Lucknow, January 2016 – Airtel and The Economic Times today announced Uttar Pradesh as the official State partner for the second edition of the ‘Global Business Summit’. The two-day summit to be held at Hotel Taj Palace in New Delhi on January 29 and 30, 2016 promises to gather over 1500 business and political leaders, policymakers and thinkers from more than 10 countries including business delegations from the US, Canada, Russia Australia, Catalonia and other countries.

With an increased impetus on development, Uttar Pradesh has been laying down several initiatives that have put the state government in international limelight. Uttar Pradesh today has emerged as a preferred business destination due to the great strides made in the last few years. Being a fertile market for both goods and services, Global Business Summit will cater to be an ideal platform for the state government to explore business collaborations and attract investment. In the presence of leading national and international business leaders such as Dominic Barton, Managing Director, McKinsey; John Rice, Vice-Chairman, GE; and Sir Andrew Philip Witty, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline, the summit is likely to nurture the crop of rapid urbanisation, aided and abetted by IT and infrastructure growth in Uttar Pradesh.

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav has taken the state to great heights and further envisions bolstering its investment attractiveness and turning the business optimism into reality. Hon’ble Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav along with Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan and principal secretaries of key departments will take part in the summit to showcase their key achievements and re-inforce them to a global audience. The first edition of the Economic Times Global Business Summit was marked with the Uttar Pradesh Government making strong pitches to global business leaders and investors for bringing in investments in the state on the back of conducive business environment.

Alok Ranjan, Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh commented, “It is a privilege to partner with such an esteemed forum that fosters and encourages discussion, debate and dialogue on global economic issues. This partnership with ‘The Economic Times Global Business Summit’ has been well timed with Uttar Pradesh’s potential growth trajectory. The State is making consistent progress across spectrums and is poised to lead and accelerate the country’s economic leap.”

Speaking on the partnership, Vineet Jain, Managing Director, Bennett Coleman and Co said, “Looking at UP’s growth story, the time is ripe for the state government to lead its transformation into a business friendly state. We believe that the summit will be a great opportunity for Uttar Pradesh to showcase its potential to the right people and tap opportunities for collaboration and engagement.”