New Delhi, 24th March 2023: Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce organized Vimarsh 2023, 6th Biennial International Convention on the theme ‘India on the Path to Sustainable and Inclusive Development:Myth or Reality on 24 March, 2023 at Hotel Le Meridien, Delhi. Prof. Kawal Gill, Convener for the Convention, introduced the concept note of the program by establishing the interrelationship between inclusive development and sustainable development. Dr. Jatinder Bir Singh, the principal of the college, welcomed the guests and underlined the need to move beyond the spiritless growth which has been regarded as panacea of all economic ills in our country. Keynote Speaker for the event, Mr. Labanya Prakash Jena, Commonwealth Regional Climate Finance Adviser, CW Secretariat, in his address stressed on the need for corporates to play a meaningful role in ensuring sustainable development.
Chief Guest for the convention, Dr. Han Ulac Demirag, Country Director, Head of South Hub, International Fund for Agricultural Development, shared his experience of working with the remote communities in India in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand; he insisted that we need to reinstate agriculture as business and hence provide more opportunities for the farmers. Prof. Balram Pani, Dean of Colleges, University of Delhi, affirmed his faith in the young bright minds of the researchers and students that they will work towards deleterious actions to be taken to forestall mindless growth. Mr. Amitabh Behar, CEO, Oxfam India, added the dimensions of gender and labour inclusivity to the economic criteria which remains the focal point of policy decisions. Mr. Jan Drbohlav, COO, Volkswagen Group Technology Solutions India, brought the industry perspective to the ongoing discussion and demonstrated how his company was endeavouring to achieve the target of net zero by switching to energy efficient fuels.
The theme of the first technical session was “Sustainability, Environment and Economy” with Prof. Yamini Gupt as the session chair. The session began with the presentation by Dr. Suneel Pandey, Director, Environment and Waste Management Division, the Energy and Resources Institute on the issues of mounting pressure on limited resources and other impediments like price volatility. The session chair, Prof. Yamini Gupt, Professor, Department of Business Economics, University of Delhi talked about the need to move from linear economy. Other speakers for the session included Dr. Shailly Kedia, senior fellow and Associate Director, the Energy and Resources Institute, and Ms. Saiba Gupta, Research Analyst, Council on Energy, Environment and Water.
The Second Technical Session titled ‘Sustainability in Action’ put an impetus on multi-stakeholder involvement and dedicated involvement of youth populace to realize the Sustainable and Inclusive future. The speakers included Mr. Perminder Singh, President, Scope for Change, Mr. Pradeep Singh Phogat, Entrepreneur and Owner, Pratapgarh Farms, and Mr. Harjeet Singh, Head, Global Political Strategy. The event concluded with three business plan presentations which were shortlisted after rigorous scrutiny as 175 submissions were received by the organizers. Prof. Kawal extended vote of thanks to all the dignitaries, guests, faculty members from across universities and students for participating with enthusiasm and making the vent a success.