New Delhi: Top business leaders today (Nov 6, 2004) said India is uniquely positioned for higher growth by exploiting its human resource.

Far from being a drag, India's demographic profile would confer on it advantages that would enable it to grow and eliminate poverty, they said at the 'Hindustan Times Leadership Initiative conference'.

"At the turn of the century, growth has shifted from wealthy countries to developing countries and this offers an opportunity to abolish poverty," Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said.

"Technology has enabled rebuilding of industries. Talent and capital are freely traded in today's world and it offers an opportunity to India to go from 500 billion dollar economy to five trillion dollar economy," he said.

"At present everything is in our favour and if we can talk it to next level we can achieve the desired growth," Infosys Technologies CEO Nandan Nilekani said.

Ambani said in next 15 to 20 years, India's population would be an asset and what has changed in India is the attitude and mindset of young people.

In the next 20 years, developed countries would have a shortage of 30-40 million professionals and if 15 million Indians work for the world it would result in huge inflow of capital in to India that would surpass China, he said.