In the race to avoid ecological disaster, the world will need to depend on India’s leadership, said Gautam Adani, Chairperson, Adani Group, at the 10th edition of ThinkEdu Conclave, organised by TNIE. Addressing the conclave virtually, Adani said, “India’s track record in living up to its sustainability commitments is better than any other major nation. It is the only large nation that is currently a full nine years ahead of schedule." He further said that several of the country’s large conglomerates have had the courage to announce significant investments in the space of sustainability and renewable energy at a scale no other nation has. Even the Adani Group has announced 70 billion dollars of investments in the renewable energy value chain, he shared.
Lauding the start-up scenario in the country, Adani said, “Despite the economic havoc caused by the pandemic, half of India’s unicorns have emerged last year. Analysts say 50 unicorns will emerge by the end of this year. This growth of start-ups shows no sign of stopping for the next several years.” Impressed, he said that the revolution in the sustainability and climate change space in the country will provide immense opportunities for start-ups to grow in this space.
Adani also stressed on the need to boost digitalisation. “When digital technology intersects with sustainability, it creates unforeseen business models. India will be entrepreneur’s dreamland,” said Adani. He further said that India has an edge over other countries. By 2050, India's population will reach 1.6 billion, with our middle age still under 40, which will give it a better competitive demographic advantage over other countries.
“We need to compete with the rest of the world but India has a significant advantage: our youths, our digital capability and our infrastructural needs. It will drive us to both create and consume. Our response to these challenges will be the foundation of our nation’s growth over the next several decades. And this growth will make the India story inspiring for all of us,” said Adani. He said in order to profit from its demographic dividends, India needs to disrupt its conventional education systems and digitise it. “Digilitisation of education will have incalculable opportunities for rural India rather than handful of cities,” said Adani.
Speaking on the topic “Asserting Bharat', Adani said massive democracy assertiveness comes from confidence and, being a nation, we must get better in building confidence and celebrate our strides further. “There can be no Atmanirbharta unless we learn to be assertive,” said Adani. Calling on the youth of the country, he said remaking India into a global force is a tribute to the dynamism and ambition of our youths. “Our economic progress over the last three decades have been impressive, our rise over the next thirty years will be far steeper. We now believe, not just hope, that we will build an India that will probably claim to be a world leader, a nation second to none,” said Adani.
ThinkEdu 2022 is the grand tenth edition of what has consistently been India's biggest education conclave for a decade now. March 8 and 9 will see some stalwarts of India's academic, economic and political ecosystems bring ideas, ideologies and reflections on the past, present and future of India's education system. The sessions will be viewed by a live audience, in addition to the 2,750 registered users on the conclave's digital space. Over the last nine years, the conclave has seen some true stalwart thinkers such as former presidents Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Dr Pranab Mukherjee, MPs Jairam Ramesh, Smriti Irani, former CM of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah, NITI Aayog's CEO, Amitabh Kant and spiritual guide Sadhguru.
