INDIA CAN BECOME THE PHARMACY AND LABORATORY OF THE WORLD: BCIC Leadership Summit 2024

Bengaluru 30th September 2024: The Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) held its annual BCIC Leadership Summit 2024 in the city today. The summit brought together industry leaders, experts, and thought-provoking speakers to discuss the critical challenges and opportunities shaping the business landscape. The summit featured a series of insightful sessions that explored topics such as sustainable leadership, the role of introverted professionals in leadership, strategies for startup success, personal leadership development, leadership in the biopharmaceutical industry, leadership in traditional industries, innovative leadership in the digital age, and the importance of emotional intelligence and empathy

In his opening remarks, Vineet Verma, President of BCIC, said “The BCIC Leadership Summit provided a valuable platform for leaders to connect, learn, and inspire. The discussions and insights shared during the event will undoubtedly contribute to driving innovation, sustainability, and human-centric leadership in the business world.”

Mr. Peter Bains, Group CEO – Corporate, Biocon Limited said, “The global biotech sector is currently valued at USD 1.4 trillion and is expected to grow to USD 2.4 trillion with a CAGR of 5% to 6% by 2028. India represents about a quarter of the global biopharmaceutical market. The size and shape of the market are driven by demographics and aging populations. India is known as the pharmacy of the world, currently supplying 80% of the world’s generic pharmaceuticals. Going forward, India’s journey in biopharma is to move up the innovation curve. There is tremendous potential for India to transition from being the pharmacy of the world to becoming both the pharmacy and laboratory of the world. Over the next 10 to 20 years, India can become a major centre for innovative new medicines. There’s a significant array of government support aimed at connecting the private sector, the academic sector, and the government to further propel India forward. AI and machine learning have a substantial role to play in the vast scope of biology, where the numbers game is extremely important. Biology is extraordinarily complex, and the application of tools like AI and machine learning will enable both speed and accuracy.”

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, CEO Karnataka Digital Economy Mission said “Innovative leadership involves fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Some of the driving factors that are pushing innovation leadership include AI and ML, cloud computing, quantum computing and sustainability technologies. Karnataka is leading in embracing these driving forces with 60% of AI startups coming from Karnataka. The second largest AI talent pool is here. Regarding sustainability Karnataka is a leader with Bengaluru being a hub for EV designing. It is important to create a unicorn mindset for the industry to move up in innovation. Today’s emerging leaders are from tier II cities such as Mysore, Mangalore, Tumkuru, Belagavi, Shivamogga and Kalburgi. More than 200 startups have emerged from these cities. We need to design an effective mechanism to bring these emerging leaders as part of the overall ecosystem. It is important for all MSMEs whether large or small to be participative in this new wave of the startup ecosystem. I urge you to look at ethical ways of embracing technology, cross disciplinary leadership and focus on human centric technology in AgriTech, FinTech, MedTech and EdTech. I also request BCIC to take an innovative leadership role and design an R&D mechanism and architecture for MSME industry and submit it to the prime minister’s office.”

Speaking about introvertism and leadership Mr. Johncey George, Director Johncey George Consulting Pvt. Ltd said that corporates should encourage organization wide awareness levels of different personality types and include introverts in leadership positions. He said that being an introvert is not a medical condition. He further expanded that the strengths of an introvert include deep thinking and analytical capability, creativeness, preparation and planning, good listening skills, deep relationship building skills and high levels of observance. He said that these qualities make them excellent leaders.

Ms. Meena Ganesh, Co-founder & Chairperson, Portea Medical said that the immense digital penetration in the country provides a huge opportunity to reimagine various businesses. “There is no longer one bottom-line but rather a triple bottom-line: you need to be profitable, sustainable and you need to have an impact. We need to create businesses that are extraordinarily transformative. For this, one needs to first identify a space which is big enough and meaningful that is in accordance with one’s strengths, and will customers be willing to pay for it. There are a lot more expectations from startups today in terms of profitability and in order to succeed authentic leadership, willingness, perseverance and resilience is an absolute must in terms of leadership qualities.

Mr. Jairaj K, IAS, (Retd.) Former Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, said, “work ethics, personal intelligence, emotional quotients, strategic oversight of the company a to tackle strategic issues and the ability to motivate, stimulate and lead people are key qualities that successful young leaders need to possess.”

Dr. L. Ravindran, Convener of the BCIC Leadership Forum, said, “We were delighted to expand the scope of this year’s summit to include new industries such as the music industry, traditional industry, and executive coaching. These sectors are undergoing significant transformations, and the insights and networking opportunities provided by the event were invaluable for their leaders.”

The summit featured keynote addresses from renowned industry experts including Mr. V.C. Mohan, Sr. General Manager, Corporate Office – EHS Management, India, Bosch Limited, Mr. Sunil Nataraj, Director, Business Development, Broadcom Limited, Mr. Arjun Ranga, CEO & Managing Director N Ranga Rao & Sons Pvt. Ltd and Mr. Sunil Koshy Co-founder, From Mug to Mike. Mr. K. Ravi, Vice President, BCIC delivered the vote of thanks.

The BCIC Leadership Summit 2024 concluded with a strong call for innovative and sustainable leadership. The event served as a catalyst for thought leadership, inspiring attendees to embrace new ideas, adopt sustainable practices, and prioritize human-centric values in their leadership journeys.