Indian phenomenon affirmed

The Indian phenomenon is happening fast. While economics changed the spectrum of the country after liberalisation and boosted growth and competition, it was a change in Indian politics that changed Indian economics, leading to what can be called the Indian phenomenon. This was the focus on the second day of Confluence ’09 at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA).

“After liberalisation, we (the industry) thought we may lose our jobs during the recession; but we survived. Managers are empowered entrepreneurs unleashed on the country, and for the first time, Indian managers have started thinking strategically,” said Pradeep Shah, founder of IndAsia Fund Advisors Pvt Ltd.

The theme of the second day of Confluence, the annual business summit of IIMA, was ‘Sustain: Steady the Keel’. The speaker series resumed on Saturday with Gurcharan Das, former CEO of Proctor and Gamble (India) Ltd; Kartikeya Sarabhai, director of the Centre for Environment Education (CEE); and Abhinandan Jain, a faculty member of IIMA, starting the proceedings.

On Saturday, there was also a panel discussion on ‘Sustainability of economic models: Is capitalism sustainable?’ The speakers included Sushil, CEO of B-ABLE; Tirupataiah Kota, special commissioner, rural development, Andhra Pradesh; Sita Vashee, chair professor, department of computer science and engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai; Kartikeya Sarabhai; and Paul Beckett, bureau chief for south Asia, Wall Street Journal.

“While commercial communication in the form of advertising is recognised by the business community as essential, development communication and environmental education and communication still remain at a sub-critical level as far as funding is concerned,” Sarabhai said.

India has vast network of NGOs that are actively participating in the creation of awareness on development and environmental issues, he said. “Working on their own and with governments, they are the backbone of strategy to create greater environmental awareness, especially that leading to environmental action,” Sarabhai said.

Management students from across Indian as well as from other countries have converged at IIMA for the three-day business festival, which began on Friday. Anthony McCain, an American student at the Shanghai-based China Europe International Business School, for instance, feels that the event is an ideal platform to meet the future leaders of Indian companies.

“The beautiful campus of India’s premier business schools and the high standard of its students have left an indelible impression on me. Confluence is a great way to see a new country, meet new people, and it should be organised more often,” he said.