This is India's moment to arrive on the global stage: Vineet Jain

MYSURU: It's time for Indians to embrace the country's unique qualities, celebrate our diversity and take on the world with confidence, innovation and commitment to making India an even bigger leader on the world stage, Times Group MD Vineet Jain said in Mysuru on Saturday.

Jain was delivering the valedictory address at the fourth international conclave on Globalising Indian Thought, Indian Knowledge System, Culture, and Management. Professor Debashis Chatterjee, director of the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, chaired the valedictory event.

Jain said India has to take a leading role in driving big ideas in three major areas- innovation in technology and entrepreneurship, education and skill development, and sustainability and environmental stewardship. Noting that India's outstanding macro-economic, demographic and social indicators clearly underline that "this is our moment to respond, to arrive on the global stage", he quoted US envoy to India Eric Garcetti's statement that more than 10% of the Fortune 500 companies' CEOs are Indians or of Indian origin.

Citing iconic global companies Microsoft, Alphabet, Starbucks, Adobe, IBM, Novartis, Barclays, Bata and Deloitte among those headed by persons born, educated and trained in India, Jain said there are also many presidents and deans of global universities and business schools with Indian origins. He referred to a 2021 study which stated that more than 200 Indian-origin people were occupying leadership positions in 15 countries and said the number would have only grown since then.

Jain cited several factors that have made these achievements possible, including a rigorous work ethic, an aspirational attitude and an ingrained instinct to make the best of frugal resources. Indians' adaptability, resilience, diversity, multilingualism, innovation and the spirit of collaboration have also contributed to Indians achieving great heights, he said. Highlighting the Times Group's remarkable journey-"which is so deeply connected with the building of the modern Indian nation-state"-since 1838, he said it has relentlessly nurtured and recognised excellence in Indian talent.

Professor Debashis Chatterjee described the conclave, organised outside Kozhikode for the first time, as a festival of ideas. Sanjeev Sanyal, member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, Kinji Saito, director and senior managing officer at Suzuki Motor Corporation, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, founder, MD, and CEO of Bandhan Bank, Tessy Thomas, former DG of Aeronautical Systems, were among those who attended.

Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search