ORF America hosted a breakfast discussion with a group of corporate leaders from the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), India. The discussion featured diverse perspectives from various Indian industries and reflected the growing strengths and tailwinds of the Indian economy.
The discussion—which was held under the Chatham House Rule-- began with an overview about India’s macroeconomic situation and the historical origins and role of FICCI. FICCI seeks to serve as an umbrella organization for multiple Indian chambers of commerce and industry. In this context, participants highlighted structural reforms underway in India’s economy. These include workforce skilling, strengthening manufacturing capacity, improving investments in national infrastructure and logistics and implementing sound fiscal policy. The burgeoning use of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) across India in all sectors and other features of digital payments were also highlighted and heavily discussed. Also, participants deliberated on aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), increasing women participation in workforce, Production Linked Incentive (PLIs) and the One District One Product schemes as well.
Furthermore, participants also touched upon FICCI’s Empower India initiative as part of India’s G20 presidency which seeks to accelerate and enhance women empowerment and leadership in business and corporate fields. The roundtable was attended by U.S. congressional staff and members of the U.S. private sector, trade bodies, civil society, and development banks.
Participants included:
Subhrakant Panda, President, Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
Shailesh Pathak, Secretary General, FICCI
Alok Shriram, Chief Executive Officer, DCM Shriram Industries Ltd.
Kanika Shriram, President, DCM Shriram Industries Ltd.
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America (Moderator)
