Events

PIC had the privilege of hosting Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, 5F World and Trustee, PIC, Dr. Uma Ganesh, Chairperson and Founder, Global Talent Track and Member, National Council (CII) and Ms. Lavanya Jayaram, Executive Director, AVPN, Singapore – for a conversation with Dr. Ajit Ranade, President and Chief Economist, Aditya Birla Group and Member, PIC on their book “Accelerating Digital Success: Reimagining Organisations for a Post COVID-19 World.” Held on 5th July, 2021, this event was chaired by Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, President, PIC. Mr. Abhay Vaidya, Associate Director, PIC welcomed everyone in attendance and introduced the authors.

Dr. Ranade provided a brief background of the broad topics of digital technology and the digital economy. Dr. Natarajan explained that the book explored the combination of the COVID push and the digital pull, and the current exploitative as well as explorative phase that businesses and organisations have been pushed into as a result. Ms. Jayaram highlighted that her background in communications was crucial to understanding that design thinking depended on beginning with empathy and diagnosing the problem to be addressed correctly. She noted that despite a lack of pure technical knowledge, her experience with communication being at the centre of the customer experience in technology and business processes formed the core of her contribution to the book. Dr. Uma emphasised that for most businesses digital transformation was focused on the front-end and not enough on the employee journey or the employee experience. Right from recruitment and training to working, skilling, and even exiting the organisation, employees’ experiences and opinions seemed to be left out. The organisation’s responsibility to develop tools, contents, and experiences for their employees, – she noted, was the focus of her contribution to the book.

The conversation was followed by a round of questions and answers.

PIC had the honour of hosting Dr. Sanjaya Baru, Distinguished Fellow, United Services Institution of India (USI) and former Media Advisor, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for a discussion on his book “India’s Power Elite: Class, Caste, and a Cultural Revolution” on 25th June. This session was chaired by Dr. Suhas Palshikar, Professor and Political Commentator.

Dr. Baru began by noting that power and the systems that enabled it had always fascinated him. He reminisced that he read C. Wright Mills and Bertrand Russell, as well as Antonio Gramsci and their take on power and how it worked. Their writings led to his interest in learning about how power worked in India. Ram Manohar Lohia’s writings also deeply impressed and influenced him. He noted that politicians like Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad Yadav, were products of Lohia’s socialism, despite which Lohia was all but absent in the public discourse on power in India. The three characteristics that Lohia defined Indian elite by were inherited wealth, upper class status and education in English language – this was, of course, the situation in the Nehru era, Dr Baru said.

He noted that the book was contextualised by pegging it to the rise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which then became the initial chapters of the book. In his view, the dynamics of dominance, class, and caste and the transitions of power in Delhi have undergone significant change in the past decade, which was highlighted and symbolised by the Modi administration. While the composition of the political elite had certainly undergone significant change, India was yet to see the direct participation of the business or industrial elite in government, akin to the industrial lobbies and complexes in USA. However, he noted that by and large there was a nexus between politicians and business persons. Inherited wealth was no longer a necessity, while caste remained a major question and bastion only in Uttar Pradesh (with any major consequence). English was now important, though not of any significance in politics – where the language of power had now become Hindi. Hindi fundamentalism had seen increased assertion, though which way this portended remained to be seen.

The discussion was enriched by a round of questions for the speakers from the audience.

Dr. Bhide began by highlighting that today there was a strong movement to bring women into the sphere of international trade, and said that her talk would focus on how this could be done in an effective way. She noted that despite being a signatory to the United Nations’ SDGs, India had done poorly on gender equality and only managed to close 62.5% of the gender gap. This should be cause for concern. In her talk, Dr. Bhide focused on women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as self-help groups (SHGs). The latter, she said, merited focus as they were enterprises run by women below the poverty line or from lower socio-economic classes. She noted that women faced several hurdles even as owners of a business or asset, as they faced harassment from officials, lack of support from financial institutions and did not receive social support or from the administration. She provided the example of the women-exclusive industrial/economic zone, which was set up based on the model provided by the Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of India (ALEAP), which has served as a success story in terms of development of a ‘green industrial park.’

June. The session was moderated by Dr. Sangeeta Kale, Member, PIC who welcomed and introduced the speaker.thFor the latest edition of PIC Adda, PIC was pleased to host Dr. Sheela Bhide, Chairperson, Women Entrepreneurs International Trade and Technology Centre for a talk on “Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: Exploring New Horizons” on 19

After describing some more of ALEAP’s achievements, Dr. Bhide went on to talk about SHGs. She explained how certain changes and reforms to the formal banking system in certain regions, specifically in the South, led to easier access to banking services, micro-loans and credit for the BPL women running SHGs. She noted that NPAs were quite low (only about 5%) among these groups. She said that ALEAP’s We Hub encouraged women-owned enterprises to conduct R&D and to branch out into other sectors like biotechnology, food-processing, electronics and engineering. It also served as an incubator and sandbox. In conclusion, she said that South Asia had a very low level of intra-regional trade, which must change if the region was to see sustained and green growth. This could only be done when women were given a place at the table and allowed to bring new ideas and thoughts to mitigate the issues that South Asia faced in terms of trade integration.

The talk was followed by a round of questions and answers.

On the occasion of the World Environment Day, the Climate Collective Pune (PIC) had the honour of hosting Dr. Ejaz Ghani, Senior Fellow, PIC and former Lead Economist, World Bank and Dr. Gurudas Nulkar, Trustee, Ecological Society, for a panel discussion on “Green Development” on 6th June. The event was chaired by Prof. Amitav Mallik, Trustee, PIC.

Prof. Mallik provided the background for the topic and welcomed the eminent panelists. He noted that even if all commitments made by nations were met in terms of environmental reforms and carbon neutrality, it would not be enough to contain global warming to under 2 degrees Celsius. The aim of this discussion was to highlight that the economy and environment were not at odds, but in fact two sides of the same coin, he said.

Dr. Ghani began by providing a definition for ‘green growth’ as economic growth that takes into account environmental factors and restraints and is socially inclusive all at once. India’s performance in terms of green growth has had pockets of positive developments in terms of improvements in energy efficiency in urban areas and worsening environmental developments in lagging (mostly rural) areas. He spoke of the need for India to balance its needs for infrastructure and spatial development against the urgent need to meet environmental goals – given that it has the worst air quality in the world and highest energy consumption. Dr. Nulkar elaborated on the structure and impediments to ‘green development’ today. He noted that the current model of ‘green development’ did not mandate a need for judicious use of natural resources, impose any costs for pollution, or indeed encourage the adoption of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle.’ The classical model of development had already failed, he noted, on account of the inequality it had engendered, especially the unequal distribution of natural resources as well as facilitating mostly ‘jobless growth.’ He mentioned examples of projects in mining, dams and even fertilizer industries in agriculture-allied activities. While economic growth is important as is the money that it brings in, there is a need to restructure for ‘green development’ to truly take hold and reform the nature of economic growth. He noted that education, reskilling, subsidies and incentives that facilitated the creation of a green industrial ecosystem would be crucial to bringing about ‘green development.’ A very interesting round of questions and answers followed the discussion.

The inaugural lecture under the ‘India and the World’s Great Religions’ series was delivered by Prof. Mahesh Deokar, Professor and Head (Departments of Pali and Buddhist Studies and Dr. Ambedkar Thoughts), Savitribai Phule Pune University on the subject, “Origins and Fundamental Doctrines of Buddhism.” The lecture was delivered on 4th June. Prof. Pradeep Apte, Professor Emeritus, Savitribai Phule Pune University, chaired the session and introduced the topic.

Prof. Deokar presented a brief introduction on the ‘triratna’ of Buddhism, which is the seeking of refuge in the Buddha, dhamma and sangha. He provided the socio-political context of the time of Buddha’s birth and the transformation of India from a ‘janapada’ or ‘ganarajya’ to a land of empire(s), throughout the Buddha’s lifetime. He explained the transformation of Gautama, the prince into Siddhartha and subsequently Buddha (the enlightened one). He explained that his material focused on the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism, considered one of the oldest continuous traditions of Buddhism in the world. Prof. Deokar explained that Buddha highlighted both the cognitive (embedded in knowledge) aspects and the emotive aspects of suffering in the Buddhist path. Based on this he explained the centrality of morality to the Buddhist way and elaborated on the various elements of the Eightfold Path.

The lecture was followed by a round of questions and answers.

PIC had the honour of hosting Mr.Vijay Gokhale, former Foreign Secretary and Member, PIC for a discussion on his book “Tiananmen Square: The Making of a Protest” on 31^st May. This session  was chaired by Mr. Jayadeva Ranade, former Member, NationalSecurity Advisory Board (NSAB) and President, Centre for China Analysis and Strategy.

Both, Mr Gokhale and Mr Ranade were serving at the Indian Embassy in Beijing in 1989 when this dramatic event took place. In conversation with Mr. Ranade, Mr. Gokhale began by noting that the book provides the necessary Indian perspective on the drama that played out in China in 1989, the reverberations of which are felt even today. He said that we cannot depend on Western and Chinese perspectives to understand China which is very important to us, as Indians, now and in the foreseeable future. He also threw light on the questionable reporting by the Western media, especially on the number of casualties, and said there was no evidence of a massacre of ‘thousands’ of people at Tiananmen Square. The discussion provided rich details of the dramatic event as it unfolded, insights into Chinese political system and leadership and  the US-China dynamic at the time, with both being allies; the Indian embassy’s reportage to New Delhi during the period, and China’s political sophistication in dealing with dissidents then and now.  The talk was followed by a round of questions and answers.

The talk was followed by a round of questions and answers.

Here’s the link to the video recording of this session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eelNWGhNTnE&t=4659s

Dr Ajay Chibber was the guest at the latest edition of PIC Conversations and he spoke on “Transforming India’s Economy: Lessons from Global Experience.” The session was chaired by Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Trustee, PIC.

Dr. Chhibber began by noting that India was in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis which had devastated lives, exposed the weak health infrastructure and the deep vulnerabilities of the Indian economy. At the outset, he emphasised that India needed a rescue package for its population directed not only at the most vulnerable sections of society but also at the MSMEs and smaller groups. He said, while India until recently was showing economic growth, this was lopsided. A useful starting point would be to benchmark India’s economic progress against the countries in its immediate neighbourhood, Dr. Chibber said, pointing out that life expectancy was now better in Bangladesh as compared to India.

Such benchmarking would help provide a realistic appraisal of where India stood, not only in comparison to other nations, but in comparison to its own lofty goals. Unemployment, developmental inequities, overdependence on services sector, lack of a fully matured industrial manufacturing sector and inefficient banking systems were some of the problems that India needed to address, by learning from the experiences of other nations, he said.

He described the government as largely interventionist, which, he said, hindered true reforms in policy, regulation and outcomes. Dr. Chibber emphasised that top down approaches rarely worked, and that ground-up approaches must be based on meaningful data. The talk was followed by a round of questions and answers.

Please find below the link to Dr. Chibber’s working paper from the Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP):
https://www2.gwu.edu/~iiep/assets/docs/papers/2021WP/ChhibberIIEP2021-02.pdf

Here’s the link to the video recording of this session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOhCticCjEY

PIC had the honour of hosting Prof. L.S. Shashidhara at the 3rd Science for Society Lecture. He spoke on “Science to Fight Covid-19 and Cancer: Perspectives from Pune” and made a detailed presentation. The event was chaired by Dr. R.A. Mashelkar and moderated by Dr. Aravind Chinchure, Founder & CEO, QLeap Academy.

Prof. Shashidhara began by noting that all societal problems were complex and their study needed to be approached with care and openness to tap into the varied findings. He focused on cancer in the form of metastasizing cells and the fast-spreading Covid-19 infectious disease. Both, he noted, had certain similarities but different challenges. He highlighted the elements of mega science projects such as the push for understanding the Sars-Cov-2 virus and its spread and emphasized the need for proper application of the scientific method on these projects for accuracy and timeliness of findings and outcomes.
Moving from basic science, he noted that applied science and an interdisciplinary approach were crucial to being able to translate research from projects to usable outcomes. He appreciated the vital contributions of the Pune Knowledge Cluster, IISER Pune and other institutions for providing research and inputs for evidence-based medicine for cancer and clinical trials-based vaccines for Covid-19. He said that having clear, clean, collated and categorised data helped the administration and associated organisations to prepare a collaborative and coordinated response to the pandemic and put emergency infrastructure in place. The session saw overwhelming attendance with participation by researchers from India and also a few from Bangladesh.

Please find the link to the video recording of this session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYpsTaUx3YQ

The fourth edition of the Ambassador Speaks series was addressed by His Excellency Mr. Andrea A. Correa do Lago, Ambassador of Brazil to India, who delivered a lecture on “Brazil and its Neighbours: Security through Diplomacy” on 12th May. Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, President, PIC, warmly welcomed the Ambassador, highlighting the historical ties and bilateral significance of the India-Brazil relationship. Amb. Gautam Bambawale, Trustee, PIC, chaired the session.

H.E. Mr. do Lago began by noting that the complexity of the Latin American region is often underrated by the world at large. Brazil was instrumental in helping direct the region towards cooperation. He presented an insightful glimpse into Brazil’s colonial past and said that Brazil was a ‘child of diplomacy’ as all its borders with neighbouring countries were settled through agreements like the Treaty of Tordesillas and the Treaty of Madrid in the 18th century and later agreements in the post-colonial years. He cited South America as a shining example of geopolitical stability. This was due to the focus on dialogue, arbitration and diplomacy in the region and the continent.

His Excellency also touched upon the recent treaties with African, the Pacific Rim countries and Atlantic nations; the creation of nuclear-free zones and zones of reduced third-country military presence to keep South America a zone of peace and cooperation. The session concluded with an interesting Q and A exchange with the audience.

Please find the link to the video recording of this session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKB5Gi9G_o8

Prof. Satish Deodhar, Professor, Economics, Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) was the Guest Speaker at the latest edition of PIC Adda. He spoke on “A 2020 Vision of India’s Farm Laws,” on 17th April. The session was moderated by Dr. Sangeeta Kale, Member, PIC. Dr. Kale introduced the topic of Prof. Deodhar’s talk and shared his profile, work, and publications with the audience.

Prof. Deodhar began by providing a brief historical background of the primacy of agriculture in India. He narrated the evolution of legislation on agricultural produce and markets from the time of the East India Company to the post-colonial, post-independence era. His focus was on the institution of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Corporations (APMCs). He noted during the course of his talk that tools like the minimum support price (MSP) and agricultural markets, which had been designed and intended to benefit farmers, rarely brought them any gains.

He then elaborated on some of the changes made to existing systems by the 2020 farm law reforms, including the removal of restrictions on stock-holding of farm produce, new rules on contract farming and a new act on sale of produce outside of the APMC. After a brief analysis of the reforms, wherein he noted that they were not akin to liberalisation reforms, he briefly provided a balanced analysis of the farmer protests as well. He emphasised that while the government’s pursuit of economic reforms was certainly correct, the ‘art of policymaking’ was lost in the process. Prof. Deodhar noted that attendant issues like water, soil, availability of grains and more needed to be addressed too.

The talk was followed by a round of questions and answers.

Please find the link to the video of this session: