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Event
Distance education courses are a good example of the
important role played by technology in not only creating
wider accessibility but also catering to the need for
advanced education for people who cannot afford to go
to the US to study. Teachers cannot be created overnight,
but technology can be effectively and innovatively used to
reach out to more people.
A very small percentage of US students come to India to
pursue higher education in comparison to Indian
Students who go to the US for further studies. The Indian
curriculum should be made more flexible to
accommodate US students aspiring to come to India for
short term courses.
India allocates only 3.0 percent of its GDP to education
which is half of what other countries allot. The
Government should look at providing funds for
development of education. India lacks in delivery of
implementation. This is where the private sector
involvement is very crucial.
L to R: Parag Patel, Philip Lewin, N.V. Srinivasan and Ali Hirji
SMEs Session
gave ingredients to success. He said to succeed in India
as an SME one should ‘Do your homework, Invest in
face-time & networking, Prompt written follow-up, Take
professional advice, Start modestly & be patient and lastly
include some ‘me time’ .
Parag Patel, and Ali Hirji, both from Citibank talked
about Banking for Small and Medium Size Business.
Finance Session
Cyrus F. Lam, Managing Director, KPMG Corporate
Finance LLC Chaired this session and talked on various
'Financing Options for Expanding Horizons'.
Brian Sant Angelo, Sr. Business Development Officer
from Export-Import Bank of the United States gave an
overview of Ex-Im Bank's current exposure to Indian
borrowers. He said that Ex-Im Bank has current exposure
to Indian borrowers of $5.5 billion (as of April 2011) in
the Aviation, Telecom, Oil and Gas, Mining Equipment,
Medical, Services (IT) and Energy (Solar) sectors. He also
explained the different structured and project finance
options available for financing.
Iman Tariq Kennerly, Director, Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC) talked about OPIC's
support for sustainable economic development in
emerging markets like India. He said OPIC offers
innovative financial solutions to support private
investors, including debt financing, insurance, and
investment funds. Iman added that OPIC is investing
institutional and financial resources in India. Since 1974
OPIC has invested close to $2 billion in 127 Indian
projects. The Current exposure is of $277 million with 20
projects. $160 million was committed in FY2009 and
FY2010. Recent project investments include SME and
microfinance facilities, renewable energy, and housing
finance.
This special session on SMEs (Small and Medium
Enterprises) was chaired by N.V. Srinivasan, CEO, N.V.S.
& Associates. Srinivasan said we believe that partnership
between small and medium sized enterprises in both
countries is critical to unleash the potentials and to gain
from each other's expertise and markets.
Philip Lewin, Country Director, American Airlines gave
excellent perspectives on SMEs. His presentation
highlighted SMEs as a key market segment and defined
increasing SME activity in BRIC markets, growth
opportunities, ease of access, lower barriers to entry,
lobalized thinking and decreasing complexity. Lewin also
A Section of the audience
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