With the liberalization of the economy, India has become one of the fastest growing nations in the world. With positive indicators such as a stable 8-9 per cent annual growth, rising foreign exchange reserves, a booming capital market and a rapidly expanding FDI inflows, India has emerged as epicenter of Growth, Innovation and Knowledge.
The rapid economic growth has also had a significant impact on the social front. Social indicators have improved. Literacy levels have risen, while morbidity and mortality rates have declined. However, it is widely felt that the rate of social development needs to escalate and economic growth needs to be backed by an environment conducive for Inclusive, Sustainable and Equitable growth.
In India the measure of development process should not simply be a measure of aggregate of economic activity but should be an assessment of the inclusiveness of economic growth with emphasis not only on the distribution of economic gains but also on the security, vulnerability, empowerment, and sense of full participation of people in all facets of Economic Activity. The real challenge the nation faces is in fact empowering and creating opportunities for each person when the economy is growing rapidly on a higher growth trajectory.
To create an Environment of Inclusive growth, CII is working on a long term strategy for implementing projects that can facilitate Economic and Social Inclusiveness by creating opportunities for the economically and socially disadvantaged sections of the Society. CII has brought in the idea of Affirmative Action to work out solutions for the upliftment of that section of the Society left out of the economic growth.
CII has been actively working in the area of Affirmative Action from 2006. The four areas under which CII has been working
· Work place
· Entrepreneurship development
· Employability and
· Education
The member companies of CII have already engaged in providing training facilities and employment to those on the fringes of economic development and provided a platform to effectively compete in the market place. Many of the companies have also partnered with educational institutions to support and aid students from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Many of the member companies are actively undertaking activities to promote the well being of these deprived sections of the society which involves Entrepreneurial training , Skill Development training, Scholarships for students , job oriented training programme for aspirants for IT/ITES jobs and other allied activities. CII (SR) is committed to the economic upliftment of the disadvantaged group. CII is running programmes throughout south India on developing the Skills for these deprived sections and also to nurture their entrepreneurial skills and make them more competitive in the free market. CII has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Ahemdabad to train the budding entrepreneurs within these deprived sections of the society.
CII members have partnered with NGO’s to improve the level of Primary Education in the Government Schools. In addition to these initiatives, CII members have developed schemes to finance exceptional SC/ST students through Scholarships, counseling and career guidance programmes in the Government schools in South India. CII members have also partnered with NGO’s to implement mid day meal scheme programme in Government Schools.
Realizing the importance of Skills in improving the livelihood options of the excluded groups, CII in Southern Region has formed a Taskforce on Skills, Employability and Affirmative Action. This task force is mandated with the mission to facilitate a multi-partnership approach for the development of skills in the southern Region. This approach envisages cooperation among Government, Policy makers, Industry, Researchers, Skill training providers and educators and development specialists.
Under this platform CII has evolved two major initiatives one with respect to the Soft Skill Training programme and the other a large Scale skill Development initiative called Grassroot Level Skill Development Initiative (GLSDI). The soft skill training programme intends to reach out to more than 5,000 students under the Madras and Andhra University. This programme is being supported by an Industry Consortium which has formulated the syllabi for the training programme.
CII members are also involved in the upgradation of Industrial Training Institute in the Southern Region. The members are partnering with the Government to upgrade the institutes through the Public Private Partnership (PPP).
GLSDI propounded by CII represents a key instrument in facilitating the social and economic integration of excluded groups and disadvantaged segments of the population like the rural unemployed youth and School drop outs.
Affirmative Action is a key strategy for the overall economic and social development of the country. It also gives an opportunity for both the Public and the private sector in India to join hands and to ensure that there in an inclusive economic development in the country and the development is sustainable and equitable. It is also important to note that the catalytic role played by CII for been an active facilitator in this process and thereby creating a platform for the stakeholders for sharing of information and expertise in the area of Affirmative Action. The road ahead for CII in the area of Affirmative Action is challenging but CII with its inherent strength of a vision and leadership will be able to make a huge impact in improving the lives of Indians left untouched by the economic growth that the country is currently witnessing.
