The 6th PBD, held on 7-9 January last, like its predecessors, has spawned a number of business meetings to attract NRI investments, ideas and technology in various Indian States, including Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra and in Delhi. The PBD is seen as the strategic occasion to fuel the on-going economic engine, which devours enormous investments. Already, many NRIs have gone back to transform and modernise their native villages with the latest technology and infrastructure, however, not evenly in all States. But this inflow of NRI investment does not date back to only yesterday - to the PBD. It goes back to the sixties and seventies when a handful of philanthropic and patriotic NRIs had separately and individually invested mainly in the construction of schools in their native villages.

But of late, the NRIs have come back in droves and spread their wings all over India and are pouring their capital, brains, technology and manpower into transforming and modernising Indian agriculture, food processing, real estate, telecoms, high tech, health care, pharmaceuticals, tourism, defence and even nuclear energy. After all, the telecommunications or IT revolution was fuelled by the US-NRI, Sam Pitroda, brought over by Rajiv Gandhi and who spearheaded the IT revolution in India. But Pitroda is only one of the outstanding NRIs. Indians have been in sports. You name it and Indians are sure to be there. The number of Indian billionaires, in India, in US, in UK and elsewhere is going by leaps and bounds. When the US Citygroup crashed, it was the NRI, Vikram Pandit, who was called upon to step in as its new CEO. The governor of Louisiana is Bobby Jindal. The number of Indians sitting in the House of Lords is on the increase and they are making India proud abroad. Many are leading members of GOPIO, NY, and they keep coming to India to invest and inspire resident Indians.

Well, to cut a long story short, in the early 1990s, backed by the dismantling of the Regulations Raj, the pulling down of bureaucratic barriers, Nehruvian socialism, the liberalisation trend that led to the privatisation of massive State industries, the recognition of capitalism as the real engine of growth, closer government-and-entrepreneurs partnership in all domains, including education, health care, infrastructure ? India has shot ahead into the golden age of entrepreneurship.

Even the farmers who had been caught in their feudal lethargy have woken up to realise that unless they transform their own mentality, convert their barren land into co-operative industries, they stand no chances against the entrepreneurs avid of their farm land, which they can turn into more productive and profitable Special Economic Zones. Marxist States like West Bengal, stuck to its old socialist ideology, was slipping far behind the advancing States like Gujarat under its charismatic CM, Shri Modi. Following on Modi?s heels, are fast-moving States like Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra ? all competing to spearhead the new India.

Finally, Bengal had to take a fresh look at its worn-out Marxism and to change into the modernization gears by welcoming the SEZ. Bihar, one of the most backward and conservative States of India under former CM, Lalu Prasad, is following suit under its more dynamic and pragmatic BJP leader and is opening its doors to investors. Its longing for progress has even reached our doorsteps with last year?s visit of its CM and his invitation of Mauritian investors into Bihar. The many examples of rags to riches, with people starting from scratch to become billionaires, illustrate the new drive. An example is that of Mr Rohtas Goel , the CMD of OMAXE Ltd, who started with Rs 10,000 investment in 1989 in real estate to raise OMAXE now into a Rs 10,000 core business. All this outburst of entrepreneurial energy gives us a clear indication in what direction India is heading.

This trend has been echoed by Mr Jagan Yelliseth, the executive director of US-Asia Business Forum, USABF, 9 -11January, TajMansingh Hotel, N.D, when he said: ?India is our land. And we have a mission to make it more fertile. India needs us and we need India.?

The Summit has generated so much enthusiasm that its participants have hailed it as announcing that India?s booming market economy, robust investment destinations across multiple sectors signify that the subcontinent, with its vast potential, is competent enough to lead the world in the 21st century. It also shows clearly that India has turned its back once for all on the fruitless Nehruvian Marxism to embrace the merits of capitalism and the government-entrepreneurs synergy.

The USABF Investment Summit was not entirely a new thing. Already, in 2006, Mr Kevin Kaul, the founder-chairman of USABF, had organised a high profile US-India Seminar coupled with a Business-Expo in Los Angeles. His last year?s Trade delegation had visited various Indian cities and had held many seminars and business meetings.

Spurred by its outstanding success, the USABF picked up steam and is now roaring at full speed. The January Investment Summit in Delhi has met with unprecedented success. Even the present author, a keen observer of the Indian diaspora, joining the chorus of so many admirers, has been so much impressed that he congratulated Kaul and urged him to «keep going». During that three-day Summit, attended by Indian ministers, diplomats, officials, businessmen, country leaders from India and overseas organised as a high profile affair, one-to-one meetings, rich in ideas, was designed to foster US-India business relations and bilateral trade.

It was whispered that billions of dollars on business and investments floated along the hotel corridors. They are moving into agriculture, high tech, financial sector, aviation, engineering, tourism, real estates, education, health care and all lucrative fields where India is seen as the new land of limitless opportunities. Seven Hills Capital Management, a California-based hedge fund, owned by the bullish real estate tycoon, Mr. Kathragaddha, has volunteered $200 million into setting up the India Fund. 80% of the Fund will be deployed in Indian companies. The investor is spearheading a private engineering college near Hyderabad under his Innovative Treat for Education in what he considers as sunrise sectors.

The next USABF Expo is due to meet on December 19-20, this year, in Los Angeles where Indian and NRI key players will further prepare the ground for the next USABF Summit, in Delhi.

<B>Anand MULLOO</B>