India Summit 2018 | The Economist | 25 October 2018 | Trident Hotel, Mumbai, CR 2 Nariman Point, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400021, India

Narendra Modi’s ascent to India’s top job can be traced back to his success in his home state of Gujarat. As chief minister there, Mr Modi established a policy framework that helped attract foreign investment and improve the lives of Gujaratis. Those who aspire to win the prime ministership now have a clear model to follow: first, do well at home and outperform the leaders of rival states.

Many in the current batch of chief ministers appear up to the task of boosting their state’s fortunes. Maharashtra aims to cement its place as the country’s financial and corporate capital by implementing business-friendly policies. Delhi, Telangana and Karnataka welcome deep-pocketed investors and are courting start-ups to set up shop in newly created “tech hubs”, hoping to become home to the next unicorn (a private company valued at $1 billion or more). And four years after Mr Modi’s departure to run the country, Gujarat’s economy is still going strong.

India’s political system, which gives states significant power to implement local rules and enforce laws, means that good leadership at the state level is key to the country’s success. While all have a role, the bigger states and those with the greatest growth potential must play their part for India’s development to stay on track. But are local governments using their power to best effect?

2018 Speakers

Nirmala Sitharaman
Minister of defence, Republic of India

Piyush Goyal
Minister of railways and coal, India

Kumar Mangalam Birla
Chairman, Aditya Birla Group

Avnish Bajaj
Founder and managing partner, Matrix Partners

Zarin Daruwala
Chief executive, Standard Chartered Bank India

Jayati Ghosh
Professor, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Nilanjan Ghosh
Senior fellow and head, economics, Observer Research Foundation

Adi B. Godrej
Chairman, The Godrej Group

CP Gurnani
Managing director and chief executive, Tech Mahindra

Hemant Kanoria
Chairman and managing director, Srei Infrastructure Finance

Amitabh Kant
Chief executive, NITI Aayog

Anand Kripalu
Managing director and chief executive, Diageo India

Kavin Bharti Mittal
Chief executive and founder, Hike

V. Ramgopal Rao
Director, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Kailash Satyarthi
Founder, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation

Ahmed El Sheikh
President and chief executive, PepsiCo India

Chetna Sinha
Founder and chairperson, Mann Deshi Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation

Shashi Tharoor
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha

Richa Bajpai
Founder, Goodera

Sachin Menon
National Head, Indirect Tax, KPMG India

Preet Dhupar
Chief Financial Officer, IKEA India

Alex Travelli
India correspondent, The Economist

Max Rodenbeck
South Asia bureau chief, The Economist

Laurel West
Managing director, content solutions, Asia, The Economist Group

Daniel Knowles
South Asia business and economics correspondent, The Economist

2018 Sponsors

FOUNDING:
• Standard Chartered

SILVER:
• Diageo
• Goodera
• SREI

BROADCAST:
• Wion

SUPPORTING ASSOCIATIONS:
• Allison Partners
• The Indian Express
• The Quint
• 94.3 Radio One International
• US India Business Council
• Way2news
• India Business Law Journal
• Asia Society India Centre
• News Mobile