SHUBHANGI SHIFA
Ranchi, Dec 27: The Indian Economic Association, in collaboration with Ranchi University and Dr Shyama Prasad University on Tuesday, inaugurated the three-day 105th annual conference on the theme ‘India at 75: Reviewing Indian Economy for Sustainable Development’ at the DSPMU premises.
Jharkhand Governor and Chancellor to universities of the state Ramesh Bais was present on the occasion as Chief Guest, while eminent social worker Ashok Bhagat was present as the guest of honour. Present along with them were MP, Founder of KISS and KIT and Chairman of IEA, Bhuwaneshwar, Prof Dr Achyuta Samanta; Arun Diwaker Nath Bajpai, Conference Chairman and Vice-Chancellor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee University, Bilaspur; Prof Dr Ajit Kumar Sinha, VC, RU; and Prof Dr Tapan Kumar Shandilya, VC, DSPMU.
Addressing the economists visiting from all over the nation, Governor Bais said, “You must know that when the Earth was formed and when land masses came out of the sea, Jharkhand’s was the first land mass to have come out. Furthermore, Jharkhand also has several archaeological sites that have fossils from the Mesozoic Era.”
The governor had earlier stated that several policymakers of the central and state governments and eminent business personalities present at the conference should be clear that the major purpose of the government is to include everyone in a society in the mainstream of development. “India will become a prosperous nation only when even the last man standing benefits here,” he added.
Governor Bais further added, “You have raised several important issues both on national and international levels, and the association has always worked keeping in mind the benefit of the poorest of the poor. As you know, the government is working on formalisation and modernisation of the Indian economy.”
“We now need to make sure that every citizen is a part of the story of development here. We should also work on improving conditions furthermore. Also, we need to work on agriculture and plan about making the rural economy even more sustainable and profitable. Along with this, bring the agricultural products to the bigger markets and will have to work on fundamentally strengthening the structures of rural India through the discussions in the coming three days,” he added.
ADN Vajpai, as the conference president, while addressing the audience said, “The IEA is a brand for economics students. This association has always faced every problem with grace and poise.”
He added, “Two kinds of ideologies destroyed our economy. One was the theory of Adam Smith’s ‘Capitalism’ and another Karl Marx’s ‘Socialism’. These two limited the economy on both sides. Even though they are different, they are dictated by the same thoughts of consumption, materialism, money, and advertisement, among others. One says a person should have the rights, while the other says that the state should have the rights.”
Ashok Bhagat further stated, “From the perspective of the global economy the economics of our world did not affect much in India much. Either the middle class or the upper class may have been affected; however, the lower class residing in villages was not much affected by the recession in the world.” He added that the economists needed to study why the particular strata were unaffected by the recession.
MP Samanta stated, “We had conducted the 92nd conference in KIT, which was graced by the then PM Manmohan Singh. Then we had several discussions and papers presented which are also expected to happen this time. This year is more exciting as India is now a part of G20, and will attend the meet next year.” He further appreciated the Jharkhand state and said that he was glad that his organisation had played a hand in the economic growth of Jharkhand.
