Chairman of MS Swaminathan Research Foundation and member of Rajya Sabha M S Swaminathan has defined green economy as one that results in improved human well-being and social equity while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.
Speaking at the 32nd Foundation Day celebrations of GITAM here on Saturday, Swaminathan said green economy promoted low carbon levels in the environment besides being resource-efficient and socially inclusive. In a green economy, good ecology was the foundation for good business, he said.
He said the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) of the World Committee on Food Security (CFS) recalled that in its report in 2011 had observed that the future of food security would be in danger if the current ‘land rush’ to buy good agricultural land for bio fuel production, particularly in Africa, did not stop.
He said intensive cultivation of land without conservation of soil fertility and soil structure would ultimately lead to desertification.
Irrigation without arrangements for drainage would result in soils getting alkaline or saline.
“Andhra Pradesh has a long coast and big opportunities for sea water farming and for establishing ‘fish for all’ research and training centres are great. All the halophytes occurring along the coast should be conserved in ‘halophyte genetic gardens. The GITAM University could become a pioneer in initiating a University Social Responsibility (USR) programme on the lines of the CSR programmes being undertaken by business and industrial houses.
Under USR programmes, faculty and students can help in programmes like war for water, providing technical input for MGNREGA, Rural Health Mission and establishing computer-aided village knowledge centres overcoming malnutrition,” Swaminathan said.
President of GITAM MVVS Murthi said Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and MS Swaminathan were among the 20 most important people in the world.
Swaminathan was an eminent personality who had brought about greeen revolution in the country.
Chancellor of GITAM University K Ramakrishna Rao advised the students to interact with eminent personalities to share their views.
Vice-chancellor G Subrahmanyam said the university had established six research centres, namely, centre for integrated rural development, centre for climate change and disaster management, centre for sustainable urban development, centre for Gandhian studies, centre for enterpreneurship development and centre for finance and banking studies with focus on inter-disciplinary research, consultancy and extension.
GITAM management presented Swaminathan with the Annual Gitam Foundation Award.
The management also presented the Best Teacher Award to P Sheela, Best Supporting Staff Award to V Chiranjeevi Narasimham, K Srinivasu and Ch Venkateswara Rao through the hands of Swaminathan.