US in charge even at business summit

Americans have not just taken over the hotels in Mumbai and Delhi where US president Barack Obama will stay during his visit, even the list of CEOs for the “Business & Entrepreneurship Summit” is being vetted by Washington DC.

Obama will deliver the keynote address at this summit in Mumbai on November 6, the day he arrives in India.

More than 400 US and Indian CEOs are expected to attend this summit. A source pointed out around 150 chief executives from top US firms and another 280 from India may participate in the summit.

No new registrations are being accepted any longer for the summit, according to the US-India Business Council (USIBC), which along with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci), is hosting the event.

A source said a registration fee of $500 to $1000 per participant was proposed earlier, but subsequently was waived off.

The process of inviting CEOs has been a complex exercise, an official with a business chamber told DNA. CII, Ficci and USIBC were all given their quota for invitees (CEOs), and they had to decide who to call. However, there’s no word on how many CEOs have confirmed their participation.