On April 16th, we saw nearly over 250 people walk in through the doors of the Sorenson Theater in Babson College for the first ever Babson India Symposium. 

This year’s symposium promised to provide a wonderful platform for business leaders, entrepreneurs, and academicians to share their experiences on starting up and investing in India, and the conference indeed delivered on its promise.

With 4 Keynotes, 13 Accomplished speakers and 4 Interactive Panels, the first ever Babson India Symposium proved to be a great success and, in the words of the co-chairs of the organizing committee, has left a legacy at Babson College. 

The range and selection of topics were diverse and varied interests of the audience were catered to very well. The opening key-note by Rohan Murty, Catamaran Ventures/Infosys spoke about the influence of technology on the world, while the closing key-note by V.G Siddartha, CEO of Café Coffee Day spoke about varied opportunities to pursue business ideas and how important it is to dream big. In his key-note address, Mr. Vallabh Bhansali, Founder-Enam Securities, explored the idea of India becoming the next economic superpower, which was aptly followed by a fiery key-note from Mr. Laxman Narasimhan, CEO-PepsiCo Latin America who spoke about how to understand the billion consumers which India offers. The panel discussions included very engaging topics such as conducting business within family businesses and starting up in India. The importance of value-driven and conscious work culture was exemplified by Mr. Karambir Kang, the hero of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and a long-standing employee of the Taj Group of Hotels (TATA group). Stand-up comedian, Abish Mathews spoke about unconventional careers alluding to India truly being the land of opportunities.

The entire day was jam-packed with compelling topics and highly engaging discussions, and definitely drove the point that India is the next big destination, with immense potential and with a huge scope to scale up. Challenges notwithstanding, India promises to provide enormous opportunities, and the student community at Babson promises to return next year with a bigger and a better edition of the India Symposium!