PROGRAMME

 

Ninth Annual NBER Neemrana Conference

Organized by ICRIER

 

January 12 to 15, 2008

 

Saturday, January 12, 2008

           

            3.00 PM                     :                       Departure from Delhi

 

 

 

 

Neemrana Fort Palace Resort, (Rajasthan)

 

 

 

 

            7.00 PM                     :                       Arrival at Neemrana Fort Palace

 

            8:00 PM                     :                       Cocktails and Dinner (along with light classical music)

 

Day 1: Sunday, January 13, 2008

            9.00 AM – 12:30 PM

Session I: The India Session

            Chair:            Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson, ICRIER

                                    Panel:

 

                                    P. Chidambaram (Finance Minister, GOI)

                                    Montek Singh Ahluwalia (Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission)

 

Discussant:

           

                                    Shankar N. Acharya (Honorary Professor, ICRIER)

 

                                    10.30 AM – 11.00 AM  : Tea/Coffee

Open Discussion

           

                         

            12.30 PM – 2.00 PM : Lunch

 

2.00 PM – 4.00 PM

Session II: US & the World Economy

            Chair:            Uday Kotak, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.

 

                                    Panel:

 

                                    Martin Feldstein (President, NBER)

Rakesh Mohan (Deputy Governor, RBI)

 

                                    Discussant:

 

Raghuram Rajan (NBER)    

 

                                    General Discussion

 

            4.00 PM – 4.30 PM  : Tea/Coffee

4.30 PM – 6.30 PM

Session III: Trade and Competitiveness

            Chair:            Naina Lal Kidwai, HSBC

 

                                    Panel:

 

                                    Gopal Pillai (Ministry of Commerce) (TBC)

                       

                                    Discussants:

 

                                    Takatoshi Ito (NBER)

                                    Elhanan Helpman (NBER)

 

                                    General Discussion

 

            7.30 PM : Cocktails and Dinner / Lohri Festival

 

 

 

                                                                       

 

 

 

Day 2: Monday, January 14, 2008

            9.00 AM – 11.00 AM

Session IV: Political Economy of Reforms

            Chair:                       Nandan Nilekani, Infosys

                                    Politicians Panel: (Five speakers)                        

                       

Manvendra Singh (BJP)

Sachin Pilot (INC)                

Naveen Jindal (INC)             

B. J. Panda (BJD)

 

Discussant:

 

Pratap Bhanu Mehta (CPR)

Brian Knight (NBER)


General Discussion

            11.00 AM – 11.30 AM  : Tea/Coffee

 

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Session V: State Session: Haryana

            Chair: Rajiv Kumar, Director, ICRIER

 

Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Chief Minister, Haryana

                       

Official Presentation “Haryana : Challenges in Agriculture, Education and Infrastructure”

 

Perspectives from Government of India     :          Kirit S. Parikh

 

Perspectives from Private Sector               :          Sanjeev K. Asthana

                                                                                    Sunil K. Munjal

 

General Discussion

 

1.00 PM – 2.30 PM : Lunch


2.30 PM – 4.00 PM

Session VI: What Ails Indian Agriculture?

            Chair:                        Shankar Acharya, Honorary Professor, ICRIER

                                    Panel:

                                    Ashok Gulati (IFPRI)

                                    Tushar Shah (International Water Management Institute, Colombo)

                                    V. S. Vyas (Institute of Development Studies)

                                   

                                    Discussant:

                                                                       

Surjit S. Bhalla (Oxus Investments)

Gary Libecap (NBER)

 

                                    General Discussion

 

4:00 PM – 4:30 PM: Tea/Coffee

 

4.30 PM – 6.30 PM

Session VII: International Capital Markets and Exchange Rates

            Chair:            Suman Bery, Director General, NCAER

                                    Panel:  

 

                                    Takatoshi Ito (NBER)

                                    Elhanan Helpman (NBER)

                                    Michael Dooley (NBER)                  

 

                                    General Discussion

 

7.45 PM : Cultural Event - Indian Classical Dance followed by Cocktails and Dinner

 


Day 3: Tuesday, January 15, 2007

 


9.00 AM – 11.00 AM           

Session VIII: Educational Reforms in India

            Chair:            Katherine Baicker, Harvard University

                                    Panel:

                                    B. S. Baswan (Director, IIPA)

                                    Sushma Berlia (President, Education Promotion Society of India)       

                                    Karthik Muralidharan (NBER)

           

General Discussion

 

           

11.00 AM – 11.30 AM : Tea/Coffee

 

11.30 AM – 1.00 PM

Session IX:  Fiscal Issues in the United States

            Chair:            M. Govinda Rao (NIPFP)

                                    Panel:

 

 

                                    Alan Auerbach  (NBER)

                                    Katherine Baicker  (NBER)

                                    Mihir Desai (NBER)

 

                                    General Discussion

 

1.00 PM - 1.30 PM: Concluding Session

1.30 PM – 3.00 PM: Lunch

3.00 PM : Departure for Delhi