The Hindu : National : Emulate the Tatas: Manmohan

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Sunday, May 07, 2006

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National

Emulate the Tatas: Manmohan

Special Correspondent

"In the context of human resource development, the Tatas have set an example"

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conferring the degree of doctor of Literature to Ratan Tata at the 66th Annual Convocation of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences held in Mumbai on Saturday. — Photo: Paul Noronha

MUMBAI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday paid tributes to the vision of the House of Tatas, especially of J.R.D Tata, for commitment to education and research in the country.

He called on business leaders to follow this example and invest in the long-term development of human resource just as they invest in making their firms more globally competitive.

The Prime Minister was addressing the 66th annual convocation of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) at its Deonar campus. This is the first time the convocation is being addressed by a Prime Minister of the country. Asking students to remain committed to the values espoused by the institution that produced them, Dr. Singh said: "We must strike a fair balance between doing good and doing well, between ensuring equity and pursuing excellence."

Improving the quality of human resource in government programmes is a major challenge facing us today, he said. An equally important challenge is to improve the quality of management of the non-government sector. "India is a vibrant democracy that is home to the largest number of NGOs and voluntary organisations anywhere in the world," he said. "However, as their size and scope increases," he said, "they also need professional managers and people who can take on a long term and holistic view of development."

Holistic perspective

Dr. Singh emphasised that such a holistic perspective was important because interest groups by definition, espoused sectional causes. "Therefore, it is important that in doing so, interest groups must also learn to take a wider view of the imperatives of development and the working of democratic institutions."

It was important to remember that in a parliamentary democracy, the institutions of the state are also part of civil society. Democracy gave space to civil society groups to make representations on behalf of sections of people. Dr. Singh said these articulations of public interest must be balanced with the views of other segments of society, including those of the elected representatives.

A mature and liberal democracy must know how to balance these alternative voices of people, he added.

The Prime Minister asked social science researchers to come forward with practical ideas on improving governance at the grassroots level.

Social scientists must pay greater attention to the problems of the unorganised and informal sectors as well as the challenges facing the organised sector. "We must find practical and consensual means of overcoming the hurdles to development so that our nation can realise its destiny," he concluded.

Dr. Singh also laid the foundation for the Jamsetji Tata Centre for Disaster Management at TISS. The centre is being set up with an initial contribution of Rs. 11 crore from the Jamsetji Tata Trust and is being developed on the TISS campus itself. It will be fully commissioned in the next few months and will work to develop qualified and committed human resource to provide support in terms of research, training, networking and policy advocacy in the country.

S. Parasuraman, Director, TISS, said the centre would function as a central agency integrating expertise and experiences from a range of disciplines and collaborating with diverse institutions.

R. K. Krishna Kumar, chairperson, Governing Board of TISS, said that the centre would aim to address the dearth of effective disaster management systems and professionals in the country.

TISS also conferred the degree of Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) on social activist Baba Amte and Ratan Tata, chairperson, Tata Group.

The degree was conferred upon Baba Amte in recognition of "more than seven decades of dedicated, visionary, and pioneering service to the cause of humanity and social justice."

Mr. Tata received the degree in recognition of his distinguished business, organisational and philanthropic leadership.

The previous recipients of this award were J.R.D. Tata in 1993 and J.J. Bhabha in 1996.

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