New Delhi – Profit-making corporate involvement is inherently crucial to policies that aim at unlocking the full potential of rural India, but it comes in tandem with accountability on quality standards for services provided, the Centre acknowledged here on Tuesday, at an Interactive Session on Implementation of PURA (Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas).
“We now realize that it is important that industry make profits out of their initiatives in the rural sector. But we will hold industry accountable to deliver to the same standards as for any commercial enterprise,” said Arvind Mayaram, Additional Secretary, F&A, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. Asserting that it was time that industry move beyond corporate social responsibility, Dr. Mayaram said that in the government, there was “new understanding” that making profits should not be viewed negatively. On the contrary, he maintained, it was indeed the best way to ensure sustainable development.
The most effective way forward, Govind Mohan, Joint Secretary (Infrastructure), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, said, was to leverage resources of not just the government but also other entities.
The event was organized with the issue central in mid that India faces a significant challenge in trying to bridge the rural-urban divide, the one thing that mars the country’s otherwise impressive economic growth story.
There was fortune to be tapped at the bottom of the pyramid and not just the top of the pyramid, D. S. Gangwar, Joint Secretary, Government of India, stressed while extolling the genius of Professor C. K. Prahalad. Recognizing the need and urgency to identify activities that were commercially viable and where government capital and private sector efficiencies could lead to successful outcomes, speakers honed in on areas such as rural tourism, skill development.
“What we need in India is acquired development, not delivered development,” said Secretary, Department of Rural Development, B. K. Sinha, stressing that it was important to involve all stakeholders in capacity building initiatives in the rural sector through the PPPP (Public-Private-People-Partnership) route. The need for community partnerships were discussed in an effort to arrive at win-win propositions that could lead to the establishment of successful business models, while at the same time lead to an improvement in lives and livelihoods.
At the conference organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry in partnership with the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, and Asian Development Bank in New Delhi, many speakers emphasized that a commercially viable approach and efficient and ethical delivery systems were the key to corporate involvement in rural development. Key stakeholders from government, civil society and the corporate sector discussed strategies on how the potential of rural India could be realized through a multi-pronged approach that included forging partnerships for livelihood promotion, financial inclusion, developing human resources and utilizing the latest technological advances while at the same time, optimizing natural resources.
Earlier in his welcome address, Mr. Pradeep Singh, Vice Chairman & MD, IDFC Projects, shared CII’s initiatives in the rural development sector. He also stated that PURA was a seminal step to unlock the growth potential of rural India through PPPs. Insights were also added by Shrikant Kulkarni, Director, CRISIL Risk & Infrastructure Solutions Ltd., Mr. Venkataraman, Associate Director, Fitch Ratings India Pvt. Ltd., and Mr. Prasanna Srinivasan, Director, Griffin Strategy Partners.
Source: ET, May 5, 2010
