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Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 to be Held in Hyderabad, November 28-30

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A high-level delegation from the Government of India and the United States met today, at NITI Aayog to plan the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, which will be held November 28-30 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre in Hyderabad, India.

The Summit will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Advisor to the President, Ivanka Trump, who leads the U.S. delegation.

The GES is the preeminent annual gathering of emerging entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders from around the world. Through networking, mentoring, and workshops, the GES empowers entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas, build partnerships, secure funding, and create innovative goods and services that will transform societies. This year, the focus will be on women entrepreneurs and the tremendous potential women bring to entrepreneurship.

GES 2017 will create an environment that empowers innovators, particularly women, to take their ideas to the next level. Women represent tremendous promise for economic growth and prosperity — but in both developing and developed countries, also face tremendous barriers to building businesses. This year’s theme is “Women First, Prosperity for All” to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit in all its strengths and diversity.

GES 2017 will be attended by over 1600 delegates, including entrepreneurs and investors, CEOs of major knowledge-based industries, representing the full measure of entrepreneurial talent from diverse backgrounds across the world. The participants will be truly global, representing 160 countries, with representation from every region of the world. Entrepreneurs will represent a diverse range of geographies, industries, business size and scalability. Investors and representatives from organizations that support entrepreneurs will be hand-picked to catalyze investment, networking and mentoring. There will be special emphasis on empowering young and women entrepreneurs and the role they play in making communities more prosperous and secure through enterprise.

NITI Aayog is taking the lead in organising this Summit for the Government of India. Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog stated that this is a unique opportunity for Indian Startups and Innovators to interact and network with the finest entrepreneurs of the world. He acknowledged the support of Government of Telangana in hosting the Summit at Hyderabad, and said “India, the oldest civilization, welcomes civilizations from across the world to GES 2017. We need to harness technology to solve some of the most pressing problems in healthcare delivery, education, energy, safe drinking water and agriculture, among others for the benefit of communities at large. Innovation and entrepreneurship will play a decisive role towards this end. I am sure this will be a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to interact with the best.”

Jennifer Arangio, Senior Director at the National Security Council, The White House, said “The United States is proud to partner with India for this year’s GES. Uniting under the theme Women First, Prosperity for All, the Summit will highlight the Trump Administration’s commitment to the principle that when women are economically empowered, communities and countries thrive. Hosting GES in India is a signature of the broad and enduring partnership between our two countries. We thank our co-host, the Government of India, for their support, energy and hospitality, and look forward to a high-impact Summit that brings together ground-breaking U.S. entrepreneurs and investors with their counterparts from around the world.”

Innovations developed by entrepreneurs have transformed the world’s economies by creating jobs, increasing productivity, and improving the quality of life for people everywhere. The summit will primarily focus on four thematic sectors: Energy & Infrastructure, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Financial Technology & Digital Economy, and Media & Entertainment sectors.

The GES 2017 agenda consists of breakout sessions, master classes, and workshops. Three networking sessions are planned in the schedule to enhance opportunities to interact with other GES 2017 participants. The summit will have Breakout Sessions where panelists will discuss key themes, innovative industries, and other aspects of entrepreneurship that are being highlighted in GES 2017. Master Classes are immersive, and typically focus in depth on a certain topic. Workshops invite more hands-on, interactive conversations on a chosen topic between the panelists and the audience.

NITI Aayog and the U.S. Embassy are planning a series of ‘Road to GES’ events in collaboration with different agencies to generate enthusiasm and attract the attention of different stakeholders.

As part of the summit, there will be a virtual exhibition of India’s innovative prowess in collaboration with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. It is also proposed to showcase India’s heritage, social entrepreneurship and craftsmanship in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development and Ministry of Culture.

For more information, visit www.ges2017.gov.in and www.ges2017.org

Profile of Vice-Chairman NITI Aayog

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Dr. Rajiv Kumar is a leading Indian economist and has recently been appointed, the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog by the government of India. He is the author of several books on India’s economy and national security. His latest books are Modi & His Challenges (2016), Resurgent India: Ideas and Priorities (2015) and Exploding Aspirations: Unlocking India’s Future (2014). He is a widely recognized economic columnist and a leading speaker on issues in Indian political economy.

Presently, he is: (i) Founding Director of Pahle India Foundation (PIF), Delhi; (ii) Chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Economics and Politics (A Deemed University, Pune). PIF, a non-profit think tank focuses on facilitating economic policy change based on objective and rigorous research.

He concurrently serves as: (i) Government of India nominated Independent Director on Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India; (ii) Member of the International Board of Management of King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center, Riyadh, chaired by the Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy; (iii) Director, Institute of Human Development, Delhi; (iv) Director, Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow; (v) Independent Director on the Board of DHFL; and (vi) Member, Advisory Board of CISCO, India.

In the past he served as the Government of India nominee on the Boards of: (i) Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and Asia (ERIA) Jakarta; (ii) Central Board of the State Bank of India, Mumbai; (iii) Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi; (iv) Part Time Member, National Security Advisory Board (2006-2008); (v) Part Time Member Economics, TRAI, New Delhi (2007-2010)

His earlier positions have been:

· Senior Fellow, Centre of Policy Research, Delhi (2013- January 2017)
· Secretary General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI, 2010-2012)
· Director & Chief Executive, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER, 2006-2010)
· (vi) Chief Economist, Confederation of India Industries (CII, 2004-2006)
· (vii) Principal Economist, Asian Development Bank, Manila (1995 to 2005)
· (vii) Economic Advisor, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, (1992 to 1995);
· (viii) Senior Consultant, Bureau of Costs and Prices, Ministry of Industry Government of India (1989-1991)
· (ix) Professor, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi (1987-89)
· (x) Senior Research Program Officer, ICRIER. Delhi, (1982 to 1987).

He has a D.Phil. in Economics from Oxford University (1982) and a Ph.D from Lucknow University (1978).

Rajiv Kumar takes over as the New Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog

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Dr. Rajiv Kumar has taken charge as the new Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog today. A renowned economist, he replaces Shri Arvind Panagariya as the head of the premier think tank of the country. Addressing a press conference in the capital after assuming office, he said the priority would be to carry forward the spirit of Team India for a better future, keeping in mind the aspirations of millions across the country.

The new Vice Chairman said there would be more emphasis on improving Government capacity at the state level to ensure the values of co-operative and competitive federalism. He underlined the need to bring in out of the box thinking and ideas to bring about transformational changes in the country to fulfil the Prime Minister’s dreams of a Shreshtha Bharat.

Dr. Kumar said policy making should not be elitist, rather it should be rooted in ground realities. He added that participative governance involving various sections of society can ensure that development becomes a mass movement. He said that in the Indian context, cross cutting issues are very important be it agriculture, environment, water, finances, investment and so on. NITI Aayog is well placed to play the role of a platform that cuts across these issues. The thematic focus will be on generating employment, enhancing investment, improving ease of doing business, transforming agriculture, and reforming education and health.

The new Vice Chairman highlighted the need to tap into the potential of the social capital of the country to have an Indian Model of Development. The focus would be on generating employment to meet the rising aspirations of the people and for India to earn the demographic dividend. There is also the need to capitalize on our intellectual capacity.

The Vice Chairman intends to visit all states over the next three months and to begin with he would visit NE states. He said it would be a good idea to have sub groups of states such as Himalayan or NE/ Gangetic / Blue economy states and they should have state specific blue prints of their own. That would be more effective in reducing regional inequalities. NITI would play the role of a consultant as well as a catalyst to help States achieve their goals.

Terming his new assignment as a dream job for an Economist, Dr Kumar thanked the Prime Minister for the opportunity given to him to serve the country. He lauded the contributions of his predecessor, Dr. Arvind Panagariya for nurturing the NITI Aayog and leaving behind a rich legacy. Members of NITI Aayog, Shri Ramesh Chand, Shri VKSaraswat, Dr.VKPaul and CEO NITI Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant were present on this occasion.

NITI Aayog to launch “Mentor India” Campaign

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NITI Aayog will launch the Mentor India Campaign, a strategic nation building initiative to engage leaders who can guide and mentor students at more than 900 Atal Tinkering Labs, established across the country as a part of the Atal Innovation Mission. CEO NITI Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant will unveil the online nationwide initiative in the capital tomorrow on Wednesday, 23rdAugust.

Mentor India is aimed at maximizing the impact of Atal Tinkering Labs, possibly the biggest disruption in formal education globally. The idea is to engage leaders who will nurture and guide students in the Atal Tinkering Labs. These labs are non-prescriptive by nature, and mentors are expected to be enablers rather than instructors.

NITI Aayog is looking for leaders who can spend anywhere between one to two hours every week in one or more such labs to enable students experience, learn and practice future skills such as design and computational thinking.

Atal Tinkering Labs are dedicated works spaces where students from Class 6th to Class 12th learn innovation skills and develop ideas that will go on to transform India. The labs are powered to acquaint students with state-of-the-art equipment such as 3D printers, robotics & electronics development tools, Internet of things & sensors etc.

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission is among one of the flagship programs of the Government of India to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the country to set up the Atal Tinkering Labs across the country. The Mission has / is in the process of setting up 900+ such labs across India and aims to have 2,000 such labs by end of 2017.

India Pitches for Cashless, Digital Payments Campaign

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As the demonetisation laid bare the difficulties of rural India not matching the urban centres in banking and payment technology, the Indian government has decided to pitch for a campaign provide information, education and communication, holding camps for transiting to the digital mode of payment.

Among the series of measures undertaken include incentives to the district administration which will give a boost to cashless digital payment systems across the districts, talukas and panchayats.

NITI Aayog has prepared a blueprint of incentives for the campaign for the district authorities and administration which include include incentives for digital payments for day-to-day financial transactions like buying or selling of goods and services, transferring money etc.

NITI Aayog will provide logistic support for outreach activities at these three levels in the form of the seed money of Rs.5 lakh per district administration to enhance the seeding of Mobile and Aadhar numbers to the bank account, issue of Rupay cards wherever necessary, issue of PIN, downloading of app and finally achieving two successful transactions.

The top ten best performing districts will be awarded the Digital Payment Champions of India award.

The first 50 Panchayats which go cashless will be awarded Digital Payment Award of Honour

The five digital payment systems are –

1.Unified Payment Interface, UPI

2.USSD (*99#banking)

3.Adhar Enabled Systems

4.Wallets &

5.Rupay/Debit/Credit/Prepaid Cards

The Hindi/English version of the brochure is made available on the website- www.niti.gov.in/conetent/digital-payments and NITI Aayog has put up the entire sets of creative material – presentations/posters and FM radio spots/ films on its website – www.niti.gov.in/conetent/digital-payments.

In addition, Common Service Networks are being mobilized in going cashless and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has announced cash incentive of Rs.100 for every merchant enabled to transact digitally. Two resource persons have been provided in each district collectorate to co-ordinate the CSE in each district.

NITI Aayog has also solicited the feedback on the challenges being faced by them, the solutions thereof and the manner in which they can be supported.