It gives me a great pleasure to welcome the Hon’ble President of India to Mumbai. We are much honoured that Hon’ble President has kindly consented to visit our city to inaugurate this Conference.
I welcome heads of several important institutions, and particularly the United Nations Global Compact and the United Nations University of Peace. We are happy that the Strategic Foresight Group, a unique global think-tank, has chosen Mumbai. The impact their path-breaking research has been acknowledged on forums ranging from Davos to Delhi and Johannesburg to Jerusalem. The University of Mumbai is a part of this endeavour. I wish to congratulate Shri Kumar Ketkar for forging a partnership between important institutions in Mumbai and hope that this example will inspire many more cooperative efforts.
At this conference where business leaders and technocrats are going to deliberate together with philosophers and peace experts, I want to leave a thought with you. In the 21st century we must shift our mindset from quantitative targets to the quality of growth. Dr Manmohan Singh, India’s Prime Minister, has been strongly advocating that quality of growth matters the most and inclusion and sustainability are the most significant qualities that we need to promote. However, it is not possible to think of inclusion and sustainability in purely national terms. The world is turning into a global village. We need to contemplate how inclusion and sustainability can provide the basis for a new global order.
Strategic Foresight Group has brought out salient features of tomorrow’s world economy in its emerging issues report for the period 2011 to 2020. One important characteristic of the next decade is going to be the search for non-fossil energy and clean technologies. The Government of India recently joined an international nuclear fusion project in France. If this experiment is successful, our dependence on fossil fuel will decline. India is only one of the seven member countries of this elite scientific club.
Within the country, we are trying to encourage solar photovoltaic technology, biomass energy and clean technologies. An Indian automobile company is collaborating with technology pioneers to produce the first ever car run by compressed air. In Maharashtra, those who are conceiving new townships are seized with the concept of sustainable and environmentally viable cities.
Of course, it is essential that the benefits of technological breakthroughs are not limited to a few wealthy people. The greatest challenge in the early part of the 21st century is the prosperity of the periphery. We believe that inclusion, sustainability and poverty mitigation are mutually reinforcing objectives. Moreover, together they contribute to social peace and political stability. On the other hand, social peace and political stability are cornerstones of economic growth. It is precisely because the state of Maharashtra has been able to provide conditions of peace that we are the highest recipients of FDI year after year.
I would once again thank the Hon’ble President of India for visiting Mumbai to inaugurate this Conference. I would also like to convey my best wishes to all the delegates and participants and organisers. I look forward to the deliberations and recommendations of this Conference.
Jai Hind…!!! Jai Maharashtra…!!!
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