India First Leadership Talk Series with Secretary, Dept. of Social Justice & Empowerment, was organized by MHRD – Institution Innovation Cell
15-Jun-2020
A Webinar on India’s First Leadership Talk Series was organized by MHRD – Institution Innovation Cell on 13th June’2020, with Mr. R. Subrahmanyam, IAS, Secretary, Dept. of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India. Dr. Abhay Jere, Chief Innovation Officer, MHRD Innovation Cell was the moderator.
In the discussion that ensued, between Dr Abhay Jere and Shri Subrahmanyam, the main focus was on how marginalized people are being helped by the government. Covid-19 has put the entire country into turmoil. For many marginalized people it has become very difficult to cope up with their lives.
Mr. Subrahmanyam said there are over one crore households in the urban and rural areas where most of the people have no assets. They do not have a support mechanism. Neither do they have any access to health facilities. They mainly depend on the government to provide for their needs.
In order to make them independent, there are a few things that need to be done. Firstly, give them access to a Collective Fund. By enabling them to work and start up enterprises on their own, they can have access to banking systems. One such example is NRLM - National Rural Livelihood Missions which is helping people across different states to be self-reliant.
Secondly, people need to be skilled. The Govt. of India under the Ministry of Skill India has already started training people from poor and marginalized society in various fields which can easily facilitate jobs. Lastly, give them access to health insurance programs developed by Ayushman Bharat. It helps in providing free and compulsory education for the children of the poor.
They also discussed the role of youth in this regard. Mr. Subrahmanyam highlighted that the youth can start by identifying households in their locality and try reaching out.
Further discussion dwelt on Entrepreneurship, which is highly encouraged by the MHRD Innovation Cell. Challenges build up and help to create better products which are beneficial. This has led to many social innovation projects which are helping the people. Mr. Subrahmanyam focused on having a good rapport with all the authorities from local administration to MLAs and MLCs which will boost morale to work together.
Mr Subramanyam also highlighted that failure should not become a barrier. He said the greatest success mantra is to look at adversity as a great opportunity and try to use it as an opportunity. He also said one needs to have an analytical mind and be different, thus ensuring that the future will be bright and meritorious.
The discussion brought in a lot of thought provoking insights which can really be beneficial when put to use.
About Mr. R. Subrahmanyam:
Mr. R. Subrahmanyam is a graduate from St. Stephen's College at the University of Delhi. He holds an MA degree in Political Science and also a degree in M.Phil. He has a Ph.D degree in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where he specialised in nuclear diplomacy.
