FICCI wants to encourage entrepreneurs, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP & President

Mr Chandrasekhar also believes that FICCI can play a broader role in defining the common economic priorities of various political parties. Mr Chandrasekhar shared his views during his first press meet, held in New Delhi on March 11.

Laying emphasis on importance of entrepreneurs, Mr Chandrasekhar said, I am a strong believer that Indian Industry has reached an inflection point and as a country we have evolved from an economy that was dominated by a few private and some public enterprises to a more vibrant one where todays business leaders may not be tomorrows and there are challenges and opportunities at every turn. The entrepreneurs and companies that recognize the opportunities and meet the challenges are the ones that will remain relevant and successful in the future. So firstly FICCI wants to be seen as and aligned with and encourage the entrepreneurs of the Future and so we are inviting the brightest and youngest from amongst todays entrepreneurs to join FICCI. A number of young Indian business and professionals have been invited and are already joining FICCI.

Mr Chandrasekhar also emphasizes that Business and entrepreneurs should redefine their roles vis a vis government and the country. Said Mr Chandrasekhar, There is an unfortunate perception that all that business does with Government is mainly work on SOPs for themselves and that Industry organizations spend a lot of time lobbying for them. This perception needs to be addressed. FICCI and I believe strongly that Business and Industry be it large and small must be seen as participants and contributors to our Nation building efforts by taking on and addressing the real issues of governance today Issues like strengthening our institutions like Regulators, Competition commission, Pushing for a more plural and inclusive growth model, Ensuring that the government programs deliver better, Push for more competition and efficiency and avoid monopolistic or cartelization temptations.

Talking about the role of FICCI, Mr Chandrasekhar said, FICCIs main objective therefore is to ensure that the country has a sustainable and inclusive growth model for the next decade or two that will propel us into the league of developed nations. We all realize that whilst we are on a growth path, there are still many political hurdles to ensuring that this growth is sustainable.

Mr Chandrasekhar also said that the key thing in this election year is for FICCI is to establish a minimum economic agenda for Political parties. It is our hope that we can try to ensure that the leading political parties can include in their manifestoes a minimum common agenda around the core issues of Improving efficiencies in the Economy, Improve our institutional framework, Improve Government spending on programs, said Mr Chandrasekhar. Towards this objective, FICCI is launching a Politics and Governance Series of seminars and discussions to bring business, Politics and media together to work out systematically what can be a minimum economic agreement across a majority of polity.

Born on May 31, 1964, Mr Chandrasekhar holds a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering from Manipal, Karnataka; a Masters in Computer Science from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago and Advanced Management Programme from the Harvard University, Boston.

Between 1985 and 1991, Mr Chandrasekhar was a Senior Technology professional in the Silicon Valley. He worked with Intel Inc.

Then, in 1991, he returned to India and founded BPL Mobile in 1994. He was one of the earliest investors to spot the Indian Telecom opportunity and invest in it. He bid for and got the first cellular licenses in India. Over the last 12 years, he has been one of the principle participants/contributors in the development of the Indian Telecom sector. BPL Mobile, the company and franchise he built was one of the pre-eminent Indian cellular franchises which was recently acquired in what was the largest domestic M&A transaction in India.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar is presently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Jupiter Capital. Jupiter Capital is a venture development, management and investment company focusing on infrastructure, Media and Technology ventures of the future. Rajeev Chandrasekhar / Jupiter Capitals media and entertainment interests are focused on regional language TV Broadcasting, Radio & Digital Media.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar is currently a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), representing Bangalore, Karnataka, India.