“India: Gaining Momentum” was the theme of the 15th annual Wharton India Economic Forum held Friday at Center City’s Park Hyatt hotel. India’s most esteemed businessmen and politicians came to speak about India and where it’s headed, said Wharton senior Kabir Singh Bedi, an organizer for the event.
Attendees listened to a wide range of speakers, from Arun Singh, the Deputy Chief of Mission Ambassador to the Embassy of India, to Vinod Dham, the Managing Partner of Indo US Venture Partners.
The keynote speaker, Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake, “brought a very interesting dynamic by talking about the American delegations in India and the US perspective on the emerging market,” Bedi said.
Fifteen years ago, WIEF was driven by a few Indian students and faculty, said second-year MBA candidate Derek Kightlinger, who was one of the five chairs of WIEF, adding that the conference now includes a wider range of perspectives.
The conference, which was broadcasted on CNBC news, is among the nation’s largest forums about India’s economy, Bedi said. It was “completely student-run” by about fifty Wharton undergraduates and MBA candidates.
About four hundred professionals and students attended the event, which focused on professional networking, Kightlinger said.
“By fostering these conversations, we give our students access to the best business leaders,” he explained. “Business leaders won’t come if they don’t think it will be worth their time.”
However, this year’s conference was “more intimate and more conducive to student conversations with the speakers,” said Wharton senior and WIEF chairman Rohit Chauhan, who believes this is because the speakers were slightly less high-profile than last year’s, which included the CEO of HDFC Bank and India’s Minister of State of Civil Aviation. The conference emphasized the growth rate and potential of India’s economy, Kightlinger said. “China is now. India is the next thing that’s going to change in the world.”
According to Kightlinger, India’s potential lies in its huge consumer base, the value people place on higher education and innovative styles of management.
However, the country still has many hurdles to overcome, such as its poor infrastructure and impoverished populations, he said. “How India deals with all that will be interesting.”
Besides its educational and networking components, the conference also provided a great opportunity for undergraduates to interact with MBA students, Bedi said.
Students started planning this event last summer, when they began reaching out to potential speakers. The team for next year’s conference will begin their work in about a month, Bedi said.
WIEF, which is one of Wharton’s largest events, contributes to the business school’s “global image,” Kightlinger said.
“India is already changing the world,” he added. “If you’re not ready, you will be left behind.”
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