AAJ holds thought-provoking webinar on ‘Self-Reliant India’
A glitterati of thought leaders including policymakers, academicians and the leading voices from health and other industry segments descended on a common platform to share their views on the topic: ‘Self-Reliant India (SRI): Aspirations and Opportunities’ at a webinar series organised by the Alumni Association of JNU (AAJ).
The webinar series was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Gen. V. K. Singh as its chief guest. Speaking in the session he said, “Time has come for India to be at the forefront. The country needs to be self-reliant in times of difficulty which would make it more powerful.”
He added that no county is considered powerful if it doesn’t rely on its own resources and it’s during the times of difficulty, that one’s self-reliance is actually put to test.
Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, JNU added, “We have a long way to go to strengthen the eco-system in our institutions. We urge the alumni to come forward to support JNU.”
Providing an insight into the affordability of solar energy which may play a lead role in making India energy self-reliant, Upendra Tripathy, Director General, International Solar Alliance said, “The cost of solar energy if taken for its years’ span, comes down to one-third of the price of the thermal power.”
Deliberating in the webinar session S. N. Pradhan, Director General, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) stressed the need to be self-reliant in Disaster Response. R. Ramanan, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, one of the Government’s flagship initiatives, said, “We need to innovate otherwise we will not be able to contribute and unless we develop an entrepreneurial eco-system, we cannot achieve the goal of self-reliance.”
Said Rajesh Kumar, senior journalist who is currently president, AAJ: “It is heartening that our chief guest Gen V K Singh Ji and keynote speaker Upendra Tripathy both happen to be JNU alumni.”
Among other distinguished participants at this virtual event included BBL Madhukar, Founder and Director-General of BRICS Chamber of Commerce, AK Jha, Senior Director, Quality Council of India, Surjit Bajpayeee, Joint Secretary Ministry for Forest, Environment and Climate Change and Nivedita Gupta, Senior Scientist, ICMR to name a few.
