Fostering Innovation and Investment
MUMBAI, 13 November, 2014 — The Asia Society India Centre in partnership with the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai welcomed Charles H. Rivkin, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs to a conversation with Ashish Chauhan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bombay Stock Exchange. The engaging discussion explored the themes of investment, innovation, entrepreneurship, and intellectual property right.
The conversation began with remarks by Mr. Rivkin in which he articulated the importance of policy makers connecting with leaders in the business community to help convert ideas into actions. He stressed the need for protection of intellectual property rights, particularly in India, to increase investment in trade and economic development-which will progressively encourage foreign investment into India.
When asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” initiative, Mr. Rivkin positively responded and stated “the oldest democracy and the largest democracy need to be better friends” for the future of India and America. He went on to say even though India is a large investor in the United States [India], has still not reached its full potential; and should focus on boosting its investment into America.
“Without intellectual property rights, innovation is almost impossible,” affirmed Mr. Rivkin when asked by Mr. Chauhan how we can protect creativity and innovation in India. We need to focus on strong IPR laws for all goods and services; when innovators are assured they can profit from their ideas, it comforts potential investors as well. Essar and Tata Services are excellent leading examples in India who we can follow and learn from. Mr. Rivkin left us with a final thought that if a country wants to grow their economy they need to support entrepreneurship, focus on SMEs, and place strong emphasis on IPR.
Reported by Maneka Chotirmall, Programme Assistant, Asia Society India Centre
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