Chidambaram to Inaugurate Delhi Economics Conclave

Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will inaugurate the Delhi Economics Conclave (DEC) here today.

The theme of the two-day DEC is "The Agenda for the Next Five Years".

In the opening Plenary Lecture Session, Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister will be in the chair. Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will participate and speak on 'Financial Sector Reforms'.

In the afternoon session, Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission will chair the session on 'Global Economic Development - Past, present and lessons for future'. Prof. Nathan Nunn, Harvard University, Prof. Romain Wacziarg, UCLA Anderson School of Management would be among the panelists.

The second session in the afternoon on 'Trade, Finance and Reforms' will be chaired by Dr. Bimal Jalan, former Governor, RBI. Prof. Shang-Jin Wei, Columbia Business School, Prof. Renato Baumann, IPEA, Brazil, Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairperson, FICCI and Country Head (India), HSBC Ltd, Anurag Jain, CMD, EXIM Bank of India, S.B. Nayar, CEO and MD, IFCI will be among the panelists.

In the first pos- tea Plenary Session on the theme of 'Agriculture, Food Security and Inclusiveness - Challenges', Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson, State Bank of India will be in the chair while Prof. Ruth Kattumuri, London School of Economics, Dr. Ashok Gulati, Chairman, Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and M. Narendra, Chairman and MD, Indian Overseas Bank will be among the panelists.

In the last session of the first day, Prof. Gita Gopinath, Harvard University will deliver a lecture on 'India in the Global Economy' while Dr. Arvind Virmani, former India's representative to the IMF and former Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance will be in the Chair.

In the morning session on the second day of DEC, achin Pilot, Minister of State (IC), Corporate Affairs will deliver the Special Address.

This session will be followed by Plenary Session on the theme of 'Industry and Services: Challenges'. S. Gopalakrishnan, President, CII and Co-founder and Executive Vice Chairman, Infosys Ltd will be in the Chair while Prof. Andre Sapir, University of Brussels, Subroto Bagchi, Chairman, Mindtree, Sangeetha Reddy, Apollo Hospitals and M.S. Raghavan, Chairman, IDBI Bank will be among the panelists.

In the valedictory session on the theme of 'Infrastructure Financing and Corporate Governance: Challenges' Dr. Arvind Mayaram, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance will deliver the Welcome Address. Ashok Chawla, Chairman, Competition Commission of India(CCI) and K. Venkatesh, Chief Executive and Managing Director, Larsen and Toubro will deliver the Keynote Address.

Oscar Fernandes, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India will deliver the valedictory address. With this valedictory address, the two day Conclave will come to an end.