Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon'ble Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs and Mr. Piyush Goyal, Hon'ble Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India graces the event
‘A talk on Digitalization, Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Pillars of Indian Economic Growth’ was held on 29th October 2022 at Shilpakala Vedika, Shilparamam, Hi-Tech City, Hyderabad.
On this occasion, Hon'ble Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs (UMF&CA), Government of India (GoI), Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon'ble Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles (CIM, CA, F&PD&T), Government of India (GoI), Mr. Piyush Goyal were the ‘Chief Guests’.
The event also witnessed the presence of Mr. Rajeev Singh Thakur, IAS, Additional Secretary (AS), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India (GoI), Ms. Jyoti Yadav, IAS, Deputy Secretary, Department of Commerce (DoC), GoI, Prof. Sekhar Mukherji, Director, National Institute of Design (NID), Ahemdabad, Dr. Mrs. Satinder Bhatia, Dean, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi, Mr. Vijay Kumar Mantri, IAS, Director - National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Mr. Vagish Dixit Chairman – Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), eminent industrialists, media persons and alumni’s of FDDI, NID, NIFT, IIFT and IIP.
This significant event was a strategic initiative by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India for bringing together the leading institutions of the country namely, FDDI, NID, NIFT, IIFT and IIP under single umbrella.
The event started with the lighting of the inaugural lamp by the ‘Chief Guests’ and other dignitaries.
Delivering the ‘Welcome Address’, Mr. Arun Kumar Sinha, IAS, Managing Director, FDDI said, “With great pleasure, I take the privilege this morning to welcome the Hon’ ble dignitaries present on the dais and all of you to this significant forum where deliberations on ‘Digitalisation, Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Pillars of Indian Economic Growth’ will be held, ushering of an era of institutional consolidation in true sense”.
“The young talented minds are testimony to the fact that the emergence of novel and powerful digital technologies, digital platforms and digital infrastructures has transformed innovation and entrepreneurship in significant ways and the need is to have openness for digitalization, innovation and entrepreneurship”, added Mr. Sinha.
Eminent speakers namely, Dr. Sujata, IIFT, Kakinada and Prof. Shekhar Mukherjee, NID, Hyderabad, also enriched the audience by accentuating the importance of the topic with their knowledge and wisdom.
The ‘Chief Guests’ and all the other dignitaries visited the stalls where a display was made by the students of FDDI, NID, NIFT, IIFT and IIP.
The Hon'ble Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, GoI, Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman in her address, asked the students to follow the ‘Panch Pran’ (Five Resolve) put forth by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi to make India a developed country by 2047.
Citing various examples of indigenous sustainable designs like blue leather and jewellery patterns, she urged the students to be both ‘agents of change’ and ‘agents of continuity’.
She further said that “Reviving the past, supporting artisans, adopting sustainable methods, and taking a forward-thinking approach through digitalisation will all play a role in capturing the market in India and abroad at the same time”.
It was for the first time in the history of our country, where such an event took place towards fulfilling the goals of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s ‘Vocal for Local’, ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
The Hon'ble Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, GoI, Mr. Piyush Goyal in his address said, “The Indian economy is being looked at as a bright spot the world over”.
He highlighted the successful innovation that the country came up with during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the production of PPE kits and testing swabs.
He exhorted the students to come up with good designs which can lead to cost reduction.
He assured to put in place a completely online system for obtaining patents which would further strengthen the innovation environment for startsups.
During the ‘Question & Answer’ session, the questions/queries being asked by alumni/students from different participating institutes were replied/clarified by the Hon'ble UMF&CA and Hon'ble CIM, CA, F&PD&T that paved way to harness the benefits of the digital transformation.
Mr. Vagish Dixit, Chairman, IIP delivered the ‘Vote of Thanks’.
