Events

On 6th February 2021, Pune International Centre (PIC) organized a discussion on the Union Budget 2021-2022 presented by the Hon’ble Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitaraman in Lok Sabha on 1st February 2021.

Dr. Ajit Ranade, Chief Economist, Aditya Birla Group and Member, PIC, chaired this discussion. The panel comprised economists, Dr. Pradeep Apte, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Dr. Pinaki Chakraborty, Director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), Dr. Shubhashis Gangopadhyay, Director, India Development Foundation (IDF) and Prof. Sanjay Basu, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Research and Finance, National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM).

Dr. Ranade opened by applauding the government for transparency in the budget. He welcomed the move towards stepping up not only disinvestment but also privatization. Prof. Apte mentioned that the nature and composition of expenditure had not undergone significant change. There was a fair degree of stabilization, except for an unprecedented jump in subsidy in Fertilizers – which was intriguing. A lot more could have been done as regards excise duty. Further, he said that for migrant worker registration, there was a need for a wider network system. State governments need additional directions and resources as they would implement such schemes.

Dr. Chakraborty highlighted the fiscal aspects of the budget. He emphasized that caution was required in the approach to and maintaining the sustainability of the revenue deficit. He pointed out that we were entering a new model of high debt, high deficit and high growth. Dr. Shubhashis Gangopadhyay mentioned that India needed more police, teachers and doctors, and that the private sector could not be relied on for these services. To generate demand in the economy, focus on health and infrastructure was good. He appreciated the move of monetizing underutilized and unused resources of public sector units and government undertakings. He also raised the issue of minimum support price (MSP) and feasibility of the announcement of providing MSP at 1.5 times the cost of production.

Prof. Basu noted that the announcement of setting up a Development Financial Institution was a good move, which would ease financing for infrastructure projects. According to him, bank privatization was neither necessary nor sufficient. Better debt resolution and recovery would be vital for the success of flagging banks. Further, he said that to sustain momentum in food credit and as a signal of commitment to recent reforms, allocations for agriculture should have been higher.

The panel discussion was followed by a Q & A session and a vote of thanks.

PIC organized an Online National Conference on Climate Economics on ‘Energy, Environment and Economic Growth – Emerging Challenges’ on 22nd and 23rd January 2021 evenings. It was organized in collaboration with Climate Collective Pune, Ecological Society and Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change (INECC). The conference received a good response on both days.

Day 1: 22nd January 2021
The conference commenced with the Inaugural Address by Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog. He said that, “Climate Change is a reality, which is causing irreversible damage to the earth. The government, industries and the civil society will have to act together as stakeholders and take responsibility to fight climate change. We have to understand that carbon constraint is a binding constraint and we’ll have to take cognisance of it while preparing our development models.” He talked about the imperative for transition to renewable energy, rational consumerism, natural farming and adopting ‘Green’ Hydrogen where direct electrification is not possible, like transport, cement and steel.

This was followed by welcome address and agenda setting for the Conference by Prof. Amitav Mallik, Conference Convener and Trustee, PIC. Prof. Amitav Mallik said, “The conference is a first-of-its-kind attempt to find synergy between environment and economy so that both can thrive in the future despite many unavoidable disruptions. Climate change is affecting economic progress and its revival is both a personal and social responsibility. Investing in renewable energy and eco-friendly projects today will reduce costs in the future.”

The two sessions of the day were Inter-relationship between Environment and Economics and Low Carbon Economy for Green Growth. Session One introduced the urgency and scope of the topic with talks on Environmental Consequences of Limitless Economic Growth by Dr. Chirag Dhara, Climate Scientist IITM, Pune; Environmental Degradation and Impacts on Economic Resilience by Dr. Ramprasad Sengupta, Professor Emeritus, JNU, Delhi and Building Synergy between Environment and Economy by Dr. Gurudas Nulkar, Faculty and Trustee, Ecological Society, Pune. The second session focused on ways to achieve green development and was led by a keynote talk by Dr. Ashok Khosla, OBE, Former Co-Chair, UNEP International Resource Panel on Development Alternatives for Resource Conservation. The session speakers included Dr. Dipak Dasgupta, Lead Author, UN-IPCC on Green Investment Mechanisms and Performance Indices, Dr. Peter Heck, MD, Institute of Material Flow Management, Germany on Integrating Circular Economy in Industrial Ecosystem and Dr. Priyadarshini Karve, National Convener, INECC on Leveraging Low Carbon Economy for Green Development.

Day 2: 23rd January 2021
The second day started with the third session on Changing Energy Dynamics for India. Dr. Rahool Panandiker, MD, Boston Consulting Group, gave the keynote talk on Imperatives for Transition to Renewable Energy (RE). Mr. Ajit Kapadia, Vice Chairman, Centre for Fuel Studies and Research (CFSR) spoke on A Strategy for Rapid Shift to Renewable Energy in India, Dr. Saon Ray, Economist and Senior Fellow, ICRIER, Delhi on Energy Economics and Green Financing and Dr. Nitant Mate on 24X7 RE and Storage Technology. The last and fourth session was a panel discussion on Pathway to an Integrated Environmental-Economic Policy in order to realize the actions and ideas shared in the conference. It was moderated by Prof. Amitav Mallik. The themes discussed were Limitations to Environmental-Economic Synergy and Ecological Integrity by Dr. Anupam Saraph, Future Designer; Environmentally Responsible Economic Growth and Development by Dr. Sharachchandra Lele, Distinguished Fellow ATREE, Bengaluru; Innovation and Governance for a sustainable future by Prof. L S Shashidhara, Ashoka University, Sonipat and President, IUBS; and Technology challenges for Net Carbon Neutrality by Mr. Arvind Karandikar, Managing Director, Nexus Energy Tech. It also included youth perspectives and questions from PIC EECC team.

The session ended with a Special Address by Adv. Vandana Chavan, Hon MP, Rajya Sabha, who has led and represented many environmental initiatives and movements. MP Chavan said, “We have to create a clean, green and healthy environment and adopt sustainable development patterns and also involve businesses and industries to play a significant role in reducing carbon emissions… Environment and economy should be treated as two sides of the same coin and the need for coordination and balance between economic development and environment protection for sustainable development is critical. ”

Prof. Amitav Mallik, Conference Convener, gave the conference highlights and said, “We cannot change the global crisis, but through dialogues, we can make a difference. Our focus should be on identifying environmental priorities with economic priorities and containing human greed. He called for a movement from governments, businesses and citizens to work together to avoid damages caused by ecological and climate crises.” Dr. Vijay Kelkar, Vice President, PIC, in his concluding remarks said, “We have two challenges – decarbonisation and eliminating poverty and hunger. We have to persuade the corporations and policy-holders to be a part of the solution.”

The third edition of the Ambassador Speaks series was addressed by His Excellency Mr. Muhammad Imran, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India. He spoke on “Bangladesh-India Relations at 50.” Mr. Imran was welcomed by Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, President (PIC) and Mr. Vijay Gokhale, Member, PIC, chaired the session.

Mr. Imran began by noting that India’s distribution of vaccines among its South Asian neighbours was proof of India’s commitment to the region. He said with mutual exchange of knowledge, expertise and resources, the course of the pandemic could surely be reversed.

The High Commissioner noted that despite contentions that Bangladesh-India relations had fluctuated a bit over the past years at the official level, people-to-people relations and contacts had continued without a hitch. He spoke of how the India-Bangladesh relationship had been forged in the crucible of the war of 1971, which led to the independence of Bangladesh. He also provided a brief history of Bangladesh’s spectacular growth story over the past few decades.

The High Commissioner traced the evolution of the Bangladesh-India relations over the past 50 years, from the time of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972, to the water-sharing treaty and finally to the Land Boundary Agreement. Despite intermittent lulls in bilateral relations, he noted that the two nations had remained strongly connected and were resolute partners in development.

The session was followed by a short question and answer round with the audience.

PIC hosted Amb. Ramesh Mulye, former Indian Ambassador to the Philippines and Syria, and member, PIC for the latest edition of PIC Conversations held on 12th January. The event was chaired by Dr. Shubhashis Gangopadhyay, Research Director, India Development Foundation and Dean, Indian School of Public Policy.

Amb. Mulye outlined the French people’s peculiar relationship with their state, where on one hand they rely on the state for a ‘cradle to grave’ system of welfarism and on the other, have significant levels of opposition to state decisions. This was the environment into which Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, was elected. Amb. Mulye described how Macron was perhaps dealt too good a hand at the beginning of his Presidency, as he faced no real opposition.

In this context, Amb. Mulye highlighted Macron’s handling of the pandemic in France, the French government’s trysts with introducing laws meant to deal with the rise of Islamic radicalism in the country, as well as the French administration’s grappling with foreign policy challenges such as Brexit and the rising spectre of China. He touched upon Indo-French defence cooperation towards the end of his talk.

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

A second event under ‘PIC Conversations’ was held this month in which PIC was pleased to host Prof. Nimai Mehta, Academic Director, Global Economics and Business Program, American University (Washington D.C.) for a talk on “US Elections 2020: Domestic and Global Implications” on 15th January. The session was chaired by Prof. Luis Miranda, Chairman, Centre for Civil Society and Trustee, The University of Chicago Trust.

Prof. Mehta noted that over the past decade, cultural and political polarization had been steadily increasing across the US. While this partly explains how Trump was elected in 2016, the fact that despite his poor performance and the nightmare of the pandemic, he managed to garner over 70 million votes needs to be analysed and explained. Prof. Mehta also spoke at length on government failures. He clarified that by this, he did not mean the failure of a singular administration, but the progressive erosion of American government institutions to deliver the services they were mandated to.

In his talk, Prof. Mehta also touched upon various other topics, including American exceptionalism and the probability of the Republican Party breaking up and the introduction of a multi-party polity in America. He emphasised that despite the declassification of the Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific, the intentions of the new administration will need to be carefully gauged against India’s own priorities. Prof. Mehta addressed most questions from the audience during the course of his talk.

PIC hosted Amb. Ramesh Mulye, former Indian Ambassador to the Philippines and Syria, and member, PIC for the latest edition of PIC Conversations held on 12th January. The event was chaired by Dr. Shubhashis Gangopadhyay, Research Director, India Development Foundation and Dean, Indian School of Public Policy.

Amb. Mulye outlined the French people’s peculiar relationship with their state, where on one hand they rely on the state for a ‘cradle to grave’ system of welfarism and on the other, have significant levels of opposition to state decisions. This was the environment into which Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, was elected. Amb. Mulye described how Macron was perhaps dealt too good a hand at the beginning of his Presidency, as he faced no real opposition.

In this context, Amb. Mulye highlighted Macron’s handling of the pandemic in France, the French government’s trysts with introducing laws meant to deal with the rise of Islamic radicalism in the country, as well as the French administration’s grappling with foreign policy challenges such as Brexit and the rising spectre of China. He touched upon Indo-French defence cooperation towards the end of his talk.

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

The Conversation hosted by PIC on 21st December was on “A Patchwork Quilt: A Collage of my Creative Life,” Ms. Sai Paranjpye’s autobiography. Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, President, PIC, introduced and welcomed Ms. Paranjpye. Dr. Latika Padgaonkar moderated the session, in conversation with Ms. Paranjpye.

Ms.Paranjpye spoke at length and with great fondness of a fun yet exacting childhood, which shaped her passions and interests for her life to come. The conversation between Dr. Padgaonkar and Ms. Paranjpye touched upon various stories from the span of her career, right from her beginnings with All India Radio to her scripting and direction of plays, and to her production of both films and documentaries. Despite her tremendous successes, Ms. Paranjpye also touched upon the necessity of pitfalls and failures in shaping one’s creative endeavours. She wrapped up her conversation with Dr. Padgaonkar by noting that several anecdotes, experiences and projects could not be covered due to the lack of time; however, she encouraged the audience to read about the same in the book.

The session was followed by a short question and answer round with the audience.

The latest edition of the PIC Adda saw PIC host Mr. Nitin Gokhale, National Security Analyst and Member, PIC, for a talk on “India-China Boundary Conundrum: Ground Reality” on 19th December. The session was moderated by Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale, Trustee, PIC.

Mr. Gokhale covered the ground reality and began by providing a brief overview of the terrain and infrastructure in and around the LAC. He also provided a few maps on why there was contention over the LAC as perceived by India and China (specifically between finger 4 and finger 5, along Pangong Tso). He highlighted the Indian counter-operation which led to the occupation of strategic heights along the south bank of Pangong Tso, which was not anticipated by Chinese forces. The move by India has bought it some much needed strategic leverage, though it has upset the Chinese administration, as occupying strategic heights now allows India a deep view into the Chinese garrison across from Pangong Tso.

Additionally, the new road built from Shyok to Daulat Beg Oldie, has given India better access to the airstrip. This allows for better movement of troops into the required areas in case of conflict. To explain Chinese movements and actions, several theories were suggested, as Mr. Gokhale outlined during his talk. Chinese troops being put into action to contain Indian infrastructure build-up in the Northern sector seems to be the most popular line of analysis.

Mr. Gokhale emphasised that irrespective of the actual cause for Chinese action, India had responded well, by deploying both tanks and artillery to the furthest points along the LAC for the first time in its history – to match China’s deployment. Given that the stand-off is in its ninth month, this has been the longest and biggest deployment from India. The military stalemate continues as rounds of talks continue between India and China on the topic of disengagement. Mr. Gokhale summed up by stating that a more militarised LAC is a new reality, as previous border agreements have been rendered useless after the loss of trust between India and China. The outcome of the rounds of talks is being carefully watched across Asia. That both sides desire de-escalation is well known, though on what terms, remains to be seen.

PIC hosted Dr. Anoop Singh, Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University for the latest edition of PIC Conversation held on 15th December. The event was chaired by Amb. Gautam Bambawale, Trustee, PIC. Dr. Singh outlined three broad issues, namely, China’s recovery from COVID, 5th Plenum and the 14th Five Year Plan (FYP) and where China wants to be during the next 5 to 15 years and emerging trade agreements and their implications for China as well as India.

Dr. Singh emphasised that China is a complex economy and said that the new numbers showed that growth in November continued to exceed expectations, as it had for the preceding months. China has been the only country, given its quarterly growth rates, to show positive growth in the entire world – which he attributed to the appreciation of the Chinese Renminbi and high levels of public investment. Dr. Singh briefly provided an overview of China’s objectives over the next 15 years including becoming a high-income nation with an average of USD 12,500 per capita income by 2025, maintaining real growth at over 2 per cent, becoming a moderately developed economy by 2035 (which entails reaching an average USD 20,000 per capita income level), and by its 100th anniversary in 2049, to become a fully developed, rich and powerful nation.

However, despite their successes and domestic rebalancing of policy, Dr. Singh noted that China does seem to be rethinking its external investments – specifically in the BRI, as it has realised it is not getting the response it had expected on it. This also has an impact on the trade agreements China has been pursuing, namely the RCEP. India must be able to step in and take up the space that is not covered by the trade agreements that China has not been able to cinch.

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

If Indian women were part of the labour force as much as men are, we would have over 200 million extra workers. This shift would help the economy grow by 27 percent, indicate estimates. But over three out of four women above 15 in India are neither working nor seeking work. This leaves us with one of the world’s largest untapped worker populations, an issue that calls for deliberations on strategising change, especially so in these unprecedented times when a pandemic is driving us to re-evaluate our priorities and practices.

To discuss the challenges and mitigating strategies, Pune International Centre along with Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, India Development Foundation (IDF) and the University of Mumbai, hosted a two-day national conference on ‘Women@Work’.

Prof. Pradeep Apte was the convener and Dr. Vijay Kelkar was the chairman of the conference. In the inaugural session, Mr. Mahesh Vyas, Director, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) delivered the first talk followed by Ms. Ravinder Kaur, Professor of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Delhi. Prof. Kaur spoke on sociological issues that confront women’s workforce participation.

In the first session, Prof. Amaresh Dubey, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, presented his views on ‘Is the changing occupational structure affecting female labour force participation?’
Mr. A. Sirja, Economic Advisor, MEA and Mr. Shrinivas Shirke, Assistant Director, National Statistical Office, discussed causes of the decline in rural female labour force participation in India.

In the panel discussion, Meena Gopal, Chairperson, Advanced Centre for Women’s Studies, TISS, Seema Kulkarni, National Facilitation Team Member, MAKAAM and Senior Fellow, SOPPECOM and Nilanjana Sengupta, Technical Specialist II, ICRW expressed their views on challenges faced by women at work and policies to address these challenges. The session was chaired by Dr. Rajani Gupte, Vice Chancellor, SIU.

On the second day, Ms. Soma Wadhwa, Research Fellow, IDF, presented a case study, ‘Barriers women face in connecting with income opportunities and strategies to enable them to overcome.’ Ms. Anuradha Nair from UNICEF talked on ‘A Gender Budget analysis of Maharashtra.’

The first session was chaired by Ms. Vibhuti Patel, Trustee, Women’s Research and Action Trust along with Ms. Subhalakshmi Nandi, Senior Program Officer (Gender Equality), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ms. Sejal Dand, Founder and Executive Director, ANANDI – Area Networking and Development Initiatives and Ms. Suchita Krishnaprasad, Former Faculty and HoD, Economics, Elphinstone College, who took part in the discussions and expressed their views on the subject.

The second session was chaired by Prof. Shubhashis Gangopadhyay, Research Director, India Development Foundation and Dean, Indian School of Public Policy along with Dr. Vijay Kelkar, Vice President, PIC and panelists including Ms. Chetna Gala Sinha, Founder, Mann Deshi Bank, Dr. Pradeep Apte, Professor Emeritus, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Dr. Sangeeta Shroff, Director, Agro-economic Research Centre for Maharashtra, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics and Dr. Jayanti Kajale, Dean, Academic Outreach Activities, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics took part in the discussions.

PIC along with other partner organisations will come up with a policy paper soon on this subject which will be submitted to the relevant departments in the ministry.