Participants at the India Economic Summit had the opportunity to take part in four WorkSpace sessions, which focused on different issues important to India's future and sought a uniquely Indian perspective in addressing them.

Innovative Models: Expanding India's Competitive Advantage
Participants looked at various innovative models that are transforming India into a centre of excellence. These models were explored across sectors, industries and business domains to determine how they could be replicated. Participants split into groups from various industries, where they co-designed ideal 3-D models that would enable innovation in any context.

The groups came away with insight into how to encourage an environment conducive to innovative thinking. All agreed that innovative ideas and processes can often be applied from one industry to another and that industries can learn from one another. The concept of innovation may by necessity mean that organizations need to develop new business models to remain relevant. This is particularly important for top-down institutions. Innovation is not only about inspiration; it goes beyond new products and services and should be viewed as a strategic issue. Trying something new may mean making mistakes, but should also mean being willing to invest in making mistakes to get to something really good. Many participants concluded that innovation could be viewed as an excursion: taking a few steps away from their comfort zone and then returning full circle to their issue or challenge with new insights and solutions.

Getting Ahead of the Climate Change Curve
Experts and business leaders in this session looked at climate change from a sector perspective to identify cross-sector risks, explore leading practices and build systemic solutions to this very relevant global issue. Participants divided into groups to look at risks and identify leading practices to start defining concrete actions they could take immediately. All concurred that India has a large role to play in rolling back the effects of climate change.

Generally, the participants identified innovation as a key to tackling the effects of climate change, as drastic solutions are needed to ensure a sustainable future. Participants noted that knowing the carbon footprint of a business's supply chain is an important step in learning where to make changes to reduce the footprint to zero. Energy efficiency was also flagged as an important priority for businesses to make, including investing in green technologies and products. Participants further highlighted the significance of advocating national and international frameworks such as market mechanisms to price carbon; a “greener” approach to urban and rural design; and a consumption tax, as opposed to an income tax.

Excellence Despite the Odds: The Social Entrepreneur in India
Building on the World Economic Forum's and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship's focus on social entrepreneurship, this session explored the concept of social entrepreneurship and how it could be relevant and applicable in an Indian context. Participants were greeted in small groups by a number of entrepreneurs from India and abroad, who explained how they became socially engaged. Groups then broke out again to design their own ventures to address an issue relevant to India's future.

Nearly all groups agreed that effective social entrepreneurship is about scale. One person acting alone is a good place to start, but has a small impact; a larger group scales up the results and raises awareness about an issue. Further, scalability and sustainability require easy access to capital and a secure operating environment for socially-minded projects. One group coined the term social incubator - referring to the environment that fosters interest, investment and commitment to social projects. Moreover, social entrepreneurs should leverage collective experience by collaborating with like-minded individuals and companies. Companies should be approached with a value proposition to leverage their strengths, help them expand into new business markets and address gaps in Indian society, such as access to clean water or education for rural migrating workers. Entrepreneurs by nature need to think creatively. For example, one group of participants sought to address the shortage of cooking fuel for the rural poor by creating a company producing cooking gas from animal and human waste. Nearly all participants thought that, if a socially-minded venture is not a good business model, it is not worth doing. Social entrepreneurship is not only about doing good for good's sake, they agreed.

Unlocking the DNA of an Indian Multinational
This WorkSpace session focused on exploring the elements that make companies successful. Participants studied various cases, such as the rise and decline of empires, the unfair competitive advantage of some economies, the viral nature of the “Facebook” phenomenon, and the concept/ lifestyle branding of enterprises such as Manchester United to review what factors and unique features make them successful - or unsuccessful. Participants examined what elements might be transferable to Indian companies, then identified features that could contribute to Indian companies' international growth.

Under the categories of brand, culture, cost effectiveness, growth and innovation, participants found a number of positive factors unique to India. Culturally, Indians are positive about the future, learn quickly from others and adapt well to change. Their success in the last century is a testament to these cultural characteristics, which have allowed India to thrive in the face of challenges. The brand India itself is a positive force for international growth. Instead of focusing on low costs, India should develop a high value proposition in niche markets. One such niche market identified by one group is the wellness market, to which India's cultural focus on holistic living, spiritualism, yoga and Ayurveda is highly valuable and marketable. Participants recommended that Indian companies operate with a view to sustainability by increasing brand awareness, expanding country and local knowledge and by cultivating talent to lead globally. Indian companies are smart to look at growth, while recognizing their limits. Indian companies should identify their competitive advantages and exploit them, scale up intelligently and rapidly, and develop new models and concepts.