What’s Next

With the world poised on the brink of momentous change, the theme of the tenth Hindustan Times Leadership Summit What's Next? is more than just a rhetorical question. To attempt to answer it was a galaxy of the brightest minds of our world, not just from the world of politics but also from business, from science, from medicine, from entertainment, and from sport. If the former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf, former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and former US secretary of state William Cohen discussed security in South Asia, Indian minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh and economists Abhijeet Banerjee, Anatole Kaletsky, John Kay, Parag Khanna and Erik Jones debated the state of the economy at home and abroad. The need for a new education charter was outlined by minister for communications and information technology Kapil Sibal, while India's new generation of political leaders J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah, Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Uttar Pradesh's newest, and youngest, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav outlined their vision for a new India. Another young Indian voice, albeit a leader in a different field, Yuvraj Singh spoke about his battle with cancer. The frontiers of science and medicine were explored by such legendary figures as J. Craig Venter and Amory B. Lovins as well as oncologists Ashutosh K. Tewari and Sameer Kaul. Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif got candid about their personal journeys in India's dynamic film industry and tennis's legendary athlete Boris Becker looked back and forward in time. Indian cricketers Kapil Dev, Ajay Jadeja and Suresh Raina represented three generations of players. And the India-China issue was debated by insiders Stephen Chan, Jonathan Fenby, Deepak Lal and Rana Mitter.

Namita Bhandare

Namita Bhandare is a journalist with close to 30 years of experience with publications such as India Today, Sunday and Hindustan Times. In 2013, she was appointed India’s first gender editor for Mint. She is on the editorial board of the news website, Article-14. She writes almost exclusively on gender issues, including a regular column for the Hindustan Times. She lives in New Delhi.