On Day 2 of GBS Global Business Summit, climate concerns and what’s next in digital
New Delhi: On the concluding day of the sixth edition of the prestigious ET GBS Global Summit 2020 at the Taj Palace Hotel here today, the focus was on climate change, global economic slowdown, India’s goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy, and the world’s digital future, among other issues.
Day Two saw a premier gathering of policy and business leaders speaking on diverse themes such as leadership in the 2020s, the global economic slowdown, future of mobility, trends disrupting business globally, good governance, women in leadership, and the future in digital. They included Dandapani, Hindu priest and entrepreneur; Gen V.P. Malik, former Chief of Army Staff; Sri Shivananda, CTO, PayPal; Jeffrey Christopher Smith, Co-Founder and CEO, Smule; Richard Pierson, Co-Founder & CEO, Headspace, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Allen Lau, Co-founder & CEO, Wattpad; Hon’ble Minister of Civil Aviation, Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri; Hon’ble Minister of Women and Child Development and Textiles, Smiti Zubin Irani; Sachin Bansal, Co-founder, Flipkart; and Manish Malhotra, fashion designer, among others.
Like all editions of The Global Business Summit, the sixth edition also has several global speakers. In the session titled “Trust in the Age of Disruption, Tony Hall, BBC Director General, Tony Hill said: “A democracy that can’t rely on access to truth is a democracy undermined. And a society in which two sides of a debate have no need to engage with one another on the basis of a genuine appreciation of what is happening is a society profoundly weakened”.
Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Railways, Piyush Goyal, expressed confidence that India’s dream of becoming a $5 trillion economy is attainable. In conversation with Nayantara Rai, he said, “The Modi government’s thinking is not run of the mill, we believe in creative ways to look at the problem. Our government will always engage and negotiate for the best interests of the country. We will ensure that Indian industry and people can benefit from trade deals.”
Smriti Irani, Hon’ble Minister of Women and Child Development and Textiles,
underlined the importance of empowering women with entrepreneurial minds to help attain economic empowerment. “Women are enablers of the national economy. The India story needs to be told in the right context,” she said.
During his closing keynote address, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “India is aiming to increase share of manufacturing sector by 2022 with a significant increase in GDP. We realise investment in defence is different from that in other sectors because stakes are high, gestation period longer and technology requirements are high.” He urged industry to play a role in developing the country’s defence sector. “The necessity of becoming internationally competitive demands that the private sector plays its long-awaited role in defence sector. Investment in defence sector is different from other sectors. For, the stakes are very high.”
Richard Pierson, Co-Founder & CEO, Headspace while speaking at The App Economy – Creating New Categories session said, “Indian young folks have started developing an affinity towards meditation and they know exactly how to do it. However, it’s different in other markets and we have to convince the young audience to practice meditation as it’s healthy and productive for their well-being. I have deep respect for Indians.”