24th Neemrana Conference
December 20-22, 2024
Neemrana Fort Palace, Rajasthan

DECEMBER 20th, 2024, FRIDAY (3:30 PM-7:30 PM)
Lunch (12:30 PM-2:30 PM)
Inaugural Session (3:00 PM-4:15 PM)
Welcome remarks by Pramod Bhasin, Chairperson, ICRIER
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“Dollar Hegemony and Prospects of a BRIC Currency”
Chair: D. Subbarao, Former Governor, RBI
Inaugural Address: Helene Rey, Lord Bagri Professor of Economics, London Business School
Q&A with participants

Session 2 (4:15 PM-5:15 PM)
“India’s Path to a High-Income Economy–Three Imperatives”
Chair: Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Distinguished Fellow, CSEP
Speakers:
• Indermit Gill, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, The World Bank
• Somik Lall, Director, World Development Report 2024, World Bank
Q&A with participants

Coffee/Tea (5:15 PM-5:30 PM)

Session 3 (5:30 PM-7:00 PM)
“Unpacking India’s Development Strategy”
Chair: BVR Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog
Speakers:
• Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor, MOF
• Ila Patnaik, Chief Economist, Aditya Birla Group
• Ashok Gulati, Distinguished Professor, ICRIER
• Prachi Mishra, Professor of Economics, Ashoka University
Q&A with participants

Dinner and Cultural Program by Vidya Shah (7:30 PM onwards)

DECEMBER 21st, 2024, SATURDAY (9:30 AM-6:30 PM)

Session 4 (9:30 AM-11:00 AM)
“India’s Newfound Macro Stability: Blip or a Trend?”
Chair: Shankar Acharya, Honorary Professor, ICRIER
Speakers:
• D. Subbarao, Former Governor, RBI
• Viral Acharya, C.V. Starr Professor of Economics, NYU STERN
• Poonam Gupta, Director General NCAER
• Ashima Goyal, Member, RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee from 2020-2024
Q&A with participants

Coffee/Tea (11:00 AM-11:30 AM)

Session 5 (11:30 AM-12:30 PM)
“Digitalisation: How India’s development trajectory is about to change”
Chair: Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa, India & Board Member, ICRIER
Speakers:
• Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog;
• Deepak Mishra, Director & CE, ICRIER
Q&A with participants

Session 6 (12:30 PM-1:30 PM)
“Contradictions, Opportunities & Challenges in the Indian Economy”
Fireside Chat between Arvind Panagariya, Chairman, XVIth Finance Commission of India and
Viral Acharya, C.V. Starr Professor of Economics, NYU STERN
Q&A with participants

Lunch (1:30 PM-2:30 PM)

Session 7 (2:30 PM-4:00 PM)
“India’s China Strategy: Balancing national security and economic imperatives in a new geopolitical reality”
Chair: Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Distinguished Fellow, CSEP
Speakers:
• Swaminathan Aiyar, Consulting Editor, The Economic Times
• R. Jagannathan, Editorial Director, Swarajya
• Nitin Pai, Co-Founder & Director, Takshashila Institution
• Syed Akbaruddin, Dean, Kautilya School of Public Policy
Q&A with participants

Coffee/Tea (4:00 PM-4:30 PM)

Session 8 (4:30 PM-5-30 PM)
“Global Mega Trends and the Indian Economy”
Chair: Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder, Naukri.com & Board Member, ICRIER
Speakers:
• Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa, India & Board Member, ICRIER
• Richard Portes, Professor of Economics, London Business School
Q&A with participants

Session 9 (5:30 PM-6:30 PM)
“Upgrading the Capacity of the State: What’s Holding it Back?”
Fireside Chat between Karthik Muralidharan, Tata Chancellor’s Professor of Economics, University of
California and Ashok Lahiri, Member, West Bengal Legislative Assembly
Q&A with participants

Dinner (7:00 PM onwards)

DECEMBER 22nd, 2024, SUNDAY (9:15 AM-12:30 PM)

Session 10 (9:15 AM–10:00 AM)
“India’s Development Opportunities and Challenges over the Next Decade”
A conversation between Abhijit Banerjee, Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics,
MIT and Pramod Bhasin, Chairperson, ICRIER
Q&A with participants

Coffee/Tea (10:00 AM-10:15 AM)

Session 11 (10:15 AM-11:45 AM)
“Reforming Indian Statistical System for More Informed Policymaking”
Chair: Suman Bery, Vice-Chairperson, NITI Aayog
Speakers:
• Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI
• Ashwini Deshpande, Professor & Head, Department of Economics and Academic Director,
CEDA, Ashoka University
• Amit Basole, Professor & Head, Centre for Sustainable Employment, Azim Premji University
• Sam Asher, Associate Professor, Imperial College London Business School
Q&A with participants

Session 12 (11:45 AM-12:30 PM)
“Policy, Polity and People: India’s Development Journey”
Fireside Chat between Sachin Pilot, Member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly and Pramath Raj
Sinha, Founder & Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, Ashoka University & Board Member, ICRIER
Q&A with participants
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Closing remarks: Deepak Mishra, Director & CE, ICRIER

Lunch; Departure from Neemrana