Panel Discussions

Infrastructure impacts our personal and economic health in more ways than we can imagine. For the safety and security of our society, we need to rebuild the congested roads,aging dams, broken water mains, and deficient bridges. Moreover we must become better stewards of the environment through sustainable infrastructure practices. The quality of life for future generations depends on our willingness to rise to the challenge.
Current economic and financial uncertainties in India are affecting investments in long-term infrastructure projects. Reduced long term investment, policy paralysis of the government, tightened lending, risk perception and increased macroeconomic risks are potential crisis spillovers of the uncertain market responses. Weakening of Rupee is further driving up the cost of dollar-denominated fuel and imports of raw materials, crucial to the infrastructure projects. Government of India has recently taken critical decisions to fast-track execution of the pending high-investment infrastructure projects which may contribute to rejuvenate the stagnated growth of Indian economy.
Gain more insight on infrastructure as our panel addresses these issues and many more.

• What are the challenges faced by businesses to maintain sustainable profits in times of economic and financial uncertainties?
• Is stability in energy and infrastructure sectors a goal or a method to achieve economic growth?
• How can businesses incorporate uncertainty in their business strategy?
• What growth opportunities lie in adopting sustainability as a way to do business?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Go to Agenda

• Can we create innovative solutions that will scale up as fast as the expected growth in these economies? 
• What would the world look like if we can’t create solutions sustainable enough to keep up with the growth?
• How can we use technology to both fuel the growth and mitigate the risk of failure?
• Can new social/business models of entrepreneurial growth be created to feed into the grass-root innovation cycle?
• How can the emerging economies steer clear of the ‘Middle income trap’ by creating solutions versatile enough to cater both to the bottom and the top of the pyramid?

The changing landscape of Financial Services in India - A game changer for financial inclusion?
Economists, across the globe, believe that finance impacts development in more ways than have been recognized for a long time. Changes in the financial services industry are providing immense possibilities for economic development. One such change that most leaders and policymakers believe is important for economic and social progress is financial inclusion. Access to financial services helps families in the informal sector and small businesses better manage their affairs. It spurs local economic activity and, at macro level, the depth of financial intermediation is associated with faster economic growth and less inequality.
New banking norms have fueled economic growth ensuring delivery of financial services at affordable costs to various sections of the society; however it's still not financial inclusion in the truest sense. Does financial inclusion reinforce the more established objectives of maintaining the stability of the financial sector, preserving its integrity by preventing financial crime, and protecting financial consumers? Are banking licenses, Aadhar based services, mobile money, and higher FDI limits really the way forward? Hear the panel deliberate on where we are headed and how the face of the industry in shaping up.

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