The US President George Bush’s meet with a group of young entrepreneurs at the ISB made for some lively remarks from the President. President Bush saw reason for coming to the ISB as it was “a new school using innovative techniques to help people succeed”. He said that it was in the interest of both the US and India to ensure the growth of an entrepreneurial class.

The entrepreneurs came from various backgrounds ranging from technology to pharmaceuticals, textiles and media, and they all had different questions on various topics for the President. Madhavi Vuppalapati, Satish Reddy, Prachi Patodia, Shankar Prasad, and Amar Ohri were some of these entrepreneurs who sought responses from President Bush with regard to various business and trade related aspects. Anjali Patel, a student from the ISB Class of 2006 was an active participant too, and she drew the President’s attention to “compassionate capitalism” as represented by the funding of sustainable social venture projects.

The first question was from Madhavi Vuppalapati, an IT Consultant. She sought to know whether the US government had a political strategy to balance the backlash against outsourcing. The President said that one response to this situation was to indulge in protectionism and not allow outsourcing. However, he felt that a better way of dealing with the situation would be to educate people so that they could fill jobs in the future. It is in the interest of the US to build better economic policies, welcome competition, and reject protectionism. Globalisation is an opportunity that should be utilised to the fullest by all countries.

The next question was on how the US government would support bilateral partnerships between Indian and US small scale entrepreneurs. The President felt that the best way to promote such relationships was to encourage investment of private capital. The government can assuage risk for such entrepreneurs by bringing in laws which promote transparency and aid in micro-financing for such entrepreneurs.

The President was also of the opinion that the US was putting the Cold War era behind, and wanted to help countries like India develop nuclear power. It is in the benefit of countries like India to build their nuclear power so that they have access to cheaper electricity, and can also reduce pollution. “India has been very helpful in non-proliferation issues and the US government is very appreciative of such gestures,” he said.

On the question regarding India’s sudden strategic importance in the global context, the President said that India was always an important partner, but international politics had made it difficult for the earlier Presidents to interact more closely with the country. To a certain extent, the cold war was also the cause for some of the divide between the two countries. “India is an important partner for the US not only because of trade and commerce, but also because it is a symbol of democracy and peace. It embodies the essence of democracy, and the world needs such examples to learn from,” he stated.

Satish Reddy, an entrepreneur from the pharmaceutical industry, asked for the President’s views on the pace of globalisation. He expressed concern that it was too fast for developing countries. George Bush felt that free trade is very important to develop markets and countries. He was of the opinion that there is scope for the U.S. markets to open up further in terms of agriculture. The WTO can play an important role in such situations. Developing countries need to have a policy in terms of trade which encourages farmers, invests in the health, education and welfare of people. He was also of the opinion that foreign aid provided to countries should encourage the right kind of behavior.

Commenting on Mittal Steel’s takeover bid of Arcelor, as voiced by Prachi Patodia, who wanted to know President Bush’s take on the “economic patriotism” that was being debated in the issue, the President mentioned that initially terminal ports in the US were managed largely by British companies. However, there was resistance when the management of these ports was being sold to Saudi Arabian individuals. Though he felt that industries should not be subjected to ownership restrictions, in some cases it was an issue of national security and the government had to put its foot down.

As a follow up to this there was a question on the fact that initially consignments were cleared by the US ports in 2-3 days but now it was taking anywhere between 7-10 days. To this, The President quipped, “Open these ports. Yes, I got the message!”

He said that this was a problem with labor and inefficiency.

Speaking on the Kyoto protocol, the President very clearly said that the US was against the Kyoto protocol. It was a question of economic and national security risk. There are alternate sources of fuel and it was important to use technology and research to succeed in such situations. He also felt that most of the jobs in the future are going to be skill based. This was a good time for India and the US to come together on issues like research. The US government is planning to increase the number of H1B visas. The US schools have very little accountability at this stage and he was of the opinion that the education left scope for a lot of improvement. It is also very important to measure the progress of education.

One of the entrepreneurs wanted to know how the US government could help in his venture of making bio-degradable plastic from corn. The President said that by promoting sharing of technology for mutual benefit they could ensure success of such ventures.

The President also talked about the possibility of a consulate in Hyderabad. Post September 11th, the visa policies had become very strict but the government was looking into the possibility of having a consulate in Hyderabad.

The entrepreneur from textiles and media wanted to know why the US government was providing preferential treatment to lower quality European exports over high quality Indian products. The President felt that this issue could be directly resolved through the DOHA negotiation. He also mentioned that it was important for the US to maintain good relations with Europe.

In response to a question on Telecom and power tie-ups being easy between Indian and Chinese companies and more difficult between Indian and US companies the President mentioned that intellectual property rights was definitely a problem which needed to be resolved. Since most of the Chinese companies are government owned it was easier for them to manage such issues.