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CII to focus on sustainability with jobs

Staff Correspondent

Need for long-term view on environment, education and socially relevant spheres

BHOPAL: The President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Y.C. Deveshwar, said here on Thursday that sustainability would be CII's thrust in all sectors like agriculture, manufacturing and services. He was addressing a press conference after addressing a CII conference on "Sustainable Competitiveness for Inclusive Growth" in the State Capital.

He said that sustainability covered the three issues of economy, ecology and society and summed them up as the "Triple-bottom line" comprising of People, Planet and Profit. Besides promoting competitiveness, CII would encourage its members to focus on sustainability with special thrust on employment, rural economy, and infrastructure. He said that the target should be higher growth and this objective should go hand in hand with sustainability.

To make headway in this direction, there should be concerted efforts to conserve and renew natural capital; nurture and build social capital and earn profit, which is an essential prerequisite for sustainable growth, he pointed out.

Mr. Deveshwar said: "As a corporate social responsibility, we will have to take a long-term view and support the cause of environment, education, health and other socially relevant spheres." The CII President said that the Indian economy would see a growth of 7.2 per cent during the current financial year. He said that the country's economy is witnessing an upswing; the investment climate is good; the stock market has touched its peak and the investor confidence is high.

The positive sentiment notwithstanding, there are still challenges before the Indian society. Particularly the agriculture sector is confronted with a huge challenge, he said, pointing out that the rate of growth in this sector has come down and the share of agriculture in the country's economy is declining.

He said that the farm economy would have to grow through value addition and by ensuring more output from the same land.

Mr. Deveshwar also had a word of caution regarding the adverse impact of growth on environment.

He said: "As we grow, the pressure on forest, water and biodiversity also goes up." This is not sustainable and the challenge before us is how we can create high rates of "inclusive growth", he asserted.

He said that the CII members must create examples by contributing to the social cause and working for improving the environment and the overall scenario on the education, health and other fronts. They should also pay attention to sustainable competitiveness for inclusive growth.

To a query, Mr. Deveshwar said that Madhya Pradesh faces multi-dimensional challenges since a large section of population in the State lived on the margin. He said that the State Governments should take a long-term perspective and unshackle themselves to initiate reforms so essential for growth and development.

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CII to focus on sustainability with jobs

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