The Wharton India Economic Forum 2005 (WIEF), the premier student-run business conference focusing on India, will take place on November 18th, 2005 at the Park Hyatt in Philadelphia. Established in 1996, this year marks the tenth year of the conference which has been graced by the presence of some of the greatest business leaders, including P. Chidambaram, Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Rajat Gupta, Narayana Murthy, Victor Menezes, Sunil Mittal; Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw; H.E. Lalit Mansingh and Frank Wisner.

The keynote speakers for this year are Ahmass Fakahany, Vice Chairman and CAO, Merrill Lynch; Charles ("Chip") Kaye, Co-President, Warburg Pincus; Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC; and Jairam Ramesh, MP, Congress Party, Author, Making sense of Chindia. They will speak on a topics ranging from India – The Road Ahead; India – China, The Partnership; Growth Strategies in India & China; and How to Build a World Class Organisation. In addition, this year’s WIEF will have an exclusive roundtable discussion on Government Policy – A Catalyst or Barrier?

The theme of this year’s conference is ‘India’s Mantra for Success.’ The conference seeks to initiate a dialogue around the mechanisms India can utilize to achieve its potential both in terms of economic and social development. Consequently, the panel discussions will focus on the strategies in which individuals, corporations and policy makers can together frame India’s future. The four panel topics are: Investing in India; Fostering Entrepreneurship; Shaping India’s Grassroots – Is there a bottom of the Pyramid? ; Made in India – Creating a Global Brand.

The panelists include high profile leaders like M. Damodaran, Chairman, SEBI; NK Singh, Member, Planning Commission, Former, Revenue Secretary; Rana Kapoor, CEO, YES Bank; Avnish Bajaj, CEO, Bazee.com; Rangu Salgame, President, Cisco Systems, India & SAARC; Purna Saggurti, MD, Head Multi – Industries, Investment Banking, Merrill Lynch; and Barkha Dutt, Senior Editor, NDTV.

For more information on the conference, visit www.whartonindia.com or email at

wief_2005@wharton.upenn.edu.