Tata India summit to debate India's role in global economy

India's emergence as a key global player and its role in the world economy would be the focus of 8th Annual Tata India leadership summit being hosted by the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, later this month.

A gathering of top industry executives, government leaders and academics will explore critical topics such as India's emergence as a world power and how the next decade will define its place on the world stage.

Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India Y V Reddy, who is also a former IMF Executive Director and Marshall Bouton, president Chicago Global Council on Global Affairs, will address the theme of this year's conference, "India's New Seat at the World Table".

Among other speakers are Tata executives Warren Harris, the president and COO of Tata Technologies and Christopher McCarthy, Director Tata Steel International Americas, who will be participating as the opening keynote speaker and panelist respectively.

During his keynote, Harris plans to discuss the importance of Indian innovation to the future of the global automotive industry and the breakthrough eMO EV study by Tata Technologies.

McCarthy will be participating on the "2012 India Investment Outlook" panel.

"India's emergence as a global player will open doors to unprecedented opportunities within the US and worldwide," remarked Harris.

"Tata Technologies remains committed to strengthening both the US and Indian economies and will continue to play an integral role in

their further development," he said.

Harris, in his keynote address, will discuss the coming of age of Indian automotive engineering and the significance of Indian innovation to the future of the global automotive industry.

Tata Group is the largest India-based business group in North America employing over 24,000 people across eleven companies.

Tata has a long tradition of building strong ties with the communities in which it operates through the support of educational programmes such as the India Leadership Summit.

Tata's presence in the Midwest is significant and includes the North America headquarters of Tata Steel in Schaumburg, Illinois, Tata Consultancy Services with operations in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio, Jaguar Land Rover with a dozen retailers located throughout Illinois, the North America headquarters of Tata Technologies in Novi, Michigan, and Thomas Steel Strip Corporation in Warren, Ohio.

In the summer of 2011 acting US Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank toured the Thomas Steel Strip Corporation, a member of the Tata Steel Group and highlighted the significance of foreign direct investment, citing Tata Steel as an example of foreign companies whose investments the United States must attract to strengthen economic growth and job creation.

"Tata has always been at the forefront of encouraging today's youth and providing unique opportunities in education and innovation.

"We are delighted to continue in this tradition with our support of events such as the Tata India Leadership Summit," Kapil Sharma, senior general manager of Tata Sons Ltd, said.