SMU and The Leadership Institute, a subsidiary of leading media organisation 9dot9, organised a roundtable discussion with Indian chief executive officers (CEOs) and human resource practitioners in New Delhi, India, on 1 February 2013. More than two dozen representatives from leading Indian companies attended the event.

Titled “Business Model Innovations: How Can India Lead the World?”, the session was led by Professor Rajendra K Srivastava, SMU’s Provost and Deputy President. It was co-hosted by Mr Tejpavan Gandhok, SMU’s India-based representative, and by Mr Pramath Sinha, CEO of 9dot9.

During the event, Professor Srivastava offered some key frameworks and case studies which sparked a lively discussion. A number of participants shared their innovation challenges in various fields, ranging from insurance, education and information technology services to nutrition to consumer durables. Poor intellectual property rights protection and a morass of regulations in India were common themes that arose during the session.

The session provided the inspiration for follow up plans to organise a one-day seminar on this issue, especially on the role that branding, effective value communications and strategic pricing could play in this regard.

The event was successful in achieving its twin objectives of deepening SMU’s partnership ties with leading Indian companies and boosting awareness and esteem for SMU in the business community in India.