Development should be socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable and economically viable: Uttarakhand Governor

Dehradun, Apr 24,

Uttarakhand Governor and Chancellor Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmit Singh today called upon the policy makers to pursue a development model for the state that is socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable and economically viable.

Speaking on the occasion of the inaugural session of the two-day 18th Annual Conference of Uttara Pradesh-Uttarakhand Economic Association (UPUEA), the Governor emphasised on the need to change SOCH, VICHAR, & DHAARNA in order to achieve desirable goals of development, economic growth and equitable prosperity.

“A Conference of this stature proves to be a uniform forum to deliberate over social change, growth, employment, sustainable development and economic prosperity,” the Governor said while stressing upon the need to forming economic policies for reverse migration for the state of Uttarakhand.

Stating that Uttarakhand has seen an increase in employment opportunities in recent years, particularly in sectors such as tourism, information technology, and manufacturing, the Governor said that while we should focus on branding of local products for global consumers, the state also should pursue organic farming as agriculture still remains the mainstay of the population in both the states. Uttarakhand has already made significant progress in promoting industrial growth, with a range of incentives and support measures for businesses.

Addressing the session, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami congratulated the organisers and said that such deliberate research-centric symposiums would aid the government towards crafting and implementing better economic policies. “During the two-day conference, the experts and scholars will deliberate upon crucial issues such as water, forest, land and industrial development and prepare a roadmap that would aid the government towards forming policies,” Mr Dhami said through a video message.

In her presidential address, Doon University Vice Chancellor Professor Surekha Dangwal Doon University pointed out that integration of women at the centre of policy making can help in mitigating the rigorous out migration. She also appealed to the participants to think about the Himalayas as a fertile land that can influence the sustainable development of the symbiotic economy.

Professor Dangwal said that universities should take up various micro studies in different academic fields to inform government policies. “Uttarakhand is a gifted state with regard to land, water and other natural resources. We need good model of management backed by evidence and data,” she said, adding that the “students are the future of the country and our university is trying its best to harness their potential in all respect and make them responsible citizen contributing to growth and progress of the nation.”

In his Keynote Address, Conference President Professor Nagesh Kumar said that India has tremendous growth opportunities in manufacturing sector that need to be harnessed to the full potential and emphasised on manufacturing of export oriented products, sunrise industry products and green products for creating decent jobs, encashing on demographic dividends and closing the gaps with regard to various social divides.

UPUEA President Professor Ravi Srivatava said that the association provides a meaningful platform for economists and budding scholars to study and understand different development models. “We have been organising this annual conference for last two decades,” he said.

Professor R P Mamgain, Head of the Department of Economics and Organising Secretary of the Conference welcomed the participants and introduced the conference theme. Vote of Thanks was proposed by Professor Vinod Kumar Srivastava, General Secretary of UPUEA. The program was conducted by Head, School of Management, Professor H C Purohit. Those present on the occasion included Prof D K Nauriyal, Prof S P Singh, Prof M C Sati, Prof D K Joshi, Prof C B Singh, Prof Alakh N Sharma, Prof Ashok Mittal, Prof Santosh Mehrotra, Prof Rajiv Malhotra, Dr Amarjit Sinha, Dr Sanjiv Chopra, Prof Durgesh Pant, Prof P S Bisht, Dr Manoj Pant, Prof Harsh Dobhal, Dr M S Mandrawal, Dr Savita Karnatak, Dr Reena Singh, Dr Rajesh Bhatt, Dr Arun Kumar, Dr A C Joshi, Dr Ajit Panwar, Dr Madhu Bisht, Dr Rakesh Bhatt, Professor G P Pokhariyal, Dr Naresh Mishra, Dr Priyanka Pahwa, Professor S P Lal and others.

Leading economists from across the country are gathering at Doon University to brainstorm on regional economic development of the two states, similarities of challenges and opportunities and explore actionable collaborative strategies towards a roadmap.

“In the conference, the experts are making presentations and holding crucial discussions on issues of economic growth, employment, social sector growth and interrogate development in the context of sustainable development goals,” Professor R P Mamgain, Head of the Department of Economics said.

He emphasised that while both the states have taken their own roadmaps of development, there are common challenges and opportunities that need to be jointly discussed and leveraged for promoting inclusive and sustainable development in both the states.

Three broad themes of the conference include (a) Growth, structural change and employment in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, (b) Emerging imperatives in social sector growth, and (c) Interrogating development in the context of sustainable development.