Event reports
In his welcome address, Dr. Rajat Kathuria, Director & CE, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), briefly described the role of ICRIER in tracking India’s integration with the world economy while enhancing the knowledge content of policymaking. Tomislav Delinic, Resident Representative KAS India, gave the opening remarks. In her keynote address, Dr. Syeda Hameed, Member, Planning Commission and Island Development Authority, Government of India, appreciated the initiative to organise seminars on socially important topics that help disseminate knowledge on the state of affairs in India while enticing people to play a role in furthering India’s progress on various social fronts. The following Presentation and Discussion Session was chaired by Dr. Santosh Mehrotra, Director-General, Institute of Applied Manpower Research, Planning Commission, Government of India. Dr. Sonalde Desai, Professor, University of Maryland; and Senior Fellow, NCAER gave her presentation on “Challenges and Opportunities for Social Sector”. According to her, the 12th plan is one of the best written plans, both thoughtful in the achievements of the 11 plan and reflective on the future strategies; while inspiring broader thinking on future policy challenges. Among the discussants were Dr. Nisha Agrawal, CEO, OXFAM India; Dr. Amir Ullah Khan, President, Glocal University; and Ms. Caitlin Wiesen, Country Director, UNDP India. Final comments were made by Dr. Mehrotra who emphasized that despite visible improvements, a number of challenges remain in the health and education sectors as well as in the manufacturing sector.