Rising Bharat Summit 2024 Highlights: When I first visited Amethi, people spoke language of fear, not love, says Smriti Irani

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India is an innovator of fintech and Indian fintechs have opened our minds to QR code payments, says Ryan McInerney, CEO, Visa Inc.

He adds, "Visa views fintech companies as potential partners. Generative AI will allow much more curated payment experiences."

Shakti violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan says: "Bharat is Shakti. Bharat is the next hope of humanity."

Partnered with fintech and startup space in India and looking to invest in Generative AI space, fintechs in India, says Ryan McInerney, CEO, Visa Inc

We want to be in compliance and lead in the regulatory space; Regulators in India have led the charge in innovation, he adds

Union Minister Smriti Irani says, “I am not a psephologist but I can only say that what Modi says will happen: NDA abki baar 400 paar.”

She adds, “13.5 crore people came out of multi-dimensional poverty only because of Modi government's health initiatives.”

Union Minister Smriti Irani says the voters have seen over the last 10 years that PM Modi has fulfilled his promises.

Speaking on the Amethi seat, which used to be a Congress bastion, before she defeated Rahul Gandhi, Irani said, “When I first went to Amethi in 2014, I couldn’t find a place to stay; had to sleep in a warehouse. People there spoke the language of fear, not love.”

“India now has a leader who has given us a national ambition. This is the first national ambition we have had since Independence,” says Union Minister Smriti Irani on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

She adds, “I think the mettle of a country and its leadership is tested when the backs are against the wall. India is the only country in the world that has been delivering free ration to 80 crore people for more than two years now.”

“The destiny of a nation cannot be decided by a man who is scared of being defeated in Amethi,” says Smriti Irani on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

“The Prime Minister has spoken of four 'shakti' in the country. Which of these 'shakti' does Rahul Gandhi want to fight against?” the union minister asks

Speaking at Rising Bharat Summit, Visa Inc CEO, Ryan McInerney said, we have a profound experience with fintech community in India. Indian fintechs have opened our minds to the power of QR payments. We now look at other markets where QR might be the form factor

-There's a lot of scope in India for innovative payment products
-Generative AI could be empowering for small business, give them acess to capabilities that only large companies have had till now
-Generative AI is going to change the way we shop with co-pilots and more curated experience.
-Visa is the most important partners of almost every fintech in Silicon Valley

Speaking at the Rising Bharat Summit, Visa Inc CEO, Ryan McInerney said that his company is creating tools to assist banks in stopping frauds and thus helping keep the banks’ clients and networks safe.

Visa Inc CEO, Ryan McInerney, speaking at Rising Bharat Summi, said that he is looking to invest more in Indian fintechs that focus on Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Ryan McInerney, CEO of Visa Inc, speaking at the Rising Bharat Summit, said that the way payment works in India, via UPI QR code and how it helps the shopkeepers, is “very impressive”.

“I have no reason to trust a Muslim from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Because there was a decision made. So, India cannot keep it doors to all the communities,” says Sai Deepak while debating the implementation of CAA.

“The 1946 elections in India showed whose allegiance was where,” he adds.

“To take advantage of CAA you should have been in India six years prior to 2014. CAA creates problems for NRC in Assam. People who have called themselves Assamese for a long time will end up losing their citizenship,” says Anas Tanvir.

“It makes Indian citizenship easy for Hindus. Many Hindus are arrested for partaking with ISI. What about Tamil Hindus from Sri Lanka and what about Buddhists from China? CAA has not done anything for a section of Hindus,” Tanvir points out.

“I don’t think CAA is meant to threaten anybody who lives in India. The point is Bharatiyata ultimately means your points of loyalty are not extra territorial,” says lawyer Sai Deepak

“CAA is an inclusive legislation. Those people who are getting rough end of the stick at the three neighbouring countries get the option to apply for Indian citizenship. I welcome CAA because it doesn’t take away anybody’s right,” he adds.

“I disagree with RSS’ definition of Hindutva. I don’t think a person who is born of other religions need to adopt Hindu Dharma. The point is very simple, when you speak of unity in diversity, Bharat traces this value from Hindu Dharma,” says Sai Deepak.

Lawyer Sai Deepak says at the summit that it is impossible to take religion out of the Bharatiya life. “Religion and culture go hand in hand in identifying the civilisational identity of Bharat. As far as I am concerned, Hindu Dharma and civilisational aspects define what is Bharatiya dharma,” he says.

He adds, “If you were to ask me what is the defining trait of Bhartiya, it is Dharma. Civilisational identity of Bharat is defined by Hindu Dharma. Because it is defined by Hindu Dharma, it can accommodate other faiths.”

Ashish Agarwal, MD & Country head, Jeffries, said, “I think next 5 years will be about global funds stepping up big ticket investments into Indian equity.”

Encouraging more and more R&D is something I'll like to see on the back of government reforms, says Ashish Agarwal. “The largest Indian company in the next ten years could be from the energy space,” he adds.

Ramesh Damani says, “There is some expectation is there that the government will privatise a few assets, but the market will remain focused on reduction in corruption and improve corporate governance. PSU privatisation is something that I'd like to see.”

He adds, “The second best time to invest in India is today.”

All bull markets end, even this one will end, but for now, it’s green signal ahead. Feel the market is at a reasonably good state, says Ramesh Damani.

Harsha Raghavan, Managing Partner, Convergent Finance LLP says at the Rising Bharat Summit 2024 that domestic consumption is one of the strengths of India today. He adds, “We are the only country in the world that has simultaneously gone through the industrial revolution and digital revolution… Gifty City has absolutely transformed not just our financial markets, but also global financial markets.”

-- India can take a lot more of issuance

-- Fresh issuance crossing $100 billion will bring fresh set of investors

-- Fresh issuance crossing 100 billion will bring more investments as it will allow investors, especially FIIs to liquidate positions

-- Real estate is one white space that's going to grow. It's going to be the biggest beneficiary

“There's always froth in the market, but markets correct itself. I don't believe we are in bubble territory. There is froth but the market is taking care of that,” says Ramesh Damani, Member, BSE

Commenting on PSU sectors, he says, “PSU sectors are good buys across sectors. Every bull market is all about leadership. This bull market is led by PSU stocks. This sector will continue to lead the rally.”

Advent International Managing Partner and Head Shweta Jalan says, “India is a multi-decade story from here on. It has the largest working population, which drives a robust consumption cycle. Policy support like GST, bankruptcy, etc are providing inherent structure for corporate India to grow.

Salvatore Babones said at the Rising Bharat Summit that the evaluation of press freedom index by international organisations often relies on surveys sent to Indian journalists, rather than directly surveying the country.

Ram Madhav, President, India Foundation says Hindutva is Hinduism in practice. All negative interpretation of hindutva is just professional criticism because there is a market for criticism.

Diplomat & Author, Pavan Verma says, "I object to Hinduism being used to say what to eat, how to worship, what to wear, especially for women -- confining them. Hinduism cannot be reduced to that because then it is distorting it."

Salvatore Babones, American Sociologist & Associate Professor at the University of Sydney, in conversation with CNN-News18 during its Rising Bharat Summit. He points out that the evaluation of the press freedom index by international organizations often relies on surveys sent to Indian journalists, rather than directly surveying the country. When asked about his assessment of India's democracy, Babones praised the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as a good policy but criticized it as bad politics, highlighting India's inclusive society.

IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on March 19 lauded the commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in giving a boost to India's semiconductor ecosystem and claimed that no other PM would have been able to do the same.

Speaking at the News18’s Rising Bharat Summit 2024, the minister said, "The commitment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown towards the semiconductor is immense. Whenever we used to ask for 45 minutes from the PM to discuss semiconductors, the Prime Minister used to give us 3.5 hours of time."

The Ram Mandir is about individual faith and India's tradition, said historian and Ram Idol jewellery designer Yatinder Mishra, adding that it does not matter what a few people say.

Speaking at Network 18's Rising Bharat Summit on March 19 in New Delhi, Mishra was responding to a question on how a few people said that a big deal should not be made out of the construction of the mandir.

Mishra further said that the Ram Mandir architecture represents a mix of religion and spirituality.

Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Communications, and Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on March 19 said that the policies of the past governments stifled the growth of the manufacturing industry in India.

"Congress has wasted India's first 4 decades. Because Congress' policies put the manufacturing ecosystem was put in a chokehold, laws were complicated as a spider's web (kanoono ka makar ka jaal banake rakha gaya) so that no one can take up manufacturing)," Vaishnaw said.

Vaishnaw, while speaking at CNN-News18’s Rising Bharat Summit 2024, said that no industry in the world can grow without the creation of a component manufacturing ecosystem around the base industry.

Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on March 19 said he has executed projects worth Rs 50 lakh crore in the past 10 years since 2014, all of which were executed through e-tendering processes.

Gadkari, who will contest from the Nagpur seat in Maharashtra in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, said he will do house to house and man-to-man campaign. "Will win with a heavy margin this time again," he said. On the electoral bonds issue, Gadkari said he won't comment on it since it is subjudice in the Supreme Court. When asked about multiple infrastructure companies being named in the electoral bonds list, the Union minister maintained all projects under him were executed transparently.

VK Pandian, Chairman, 5T, Odisha says main reason for Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's success is that he doesn't think politics is politics, but public service. He is also not seen as a politician. He has a great soul. Patnaik does not need an alliance to come back to power. I would say the same thing about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim says, "The approach of Global South, Asia, and India towards climate is inclusive - a much part of the system. Africa’s contribution towards global emissions is less than 3 percent while Global North is 25 percent."

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Former President, Mauritius says the debate around climate change is divided in the Global South and North. It is an everyone’s issue, not region-specific.

Erik Solheim, Former Executive Director, UNEP says, "Once the world, including Europe, the US and India was running on coal. Today, the economy can be run on renewables. That is why the Modi government is moving towards climate change."

Yatinder Mishra, Historian & Ram Lalla Idol Jewellery Designer speaks at the summit, and says the Ram Mandir is about faith, it does not matter what few people say about it. "Ram Mandir architecture represents a mix of religion and spirituality," he says. He also adds that he ensured that the jewellery used has a direct connection to the actual text of Valmiki's Ramayana.

Speaking at Rising Bharat Summit 2024, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari talked about the ongoing seat-sharing negotiations in Maharashtra and said, “Party will take a call on alliance with Raj Thakeray, the parliamentary board will decide.”

“Seat distribution is on final stages in Maharashtra. CM Shinde has already spoken to Maratha Agitators. That’s not an issue now,” he added.

"We are creating infrastructure to make Navi Mumbai airport just 40 minutes away from Mumbai," says Nitin Gadkari. He also adds that in 10 years work worth Rs 50 lakh crore has been done. "Not a single project has been done without e-tendering. Every project was executed in a transparent & non-corrupt process," adds Gadkari.

Minister of Road, Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari joins the event, says, "In the last ten years, my work has been received by people. I don’t need posters for campaigning. I will campaign house to house. I will win by a good margin. I am in the right political party."

"If there is any query related to the government, one will have to ask the government itself. There is a difference between facts and opinion. This is completely a constitutional, domestic decision," says Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Around $1 billion worth of telecommunication equipment is being exported from India, says Ashwini Vaishnav

Ashwini Vaishnaw says three things have helped fast-track upgrading of Indian Railways' technology - increased funding to Indian Railways, creating a systematic plan for future maintenance of Railway technology, and depoliticising Indian Railways. "Railway employees are very happy about the future planning of Indian Railways," he adds.

Minister of Electronics & IT, Railways & Communications, Ashwini Vaishnaw speaks at the Rising India Summit. He says that the BJP-led government has created the foundation for growth of India Railways in the 10 years. "The past governments were using the Indian Railways as a political tool," he adds.

Erik Solheim, a Norwegian diplomat and former politician, will be attending the Rising Bharat Summit 2024, which is the fourth edition of the CNN-News18 leadership conclave. The summit is scheduled to take place on March 19-20 in New Delhi. Solheim was the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme from May 2016 to November 2018. He also served as the chair of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. From 2007 to 2012, Solheim held the combined portfolio of Norway’s Minister of the Environment and International Development, and from 2005 to 2007 served as Minister of International Development. Solheim is also an experienced peace negotiator, having acted as the main facilitator of the peace process in Sri Lanka from 1998 to 2005.

Among the illustrious speakers at Network18’s Rising Bharat Summit 2024 are Harsh Jain, the CEO (Culture Enforcement Officer) and Co-Founder of Dream Sports, India’s leading sports technology company, with over 200 million users across brands such as Dream11, FanCode, DreamSetGo, and Dream Sports Foundation.

Harsh Jain’s platforms allow users to play fantasy cricket, hockey, football, kabaddi, and basketball.

Harsh developed Dream11 in India in 2008 along with co-founder Bhavit Sheth, and led it to become the world’s largest fantasy sports platform.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road, Transport & Highways
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics & IT, Railways & Communications
Ashish Sompura, Ram Temple Architect; Yatinder Mishra, Historian & Ram Lalla Idol Jewellery Designer
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Former President, Mauritius and Erik Solheim, Former Executive Director, UNEP
VK Pandian, Chairman, 5T, Odisha
Salvatore Babones, American Sociologist & Associate Professor, University of Sydney
Bruised Passports, Influencer & Santanu Hazarika, Influencer
Dr Ram Madhav, President, India Foundation; Francois Gautier, Journalist & Author; Pavan Verma, Diplomat & Author; Anand Ranganathan, Scientist & Author
Aashish Agarwal, Managing Director & Country Head, Jefferies, India; Ramesh Damani, Member, BSE; Shweta Jalan, Managing Partner & Head of Advent International, India; Harsha Raghavan, Managing Partner, Convergent Finance LL
Amir Hussain Lone, Para-Cricketer; Nazim Nazir Dar, Honey Producer & Beneficiary of the Viksit Bharat Programme; Shehla Rashid Shora, Former VP, JNUSU
Shankar Mahadevan, Singer & Composer; Rakesh Chaurasia, Flautist; V. Selvaganesh, Percussionist; Ganesh Rajagopalan, Violinist
J Sai Deepak, Lawyer
Ryan McInerney, CEO, VISA Inc
Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Women & Child Development & Minority Affairs
Grammy Winners
Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs

During the G20 presidency, Amitabh Kant assumed the role of India’s Sherpa to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, entrusted with representing the nation’s interests in the multilateral forum. Under the directive of the PM, he was responsible for implementing a presidency that was ambitious, inclusive, and focused on representing the interests of the Global South.

Kant is a prolific author and his notable books include “Branding India-An Incredible Story", “Incredible India 2.0", and “Made in India: 75 Years of Business and Enterprise". He also co-authored “The Elephant Moves: India’s New Place in the World" with Amit Kapoor.

Day 1 of the two-day Rising Bharat Summit 2024 will witness the presence of Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Ashwini Vaishnaw. Ashish Sompura, the Architect of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya and Historian & Ram Lalla Idol Jewellery Designer Yatinder Mishra will also deliver their views on spirituality. The first day of the Summit will come to an end following Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s key address on ‘Naya Bharat, Ubharta Bharat’.

One of the main speakers at the fourth edition of the leadership conclave, Rising Bharat Summit 2024, will be Amitabh Kant. The event will take place in New Delhi on March 19-20. Amitabh Kant is an Indian bureaucrat and India's G20 Sherpa to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During his time as the second CEO of NITI Aayog, a public policy think tank of the Government of India, Kant has led significant reforms and initiatives. He was a member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and played a key role in launching several flagship national initiatives such as Startup India, Make in India, Incredible India, Kerala: God's Own Country, and the Aspirational Districts Programme.

The News18 Rising Bharat Summit will also host numerous eminent international speakers, such as Michael R. Pompeo, 70th Secretary of State of the United States, John Mearsheimer, American political scientist, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, former President of Mauritius, Erik Solheim, former Executive Director, UNEP & former Environment Minister of Norway, Ryan McInerney, CEO at VISA Inc, Aleqa Hammond, former Prime Minister of Greenland, and Salvatore Babones, American sociologist and associate professor at the University of Sydney, among others.

Some of the key Indian speakers include Madhabi Puri Buch, Chairperson - SEBI, Prasoon Joshi, Chairperson of CBFC and CEO of McCann World Group, Harsh Jain, CEO & Co-Founder, Dream Sports, Jayen Mehta, MD, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, and Ashish Dhawan, Founder-Trustee, Ashoka University, Pawan Verma, Author-Diplomat.

The two-day event will bring together prominent thought leaders to explore India's ascent as a global power. There will be insightful discussions, thought-provoking panels, and visionary keynote addresses.

The summit will see participation from the country's policymakers, including Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, Minister of External Affairs Dr. S Jaishankar, Minister of Road, Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Electronics & IT Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Women & Child Development Smriti Irani, Minister of Sports, Youth Affairs and Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, and BJP leader K. Annamalai.

Welcome to the fourth edition of Rising Bharat Summit 2024 LIVE blog. Get ready to witness history unfold at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2024, where visionary leaders chart Bharat's path to global prominence.