CHENNAI: The second and final day of The New Indian Express’s ThinkEdu Conclave 2023 lived up to the expectations with 15 engaging and informative sessions by eminent speakers. The day began with a video message from Hardeep Singh Puri, union minister for housing and urban affairs and petroleum and natural gas. Puri said, “At the heart of India’s relentless growth has been the key to leaving no one behind.”
The buzz around university rankings too echoed in the conclave. M Jagadesh Kumar, chairman, University Grants Commission (UGC), said, “Global university rankings cannot be equated to university excellence. Regulatory excellence is also required to achieve more.”
“Every citizen is entitled to basic education and healthcare,” said Preetha Reddy, executive vice-chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, in a conversation with Dr Sumanth C Raman, healthcare analyst and political commentator.
The session also brought forth the debate on the introduction of medical courses in regional languages. Preetha Reddy said, “If you take a medical degree in France, you have to speak French. Many of our states are bigger than France. Then why not? But there is a portability issue that has to be thought through.”
Addressing the youngsters in the audience, BJP MP Varun Gandhi said, “I have turned down a ministership twice. In the 15 years or so that I have been in Parliament, I have never made a single personal attack on any politician or party, because I think it is a glorious waste of time. In every tweet of mine and every statement of mine, I try to be of use to people and be part of something larger than myself. I was supposed to be the CM but I did not become CM,” he said.
Among the youth who enlivened the session, there was also a young leader—MLA and president of Yuva Sena Aaditya Thackeray. “Environment will not bring me votes but just because of that we shouldn’t stop working for it,” the Thackeray scion said.
Pollution forced schools to shut down: Thackeray
Explaining the vulnerable state of the environment, Thackeray said, “The pollution levels in a few states and cities have forced governments to shut down schools. But only sensitive governments do that, others don’t.” It was followed by a conversation between leaders managing partner, Mela Ventures, Parthasarathy NS, and national leader - Education and Skill Development, KPMG India, Narayanan Ramaswamy.
There was also a discussion with Kris Gopalakrishnan, chairman, Axilor Ventures, where topics like layoffs and quite quitting were addressed. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former deputy chairman, Planning Commission of India, Bibek Debroy, Sanskrit scholar, chairman of the economic advisory council to the Prime Minister, and Manish Tewari, Member of Parliament, spoke at the conclave on Friday. With the upcoming election season, the day was also packed with other stalwarts and politicians who spoke at length about who they thought will win. Over 400 participants took part in the final day.