Nearly two-thirds of India’s population is under the age of 35, constituting the world’s largest pool of young people. However, only 11% of those aged 17-23 receive higher education. The last session of the first day of the Asia Society’s 20th Corporate Conference focused on education. It opened with a keynote address by Timothy J. Roemer, US Ambassador to India. Ambassador Roemer outlined the US-India Education Partnership and the four new areas: community colleges, recruiting and training new teachers, embracing public-private partnerships and sharing access to high technology. He stressed that it is in both countries’ interests for there to be strong educational systems in both the US and in India.

Mr. Roemer’s address was followed by a panel discussion. Vijay Thadani, CEO of NIIT Ltd. opened the session, saying that the challenges that India faces in education are no different than are challenges elsewhere in the developing world: low quality of education, low enrollment, and low inclusion. The world is moving from an industry-based society to a knowledge-based one, and India’s educational system is lagging. Shantanu Ghosh, the Senior Vice President of Solutioning, Transitions, Practice at Genpact identified three issues associated with the low employability of Indian graduates: average quality of education is poor, talent varies widely, and much of India’s educational system is based on learning by rote, rather than by application, which does not adequately prepare Indian students for the real world. Sid Myer, Chief Executive Officer of the Yulgilbar Group of Companies, argued that the Indian education should strive to make its students “Asia-literate”. It should prepare them for a career of doing business in Asia. Ms. Ton Nu Thi Ninh, President of the Tri Viet Centre said that Vietnam is on the cusp of the middle income trap; for it to not fall in, the capacity lies with Vietnam’s young people. Moreover, if the 21st century is to be an Asian one, creativity will be at the center of growth, and that must be fostered by education.

Following yesterday afternoon’s keynote by Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Kamal Nath, a panel on the urbanization of India took the stage at the ACC to discuss the challenges, issues, and opportunities associated with India’s rapid urbanization. The number of cities with populations of over 1 million in India has increased 50% in the last two decades to 41, and migration from rural to urban areas is expected to accelerate.

Mr. Rajiv Lall, Managing Director and CEO of Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) said that although urbanization will be messy and there are few perfect solutions, there were three bright spots: the youthfulness of India’s population, the growth of the middle class in India, and the success so far of unique Indian solutions to problems such as water quality, solid waste removal, and electricity distribution.

Mr. Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation, stressed that Indian cities must learn from other Asian cities growing with scarce resources, as opposed to American and Europeans models which grew with relatively abundant resources. He also stressed that urbanization requires major investment in infrastructure. Mr. Arun Nanda, Managing Director, Executive Director and President of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., identified connectivity, social infrastructure and job creation as major challenges. He also pointed out that one of the major obstacles to urban development in is that urban-local bodies are a relatively disenfranchised group, and that municipal support for urban infrastructure problems is often lacking. KC Sivaramakrishnan, Chairman of the Centre for Policy Research argued that creating effective public transportation is the most pressing challenge associated with increasing urbanization, and that social factors of mass migration to cities must be considered.

Mr. Mark Chandler drew on his experience as the Director of International Trade and Commerce for the Mayor of the City of San Francisco to stress that top-down management must be inclusive and the local culture must be reflected in decisions.

Yesterday Chairman of Coal India, Partha S. Bhattacharyya, spoke with Orville Schell, Director of the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations, about India’s role in tackling climate change:

One of the greatest challenges India faces is closing its infrastructure gap. In Friday afternoon’s keynote address, Mr. Kamal Nath, India’s Minister for Road Transport and Highways, outlined India’s plans for overcoming this challenge. India has set an ambitious short term goal: to construct 20 kilometers of road per day for the next 3 years. That will work out to approximately 20,000 kilometers, at an estimated cost of US$50bn.

The infrastructure deficit is the biggest challenge to managing India’s growth. India has the second-largest network of roads in the world- 3.4 million kilometres, second only to the United States and ahead of China. But many are in poor condition, and this impacts agriculture, industry and trade. For example, India is the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world, but 40% of fruits and vegetables rot because of bad infrastructure.

Mr. Nath is optimistic the government is on track to meet the goal of 20 kilometers per day, and added that India is also focused on developing public transportation.

After speaking today at the morning panel of the ACC, Henrietta Holsman Fore, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Holsman International, talked with us about India and its potential to serve as a model, not just of growth in an economic unstable time, but for social, economic and ethical issues in Asia. With India’s continued growth will come increased pressure to lead.

The second panel discussion of the Asia Society’s 20th Corporate Conference focused on driving economic growth in India through innovation and entrepreneurship.

Mr. Elichi Ono, Executive Adviser for Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, described how India’s strength in human capital positions it well as an innovator. His company is planning to relocate its research and development operations from its central office in Japan to its facilities in India. Mr. Purnendu Chatterjee, Chairman of the Chatterjee Group, championed the bright future of entrepreneurship in India, saying that everyone on every corner is an entrepreneur, and that it is well-positioned due to its young and well-educated workforce to be a source of innovation in the future.

David Appasamy, Chief Communications Officer, Sify Ltd. argued that innovation support should be targeted at rural India as well as SMEs. Microfinance is helping, but there is a long way to go. Dr. Ge Dingkun, from the China Europe International Business School, addressed another facet of the innovation discussion, arguing that innovators must not only target their innovation towards meeting consumer demand, but must also consider regional variability. Mr. H. Harish Hande, CEO of SELCO-India argued there has been an overemphasis on innovation. It would be preferable, Mr. Hande said, if India reworked from the bottom, instead of from the top.

Mr. Partha S. Bhattacharyya, Chairman, Coal India Ltd. Supplies underscored that the reason energy security is reasonably assured in India is because of innovation in the primary energy sector. Going forward, the desire to decrease energy dependency on foreign countries will also spur innovation. Mr. Rama Sadasivan, Business Development Director, Dow Jones India digital spoke on the differences between innovation in India and elsewhere. “The difference in innovation between the US and India is this,” he said, “the US is focused on breakthrough products; the focus here is more on how to produce products at a lower price point and scale.”

In today’s first session, panelists discussed India’s role in the region, trends in regional integration, and opportunities and challenges for Asian companies investing in India and vice versa.

L. Brooks Entwistle, Managing Director and CEO, Goldman Sachs (India), discussed current economic indicators that show mergers and acquisitions, foreign direct investment, and trade are all increasing between India and its Asian neighbors. Their share of India’s total economic activity is growing. Ranodeb Roy, Managing Director of Morgan Stanley Asia’s Fixed Income division then discussed India’s aspirations for becoming the financial services hub of Asia. Mr. Roy identified three things necessary to success in financial services: skilled manpower, technology, and an easy regulatory framework. India is strong in the first two, much more so than almost anywhere in Asia, and so is relatively well-positioned for success. One challenge will be competition: Seoul and Kuala Lumpur, among others, are trying to fill the role that Hong Kong and Singapore have long held. Henrietta Holsman Fore, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Holsman International, shifted the discussion to the pressing issues that affect India’s rural population, and in turn, the political stability of the country as a whole. India has strong human capital. India has large numbers of engineers and there are opportunities capitalize on growing demand for clean energy as well as tackle agriculture and water efficiency issues. Roles for women are increasing, and trends point towards larger presence for women in government, on corporate boards, and in the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation.