones as one solution; another
suggestion is the creation of special purpose vehicles that
would provide investors with a single public partner able
to cut through the red tape for them.
Turning over more of the task of financing and executing
big infrastructure projects would leave more money for
governments to spend on India’s social infrastructure,
improving education and healthcare, said Ajay Dua,
Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion,
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India. (See Figure 3)
Figure 3. Commitment to Social Safety
Net Varies by State
India Economic Summit
 Investors say more also needs to be done to remove
impediments to investment, including reducing
regulations, lowering taxes, eliminating subsidies and
harmonizing the various forms of all three which they
encounter from state to state. “We need to create an
Indian common economic market,” said Summit Co-
Chair Nandan M. Nilekani, President, Chief Executive
Officer and Managing Director, Infosys Technologies,
India.
India’s Supply Chain Challenge
Whether it is hand-woven saris from Madhya Pradesh or cow’s
milk from Punjab, getting any product from one point to another
in India can be a trial. Consider a typical truck run from Kolkata to
Mumbai, a distance of approximately 2,150 km. The trip can take
about eight days, including stops at state borders to pay tariffs
and fees and complete formalities or to wait for crossings to
open, as well as other delays. No wonder 40% of India’s produce
spoils before delivery (see column opposite).
India urgently needs reliable and efficient supply chains – not just
so that fashionable Delhi ladies can pick out a traditional
Chanderi sari from their local boutique, or the school child in
Chennai can get his daily carton of Nestlé milk. A good supply
chain, of course, benefits the consumer. Goods are fresher, more
choice is available, and prices should be lower. A modern
retailing industry can develop, creating jobs in both urban and
rural areas, though perhaps at the expense of some of the
millions of small convenience shops that have so far been the
main retailing experience most Indians have had. “Retail has the
potential to be an absolute revolution just like what we achieved
in telecom,” said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing
Director, Reliance Industries Limited, India; Co-Chair of the India
Economic Summit.
But the real dividend will be at the front end of the supply chain.
Better, more efficient infrastructure, transport, storage, handling
and distribution will cut down the middlemen and bring buyers,
retailers and consumers closer to the farmers or the weavers. In
the food sector, this will empower the farmer and transform the
rural economy. “There is a huge mindset change,” explained
Ambani, whose company in November 2006 launched its first
retailing venture, opening 11 stores in Hyderabad under the
brand ‘Reliance Fresh’. “Corporations wouldn’t go directly to the
farmer. All that is gone and I see a huge amount of enthusiasm.
We have the potential to increase the income of the farmer
multifold.” Increasing farmers’ incomes will contribute significantly
to boosting equitable growth in a country that, for all its recent
success in IT services, remains predominantly an agricultural
economy.
India Economic Summit
India also needs to develop more robust financial
markets, particularly a market for corporate bonds, to
expand its fund-raising capabilities and better spread
project risk. Deregulating the insurance industry would
help, as would putting more of India’s state-controlled
banks under private management. “We’re all so
euphoric about our stock market today, but we have a
non-existent debt market,” said Gautam Thapar,
Chairman, Ballarpur Industries, India. “If we only have
half a financial market, we’re not going to get the
investment we need.”
KOLKATA TO MUMBAI – 2,150 km (The Economist,
3 June 2006)
WEDNESDAY 14.00
The lorry is loaded in Kolkata. It cannot depart because of day-
time road restrictions on heavy vehicles.
THURSDAY 04.00
The lorry reaches National Highway 6 after a traffic jam within the
city.
THURSDAY 20.00
The lorry reaches the border between West Bengal and Jharkard.
The border is closed for the night.
FRIDAY 05.00
The lorry joins the border queue and it takes two hours to clear
the documents and two more to clear the border.
FRIDAY 18.00
After a 200km journey across Orissa, the lorry stops for the night
as the road is closed due to the threat of attacks by bandits or
Maoist insurgents.
SATURDAY 05.00
After a 12 hour drive to reach the Chhattisgarh border, there is a
four hour queue to cross the border, which is open at night.
SUNDAY 06.00
The lorry arrives in Maharshtra and must go through 12 toll
booths and inspection points (on top of the previous 14).
TUESDAY 10.00
The lorry arrives in Mumbai and the driver telephones the Octroi
agent to get forms processed which takes all night.
WEDNESDAY 10.00
The lorry reaches the customer.
TOTAL
8 days; an average 11 km/hr; 32 hours waiting at toll booths and
check points.
17
 Risk Management
“Every risk is an
opportunity for innovation
and change. Risk gives
impetus for technological
change so I would regard
risks not merely as risks
but as opportunities to
move ahead at a swifter
pace.”
Palaniappan Chidambaram,
Minister of Finance of India
The risks to India’s progress span the development
spectrum, from the immediate perils of poor nations to
the long-term challenges of affluent economies. While
problems of water, the rural poor and disease have
plagued India since before independence, they are being
joined by modern-day challenges, including volatile oil
prices, the threat of international protectionism and global
climate change.
The potential impact of these problems rises as the
economy grows. So India’s early stage of development
gives it the chance to confront them early and devise
novel solutions. “Every risk is an opportunity for innovation
and change,” said Palaniappan Chidambaram, Minister of
Finance of India.
One of the greatest risks is the one posed by India’s
young and growing population. If India fails to adequately
feed, school and employ this swelling group, its
“demographic dividend” could become a demographic
disadvantage. Later, India will face the same problem now
vexing Europe and Japan – how to support an ageing
population.
As many as two-thirds of India’s population live in a
shrinking agricultural sector, uneducated and unskilled,
driving more into the cities by the year. Thus, even as
companies complain of a skills shortage, growing
disparities in income could stoke social unrest.
Ultimately, India’s democracy may prove the lever that
forces policy-makers to address these needs and avert a
social crisis. “If you don’t have democracy, there is a
grave danger of social unrest,” said Palaniappan
18
“Our intensity of energy
usage has to come down.”
R. Seshasayee
Managing Director
Ashok Leyland
India
President of the Confederation
of Indian Industry
Chidambaram, Minister of Finance of India. “But our
democracy is a great pressure valve.”
India needs to improve its educational systems from the
primary level through to the universities. Industry needs to
play its part as well, providing vocational training and
helping universities design more practical studies.
Companies can also play an important role in rural
development by helping to set up schools, creating agro-
ventures or helping local government beef up their
technological capabilities.
Added to India’s burden is the scourge of HIV and
tuberculosis. The government estimates that as many as
5.7 million Indians are HIV-positive and almost 2 million
have TB, with many cases unreported as the two mutually
reinforcing diseases spread beyond high-risk groups. The
government has shifted from preaching abstinence to
distributing condoms and now offers free HIV treatment
and a TB programme that is reckoned as one of the
world’s most successful.
The government aims to increase spending on healthcare,
but this an area where companies can play a direct role:
there are no restrictions to private sector investment in
healthcare. Ultimately, though, one of the most powerful
weapons will be overcoming taboos to increase
awareness.
The collapse of the Doha Round has underscored the
growing risk to India, among others, of a rise in
protectionism, which could hurt India’s trade in goods and
services. “The great champions of globalization have
started shirking it, but we in India trumpet globalization
India Economic Summit
 because we are getting globally competitive,” said
Kamal Nath, Minister for Commerce and Industry. But
India faces its own backlash if the poor continue to be
left behind by globalization.
India should deepen its relationships with the EU and
US, but also with its immediate neighbours to raise its
clout in trade negotiations. “To be at the global table
you must be able to carry the region,” said Rajat M.
Nag, Director-General, Southeast Asia Department
and Special Adviser to the President, Asian
Development Bank, Manila. (See Figure 1)
India is particularly vulnerable to an oil price shock.
Though it lies close to rich gas fields and relies on
domestic coal for most of its energy, India is a net oil
importer and subsidizes fuel prices. India is already
short of natural gas. “There are gas projects we’ve
had to put on hold due to volatility in prices and
uncertainty in availability of gas,” said T.
Sankaralingam, Chairman and Managing Director,
NTPC, India.
Chidambaram estimated that high oil prices cost India
roughly 1 percentage point of annual economic
growth. India needs to secure its energy supply, invest
in a strategic oil reserve and start taking stakes in
foreign supplies as China has done. It must continue
to develop alternative sources of energy at home,
such as solar, wind and biofuel. Equally important,
India needs to waste less energy. “Our intensity of
energy usage has to come down,” said R.
Seshasayee, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland, India,
and President of the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Figure 1. Trade with US and ASEAN Nations Rising
India Economic Summit
“There are gas projects
we’ve had to put on hold
due to volatility in prices
and uncertainty in
availability of gas.”
T. Sankaralingam, Chairman and
Managing Director, NTPC, India
Perhaps the biggest risk facing India, however, is the
impact of global climate change, particularly on its
worsening water situation. India already suffers from
the effects of deforestation and air pollution thanks to
its reliance on coal. Droughts and floods are on the
rise and glaciers are retreating. The impact of these
problems globally appears to be contributing to more
severe weather, potentially affecting the monsoons
that are critical to the nation’s agriculture and water
supply.
Shortages of water pose perhaps the greatest risk of
social unrest. Almost a third of India’s people lack
access to quality drinking water and the numbers are
growing as water supplies shrink. “That is a shocking
indictment,” said Ravi Narayanan, Adviser, Arghyam
Foundation, India. (See Figure 2)
Figure 2. Overall Water Supplies Falling Behind
19
 In addition to massive investments in water-related
infrastructure such as desalination plants and drip
irrigation, policies should discourage the growth of water-
intensive crops in dry areas. Cities must conserve and
recycle water to reduce their burden on rural supplies.
Mechanisms also need to be developed to price water to
reflect its scarcity.
The Environment Risk to Growth
Environmental concerns ranked high on the agenda of
India’s decision-makers at the India Economic Summit.
Vulnerability to climate change and a decline in freshwater
quantity and quality in particular were at the core of
concerns discussed. Water issues, warned Indian Finance
Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, are the biggest risk to
India’s development. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje of
Rajasthan highlighted the challenges of balancing efficient
pricing with equitable access, and Ralph Peterson, Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer, CH2M Hill Companies, USA,
proposed models for downstream financing of upstream
efficiency.
India’s place in the global fight to mitigate climate change
remains unclear, with significant resistance to emission cuts
being balanced by real opportunities to benefit from Clean
Development Mechanism projects. Whatever role India plays,
the threat posed by a warming climate is real for the region
and poses particular risks to Indian agriculture and communities
exposed to flooding, a development reflected in increased
interest in agricultural risk management tools. (See Figure 1)
Figure 1. Insurance Covering a Larger Portion of
Agricultural Land during the Monsoon Season
Mitigating these environmental risks will be an essential part
of ensuring the sustainable growth of India’s economy and
building a more equitable and dynamic subcontinent.
20
Spread of HIV and TB Threaten
India’s Economy
The spread of HIV/AIDS in India, fuelled by co-infection with
tuberculosis, is threatening India’s economy. The Minister of
Finance of India, Palaniappan Chidambaram identified the
HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis risks listed in the World
Economic Forum’s India@Risk 2006 report as having the
most “frightening propensity to get out of hand.”
India carries the highest burden of the twin epidemics of HIV
and TB which are predicted to be a significant drag on
India’s future economic growth as they continue to affect
millions of working age adults, reducing workforces,
diminishing productivity and cutting household incomes.
The World Economic Forum’s India Business Alliance to Stop
TB (IBA) is a model private sector response to the disease
which kills more than 1,000 people a day in India. Judging
by the early successes of the IBA, which is the world’s
largest private sector effort to control TB, tackling the illness
is an achievable goal. The IBA was set up in 2004 by the
World Economic Forum’s Global Health Initiative (GHI) to
increase the involvement of the private sector in TB control.
32 Indian companies joined forces under the auspices of
GHI in partnership with the Revised National TB Control
Programme, the Confederation of Indian Industry, the World
Health Organization and the Stop TB Partnership in an
Alliance that now reaches more than 4 million people.
India Business Alliance to Stop TB: achievements
since 2004
• More than 4 million people reached with TB control
programmes
• More than 7,000 people now on TB treatment
• 32 companies now committed to TB control activities
• Leading companies: Reliance, TATA, Aditya Birla involved
• Unique public private partnership model with business as
healthcare provider
India Economic Summit
 The Creative Imperative in India
Since its Annual Meeting 2006 in Davos, the World
Economic Forum has been pursuing the “creative
imperative” through the interactive sessions and
workshops in regional meetings across the globe,
including this year’s India Economic Summit. The aim
is to tap the combined knowledge of Forum partners,
members and meeting participants – business,
government and civil society leaders from around the
world – to identify innovative approaches to
addressing international issues and problems, from
the lack of water to ageing demographics, from
imbalances in the global economy to the threat of
terrorism. Many of these captured ideas will fuel the
discussions and brainstorming at the Annual Meeting
2007 and help shape its agenda.
These are some examples of the creative ideas and
out-of-box insights that participants at the India
Economic Summit discussed in New Delhi:
State and National Competitiveness
It is critical for India to shape its competitive niches in
the global economy. It must further cultivate the
comparative advantage it has already exploited in the
business process outsourcing market. This means
producing high-quality goods and services at a low
cost. India can collaborate with developed countries
to “extend” the niche competitiveness of those
economies. Indian Minister of Science and Technology
and Earth Sciences Kipal Sibal, for example, has
proposed to Norway that it set up marine engineering
training facilities in India and then outsource business
to trained Indian personnel. This would allow Norway
to maintain its leading position in the marine
engineering sector, while providing new skills to Indian
workers. As Minister Sibal put it: “You build your
future; we build our human capital.” Such collaborative
arrangements would provide India with the know-how
it requires such as energy conservation techniques
and technology.
“India has to focus on how to monetize innovation. The cost
of failure is low in India and that is something we should use
to our advantage.”
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Chairperson and Managing Director, Biocon India, India
India Economic Summit
“Science and technology is
the key for innovation and
economic growth. But also
important is social
innovation, changing
mindset to take risks.”
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, Science
Adviser to the Prime Minister,
and Professor, National
Graduate Institute for Policy
Studies (GRIPS), Japan
Efforts must be made to address the problem of
unemployment among graduates and postgraduates
in rural areas who are unable to get a job. Not attuned
to urban living, they are similarly unsuited to village life
or rural employment. The private sector should make
use of these talents in their efforts to develop rural
markets.
India and its neighbours should do more to promote
South Asia as an economically integrated region. “We
really underplay our neighbourhood at our own cost,”
said Rajiv Kumar, Chief Executive and Director, Indian
Council for Research on International Economic
Relations (ICRIER), India. “The region from Chittagong
(in Bangladesh) to Kabul (in Afghanistan) is and will
remain an integrated economic space – trade,
migration, population, the labour force. We [India] take
responsibility for building that economic space. If
others are afraid of our size, we must make them feel
secure.”
To create an Indian common market, a single point-of-
departure process should replace the repeated
formalities and levies on cross-border commerce and
traffic. Ways should be explored to divide the
revenues fairly among states with valid claims.
21
 Managing Growth
While some accomplished Indian academics, engineers
and scientists who have gone abroad have returned,
many still do not come home, unwilling to accept local
pay scales and conditions. The proposed legislation to
allow foreign educational institutions to enter the Indian
market could provide a mechanism for attracting Indian
R&D talent back. But this initiative will have to be
bolstered by new grant programmes, investment from the
private sector in education and the creation of public-
private partnerships to support higher learning and
research.
To empower women and expand opportunities for them in
the workplace, Indian companies should consider
adapting flexible work schemes that have been used in
countries such as Japan that have also had to address
gender inequality.
Risk Management
“India is being robbed of at least 1% growth because of
high oil prices,” said Palaniappan Chidambaram, the
Minister of Finance of India. He called for oil-producing
countries to meet high oil-consuming nations, proposing
that the two groups set a pricing band for petroleum.
Chidambaram also called on developed countries to
provide funding and technology to developing economies
to help them reduce energy consumption and increase
energy efficiency.
India needs to examine new ways of water conservation
such as rain harvesting in urban areas.

Infrastructure Development
To construct the infrastructure India needs will require
investment of US$ 350 billion over the next five years. As
the government will not be able to provide all the
necessary funding, the private sector will have to cover
the shortfall. In a session on financial markets,
participants discussed the need for alternative sources of
capital. Deregulation of the insurance sector and pension
reforms could unlock funds that may then be invested in
infrastructure development. In addition, the creation of
dedicated public vehicles for investing in infrastructure
projects would centralize the tendering and approval
process, thereby eliminating the confusion investors
typically face.

The Key Challenges Ahead: R. Seshasayee, Mohamed A. Alabbar, Kamal Nath, Michael Rake, Nandan M. Nilekani and Graham Mackay

22
India Economic Summit
 Acknowledgements

The India Economic Summit is held in cooperation with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The World Economic Forum wishes to acknowledge the support of the following companies as Partners:

Strategic Partners Summit Supporters

Accenture CH2M HILL

AIG Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion,
AMD Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India
Apax Partners Emaar
Audi Financial Technologies
Avaya India Brand Equity Foundation
Bain & Company SABMiller
Bombardier TNT NV
BT
Cisco Systems
Citigroup Service Provider
The Coca-Cola Company
Deloitte Taj Palace Hotel
Deutsche Bank
Ernst & Young
Intel Corporation
KPMG
Manpower
Marsh & McLennan Companies The World Economic Forum would also like to
Merck & Co. thank Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and
Merrill Lynch Industry, and Vilasrao Deshmukh, Chief Minister of
Metro Maharashtra for their generous hosting of activities
Nestlé during the India Economic Summit.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Siemens

Regional Partners

GeoPost International
UPS

23
India Economic Summit
 Contributors

Peter Torreele is Managing Director of the World Economic Forum. Lee Howell is Director, Head of Asia,
at the Forum. The India Economic Summit was under his direct responsibility, with Colette Mather,
Senior Adviser, South Asia; Shruti Bhatia, Senior Manager, India; Satyadeep Rajan, Senior Member
Relations Manager, Asia; and Samantha Gianora, Event Manager, Summit Coordinator.

Samantha Tonkin, Senior Media Manager at the World Economic Forum worked with Wayne Arnold and
Alejandro Reyes to produce this report.

The World Economic Forum would like to express its appreciation to the summary writers for their work
at the Summit. Session summaries are available at www.weforum.org.

Associate Principal, Editing: Nancy Tranchet

Design and Layout: Kamal Kimaoui, Associate Principal, Production and Design

Photographs: Prabhas Roy

Special thanks to PricewaterhouseCoopers for their help in preparing data and statistics underpinning
this report.

24
India Economic Summit
The World Economic Forum is an independent
international organization committed to improving
the state of the world by engaging leaders in
partnerships to shape global, regional and
industry agendas.

Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based

in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic
Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to
no political, partisan or national interests.
(www.weforum.org)