Annual National Business Summit, 'Building India Inc', Successfully Concludes at DMS, IIT-D

Annual National Business Summit, 'Building India Inc', Successfully Concludes at DMS, IIT Delhi
Post-event Press-release

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The discussion began with a question - "Why does politics need business?" All speakers chipped in with their views and Mr. Rajeev Karwal commented that Politics is a Vote-and-Note cocktail. There are no role models in politics now-a-days to inspire the Gen-next, he said.

Mr. Josey John refuted by saying that all politicians are not alike and there are some who are still very honest, this he said was based on his personal experiences with them. Also, why business needs politics was also thought over by the panel. It was discussed that all companies have the same resources; it is political connections and affiliations which can make a difference. However, it's important that velocity of doing business in India is increased by reducing the nitty-gritties of the paper-work involved. All business operates under the law of land; hence, legislation can play an important role in easing that. Sometimes big players do lobbying, this is because, Mr. Karwal said, "The mighty make the rules." In the process, social justice is hurt.

Other questions raised were why some states attract more investments than others. Mr. Rohit Mahajan said some states get an advantage of their favourable geographical positioning. He also stressed the need to encourage small businesses that form the back-bone of an economy. Mr. Baisya chipped in with the comment that the cost of a project is of utmost importance. Also good value for money, capital advantages, efficiency of government, ancillary and logistics and outlook of people were noted as important by Mr. Pavan Chaudhary.

Then the group went on to discuss whether there exists a nexus between the trio of politics, media and business. As soon as this question was raised, Mr. Josey John said that media is itself becoming a business. Ease of starting business in media is easier now and that is the reason why so many channels are thriving. He also said that some channels do cater to interests of political parties. Mr. Mahajan said both business and politics need media to let the public know about them. He said the word 'nexus' implies a negative connotation so is not appropriate for the relationship between the three. Mr. Rajeev Karwal quoted examples of the nexus between politics - media and business - media. Mr. Pavan Chaudhary then made the others aware of his contrary viewpoint and said that media and business or media and politics try to have a nexus but they fail each time as media in itself is a business, so if they play partisan, they lose credibility and fail. Also, the role of technology and how it has made throttling of public opinion impossible was emphasised.

Finally, they pondered over the question of, "Should there be a lateral movement between public and private sectors?" In this too, first they discussed why in India are there differences between the working of the two, and how it influences opinion. Remuneration is an important factor but it's a free market, opined Mr. John, and so, he said, that people should be free to choose where they want to work.

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Contributed by -
Richa Gulati,
Member, Industrial Interaction Committee,
Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi.

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