Prime Minister to Inaugurate FICCI's 90th AGM

New Delhi, December 5, 2017: Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi will attend the inaugural session of FICCI's 90th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on December 13 2017. This is for the first time that Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi will speak at the AGM of a leading industry chamber in the country.

At a time when economic growth has started showing signs of green shoots, the Prime Minister addressing India Inc. is expected to boost industry's sentiments further.

His inaugural address at the two-day FICCI AGM (Dec 13-14) is also significant because though it has been an established practice in the past for prime ministers to attend the AGMs of business chambers, Prime Minster Mr. Narendra Modi will be doing this for the first time. It is expected to strengthen the government's efforts to engage with the industry after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Other highlights of the two-day FICCI AGM, focussed on the theme, "Indian Business in a New India", will be the addresses of the two senior-most ministers in the government, Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley and Defence Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman on December 14. Senior Congress party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia will also address a special session.

In another important session, four state finance ministers who have been instrumental in making GST a reality - Mr. Sushil Modi, Deputy Chief Minister, Bihar; Dr Amit Mitra, Minister for Finance, Industry, Commerce & Enterprises, Micro Small & Medium Enterprise and Textiles, Government of West Bengal; Dr T. M. Thomas Isaac, Minister for Finance and Coir, Government of Kerala and Mr. Haseeb Ahmed Drabu, Minister for Finance, Labour & Employment, Government of Jammu & Kashmir - will talk about the landmark indirect tax reform implemented from July 1.

Mr. Rashesh C Shah, President-Elect, FICCI & Chairman & CEO, Edelweiss Group will take over from the current president Mr. Pankaj R Patel at the AGM.