DALLAS, May 3, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A daylong conference at The University of Texas at Dallas focusing on economic opportunities and challenges in India will feature speakers from the United Nations, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, the recently retired chairman of India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board and a former FBI counter-terrorism expert.
The India Enterprise Forum on May 15 at the Richardson, Texas, campus of UT Dallas, will include a North Texas perspective on trade and issues of transportation between the U.S. and this South Asia nation, the world's largest democracy. Several speakers will cover issues related to energy use and production, especially in the natural gas sector, and two speakers will discuss domestic security issues in India and international security across South Asia as it impacts India.
Ambassador Lakshmi Puri, a U.N. assistant secretary general and longtime member of the Indian Foreign Service, will speak on gender equality, women's empowerment and business growth. Her area of concern centers on balancing the needs of a diverse society while ensuring equal access to benefits of economic progress.
India's economic growth has slowed in the past two years but still is posting an annual rate of more than 6 percent, according to several rankings organizations. The U.S. is the largest recipient of its exports, and its gross national income grew by 14 percent last year. India's population of 1.2 billion people makes it an appealing market for trade and industry.
"India has an undeniable role to play on today's global stage. India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing nations and with this explosive growth comes many economic opportunities and challenges," said Sumit Majumdar, the conference organizer, an information systems professor in the Naveen Jindal School of Management at UT Dallas.
Also speaking will be Ambassador Hardeep Puri, India's permanent representative to the United Nations on India's rapidly expanding economy. An Indian Foreign Service veteran with extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy, trade-related matters and dispute settlement, Puri will wrap up the daylong conference with a discussion about India's multilateral system.
The May 15 event, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Naveen Jindal School of Management at UT Dallas, also will include these speakers:
Angie Chen Button, Texas state representative; Anil Kumar, senior research economist of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; Kathleen Cooper, fellow at the SMU Tower Center for Political Studies; Labanyendu Mansingh, retired chairman of India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board; Dipak Sinha, Petro Consultants president; Prakash Bedapudi, Lennox International vice president and chief technology officer; Vappala Balachandran, former special secretary to India's Cabinet Secretariat; Harry Brandon, former FBI agent who specialized in counter-terrorism; Yashwant Bhave, India Airports Economic Regulatory Authority chairman; Philip Ritter, D/FW International Airport executive vice president; and Pardeep Kohli, Mavenir Systems president and CEO.
Cost is $200, which includes lunch and a reception. Go to ief.utdallas.edu for information and to register.
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