The 19th IPMA World Congress opened in New Delhi Sunday afternoon with 1245 delegates from 63 countries. It is the first IPMA World Congress outside Europe and the biggest by far.

The India Minister for Finance, Mr. P. Chidambaram inaugurated the Congress and welcomed the delegates. He stressed the importance of project management to India, noting that the Indian government is sponsoring 645 major projects totaling $60 billion, of which 243 are experiencing significant cost or schedule problems. He also urged the continued development of project management certification in India noting that India is well behind China in the number of certified project managers.

The India Minister for Statistics and Program Implementation, Oscar Fernandes, also addressed the opening plenary session and presented a series of awards including the IPMA Fellowship Awards, the CEPM-PMA Honorary Fellowship Awards, and the Global PM Leadership Award.

The inaugural invited address was delivered by Dr. Karan Singh, founder of the International Centre of Science, Culture and Consciousness. During his presentation, entitled "Many Dimensions of Peace", he highlighted the role of project management in solving the world's critical problems.

The Congress, themed "Vision to Reality, the Project Management Way" features 9 keynotes, 4 panel discussions, and 148 presentations.