Stiglitz, Swaminathan to participate in 3-day global meet

Exploring ways to boost its development by rewiring the economy, Kerala is hosting a global conference next month to further enhance and modernise nine key sectors by seeking advice from international experts amid a changed world order and a new normal.
The February 1-3 ‘Kerala Looks Ahead’ (KLA) Conference & Consultation looks at suggestions to achieve a paradigm shift in the state’s progress in the coming years, aiming renewed work on the economic policy’s twin aspects: build on historic achievements in welfare and invigorate growth and development through technology.
Nobel laureate economist Professor Joseph Stiglitz and Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist with World Health Organisation (WHO), are prominent among those who will address the meet at the Inaugural Session to be held on February 1. Representatives of government, policymakers, experts and captains of industry as well as heads of allied organisations will speak in different sectoral sessions.
Organised by the Kerala State Planning Board, the deliberations are set to focus on nine themes, locating their potentials and means to meet them best in a post-pandemic scenario. The sessions will cover primary sector (agriculture, fisheries and animal resources development), modern industrial possibilities, higher education (including international academic collaboration), skill development, tourism, information technology, e-governance, local governments, and federalism and development financing.
“The state needs to strongly pursue development that can expand employment in various sectors with an emphasis on creating skilled jobs for educated youth,” said Planning Board Vice-Chairperson, Dr. V K Ramachandran, as Kerala is set to initiate its 14th Five Year Plan (2022-27). “We must strengthen and upgrade public education and health, capitalise on the network of social welfare and add to the legacy of public action.”
Dr. Venu V, IAS, Member Secretary, Planning Board, pointed out that Kerala’s famed achievements in human development merit a relook in the wake of the current pandemic induced crisis. “Not only do we need to modify our targets on health, education, social inclusion and gender justice; but we must all the more employ modern science and technology in sectors such as agriculture, industry, IT, transport, other large-scale infrastructure facilities.”
The deliberations will take place on February 2 on Agriculture, Federalism & Development Financing, IT, E-Governance and Local Governments in the forenoon session and on Agriculture – Animal Resource Development & Fisheries, Skill Development, Industry, Tourism, Local Governments, E-Governance and Higher Education in the afternoon session.
A special session on Industry will be held on the final day, ahead of the concluding session. The inauguration on February 1 evening will be preceded by thematic sessions on Software on January 24 and on Hardware on January 27. Thematic sessions on Agriculture and Animal Husbandry are also being planned on January 27 and 28, as well.
The session on Tourism will examine the international trends in the segment, scope of Responsible Tourism, marketing in post – Covid scenario, strategies to woo young and adventure-loving professionals and government investments to ensure sustained growth.
The IT session will identify the winners and losers post the recent recession and the pandemic, identify global digital transformation hubs for conventional sectors, new work patterns and their impact, R&D, electronic component manufacturing supply chain and Fab City, besides Kerala and Industrial Revolution 4.0.
Higher education experts will speak on curricular and institutional innovations, networks for teaching, research and student exchange; innovations in library and information availability, and social inclusion. Skill development sessions will delve into labour market information systems and technical and vocational education.
The industry session’s focus will be on manufacturing in technologically advanced sectors, agro-based and food-processing, petrochemical complex, parks/ corridors, modernisation of traditional industry alongside PSUs as mentors of industrial growth in the private sector.
The session on local governments will present case studies to learn from the exemplary initiatives and focus on the new challenges and opportunities. On e-governance, the focus will be on citizen access to services, informed government decision support-systems, administration of technology systems, citizen participation and empowerment, policy environment and regulations.
The session on agriculture will explore ways to bridge yield gaps and increasing production in select crops, new forms of production organisation, and improved means of value addition. As for fisheries, the discussions will be on best production practices, marketing and supply chain infrastructure, and processing.