By 2050, half of India will be urbanized, with an exodus from rural to urban areas. Presently, migrants tend to be at the bottom of the economic pyramid, with virtually no identity and rights. How will India cope with their emerging issues? The American India Foundation (AIF) brought together leaders from the corporate sector to discuss the issue with civil society practitioners at a seminar hosted by them along with US India Business Council here. Yes Bank was the Knowledge partner for the event.
“Migrants are nowhere people. They leave behind a life that does not meet their needs, only to face a worse one in their new destination,”
“The government needs the support of India Inc and AIF’s effort is to help all stakeholders understand this complicated issue that is going to play out significantly on the development landscape in the years to come.”
AIF works with sizeable migrant populations in the spheres of health, education and livelihoods. Under a recent initiative, it has partnered with Punjab National Bank to make loans available to rickshaw pullers, who are mostly migrants, so that they may be able to own the rickshaws. It has also been working to provide education to children of migrant workers, who drop out of school as their education is truncated with the movement of their parents.
The keynote address was delivered by Mr. B. K. Chaturvedi, member of the Planning Commission. On the occasion, a Knowledge Report developed by AIF, Yes Bank and National Institute of Urban Affairs was released by Dr. Isher Ahluwalia, Chairperson, Board of Governors of Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.
Titled “Managing the Exodus” the report takes “a comprehensive look at what government, civil society institutions and the private sector are currently doing to increase opportunities in rural areas, while mitigating the worst impacts of migration for those who do move to urban India.”
The experts on the panel were Ms. Swati Ramanathan (Chairperson, India Urban Space), Prof. Amitabh Kundu (Prof. of Economics, JNU), Dr. V. Raghunathan (CEO, GMR Foundation), Mr. Richard Rekhy (COO, KPMG) and Mr. Ved Arya (Managing Trustee, SRIJAN).
They provided the view from various perspectives;
The corporate representation was from organizations such as Confederation of Indian Industry, IBM India, Honeywell, DLF Home Developers, Yes Bank, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Lockheed Martin, Motorola, GMR Group and many others.
The Public Sector was represented by organization such as National Housing Bank and Punjab National Bank.
About American India Foundation (AIF)
AIF's mission is to accelerate social and economic change in India. By mobilizing people and resources in the United States, it has invested in over 100 Indian non-governmental organizations since its inception in 2001, in the areas of education, livelihood and public health, with emphases on elementary education, women's empowerment and HIV/AIDS respectively. President Bill Clinton serves as Honorary Chair of AIF.
About USIBC
The U.S.-India Business Council is the premier business advocacy organization representing America's top companies investing in India, joined by global Indian companies, promoting economic reforms with an aim to deepen trade and strengthen commercial ties. The U.S.-India Business Council is the principal interlocutor for industry operating in the U.S. and Indian marketplace, playing a critical role supporting U.S. Government initiatives that include the U.S.-India Economic Dialogue (CEO Forum), and the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum.
About Yes Bank
YES BANK Ltd., India’s new age private sector bank, is the outcome of the professional commitment of a top management team to establish a high quality, customer centric, service driven, private Indian bank catering to the “future industries of India”. It has a vision to champion “responsible banking” in India where the concepts of corporate social responsibility and sustainability are embedded in the DNA of the organization and integrated in its business focus.
For more details please contact:
(Ms.) Nidhi Raj Kapoor
Director of Communications
American India Foundation
C- 17 Green Park Extension
New Delhi 110016
Ph: 011 46118827/ 9810360134
nidhi.rajkapoor@
