NEW DELHI:
In the inaugural ceremony of the Global Partnership Summit, 2017, Alternative Development Model was emphasised for the most part of the summit. Energy efficiency, sustainability and environmental responsibility were cited as the key areas that would chart the future progress of the globe.
The future will depend on how we leverage clean technology. Speaking on technological progress, the panellists agreed that renewable energy, shared car, EV, IoT, AI and robotics will play a huge role in ushering in a sustainable way of living.
Putting people at the center of development is the key. Smart city, smart grid, smart tech and smart security will be what the future will be made of. GPS is important because collaboration has always been about learning
and imparting learning. The world is flat now, thanks to whatsapp, smartphone and internet connectivity. World will be better place if we join hands together. For greater good and prosperity, collaboration is important and this is what the Global Partnership Summit promises to deliver.
Speaking on the occasion, Vibhav Kant Upadhay, commented, around 21 years ago I came up with the idea of Alternative Development Model. I believe India is the socio economic lab of the world. What can be achieved in India can be readily replicated in the rest of the world.
We used to think and many people believed and dreamt of a world with unlimited resources but then we realised that resources are not unlimited, what is unlimited are aspirations. New ways have to be devised to meet these aspirations. Look at Japan, a country having no significant natural resources but still it is one of the most energy efficient, sustainable and environmentally responsible nation.
The country did it and India can learn a lot from this. Global Partnership Summit is doing just that- forging
partnerships! Let us form a partnership that goes beyond bilateral relationships. It should be based on relationship, mechanism and execution.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, gave a low down on the government schemes aimed at changing the lives of people, particularly farmers. He said the outcomes of this Summit will be deliberated upon and taken seriously by the Indian government.
Founder, Art of Living, Shri Shri Ravishankar, one of the panellists strongly opined that, there was an era when countries used to compete against one another and demonstrate up-manship. Today, the times are different and countries can grow by collaborating with each other, sharing values, wealth and wisdom. Caring and sharing leads to social and economic upliftment.
He further said, Japan is the land of the rising sun and India is the land of Vedanta and Yoga. When I went to Japan to inaugurate a Yoga center, right on the 1 st day, 100 Japanese enrolled themselves as Yogis. This corroborates the fact that there is an inner connection, connection of spiritual values between Japan and India. In a world torn apart by poverty, terrorism and environmental issues, spiritual values are important as it forms the foundation of human consciousness. We need to leave a better planet for our future generation and this should start from bringing the entire humanity together as one.
In terms of technological advancements we have made huge progress but are we caring about the environment, family values, social values etc? The slogan of Global partnership summit is; we are a one world family. We are diverse but we are a family, we need to cherish this sense of belongingness and foster brotherhood.
He also added that technologies like EVs and green vehicles should be made available in India. It can work magic in this pollution laced country. Green vehicles should be available at low cost so that the common man and the poorest of the poor can use it.
Dr. Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, also stressed the fact that, right from the very beginning, India has always tried to take all countries along with itself. The Indian Government forged good ties with Japan and other countries since a long time. Technology has brought all of us together and we should take advantage of this. People from all over the world should come to India and do business here.
The world should join hands to address key issues affecting us all, like poverty, global warming and water shortage.
