U.S.-India Partnerships Seminar examines trade & commerce opportunities | Press Releases

An impressive lineup of business leaders and entrepreneurs as well as policy makers from the United States and India will take part in a seminar at Fairfield University that will examine the links between the United States and India, generated by the burgeoning information technology industry. Shashi Tripathi, Consul General of India, will give the welcoming address for the program, sponsored by the Asian Studies Program and held at the School of Business on Friday, Oct. 29, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

"India has proven itself a key player in the information technology field," said Dr. Gita Rajan, an Indian-American and director of the Asian Studies (Program at Fairfield). "With one of the world's large workforces of trained IT personnel and proven entrepreneurial skills, India and Indian-Americans have had an important impact on the internet and software industries. It is timely that we take a closer look at the financial participants and trade policies that are driving trade ventures between the United States and India."

India's success as an emerging market was evident in the recent report in Business Week, showing an astounding 30.8 percent growth in Eaton Vance Greater India B Fund for the last quarter. Indian Americans are organizing into groups such as the Indus Entrepreneurs and the Indian CEO High Tech Council. The High Tech Council registers some 165 Indian American chief executives in the Washington, D.C. area whose companies have nearly 20,000 employees.

Addressing the seminar will be Sam Pitroda, founding member and vice chairman of the World Telecom Advisory Council in Geneva and Chairman of WorldTel in London; Jagdish Sheth, the Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at Emory University; E. Ramcharandas, vice president, strategies & business development at Xerox; and Kanwal Rekhi, founder and president of TiE who has been involved in 20 start-up businesses in the Silicon Valley and was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Arthur-Young/Venture Magazine.

An afternoon round-table discussion will be moderated by Dr. Ajit Kambil, associate partner and senior research fellow with Andersen Consulting's Institute for Strategic Change where he leads e-commerce research initiatives. Panelists will include Rafiq Dossani, director of Asia-Pacific Rim Research Center at Stanford University; Michael Clark, executive director of the Joint U.S. India Business Council in Washington, D.C.; and Rajiv Khanna, senior partner of Sidley & Austin and president of the India America Chamber of Commerce in New York, along with Mr. Ramcharandas and Dr. Sheth.

Dr. Rajan said she is delighted that Fairfield is hosting a seminar which focuses on bilateral relationships between India and the United States. While she expects the seminar to draw entrepreneurs and representatives of corporations along the northeast corridor, she said it is a major coup to be able to expose faculty and students to this important discussion.

Co-sponsors of the seminar are Fairfield's School of Business and International Studies Program, the U.S.-India Business Council in Washington, D.C., and Kanwal Rekhi, president of TiE. The program is open to the public. The registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 25, and the fee is $75. For more information, please call Dr. Rajan at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2508.