Indo-British Scholars’ Association (IBSA) organised a panel discussion on ‘India@75: Agenda for Change with the support of Tata Steel at The Bengal Club, Kolkata on 14 August, 2023.
The panel discussion is crucial at a time when India is about to host the G20 Summit.
Eminent thought leaders from corporate, academics, law and foreign policy will come together on the panel to discuss India’s economic and industrial environment. The panel discussion shone a spotlight on the pace of reforms in India’s education sector and the urgent need for employment generation and upskilling.The personalities will also discuss the challenges posed by urbanisation and environmental pollution, the state of regulation and justice delivery and India’s place in the world order and aspirations of being an economic power.
The panellists were Prof Anuradha Lohia, Former Vice Chancellor, Presidency University (formerly Presidency College), Mr Krishnan Srinivasan, Former Foreign Secretary and Deputy SecretaryGeneral of the Commonwealth, Prof. Nirmalya Kumar, Professor of Marketing, Lee Kong China School of Business at Singapore Management University, Mr Shiv Siddhant Kaul, Managing Director, Nicco Engineering Services Ltd. and Honorary Consul General, Republic of Korea, Kolkata & Mr Vikramjit Banerjee, Senior Advocate practising at the Supreme Court of India.
Mr Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India gave a special address through video. The panel discussion was moderated by Prof Suman Mukerjee, Director General, Bhawanipur Education Society College.
Mr Subrata Paul, President, Indo-British Scholars’ Association said: “Indo-British Scholars’ Association is delighted to host a panel discussion on ‘India@75: Agenda for Change’. We have luminaries from the field of corporate, diplomatic services, academic and law who talked and debated on India’s growth story and its challenges. We are delighted to have a special address by Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India. India is poised to grow exponentially in the coming decade. This growth presents a strain on resources, infrastructure, healthcare and education. One of the challenges would be to achieve sustainable and equitable growth. We would have to focus on creating employment opportunities and skilling the workforce to sustain economic growth. Panel will focus on these challenges and discuss the right strategies to continue the impressive growth trajectory. It is a country which is at the cusp of a changeover from an under-resourced to a full-fledged developed nation.”
The Telegraph Online Edugraph spoke to Prof Suman Mukerjee, Director General, Bhawanipur Education Society College, who was present at the event, on the importance of upskilling: “In India there are unemployed people and it is something which we cannot deny, throwing light on underemployment it is to be added that this will always exist because the potential of the person is never exploited to the full. Unemployment is a real cause largely because investment is never taken seriously in labour intensive areas. I strongly also feel that the colonial approach that if a person is educated then they are job worthy has to go. The problem is we do not learn and aim at passing the exam where marks serve as a reflection of a person’s intelligence. Education has to be more focused on confidence building where students go to schools and colleges to think in a better way, solve problems, and how to take themselves forward”.
