I believe that the three values that Brand India stands for are youth,flexibility and being light-hearted. The youth of this country are its future and we need to harness their intelligence and enthusiasm to power India’s growth in the coming decade. Being flexible is also a distinct value, as Indians are able to adapt to the situations they find themselves in with greater ease and innovativeness than people from elsewhere. Whether it relates to navigating domestic challenges or migrating abroad and building successes in foreign lands, the Indian’s capacity to be flexible will always hold him or her in good stead. Finally, we have the ability to be lighthearted and deal with both successes and failures with a sense of equanimity and poise. We do not get carried away by either but persevere hard to ensure continuous development.

Over the next 10 years, India will need to increasingly differentiate itself from China. To use an analogy, it will be akin to Italy’s crafts- and workmanship-oriented economy versus Germany’s manufacturing prowess. We will need to identify and develop our comparative advantages in specific sectors and carve a niche for Indian excellence in those sectors. That would enable us to become global leaders in those areas and set standards for excellence. I believe we will also see many innovative solutions emerging from India in the years ahead. Our resource-constrained environment brings out the best of our innovative capabilities.

India understands that we can’t achieve inclusion without growth. As long as we continue to maintain high growth rates, we will be able to achieve more inclusiveness. So far, our economy has been focusing primarily on the services sector. We need to step up the pace on manufacturing as well. The key challenge before us is to minimise the energy intensity of growth that would help us develop a distinctive economic model, rather than inclusiveness.

- Suman Bery