HT Leadership Summit 2015: Can India be the world’s bright spot?

The 13th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, which begins today, brings together thought leaders from the country and around the world to discuss the question whether India can be the world’s bright spot.

There are a few strong markers that show that the world is at the point of inflection. After galloping at more than 10% for years, the Chinese economy is showing signs of slowing down. The US, which accounts for about a quarter of the world’s economy, is in revival mode. Europe continues to remain shaky with fresh questions looming over the viability of a common monetary union stitched together by the Euro.

The 13th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit begins today in New Delhi

The recent deadly terror strikes in Paris are perhaps symptomatic of the difficult times that the world is going through. Are we witnessing the beginning of a new world order? That is the foremost issue confronting historians, political observers and the common citizen. The fear is that the transition to a more peaceful, steady state may involve a painfully long process.

Amid this despair, there is an unmistakable air of optimism about the India story. India’s GDP grew at 7.4% in July-September, compared to China’s 6.9% in the same period. There are signs that investors are beginning to look at India as an island of global growth.

That said there are roadblocks, such as Parliamentary logjams and political uncertainty, which can potentially come in the way of India’s rise.

The 13th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, which began on Friday, brings together thought leaders from the country and around the world to discuss the question whether India can be the world’s bright spot.

Guest speakers

1. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

2. Arun Jaitley, Union minister of finance, corporate affairs and information & broadcasting

3. Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister, Delhi

4. Akhilesh Yadav, chief minister, Uttar Pradesh

5. Dr. Joas Wagemakers, Assistant professor, Utrecht University

6. Cole Bunzel, PhD candidate, Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University

7. Soli Özel, Professor, international relations, Kadir Has University

8. Smriti Irani, Union minister of human resource development

9. Jyotiraditya Scindia, Member of Parliament, Indian National Congress

10. Supriya Sule, Member of Parliament, NCP

11. Baijayant “Jay” Panda, Member of Parliament, Biju Janata Dal

12. Robert Blackwill, Kissinger fellow for US foreign policy, Council on Foreign Relations

13. Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, Fellow, Int’l Security Program, New America

14. Diane Farrell, Executive vice-president, policy and government relations, US-India Business Council

15. Kareena Kapoor Khan, Actor

16. Kangana Ranaut, Actor

17. Nicole Kidman, Actor

18. DR Lawrence Summers, President Emeritus and Charles W Eliot Professor, Harvard University

19. Mehbooba Mufti, President, J&K Peoples Democratic Party

20. Marianne Williamson, Spiritual author and lecturer

21. Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Author, poet and educator

22. DR. Aubrey de Grey, Chief science officer, SENS Research Foundation

23. Prabhat Jha, Founding director of the Centre for Global Health Research

24. DR VS Ramachandran, Director, Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego

25. Justice Mukul Mudgal, Head, Committee on IPL spot-fixing

26. Ian Chappell, Former Australian cricketer, journalist

27. Bishan Singh Bedi, Former Indian cricket captain

28. Gautam Gambhir, Cricketer