Leaders share vision at the Times Network India Economic Conclave

Times Network, India’s premium broadcast network concluded Day 1 of the 7th edition of its flagship property, Times Network India Economic Conclave (IEC) in New Delhi, today.  Themed, ‘India’s Decade: Reform. Perform. Transform’, the conclave focussed on India’s outlook and vision for the new decade with an aim to unleash India’s potential to supersede the world economic order.

The hallmark platform for economic thought leadership, IEC on Day 1 witnessed a stellar line-up of policy makers, change makers, growth agents, disruptors, and global thinkers, mining actionable strategies to expedite India’s economic growth. M K Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network, delivered the welcome address. 

Delivering the inaugural address, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das underscored the need for India’s financial sector, regulators and the emerging FinTech sector to be watchful of risks that could come up as the digital payments boom continues. “The increased use of digital payments brought about by Covid-19 could fuel a rise in digital lending in the current decade as companies accumulate consumer data and enhance credit analytics,” Das said in this inaugural address at the Times Network India Economic Conclave 2021.

He also pointed to the attention the world has been paying to India's rise in the digital payments arena. “Last year, when many other nations were writing cheques to provide stimulus to the people, we in India processed 274 crore digital transactions to provide Direct Benefit Transfers or DBT straight into their bank accounts,” said Das.

Union Minister of Law & Justice, Electronics & IT and Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad categorically denied allegations that his government was trying to tamp down criticism on social media and asking for regulation of OTT content. Prasad said the government had only asked social media and OTT platforms to self-regulate. “Our view is very simple. It is a soft touch regulatory mechanism, where the government is out of it. Social media, you appoint your grievance officer, you appoint your compliance officer. Add about OTT and others, you appoint your grievance officer and dispute resolution mechanism,” he said.

Prasad also pointed out that the same platforms that were accusing the Indian government were following more stringent regulations in places like the US, Europe and Australia.

Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Nitin Gadkari has called for a ‘positive approach’ towards finding solutions to balance environmental concerns with the need for development. In a session titled ‘India’s Infra Push: Road to Growth, Gadkari said roads had played a prominent role in the infrastructure push of the Narendra Modi government. “When this five-year term ends, I can assure you that this country’s road infrastructure will match that of the US or Europe. And we will ensure that this will be the experience whether you go to Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra or Telangana or Andhra Pradesh,” said Gadkari.

He said the decision to develop infrastructure in underdeveloped areas was a conscious decision made by his government right at the start and had little to do with external factors like China. “India and China are a sensitive matter. Many people live in the border areas without roads. Building roads in these areas has nothing to do with China. It is about our people who live in areas close to the border,” he said.

Gadkari also stressed that infrastructure development was a critical component in not only raising economic growth but also in spreading that growth out geographically. He further added that the government hopes to meet the target of building 40 km of road per day despite delays caused by the pandemic.

During a panel discussion titled ‘Women who lead’ at the India Economic Conclave 2021, the Union Minister of Women & Child Development and Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani expressed her concern over women’s low representation in the STEM industry despite girls consistently performing better than boys at academic level. “We have to bring change at the community level if we want women to succeed. Women hold just 15% academic leadership and hardly 22-25% girls progress to technical institutes after school. 57% women feel that they do not receive fair evaluation in scientific communities because of their gender. If this trend continues, the next decade is going to be very tough for women as most of the jobs are going to be in the STEM field.”  

Lauding the government’s swift response to Covid-19, Irani said, “During the pandemic, when there was an urgent need to produce PPE kits for the entire country, we churned out 110 companies from zero manufacturing capacity, doing a business of $ 1 billion in a matter of just three months. We did not compromise on even a single international parameter of quality. This is an outstanding achievement.”

The 7th edition of India Economic Conclave is presented by IDFC First Bank.