Idea Summit

Idea Summit is a permanent feature of Ensemble and one of the first events among many. This year’s summit was sponsored by Aditya Birla Group and saw eminent personalities from various backgrounds coming to the campus to voice their opinion on the theme ‘Advantage India: Bird of Gold Spreads its Wings’. The panelists were Mr. Y.C.Nanda (Chairman, Agricultural Finance Corporation Ltd), Mr. S.J.S. Swamidoss, (Ex RBI Director), Mr. Anshu Gupta (Founder of Goonj and an Ashoka Fellow) and Mrs. Radha Mani (Founder and Executive Director, LEAD). The discussion was moderated by Prof. Tata L. Raghu Ram (Faculty, XLRI).

The discussion started with each of the panelists expressing their views on the topic. Mr. Nanda said that all the financial targets and milestones cannot be achieved without involving the farming community. He said that this aspect of the economy has not been paid adequate attention and it is only recently that due to the interest of the corporate sector things are looking up. He said that the trickle down effect which so far has not been seen is now a realistic possibility since the change is happening so close to the target segment.

Mr. Anshu Gupta took the social aspect of the topic and said that out of the three basic needs, clothing is not paid as much attention as the other two. He spoke of NGO’s and Governments’ misplaced priorities and the fault in their unilateral thinking. He said that his work which is in the area of clothing for poor is a replicable model and has the potential for scaling up.

Mr. Swamidoss talked of inclusive growth, involving financial, global and social growth. He spoke of the high dropout rate and suggested the use of the PPP in the education sector. He also advocated transparency and said the government should be more open and should share more with the public.

Mrs. Radha Mani the director of an NGO said that despite India being a tourism destination it is in those destinations that the population suffers the most. She said primary health is ignored, malnutrition is rampant, untouchability is still practiced and education is commodified. She said that dalits are still exploited and reservation has failed to benefit them.

The audience consisted of members of the faculty, students from b-schools across India and members of the media. The audience participated by questioning the speakers and expressing their views on the issue. The session was well moderated by Prof. Raghu Ram. The session did not end with a formal conclusion. The audience was seen interacting with the panelists even after the session.

(- Shadman Ahmad, PM& IR 2006-08)