American companies continue to bet big on India, a top US corporate leader has said, noting that the world's two largest democratic countries have incredible opportunities to come closer through digitisation.
"At a time of global uncertainty, the only constant element that businesses and markets across the world will continue to face is technological disruption," USIBC chairman and CISCO executive chairman John Chambers said on 9 May.
The US and India have incredible opportunities to come closer through digitisation; creating jobs, driving citizen engagement and transforming the lives of 1.3 billion people in India and over 300 million in the US, he said.
"We have strong partners in the government of India.
Leaders like Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, (Andhra Pradesh) Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, and (IT) Secretary (Aruna) 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," Chambers said in his address to the West Coast Summit of the USIBC.
The summit in Silicon Valley was attended by approximately 200 senior-level business leaders and investors including those from Amazon, PayPal, Deloitte, Facebook, iCreate, Nuveen, Mastercard, Mobility Infrastructure Group, Varian Medical and Visa Inc.
Naidu was awarded the 'Transformative Chief Minister Award', in recognition of his achievement in championing US- India ties in the areas of trade, politics and culture.
"The companies that are here – you are at the global level, with global knowledge. You are all doing well. I invite you to take technology and best practices, and together we can take it to India to transform India," Naidu said.
"I am with you. We are prepared to implement; we will produce a pilot project, then produce on a larger scale for overall benefit of the country," he said.
USIBC president Mukesh Aghi said with India's move towards a cashless society, plans to build smart cities and the explosive growth of e-commerce, it is imperative that there are deliberations on what the challenges are towards creating a digitally driven economy and how American companies can help in this endeavour.
Maintaining a strong and healthy relationship between the US and India is critical, and USIBC facilitates closer collaboration as both nations look to harness the power of digital transformation to accelerate economic growth and social progress, said Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO and USIBC board member.
"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 US, I have experienced the first-hand opportunities that can result from deep bilateral ties.
"We are two of the largest democratic forces on the globe and can set the standard for how nations work together toward transformative results," Renjen said.
Senior vice president of Global Government Relations, Visa Inc Demetrios Marantis said, "Visa applauds India's bold move toward a less cash society and we remain committed to supporting India's continued economic growth.
PayPal's Chief Technology Officer Sri Shivananda said India is on an unprecedented growth path, boosted by Modi-led Digital India, Startup India and Make in India initiatives.
"The progress made is visible across sectors. The vision of the government to make India a less cash, digitally empowered society and leading digital economy is commendable.
India continues to be a strategic market for PayPal," he said.
"There is an interesting wave of experienced, mid-career professionals who are entering the start-up space in India using advanced technology components to deliver innovative, low cost solutions," said Anupam Jalote, CEO of iCreate.