Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the three-day India Economic Summit on Sunday, being held here in the backdrop of the global financial crisis.

"The programme for this year's Summit will lead to concrete recommendations for addressing key challenges such as skill development, financial empowerment of the poor and development of female talent," Director and Head of Asia at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Sushtant Palakurthi Rao told reporters here.

Click here for Cloud Computing

Also Read   Related Stories News Now - Displaced tribals be compensated, says Manmohan - Tribals areas can't be developed under shadow of gun: PM - Sanjaya Baru: Time to get our fiscal act together - A K Bhattacharya: Pranab's trump card - Sunil Jain: Is Manmohan the Raja? - State of the states

Also Read   Related Stories News Now - Wall Street opens flat as data offsets Moody's warning - Thomas Cook India Q4 net jumps three times - Govt plans to make 30% sourcing from MSEs mandatory - Explain ways to cover govt loss on 3G roaming: TDSAT to telcos - Magma Fincorp plans to start gold finance biz in H1 of FY13 More

Besides, business leaders Chanda Kochhar (ICICI), Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo-USA), Shumeet Banerji (Booz and Company-UK), Carlos Ghosn (Renault-France, William D Green (Accenture-USA) and Baba N Kalyani (Bharat Forge) will participate in the event.

Rao further added India with its large population of youth could become a hub for manufacturing and technological innovations.

The WEF will be celebrating 25 years of its engagement with India at the annual Economic Summit.

Meanwhile, industry body CII and global consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers released the the Global Competitive Index (GCI).

In the index featuring 133 countries, India ranked 49th as a result of mixed performance across 12 categories. India was on the 50th position in the previous edition of the GCI.

The country displays competitive strengths in the areas of business sophistication, innovation and financial market sophistication, the report added.

"While the India economy registered a 6.7 growth outshining the developed economies and many emerging economies during the year of global economic and financial crisis, the need for further reforms and drive to be a globally competitive economy cannot be under-emphasises," CII Director General Chandrajit Banjerjee said.

New Ipad Application :Business Standard's all new IPad App Click here to download for free Other Stories      - Wall Street opens flat as data offsets Moody's warning - Thomas Cook India Q4 net jumps three times - Govt plans to make 30% sourcing from MSEs mandatory - Explain ways to cover govt loss on 3G roaming: TDSAT to telcos - Magma Fincorp plans to start gold finance biz in H1 of FY13

Tags : Manmohan Singh | World Economic Forum | India Economic Summit |   Read Business news in  Advertisements -  Now property search gets more exciting than ever before! -  High Growth Business Opportunities in Africa - Register to explore -  Medium-sized businesses are the engines of a smarter planet. -  We live for our family. have you secured them? -  Office 365 for professionals and small businesses. -  Earn fuel worth Rs.2400 with Citi -  India's No. 1 Property Site. Click here to know more.. -  Diseases earlier, Saving Costs, Extending Lives. Know More.. -  Get 5% cashback on telephone bills with Citi -  Enjoy the journey as much as the destination. click to know more.. -  Exim Bank Conclave on India - Africa Project Partnership. Know more.. -  Be part of it The World's Largest Aircraft. -  Creating Wealth made simple the SIP way. Know more.. -  Only Developer to give a guarantee on time space & rate. -  Buy Your Property with Our Triple Guarantee in India. -  Improve Patient Care & Experience. Click here to know more -  Win a Business Class Ticket to Europe..Know more.. -   Introduce a New Automotive Luxury Car.. know more -  Health is Wealth..... Insurance + Savings... Know More...