Keynote speaker at ISR Summit 2015
It was an auspicious day for SCIT when the current batch of SCIT got the opportunity to listen to the wise words of Prof. Satyajit Majumdar, chairperson, School of Management and Labour Studies ,Tata Institute of Social Sciences(TISS).He began his career as a quality engineer in Coal India Limited ,continued as consultant in the area of Quality Management at Indian Statistical Institute and then professor at TAPMI, Manipal. Prof. Satyajit has keen interest in training teachers of entrepreneurship and believes in fostering the idea of social entrepreneurship. TISS graduates ,actively engaged in social entrepreneurship and various NGOs such as Apnishala, Sampoorna,Uncancer under the valuable guidance of Prof. Satyajit presented their work at the summit. The theme of the summit is this idea ,that is building bridges between NGOs, corporate sector and the educational institutes.
A new vision of the booming corporate industry was put forward by Prof. Satyajit, that further opened the eyes of students to the poor state of development in the nation. He elaborated upon the issues existing in market driven economy. Growth has been occurring in absolute terms ,but the figures are misleading. In reality ,the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer, increasing the absolute gap. He put forward the myopic picture of education in India, which is tilted more in favour of the urban areas. Education is exclusive and universities are insensitive to the changes in economy .New business models to cater to the gap are not yet a part of the curriculum. Even after an MBA, approximately 92% of Indians are working in the informal sector. Till date, people with less or no resources have almost no place to live dignified lives. Indian people in rural areas spend nearly 30% of their income everyday, just to get water, which is much more than the people in urban areas. This is an indicator of the lack of development. Hence until growth is made inclusive, sustainable development cannot occur.
Prof. Satyajit Majumdar pointed to the prevalent view that Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) is seen as the responsibility of NGOs and not the common man. People fail to realize that the glorifying businesses that we see today did not actually start aiming for profits. Rather, the driving force behind CSR was the legacy of connecting with society. For instance, Mr.Jamshedji Tata set up a steel plant, Mr. Kirloskar Vani started the first factory to support the farmers, providing them farm tools, equipments. All such initiatives were not to start a business. but to create the Indian ecosystem of serving. Today, the paradoxical view is that heterogeneity is the pride of India. But farmers are migrating to urban areas due to lack of mechanisation and unviable infrastructure. Farmer jobs are decreasing. All government growth initiatives are aimed at urban development, turning a blind eye to the rural areas. Hence, an entrepreneurial view in the agriculture sector needs to be promoted. The development paradigm needs to change. Inclusive development with convergence of philanthropy and corporate sector is the need of the hour .We should go back and continue the legacy of connecting with society, redefining the relation between social and economic values.
At the end, Prof. Satyajit Majumdar appreciated the SCIT ISR initiative and encouraged B-school students in the journey of utilizing youthful energy to create new business models and sustainable systems. He offered to students of SCIT collaborations and internship opportunities to the students with TISS for various social projects. Prof. Saravan felicitated Prof.Satyajit Majumdar for his wise words that left a deep impact on SCIT students and inspired them to engage in social service.
