Two Days State Level Seminar on ‘Economic Growth and Sustainable Development’

Kaveri College of Arts Science and Commerce organized State Level Seminar on ‘Economic Growth and Sustainable Development’ on 6 and 7 February 2020. Dr. Parag Kalkar, Dean, Faculty of Commerce and Management, SPPU was the Chief Guest for the Inauguration ceremony. He said that the world is witnessing encroachment of the environment. Economy is growing without paying heed to the environment. One should think of the environmental impact of our actions and the stress it puts on the system. Mr. Kushal Hegde, President, Kannada Sangha, Pune congratulated the organizing committee for thought provoking subject chosen by the college for State Level seminar. He appreciated the efforts taken by the college and staff members in organizing the activity.

Second session was conducted by Dr. Narayan Hegde, Vice President, Kannada Sangha. The topic for the discussion was Economic Growth and Sustainable Development. He focused on GDP growth in different regions, tussle between economic growth and sustainable development. He talked about problems in Indian economy. He also discussed the impact of the Green Revolution and discussed the benefits of capital investment in the Agricultural sector. He also discussed factors affecting GDP growth in India. He said that transparency and concern for others can accelerate sustainable development. Mr. Sanjay Orpe, was chairman for the second session. He emphasized the disparity between proportion of population growth and food production in the country. He pointed out the need to have an organized food processing industry in India.

The third session was conducted by Dr. Pradeep Apte. He took a review of the Economic Sector, Industrial Development and Sustainability. He talked about change of manufacture to machine-facture, where production is done with the help of machines. He also talked about the population composition of Japan where a majority of the population is dependent and non working. He said that the majority of the population in India falls into age group of 18 to 25 which is a great benefit to the the country. Dr. Arwah Madan was the session chairperson. She advised that we should preserve available resources by using them in the most sustainable manner.
Session four was on ‘Indian Ethos and Sustainable Development’ conducted by Dr. A.P. Kulkarni. He said that Indian Ethos imbibes the ideology of sustainable development in all its values and lifestyles. Dr. Shirish Limaye was the chairman for this session. He expressed that from last 4500 years sacred trees, ponds, rivers, herbs which are part of Indian mythologhy depict sustainable development in guise of traditions and culture. He further added that ancient Vedas and Upanishads also teach sustainable development.

The day ended with a Panel Discussion on ‘CSR and Sustainability – Role of Corporate’. Mr. Govind Pitre, DGM, Sustainability, Mahindra CIE Automotive Ltd. Mr Abhay Pathak, Head, Sustainability, Tata Motors Ltd. and Ms Pradnya Thakur, Director, Shashwat Eco Solutions Foundation were the panelists. The discussion was initiated by a video about Bhutan. Mr. Phatak informed the participants that Bhutan has started imposing sustainable development fees of Rs. 2000/- per tourist inorder to preserve its natural beauty and resources. He said that good health, prosperity, education employment, innovation, clean air and clean water are the indicators of development. Mrs. Thakur explained the concept of CSR. She mentioned that the government of India is spending money for the sensitization but still there are gaps. Mr. Govind Pitre moderated the panel discussion, he also facilitated the question answer session, and he also mentioned that responsible investments need to be considered. The next day began with a session on the theme ‘Role of Education in Sustainable Development’. In this session, many NGOs presented their work and appealed the participants for volunteering. Dr. Geetanjali Pitre, Assistant Professor, Kaveri College presented the findings of the survey ‘Being Sustainable’ conducted by the college. The college received 800+ responses for the survey. Dr. Tanuja Devi, Coordinator BBA, Garware College of Commerce chaired the session. She mentioned that educational sustainability is also becoming a big concern nowadays. Rethink, rebuilt and redesign can be new sutra for ensuring sustainability in education.

Dr. Mahesh Abale, Director, Naralkar Institute, Pune was the Chief Guest for the valedictory ceremony. An exhibition of the posters based on the environmental awareness projects done by the students of Kaveri College and other colleges was put up during the seminar. The exhibition was inaugurated at the hands of Dr. Mahesh Abale. In his speech, he mentioned that in the present day economic growth is not about GDP only, but is all related to how an individual becomes a job provider thereby solving the problems of employment and poverty. In his opinion reading reference books, self study and hard work is important to gain the knowledge to be a sustainable person.

Kaveri College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Ganeshnagar, Pune