Brand India is built on the foundation of the three key values of its economic resilience, democratic culture and scientific and technical knowledge pool, which are driving the Indian growth story.

BRIC group of economies, spurring global growth. India is successfully outsourcing software, services, and products to the West and our dynamic consumer class, which has come into its own, is generating sizeable wealth. India's emerging economy status and its admirable handling of the recent worldwide recession are clear indications of the country's potential for growth.

Our vibrant democratic culture and higher levels of transparency in public affairs as compared to many other developing countries are also strengthening Brand India.

Besides, the country has a large and qualified English speaking scientific and technical knowledge pool, which is the backbone of its software and life sciences industries. Not only is our software industry one of the biggest and the best in the world, but we are also fast moving towards transforming ourselves into a knowledge economy by riding this Information Technology (IT) wave. The lowcost- high-value advantage inherent to Indian biotechnology points to a booming life sciences sector.

I believe that value addition through innovation, higher education, infrastructure development, and agricultural productivity are very critical drivers of Brand India.

At the moment, we follow the feefor-service model. However, things are set to change to project-based and consulting services. The wild scramble to manufacture generics and 'me-too' offerings is likely to shift to proprietary products. We can and must pursue innovation far more cost effectively than the developed world, delivering affordable outcomes that can address a number of unmet needs in healthcare, food, energy, and environmental sustainability. Thus, I believe that we will invest in innovation that can take us up the value chain.

To sustain high economic growth, India's higher education will need to undergo a transformational change. Today, most higher learning is irrelevant and not tied to the world outside — that will change to projectbased and experimental learning. India has also realised that it needs to enhance its infrastructure to propel growth. So, the power sector, roads and the transport system, airports and ports are set to improve in the days to come.

With the help of biotechnology, agricultural productivity is expected to reach global levels.

India has a strong scientific and engineering talent base. That coupled with an outward-looking attitude to international partnering on the research and development front has helped the Indian pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors become world-class. Another attribute is the industry's ability to occupy a prime position in the development of generics and pervade US and European markets with a low-cost advantage. While this ability was cultivated because of the need to develop affordable drugs for the Indian market, it eventually helped us access global markets. This is an opportune time for the industry to concentrate on creativity and harness its innovation potential more aggressively.

- Kiran Mazumdar Shaw