IIT Madras to launch ‘SIDDHI’ webinar series on technology and rural development

Indian Institute of Technology Madras is launching ‘SIDDHI’ fortnightly webinar series on Socially Relevant Technologies on August 14, 2020, to mark the 150th upcoming Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The ‘SIDDHI’ (Self-reliant India: Discussions and Dialogues for Humane Innovations) webinar series will focus on the following themes:

Ø  Socially relevant technologies

Ø  Technology for self-reliance (‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’)

Ø  Technology and rural development

The inaugural SIDDHI webinar panel discussion on  August 14, 2020, will be on the topic ‘Food Security: Retrospect and Prospects.’ The lecture series is being coordinated by the Office of Global Engagement, IIT Madras. The Webinar is open to the public. Registration is required to join the Webinar and interact with the panellists. Those interested can register using the following link - https://siddhi.iitm.ac.in/

Speaking about this initiative, Professor Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Dean (Global Engagement), IIT Madras, said, “The objective of the SIDDHI Webinar Series is to disseminate the science behind technological solutions for societal problems among the general public, while also initiating a dialogue to identify socially relevant problems that need to be addressed.”

The international partners of IIT Madras will be participating in the event. The event will also be live-streamed on the Institute YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/ReachIITM).

The topic of Food Security was chosen as the threat of COVID-19 and its impact will be felt intensely on agriculture, economy, health and nutrition. The first webinar on Food Security will be a panel discussion in which experts working in this field will discuss the most important issues confronting the nation.

The Gandhian approach complements many worldwide human development programmes such as the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainable Development is a major component of the vision and mission of IIT Madras.

The Agenda for the Inaugural SIDDHI Webinar panel discussion is:

Ø Introduction to the team by the moderator - AV Balasubramanian, Director, Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems, Chennai.

Ø  A bird's-eye view of Production and productivity of Indian agriculture - PVS Suryakumar, Deputy Managing Director, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Mumbai.

Ø Food security and Nutrition - How we are performing - Dr RV Bhavani, Director, Agriculture, Nutrition and Health Programme, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai.

Ø  Food Security Legislation - promise and performance - Clifton D' Rozario, Advocate at Manthan Law, Bengaluru.

SIDDHI is a collaborative endeavour with faculty, researchers and students involved with projects sponsored by Government of India under SPARC, VAJRA and socially relevant projects approved by the Government of India such as Unnat Bharat Abhiyan and New India Internship.