Education
Pan-IIT’s Global E-conclave on Nation Re –Building highlights collaborative efforts of Samaj, Sarkar and Bazar in re-building economy and higher education
The first phase of the 3-weekend conclave featured the Principal Scientific Advisor and Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, academicians, Padma Shree and Padma Bhushan awardees, distinguished alumni of IIT and more
Mumbai, July 10, 2020: Stakeholders of India’s economy resonated the same sentiment at the inaugural day of Pan-IIT’s Global e-conclave on Nation Re-building that Samaj, Sarkar and Bazar (Society, government and market) should collaborate and innovate amidst crisis to drive employment and growth. Each stakeholder possesses strengths to be leveraged to curate solutions for supporting our MSMEs and the underprivileged and less fortunate in society due to the pandemic.
The first phase of the three-weekend e-conclave witnessed fireside chat series on rebuilding economy and education by Global IIT alumni and Indian policy makers, industry captains and third sector leaders. The Chairman of the Pan IIT Reach for India foundation, Hari Padmanabhan, who is also an IIT-Kolkata alumni, cited the experience of PanIIT Alumni’s association with Jharkhand government for PReJha Foundation in implementing and scaling sustainable welfare initiatives. He underlined the overarching significance of similar scalable models across the country for empowering the weaker sections.
“Pan-IIT Alumni Reach for India Foundation and its joint venture with the Government of Jharkhand over the last 10 years has created a model that is one of collaboration across multiple sectors. This impacts the weaker section of society by empowering underprivileged youth not just with the career-building skills but with assured jobs from established organisations that can provide them long term employment. The Government and business enterprises are also key stakeholders in this structure. While the former is extending its infrastructure and financial support along with pro-board-level governance, the corporate sector or bazar is ensuring long-term employment to our trainees, bridging the viability gap through funding. National institutions such as NABARD and NSDC are also part of the entire ecosystem in terms of funding our skill loans. Our foundation is now fully geared to ascend this model across the country and engage with other states such as Odisha, Bihar, MP and Chhattisgarh. Through this conclave, we aim to share the experience of how the collaborative partnership of Samaj, Sarkar, and Bazar, is providing a scalable model in transforming the lives of the fragile sections of the society,” said Hari Padmanabhan.
In the sessions on ‘Re-building economy’ Dr. Krishnamurthy V Subramaniam (Chief economic advisor –GOI) with Dr. Nachiket Mor (Visiting Scientist, Banyan), and Neelkanth Mishra (MD, Co-Head of APAC Strategy, Credit Suisse) highlighted the three key fronts, the health and transparency of corporate balance sheets, availability of the risk capital with banks and NBFCs and equity across the health of individuals. The speakers shared opinions on the Indian financial sector being critical to economic rebuilding as the sector is small in comparison to the size of the economy and 60% of the country’s credit and banking system is unevenly distributed.
Meanwhile, the second session featuring Padma Bhushan Awardee Anil Kakodkar, Dr. MS Vijaykumar (Associate Dean of Open learning at MIT), Mr, B.V.R. Mohan Reddy (Executive Chairman, Cyient and Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Hyderabad) in conversation with Ajit Rangnekar, (Former Dean, ISB), the eminent thinkers deliberated on rebuilding higher education for wealth creation. A significant aspect discussed was that holistic training that emphasises an ecosystem for group research, problem-solving ability, competitive technology and most importantly simultaneous attention to jobs, growth and sustainability.
With the first leg of the e-conclave wrapping up on an enlightening note, the PanIIT Alumni Reach for India Foundation is now gearing up for the upcoming sessions in the coming weekend with yet another interesting panel (Please insert names) discussing “Rebuilding Healthcare & Rebuilding Skills and Jobs” on July 11th and CM’s panel on rebuilding states and rebuilding Tribal Areas on July 12th.