First of all let me wish you all a Happy New Year!
It is my distinct pleasure and honor to welcome you all to this inaugural STARs Forum. Your taking the time from your busy schedules to be here to contribute to the proceedings is truly appreciated.
It is very laudable that over the last couple of decades India’s economy has made great strides...indeed even in the face of a Global recession. The symbols of affluence of urban India are most impressive – the skyscrapers, bright signs advertising flat TVs, fancy cars, diamonds and vacation villas…the overflowing air-conditioned malls and packed expensive restaurants.
And yet we know that away from the glare of the bright city lights lies the “other India” whose inhabitants have not been the beneficiaries of this economic boom. Indeed, they are being increasingly left behind.
While some young graduates are being offered 25…50…and even 100,000 or more rupees per month and an increasing number of Indians are joining the ranks of "the richest in the world", there are more poor people (410 million) that live in poverty in India than anywhere else in the world. There are more poor people in just eight states in India than in the 26 sub-Saharan countries combined.
India now has the 4th highest GDP in the world, but per capita income corrected for purchasing power parity in 127th out of 182 countries (IMF), (World Bank 112/162)
India ranks 64th out of 84 countries in the new global hunger index by the International Food Policy Research Institute.
Recent UNICEF and WHO reports found that in 44% of Indian children under age five are underweight and 48 per cent are stunted.
This is the nature of development in India, brilliant in some areas, but checkered and starkly unequal. In this information driven economy where knowledge base doubles every few years the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots is mainly driven by the increasing difference in the earning capacities of those who have certain knowledge and skills and those who don’t.
Economic deprivation robs the person not only of basic necessities but also of the very fabric of human dignity and creates vulnerability for exploitation – not only economic, but also social, political a religious. This only further compounds the problem many fold, as we are witnessing in many parts of the country.
A lot is being said about the “demographic dividend” or “dream demography”. However,there is the potential for this dream to become a nightmare if the millions that would be joining the working age population do not have means to earn an adequate livelihood to support their families.
In this respect there are those who say that now with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Right to Education Act things should work out fine .But basic literacy, though certainly important and necessary, is not sufficient to earn an adequate livelihood to support a family in the current socio-economic set up. To survive economically it is imperative that one possesses a certain knowledge base or skill that the society needs and is marketable.I am an example of this fact.
Against this background this Conference was planned with two broad objectives:
First: To explore ways to reach maximum number of those who are marginalized and economically disenfranchised and yet motivated to improve their own lot.
It is clear that many individuals such as yourselves are doing hugely valuable work in this area to change lives. This is most laudable. But, it is also clear that collectively we are only scratching the surface given how vast the needs truly are. In the current Darwinian economic model of survival of the fittest, there is an increasingly urgent need to reach as many of this vast segment of the population that is falling behind.
What approaches could facilitate reaching vastly larger number of the needy population…. No not to give them fish to satisfy their hunger one time but to teach them how to fish so that they can take care of themselves in the long run?
These approaches would necessarily have to be created outside the formal school system, be easily accessible to those that need to be reached and not be capital intensive, for that would pose a huge barrier. In effect they would need to be less dependent on brick and mortar structures and be more portable and foster a multiplier effect. They would need to be sustainable. Such models would have to shown to be effective, and replicable or easily adaptable in the obtaining environment by interested activists working in the area of human upliftment anywhere…indeed in this age of the internet…. anywhere in the world.
These programs would need to be able to leverage available resources, whether local, regional, National.. and even international, create synergy and leverage strengths of SHGs, micro-finance sources, government programs and industry amongst others. The potential for astute and cost effective application of technology, including distant learning, cannot be overlooked. There is the need to evolve novel approaches.
This conference is an effort in this direction.
The second broad objective…It is as much a hope as an objective - to facilitate the formation of a platform for like-minded people sharing the goal of facilitating economic advancement through knowledge transfer of marketable vocational skills.
The need to create such a set-up for mutual support and to advance this field is no different than that for other vocations whether engineers, business managers, doctors or nuclear physicists. As with these professions such a platform could facilitate dialog, sharing of ideas, experiences, tried and tested methods and serve as a collaborative think tank to evolve best practices. This medium that could serve as a sounding board for innovative ideas, encourage younger workers and potentially evolve as a resource for mutual benefit and support for individuals and NGOs working in this field within and across state borders.
This problem is very complex, massive and daunting. There are no easy solutions. STARS Forum is but a humble attempt to be a catalyst, to make a dent to the extent possible in the lives of our brethren, particularly those who are most vulnerable – the unemployed youth, landless labourers, and farmers with failed crops, single, abandoned or abused women, amongst others.
One of the core beliefs underlying this initiative is that the effect of collaborative synergy of dedicated and passionate agents for change cannot be underestimated.
I would be remiss if do not take a minute to introduce and recognize members of the core committee. Without their tireless efforts, despite busy schedules, this conference would not have been possible. - Sunil Bhondge, Kishori Gadre, Dhananjay Abhang, Swati Pednekar, and of course the anchor role of – Dr.Yogesh Kulkarni.
Once again a very warm welcome to all of you and May the New Year turn out to be productive, healthy and fulfilling to all of you.
Thank you.
