The annual convention draws a high level of participation. ``Last year 1,200 delegates attended the Convention inCalcutta,'' said Krishan Kalra, president, AIMA, at a press meet called to announce this year's convention.``This year, the active participation of PriceWaterhouseCoopers in organising the event will ensure so much more professionalism,'' he said.``NMCs always offer a range of new skills which participants take with them,'' he said.

K G Ramachandran, convention chairman, and CMD of Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd (BHEL), said at the meet that managers of the future will have to learn the ``art and science of anticipating change''.

``Nothing is constant except change,'' he said, and added that the convention will provide the participants an opportunity to learn about management of change worldwide. Referring to the special session on the `Malaysian experience' in managing change, Ramachandran said the panelist and participants will discuss the management issues that underscored the economic crisis in South-East Asia.

Also on the agenda is a discussion on the `organisational structures' that are needed intimes of change.

The technical sessions will also focus on information technology, how it impacts business worldwide. ``In the seamless village of today, ideas are flowing incessantly across national boundaries. We need to look at how they impact business,'' said Ramachandran.

Forum for Industrial Leaders is an important feature of the convention. Roopen Roy, executive director and leader of management consulting services, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, said at the meet that the Forum will discuss how several market makers in India disappeared in the face of global competition. ``They will discuss about re-inventing business models, not about re-engineering them,'' he said.

Roy said the era of uncertainty must be viewed as an era of opportunity, a time to leapfrog and take the crest of the wave.