The India Economic Summit 2007 explored the many facets of the country's economic, social and political transformation with leaders from all sectors and from around the world.

This year, Ben Verwaayen, Chief Executive Officer, BT, co-chaired the summit, the goal of which was to identify the opportunities and challenges that will shape India's future growth environment. To read Ben’s diaries from the summit, click here.

As part of the programme, Ben spoke at a session where he explored the challenge India faces of stemming a massive migration from its rural communities, where 70% of the country’s population currently lives. He asked why, with increased technology, people need to be physically in cities. He advocated spreading technology to provide opportunities and emphasized that education and information are the main priorities.

Kevin Taylor, Chief Operating Officer BT Asia Pacific, also spoke at a session that debated the skill sets needed for success in India: While there is a growing demand for women in the global workforce, the private sector and the government have no concrete strategy to date for preparing them for future jobs. Kevin quoted the success story of Hong Kong and the Philippines where women in workplaces he had experienced formed 90% of the workforce and were very productive employees.

In addition to Ben Verwaayen and Kevin Taylor, BT's executive delegation comprised of Matt Bross, CTO BT Group, Arun Seth, Chairman and Managing Director of BT India and Peter Morgan, Group Director of Communications.

Ben Verwaayen, co chair of December's India Economic Summit

Ben Verwaayen was one of the co-chairs of the 2007 India economic summit