Face-to-Face: Prof. Ravi Ramamurti Discusses Northeastern’s India Summit and India’s Manufacturing Ambitions

BOSTON — In a face-to-face interview with INDIA New England News, Ravi Ramamurti, University Distinguished Professor of International Business at Northeastern University and founding director of the university’s Center for Emerging Markets, discussed the upcoming fifth annual Vivek and Vandana Sharma India Summit, which will bring together policymakers, corporate executives, investors and academics to examine a major question facing India’s economic future: Can India become a global manufacturing hub?

Ramamurti is the organizer of the summit, which is scheduled for Monday, October 5, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT at Northeastern University’s East Village, 17th Floor Conference Facility. The summit will offer both in-person and online participation.

The event is presented by Northeastern’s Center for Emerging Markets (CEM) as part of the Vivek and Vandana Sharma India Initiative, an endowed initiative focused on deepening engagement with economic and business issues in India.

To watch the full interview, please click here, or on the image below:

In his interview with INDIA New England News, Ramamurti discussed the thinking behind this year’s manufacturing-focused summit and the importance of bringing together leaders from government, business, investment and academia as India seeks to expand its role in global manufacturing.

VIDEO: Ravi Ramamurti on India’s Manufacturing Opportunity

The summit’s theme, “Can India Become a Global Manufacturing Hub?”, comes as multinational companies reassess their global supply chains and consider where and how products should be manufactured.

The discussions will examine India’s potential across a broad manufacturing spectrum—from labor-intensive industries that can generate employment at scale to more sophisticated, high-value production involving electronics, automobiles and other technology-driven sectors.

The summit will also explore the challenges involved in developing a manufacturing ecosystem capable of competing internationally, including infrastructure, workforce development, technology, supply chains, investment, logistics and India’s ability to move into higher-value production.

Another focus will be the changing role of technology and automation. Discussions are expected to consider whether digital manufacturing and artificial intelligence can help India compete more effectively in higher-value industries while retaining advantages in labor-intensive production.

Amitabh Kant Among Featured Speakers

One of the featured speakers will be Amitabh Kant, former CEO of NITI Aayog and former G20 Sherpa for India.

Kant has held several senior government positions and has been closely associated with initiatives including Make in India, Startup India and India’s Production-Linked Incentive programs. His work at NITI Aayog included manufacturing, infrastructure, investment and economic development.

He also served as India’s G20 Sherpa during the country’s 2023 G20 presidency.

Josh Foulger, president of IT Hardware and New Projects at Dixon Technologies, will bring an industry perspective on India’s electronics manufacturing sector. Foulger has more than three decades of experience in electronics manufacturing and has held leadership positions at Zetwerk Electronics, Bharat FIH and Nokia. At Dixon, he is involved in the company’s expansion in IT hardware and new projects.

Ganesh Mani S, president and chief operating officer of Ashok Leyland, will provide an automotive-industry perspective. His more than three decades of experience includes manufacturing, sourcing, supply chain, logistics, operations strategy and business excellence. He previously held senior leadership positions at Hyundai Motor India and Maruti Suzuki India.

Bhavani Parameswar, president of Indivate Inc., an ITC Group company, brings more than three decades of experience in global business development, cross-border strategy, public policy and regulatory affairs. She spent more than 35 years with ITC across businesses including consumer products, agribusiness, paperboards, apparel, education and technology, with much of her career involving North American markets.

Michael McCabe, resident director for North America at Tata Sons, will offer a perspective from one of India’s largest multinational business groups. McCabe oversees government affairs and strategy for Tata Sons in North America and works with Tata companies on market entry, business development and strengthening the group’s presence in the region. He previously spent nearly two decades at Tata Consultancy Services, including as head of government relations for North America.

Indian Government and Diplomatic Perspectives

The summit will also feature senior Indian government and diplomatic representation.

S. Raghuram, Consul General of India in Boston, is scheduled to participate and represent the Indian government at the summit.

Naveen Srivastava, Ambassador of India to Nepal, is also scheduled to participate.

The program will additionally feature Anant Ahuja, director of ESG and Sustainability at Shahi Exports, who will bring experience in sustainability and responsible business practices within India’s large-scale apparel manufacturing sector.

The participants represent a wide range of perspectives, including government policy, diplomacy, automotive manufacturing, electronics, apparel, diversified business groups, investment and sustainability.

Moderators to Bring Investment and Academic Perspectives

The summit’s discussions will be moderated by Ashish Chugh, chief investment officer for equities at Frontier Investment Management Partners, and Ravi Sarathy, professor of international business and strategy at Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business.

Chugh brings an investment perspective, with experience in global equity markets and emerging economies.

Sarathy’s academic work focuses on international business, global strategy, emerging markets and internationalization. He has taught and conducted research on how companies compete and expand across international markets.

Ravi Ramamurti: Organizer and Founder of the Center for Emerging Markets

Ravi Ramamurti, the organizer of the summit, is a University Distinguished Professor of International Business and Strategy at Northeastern University and founding director of the Center for Emerging Markets.

Under Ramamurti’s leadership, CEM has developed into a center focused on emerging-market research, international seminars and conferences, student exposure to emerging markets and outreach to business practitioners.

Ramamurti’s research and consulting focus on strategy and innovation in emerging economies. His earlier work also examined business-government relations in emerging markets.

He has published extensively on multinationals from emerging markets and the concept of “reverse innovation,” which examines how innovations developed in emerging markets can subsequently find applications in developed markets.

He teaches courses covering the global business environment and global strategy, as well as electives focused on competing in emerging markets.

A survey has ranked Ramamurti among the top 1% of scholars in his field. He is the author or editor of eight books, including three published by Cambridge University Press and one by Harvard Business Review Press.

His article on “Reverse innovation, emerging markets, and global strategy” received awards for best article in innovation management and best article published in the Global Strategy Journal.

Ramamurti was elected in 2007 as chair, or president, of the Academy of Management’s International Management Division. He is a six-time recipient of the ADL Prize for Professor of the Year based on his teaching.

In 2008, he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of International Business (AIB) and currently serves as Deputy Dean of the AIB Fellows.

Can India Move Beyond Services?

The manufacturing summit reflects a broader question about India’s economic development: whether the country can complement its established strengths in services with a significantly larger role in global manufacturing.

The discussion will examine both labor-intensive manufacturing, which can provide employment at scale, and high-end and branded manufacturing, where India would compete for investment in increasingly sophisticated global supply chains.

India has pursued policies designed to attract investment, expand domestic production and encourage companies to establish operations in the country. The summit will examine how those efforts are translating into opportunities for multinational companies and Indian businesses.

The participation of executives from automotive, electronics, consumer products and diversified industrial businesses is expected to provide perspectives from companies already operating within or expanding India’s manufacturing ecosystem.

For U.S. companies and investors, India’s manufacturing expansion could create opportunities for partnerships, supply-chain relationships and market growth. Companies considering manufacturing operations in India, however, also face questions involving infrastructure, workforce, logistics, regulation, quality and the ability to maintain efficiency at scale.

Building U.S.-India Economic Connections

The summit is part of the Vivek and Vandana Sharma India Initiative, an endowed program at Northeastern’s Center for Emerging Markets.

The initiative is designed to expand and deepen engagement with economic and business issues in India. It supports the Center’s India Lecture series, provides opportunities for scholars, students and practitioners from India to complete visiting terms at the Center, encourages Northeastern faculty to conduct use-inspired research in India and helps build a community of business leaders in the United States and India interested in American-Indian economic ties.

The Center for Emerging Markets brings together researchers, students and business leaders to examine the economic and business environments of emerging economies and their growing role in the global economy.

Previous India Summit programs have addressed subjects including innovation, the startup economy, sustainability and family businesses. This year’s manufacturing focus reflects the growing importance of India to global business and investment decisions.

Event Details

Vivek and Vandana Sharma India Summit: “Can India Become a Global Manufacturing Hub?”

• Date: Monday, October 5, 2026

• Time: 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. EDT

• Location: East Village, 17th Floor Conference Facility, Northeastern University

• Format: In-person and online participation

• Presented by: Northeastern University’s Center for Emerging Markets

• Part of: Vivek and Vandana Sharma India Initiative

• Registration: Available for both in-person and online participation

• Event inquiries: cem@northeastern.edu

The fifth annual India Summit will bring together policymakers, corporate executives, investors, academics and other leaders interested in India’s economic development and the evolving economic relationship between India and the United States.

As India seeks to expand its manufacturing capabilities and multinational companies reconsider their global supply chains, the October 5 gathering will provide a forum for examining the opportunities and challenges surrounding India’s ambitions—and the role the country could play in the next phase of global manufacturing.