Dr. Mukesh Aghi, president of the U.S.-India Business Council, who said the "U.S.-India technology partnership can only expand over the next few years and contribute to our growing bilateral trade."
John Chambers, executive chairman of Cisco Systems, sits on stage with Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, at the U.S.-India Business Council’s Silicon Valley summit Monday.
MENLO PARK, Calif. (Diya TV) — The U.S. India Business Council concluded its Silicon Valley summit Monday, the theme of this year’s which was technology partnership. Industry and government leaders from the U.S. and India discussed the power of digital transformation to accelerate economic growth, create jobs, and encourage the start-up and entrepreneurial environment.
The summit brought together top thinkers, including Government of India officials, industry leaders in Fintech, digital payment service providers, IT, sharing economy, e-commerce, and venture capitalists to renew key linkages and advance the convergent interests of the two countries.
Conceived in 1975 at the request of the governments of both the U.S. and India, the USIBC serves as the premier business advocacy organization, comprised of top-tier U.S. and Indian companies advancing U.S.-India commercial ties. USIBC is the largest bilateral trade association in the United States, with liaison presence in New York, Silicon Valley, and New Delhi.
Panel discussions at the summit were held on various topics, including entrepreneurship and corporate responsibility, India’s Internet of Things and the country’s Make in India program. Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu and IT Secretary Aruna Sundararajan were on hand for the roundtable sessions, appearing alongside the likes of Dheeraj Pandey, chief executive of Nutanix, and USIBC chairman and Cisco executive chairman, John Chambers.
Naidu was awarded the Transformative Chief Minister Award, an honor created by the USIBC to acknowledge excellence in public service and recognize the honoree’s achievement in championing U.S.-India ties in the areas of trade, politics and culture. Sundararajan was honored with the USIBC Transformative Leadership Award for distinguished public service and her commitment to advancing U.S.-India cooperation and Digital India.
“At a time of global uncertainty, the only constant element that businesses and markets across the world will continue to face is technological disruption,” said Cisco executive chairman John Chambers at the event. “From my perspective, the United States and India have incredible opportunities to come closer through digitization; creating jobs, driving citizen engagement and transforming the lives of 1.3 billion people in India and over 300 million in the U.S.
“We have strong partners in the Government of India. Leaders like Prime Minister Modi, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, and Secretary Sundararajan understand the urgency to bring about digital transformation of India. That is why Cisco and so many other American companies continue to bet big on India.”
Punit Renjen, chief executive of Deloitte Global and USIBC Board member, was also on hand to deliver remarks at the event. He spoke loudest on the critical nature of fostering and furthering the relationship between the U.S. and India.
Dr. Mukesh Aghi, president of the USIBC, who said the “U.S.-India technology partnership can only expand over the next few years and contribute to our growing bilateral trade.”
“Maintaining a strong and healthy relationship between the U.S. and India is critical, and the U.S.-India Business Council facilitates closer collaboration as both nations look to harness the power of digital transformation to accelerate economic growth and social progress,” he said. “The actions we take have profound implications not only on our respective economies but have ramifications around the world. As someone who grew up in India and lived all of my adult life in the U.S., I have experienced first-hand the opportunities that can result from deep ties between our countries. Simply put, we are two of the largest democratic forces on the globe and can set the standard for how nations work together toward transformative results.”
Other prominent speakers at the summit included: Ash Lilani, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Saama Capital; Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok, Consul General of India in San Francisco; Varsha Rao, Board member, NextGen; Ravi Aurora, SVP, Group Head Global Community Relations, MasterCard; John Kern, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain Operations, Cisco; Arshad Khan, Executive Director, Khaitan & Co.; Sam Balaji, Global Risk Advisory Business Leader, Deloitte; Sri Shivananda, CTO, PayPal; and Kapil Raval, Global Solution Sales Lead, Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
