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D Y Vyas
Moving forward from vision to mission on the occasion of the 369th anniversary of Chennai�s formation (Madras formation Day), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) today announced �CHENNAI VERSION 3.0�, a one-day conference aimed at chalking out and implementing a roadmap to meet the issues and challenges faced by the metropolitan city and also to sustain the planned development. The conference will be held on August 22, the very day when Madraspatnam (now Chennai) came into being in the year 1639.

Mr Parithi Ellamvazhuthi, Hon�ble Minister for Information, Government of Tamil Nadu will be the Chief Guest at the Inaugural Session and Ms Kanimozhi, Member of Parliament, Government of India would deliver a Special Address at the event on 22 August 2008 at Hotel Taj Coromandel, Chennai.

Speaking about this new initiative that focuses special attention on the needs of the city in the short, medium and long term basis, , Mr. G. R. K. Reddy, Chairman, CII Chennai Zone & Managing Director, MARG Limited said, �Chennai is changing faster than ever before. The economic boom which began with the auto & auto ancillary industries, is now rapidly spreading with the IT, BPO, banking, retail, healthcare and construction sectors coming in. It is expected that by the year 2025, Chennai would bloom into a $150 billion dollar economy. That's almost 2.5 times the size of the Chennai's GDP today. The recent reforms in economic liberalisation by both federal and state governments have led to a great influx of FDI. It is heartening to witness such rapid growth in economic conditions of the city and we expect it to grow even bigger. Keeping this vision in mind, the core idea behind Chennai Version 3.0 is to sensitise Chennaiites to the city�s glorious past, the challenging present and a splendid vision for the future.�

The Conference sessions would focus on the opportunities in the emerging $150 billion economy; challenges in sustaining the growth of Chennai; creation of a mega city through PPP approach with focus on world-class social and physical infrastructure; developing a Chennai 2025 Mission document with an actionable agenda for key stakeholders and showcase Chennai as the �Global Investment Destination�.

Key speakers at the Conference include; Dr T V Somanathan, IAS, Secretary to Chief Minister,(Monitoring), Government of Tamil Nadu & Managing Director, Chennai Metro Rail Ltd; Dr Bala Balachandaran, Founder and Honorary Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management; Mr Dinesh Kumar, Director, Airport Authority of India, Chennai; Mr S Ramasundaram, IAS, Chairman & Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd; Dr V Sumantran, Executive Vice Chairman, Hinduja Automotive Ltd; Mr Subu Subramanian; Director & Senior Vice President, Satyam Computer Services Ltd; Mr Narayan Ramaswamy, Executive Director, KPMG Advisory Services Ltd; Mr P S Saminathan, Chairman, Pyramid Saimira Group; Mr Ravindra Sannareddy, Managing Director, Sri city Pvt Ltd amongst others.

CII Chennai Zone firmly believes that it is time for the public and private sectors to join hands and come together with a view to make Chennai a source of global innovations - new businesses, new technologies and new business models. This dream, once realised would make Chennai a benchmark for the practice of universality and inclusiveness. The ideal Chennai of tomorrow would focus on �next� practices and not just on �best� practices.

�We in Chennai shouldn�t try to emulate the best; rather we should have high and shared aspirations to be better than the best�, adds Mr Reddy.

Ms Gayathri Sriram, Vice Chairperson, CII Chennai Zone said that Chennai Version 3.0 will lay out an action plan to make Chennai a front-runner in socio-economic development by the year 2025. The key sectors identified for this task include skills development and employability, infrastructure, small and medium sectors and education.

Chennai Version 3.0 aspires to take up the challenge to eradicate illiteracy, unemployment and poverty in the city by 2025; to develop Chennai into a new metropolis which is peaceful and safe, eco-sensitive and modern, yet culturally conscious�the ultimate goal being to create a LIVABLE, LOVABLE AND AFFORDABLE CHENNAI in the year 2025.