New India is emerging now

 

Speaking at the inauguration, which was followed by a panel discussion involving industry leaders on the changing expectations in new India, Kalpathi S. Suresh, president, IIT Alumni Club, said, “This series is the most definitive manifestation of our vision to connect, engage and give back as well as progress in our objective to contribute to nation building.”

 

Later, while participating in the panel discussion on the topic, Raju Venkatraman, founder and CEO, Medall Diagnostics, spoke about the differing expectations of the present generation when compared to people who grew up when the nation’s economy was in its nascent stage. “There was a time when people stood in long queues to avail basic services, but today that is not the case, and this has led to change in the nature of people’s expectations," he said.

 

Placing specific focus on the necessity to create jobs in the manufacturing sector, Srivats Ram, chief executive officer and MD, Wheels India Limited, said the sector required a strategic direction from the government. He lamented that though India, presently, has a meagre 2.2 per cent share in global manufacturing sector in comparison to China’s share of about 20 per cent, Srivats Ram alluded to the huge potential for a major growth that needed to be tapped.

 

Also speaking at the panel discussion was Regu Ayyaswamy, vice-president and global head, Engineering and Industrial Services, TCS brought attention to the immense promise held by digitisation. 

“Growth in the IT sector fundamentally changes the landscape of the country” he said, before adding that if the government has the will, technology can help.