The 1st CII ‘Being Future Ready’ Business Summit sets the foundation for the next quarter century of India’s development: CII President

New Delhi, May 11, 2022: ‘A responsible and conscious industry must think beyond its own priorities to drive positive change for the nation. It must think outside the regime of incentives and subsidies and embed continuous improvement in competitiveness, productivity and quality across its business strategies’. This was stated by Mr T V Narendran, President, CII. He was speaking at the 1st CII ‘Being Future Ready’ Business Summit 2022 which was being held today in the virtual mode.
 
The two-day ‘Being Future Ready’ Business Summit 2022, hosted by CII, will witness participation from a galaxy of eminent professionals from India’s largest corporations, top- notch business leaders, experts, strategists and thought leaders who have converged on the virtual platform to share insights on global business trends and how enterprises can prepare themselves for leadership.  The Summit would also set the foundation for the next quarter century when India will reach its 100th year as a nation, according to Mr Narendran.
 
Articulating further on the subject, Narendran stated that with the recalibration of global supply chains the world over, Indian Industry has a unique opportunity to expand its global footprint. Industry should move away from the risk averse culture. And with free trade agreements being signed with key partners, we must leverage these opportunities to the optimum, he said.
 
Narendran was also of the view that it is essential for industry to ramp up R&D expenditure for being future ready for which collaboration with industry and academia should be explored.
 
Narendran also spoke extensively about the work done by CII during the year, spanning diverse areas, guided by the CII theme of Building India for a New World: Competitiveness, Growth, Sustainability, Technology. He made a special mention of CII initiatives on combating Covid-19 during the year.
 
Sanjiv Bajaj, President Designate, CII   while speaking at length on how Indian industry must prepare for India@100, said that ‘an important area that will define the future of Indian industry is its engagement with the needs of society and the community’.
 
Elaborating on the subject, he opined that engaging with the society is in enlightened self-interest and would make business become more valuable and viable over a long-term. He emphasised the importance of workers, including the cohort of informal and contractual workers, and the need for gender equality and investing in greater equity and inclusion practices in the workplace.
 
He said that the digital revolution, including fintech, e-commerce, etc is creating immense opportunities for Indian industry which would make Indian industry future ready to cater to community needs all of which going forward will form an integral part of the India@100 agenda.
 
Dr Pawan Munjal, Vice President, CII spoke extensively on the issue of sustainability and the role of industry in reducing the carbon footprint. He also said that industry has played a significant role in promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency, he said.  Further, immense opportunities are being created in new industries viz. green mobility, renewable energy, circular economy and green hydrogen. EVs are driven by new policies to improve efficiencies. Indian companies should take a strong position in assessing global markets, he further added.
 
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, during his concluding remarks, provided a brief overview of the two-day programme of the CII Business Summit which is based on what businesses must do to prepare for the future. He spoke about the six tracks of the summit viz competitiveness, technology, sustainability, healthcare, global leadership and community.