Indo-British Scholars’ Association (IBSA) organized a panel discussion on ‘India@75: Agenda for Change’ with the support of Tata Steel at The Bengal Club, Kolkata.

The panel discussion is important at this moment because India is about to host the G20 Summit.

The panelists were Prof. Anuradha Lohia, Former Vice-Chancellor, of Presidency University (formerly Presidency College), Mr. Krishnan Srinivasan, Former Foreign Secretary and Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Prof.Nirmalya Kumar, Professor of Marketing, Lee Kong China School of Business at Singapore Management University, Mr.Shiv Siddhant Kaul, Managing Director, Nicco Engineering Services Ltd. and Honorary Consul General, Republic of Korea, Kolkata & Mr.Vikramjit Banerjee, Senior Advocate practicing at the Supreme Court of India.

Mr. Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India gave a special address through video. The panel discussion was moderated by Prof. Suman Mukerjee, Director General, Bhawanipur Education Society College.

Mr. Subrata Paul, President, Indo-British Scholars’ Association said: “India is expected to have rapid growth over the next ten years. The resources, infrastructure, healthcare, and education are all put under stress by this growth. The achievement of sustainable and fair growth would be one of the challenges. To maintain economic growth, we would need to concentrate on developing employment opportunities and educating the workers. The panel will concentrate on these issues and review the best approaches to maintain the excellent development trajectory.  It is a nation that is about to transition from underdeveloped to fully developed”.

The panel discussion focused attention on the rate of educational reforms in India as well as the pressing need for job creation and skill upskilling.

The participants also talked about the difficulties associated with urbanization and environmental pollution, the state of law and order, the administration of justice, and India’s position in the international system, and aspirations to become a significant economic force.

Priyanka Dutta