Kakodkar: India needs to improve on Human Development Index

Dr. Anil Kakodkar looks on as Mr. Anand Ganu lights a lamp at the 6th anniversary of Garje Marathi Global (GMG)

Stimulating the essence of fellowship, saluting the Marathi spirit, urging Maharashtrians to assist in raising the Human Development Index of India, sharing heartwarming success stories, and launching a new project, Garje Marathi Global (GMG) celebrated its 6th anniversary in Mumbai.

Lauding the contribution of Garje Marathi Global (GMG), a platform that bonds Maharashtrians spread across the globe, for its people-oriented progressive initiatives, the former Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar, who was the chief guest on the occasion appealed that there must be an awareness on the “need to bridge growing income disparity gaps and increase the income of those at the bottom of the pyramid”.

Stressing on the growing dominance of technology in our daily lives, Dr. Kakodkar, said, “India needs to improve its Human Development Index (HDI) and science and technology play a vital role in raising HDI.” Kakodkar, who has been honoured with all three Padma awards, along with several others, raised serious concerns over the speed at which technology is developing in developed countries, as he feels, it could widen the divide between developed countries and India, which he finds to be a worrisome trend.

He observed that despite India having youth power, we are not able to optimise its potential, because of the prevailing peculiar mentality. “The concept of ‘work while you learn’ is popular in developed countries. Working in food joints or taking up odd jobs in foreign countries to fund studies, is an acceptable norm for our youths if they are studying abroad. However, the same arrangement is not acceptable for them, if it is offered in their hometown. This is because we don’t uphold the dignity of labour here,” he said, urging the youth to come out of this frame of mind. Kakodkar appealed to GMG mentors to apprise students of the importance of dignity of labour and to mentor academicians from rural areas to encourage students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and help them evolve products that can be marketed in developed countries.

Drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi’s idea that every village in India should be a net exporter, he said that students from rural areas can develop apps provided they receive the relevant skills, guidance, mentoring, and handholding, as it is received by those in the urban belts.

Kakodkar has been propagating the concept of CILLAGE, a knowledge-based ecosystem for bridging city and village gaps for technology-enabled sustainable development in rural areas.

Ms. Sunita Ganu addressing the audience at the 6th anniversary of Garje Marathi Global (GMG)

Anand Ganu and Sunita Ganu, the globetrotting couple, currently based out of California are the founders of Garje Marathi Global (GMG). The couple welcomed the invitees present physically and those joined virtually. While Anand expressed gratitude towards the mentors, facilitators, various stakeholders, and all the members of GMG. He also gave an overview of the current project, especially mentioning Dr. Raghunandan Malshelkar for his support. Sunita, who has been working with Anand since GMG's inception, introduced IAS Ashwini Bhide as the guest on the occasion. 

Sanjeev Brahme presented a panorama on the MoUs and associations GMG is pursuing with various educational institutes in the state to take its mission forward. Mr. Dabake, one of the mentors at GMG, spoke about how GMG chose a few entrepreneurs for their mentorship programme and helped them succeed. He explained how GMG assisted them to raise capital, and creating a market for their goods. One of them had a compliment received from the finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman. These entrepreneurs were felicitated on the occasion. 

The icing on the cake was the launch of ‘Each Woman Champion’ by Ashwini Bhide (IAS) on the occasion. Dr. Snehalata Deshmukh, Girish Chitale, Meenal Mohadikar were among the dignitaries present from across the globe.