BHUBANESWAR: A balanced policy approach to integrate new technology without inhibiting innovation is the need of the hour, opined noted economist and former deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of India Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Addressing the 106th edition of the Indian Economic Association (IEA) Conference as the chief guest here recently, Ahluwalia shed light on crucial economic aspects and the evolving landscape of technology and policy-making. He underscored the strength of the Indian democracy despite competing interests and delved into the influence of evolving technology, emphasising the rise of tech giants in impacting decision-making processes. He also stressed the importance of ensuring proper job access to vulnerable populations of the society and urged economists to reflect on these challenges.
Ahluwalia released a special book titled ‘Community Builder for Education, Empowerment and Enlightenment’ in honour of the contribution of the Founder of KIIT and KISS Achyuta Samanta who as patron of IEA, expressed his gratitude for hosting the conference at KIIT and highlighted the institution’s meticulous financial management. IEA Conference president Biswajit Chatterjee, Association president of the conference Tapan Kumar Shandilya, chief convenor Anil Kumar Thakur, vice presidents A Jothi Murugan and Devendra Awasti also spoke.
The Architect of IEA award honour was conferred on well-known economist Prof Vedagiri Shanmugasundaram, while the Best Controller award was given to the registrar of BRA Bihar University Sanjay Kumar. The Gyanchand Academic Excellence Award was given to Pankaj Kumar, a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Economics at TM Bhagalpur University.