As it happened: Development, Smart City, Make in India, Digital India is part of today's discourse: Venkaiah Naidu

The Hindu's first idea conclave, The Huddle 2017, concludes in Bengaluru

February 10, 2017 10:06 am | Updated May 25, 2021 07:41 am IST

Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minster for Information and Broadcasting

Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minster for Information and Broadcasting

The Hindu's first idea conclave, The Huddle 2017, which was held from February 10 to 12 saw thinkers and leaders from fields as diverse as politics, business, films and cricket discuss and debate for change. The list of speakers included eminent dignitaries such as Vice-President Hamid Ansari; former President of Adghanistan Hamid Karzai, and Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and M. Venkaiah Naidu.

The title sponsor for the three-day event was YES Bank . SRM University (powered by sponsor), NDTV (television partner), AIR India , Prestige Group , SAIL, Da Milano , Parker and Wizcraft , Zebronics and Anand Prakash were partners for the event.

Day 3 | 5.30 p.m.

Session 6: Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting

In conversation with Raghavan Srinivasan, Editor, The Hindu Business Line

Despite experimenting with socialism and capitalism, we have not been able to achieve what we wanted to. But, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to power he unleashed the process of growth. "Narasimha Rao brought in reforms but couldn't implement it fully. Vajpayee brought in telecom revolution."

Now, Narendra Modi is taking this forward. The focus is now on transformation, performance and information. "For development Mr. Modi has given 3-step mantra: Reform, perform, transform. After I became I&B Minister, I added inform," says Mr. Naidu.

Today, the discourse is development, Smart City, Make in India, Digital India. "Mr. Modi has said it should be no more populism, but peoplism. He is bringing in reforms through performance."

Speaking about the success of Swacch Bharat, the Union Minister said that it has become a people's movement.

On demonetisation, he said money has not just come in, it has come in with addresses. "Now these people will come under the tax net and the government's revenue will increase." We are not aiming at a cashless economy, but a less-cash economy, he added.

The three-day event ended with the Editor of The Hindu, Mukund Padmanabhan's closing remarks.

 

Day 3 | 4.30 p.m.

Session 5: 1983 World Cup: The start of India's cricket revolution

Mukul Kesavan, Historian and writer, in conversation with Krishnamachari Srikkanth, former Indian captain, Syed Kirmani, former cricketer and Roger Binny, former cricketer.

Karnataka : Bengaluru : 12/02/2017   Former cricketerrs Roger Binny , Syed Kirmani and Srikanth in conversation with Mukul Kesavan Historian and Writer during the Huddle , Conversation for Change  a Conclave organsied by The Hindu  and YES Bank in Bengaluru on 12th February 2017   Photo : Bhagya Prakash K

Karnataka : Bengaluru : 12/02/2017 Former cricketerrs Roger Binny , Syed Kirmani and Srikanth in conversation with Mukul Kesavan Historian and Writer during the Huddle , Conversation for Change a Conclave organsied by The Hindu and YES Bank in Bengaluru on 12th February 2017 Photo : Bhagya Prakash K

Calling it one of the biggest sporting events, Mr. Kirmani said 1983 win was the first turning point. "We were the fourth weakest team going into the game. But, we turned out to be the dark horse. After the win, there was no looking back."

Sharing want captain Kapil Dev told the team, he added that "Kapil Dev said 'I have seven seniors in team, I don't have to tell them what to do. The seniors have to guide the others. His words gave us confidence."

With a disarming candour, Mr. Srikkanth said "We never thought we would even qualify. In fact, our plane ticket was booked from Bombay to New York with a stop-over at London to play the match. We went there in a holiday mood. But, Kapil Dev's speech on eve of match gave us the much needed confidence. The win must be attributed to him."

 

Calling Mr. Kapil Dev inspirational, Mr. Binny added, "Kapil was a terrific captain. At no point did he give up. In the finals when we were out for 180, Kapil said if they can get us out for 180, so can we."

The 1983 world cup win instilled a pride in being Indian, not just in cricketers but also people, said Mr. Srikkanth.

On how cricket has changed, Mr. Binny says the playing style and targets are different today. Saying that cricket has evolved, Mr. Srikkanth said that there is lot more confidence in players today, techniques have changed and the game is aided by technology.

In a Q&A session, one of the audience asked how had the players' life changed after the 1983 World Cup win, Mr. Kirmani said that "Well I had a  lot of hair then, which I subsequently lost and became a trend setter."

Meanwhile, Mr. Binny said, "On the way to Wankhede stadium, people were standing and throwing flowers and cheering. We had never seen something like that."

Day 3 | 3 p.m.

Session 4: Cashless India: A roadmap for the future

Raghavan Srinivasan, The Hindu Business Line, in conversation with Asit Oberoi, group president and global head, Transaction Banking Group, YES Bank, R. Chandrasekhar, president NASSCOM, Sameer Nigam, founder & CEO, PhonePe and Sharad Sharma, iSprit.

Asit Oberoi, R. Chandrasekhar, Sameer Nigam and Sharad Sharma. Photo: K. Murali Kumar

To a question posed by Mr. Srinivasan on whether cashlessness a desirable goal for economy, Mr. Oberoi said, "Instead of 'cashless' we see it as moving towards less cash. Demonetisation was a step in right direction. Managing cash involves a lot of cost. But, moving towards less cash economy calls a lot of efficiency."

Pointing out the challenges involved in going cashless, Mr. Chandrasekhar said reliable connectivity is one issue as going cashless involves heavy dependence on Internet. Making transactions easier at lower level and putting in checks and balances are some precautions which would be needed, along with bringing in trust in the system, he added.

Stating that cash connects India that is why it works, Mr. Nigam said, "To really make digitisation work and inclusive, a person who gets into digital transaction must know what kind of transaction he/she is getting into, with whom and the risks involved. Digital economy needs the right voice. Putting terms and conditions in English doesn't help 75 percent of the country."

Day 3 | 2 p.m.

Session 3: Do animals have rights?

Panel of speakers includes Ashwin Sameeran, Founder trustee, Enablers United; Norma Alvarez, social activist, Abi Tanam Vanak, conservation biologist with ATREE, in conversation with NDTV anchor Maya Sharma.

Ashwin Sameeran, Abi Tamin Vanak, Norma Alvarez speaking about animal rights

Ashwin Sameeran, Abi Tamin Vanak, Norma Alvarez speaking about animal rights

In a recorded message, Amala Akkineni said that animal cruelty is not a trivial subject, their suffering is real, be it in labs, circus, slaughter houses, roads and home. "The use of animal is blatant and should be stopped. Just because we own them does not give us the right to abuse them."

Stating that India has 'chosen to follow the West,' Ms. Alvarez said that that "We have put animals at the lower end of the scale, they do not have any rights. As per the law, they can only receive compassion."

On the question of equality in rights of humans and animals, Mr. Vanak said in terms of right to life, that of human takes precedence over life of animal.

On the Jallikattu issue, Ms. Alvarez said breeds are preserved to showcase them and not for their agricultural use. Arguing that the discussion of animal rights involved in Jallikattu is misunderstood, Ms. Akkineni the protest was hijacked by politics. 

On the issue of killing of healthy street dogs in Kerala, Ms. Akkineni said it was violation of animal act.

"There are several issues with controlling street dog numbers. I have problems with Animal birth control rule, which mandates that dogs stay on the roads," says Mr. Vanak.

The panelists also said that ABC programme has to be properly implemented for it to become successful. "We must start with licensing and dog ownership laws in the country," says Mr. Vanak.

 

Day 3 | 11.30 a.m.

Session 2: India's Start Up Story: Where do we go from here?

K Ganesh, Portea Medical

Anu Acharya, CEO, Mapmygenome

Ananth Narayanan, CEO, Myntra and Jabong

Mahesh Murthy, co-founder, Seedfund

Ananth Narayanan, CEO, Myntra and Jabong, K. Ganesh, Co-Founder and Chairman, Portea Medical, Anu Acharya. CEO Mapmygenome and Mahesh Murthy, Co-founder, Seedfund in conversation with Rajiv C. Lochan, MD & CEO, The Hindu group.

In the start up capital of the country, the CEOs of top Indian companies discuss on what comes next in the start up scene #TheHuddle

"Initially, working in a start up was a euphemism for being unemployed. Thankfully, the situation has changed now. In the process a lot of accidental entrepreneurs also came up, some lasted, some moved on," said K. Ganhes, chairman of Portea Medical.

The latest wave of start ups has followed a copy paste formula, said Mr. Murthy, by which he meant the system of taking what had worked in the United States and applying them elsewhere.

Stating that the start-up ecosystem has allowed people to take risks, Mr. Narayanan said, "Success of these business would depend on them innovating. But, it is fabulous that people are taking risks and are ready to learn from failures."

There is a phenomenal change in startups. Media has made it possible for startups to exist and thrive, added Mr. Ganesh.

In closing, Mr. Murthy said that the life of an entrepreneur was one of the best options available out there, a view his co-speakers agreed with vehemently.

Some advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

Create sustainable business models and don't focus on next quarter or next year: Ananth Narayanan

The quick fix, jugaadu entrepreneur's time is over: Mahesh Murthy

Your work should be in line with what you really want to solve: Anu Acharya

There are multiple channels othen than VCs, such as incubation parks, government agencies. There's nothing wrong in following a copy paste or a 10 year model, choose what works best for you. - K Ganesh

 

Day 3 | 10.30 a.m.

Day three of The Huddle Starts

Session 1: Bangalore vs. Bengaluru

Rohini Nilekani, philanthropist, writer and founder-chairperson, Arghyam, Naresh Narasimhan, architect, Vinay K Sreenivasa, Alternate Law Forum and Pawan Kumar, film-maker in conversation with T.M. Veeraraghav, Resident Editor, The Hindu.

Rohini Nilekani, Naresh Narasimhan and Vinay K. Sreenivasa during a session on Bangalore vs. Bengaluru

Rohini Nilekani, Naresh Narasimhan and Vinay K. Sreenivasa during a session on Bangalore vs. Bengaluru

 

 

Introducing the session Mr. Veeraraghav said Bengaluru had seen four big protest in 2016: Cauvery, garment workers, Steel flyover and ORR. There is a sense of living in two cities, where one group participating in one protest does not participate in another.

Responding to the comment, Ms. Nilekani said, "I don't think we have the means to protest together in the city. But it is a rapidly changing city, which makes it ab exciting place to live in."

Stating that the city has always been divided into city and cantonment, Mr. Marasimhan said, "The Freedom Park is the visible point of division. The city also culturally divided."

Taking the point forward, Mr. Sreenivasa said during the protest to save trees in Jayamahal Road, we had a e-group protesting, which meant that the protest was not inclusive. "Though there have been certain unification in the city, but we are still divided class-wise."

"I lived in Mumbai for three years, but could never be part of anything there. I was like a visitor. I think a similar thing happens in Bengaluru too. People who have come from outside just observe, they don't come forward," says Mr. Kumar.

Day 2 | 4.30

We come to the end of Day 2 of The Huddle. Join us Feb 12 for sessions on Bangalore vs Bengaluru, India's Start-up Story, Animal rights, cashless India and others. Follows us on Twitter @_thehuddle and Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehuddle2017

Day 2 | 3.30 p.m.

Session 5: The Republic of Hurt Sentiments

It's the season to get offended, when any offhand comment could become the next trending news. Our next session has Karan Johar, director, producer and screenwriter, Tanmay Bhat, Stand-up comedian, Mukul Kesavan, historian and writer in conversation with Mini Kapoor, Ideas Editor, The Hindu, on 'The Republic of Hurt Sentiments'.

The session begins on a light note about the origins of the name AIB (All India Bakchod).

Mr. Johar spoke about the pressure before the release of the film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. "I was advised to put a video saying I am Indian, and love my country. I feel apologetic that I had to do that, it was something deeply disturbing," said Mr. Johar.

Mr. Bhat too had to apologise for an "offense". "I'm in my twenties, I want to live long, I'll apologize if I have to," said Mr. Bhat. 

Mr. Kesavan talked about the AIB Roast, which was the subject of much discussion when it came out. "As a comedian in India, there are things we would like to do, doing a roast was one of those," said Mr. Bhat. "We wanted a session where there were no rules and you can just have fun. That was the only intention," said Mr. Bhat.

Mr. Johar said that even when a movie is held up from screening for a few days, it costs the producers in crores. "Even when Tanmay has to fight in court, he's the one paying the legal fees," said Mr. Johar.  "It's very easy to blame the filmmaker when they take a step back to save the film," he adds. He says that in an ideal world, no one would have to bow to such threats.

"I had 11 cops outside my house when AIB happened, my parents wanted me to quit," said Mr. Bhat, referring to a politician whose name he did not want to express.

Mr. Kesavan spoke about how the Bhandarkar archive was ransacked to make a point against a researcher.

"Sometimes you wonder which country this is?" said Mr. Bhat.

"It's your right to take offense, as long as you don't do something violent about it," said Mr. Kesavan But, worst is when artists themselves are offended and artists don't support other artists, says Mr. Bhat.

Mr. Johar said that the fear of repercussions was one of the reasons he did not take up an adaptation of Amish Tripathi's Shiva trilogy. "We even have to consider if people will be offended by the lyrics of songs," said Mr. Johar, who said he had to change the lyrics of many songs because someone had objected to it.

On the question of solidarity, Mr. Johar said we are an industry which should be a fraternity and a community, but we are sadly not. But, I am hopeful we will get there.  "Very unfortunate that I don't see a sense of support in the industry. Only when one is victimised does one feel that we need to stand up for others," says Mr. Johar.

During the Q&A session, the audience had questions about lack of unity in Bollywood industry, censorship and negative reporting.

 

 

Day 2 | 2.30 p.m.

Session 4: The Enigma that was Narasimha Rao

Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, writer Madhav Godbole and writer Vinay Satpati in conversation with TM Veeraraghav, the Resident Editor of The Hindu, Bengaluru

The session began with a question on how big a role Narasimha Rao played in the events in the early 90s.

"Mr. Rao grasped the opportunity and transformed India's economic policies," said Mr. Ramesh, he added. "There was nothing in his political past to show the huge impact he would have as Prime Minister." Mr. Rao was intellectually arrogant and overestimated his abilities, he added. 

Mr. Sitapati said that while many Prime Ministers before him had a chance to implement reforms, it was Mr. Rao who took the initiative.  "Four PMs before him had a blueprint for reform," he said, adding,  "Many Congress leaders opposed him as they felt he was going against the principles of socialism, even many industry leaders were reluctant to change."

Mr. Sitapati said that Mr. Rao was a man who stood in the back stage when it came to taking credit. "P.V. Narasimha Rao is less remembered today since he did his best to wipe away his fingerprints," he said.

"When a crisis is in hand, that is not the best time to hand in your papers," said Mr. Godbole, when asked if he felt the need to quit at the time of economic crisis. Mr. Godbole was Home Secretary during Rao's tenure.

The discussion veered to Rao's role during the demolition of Babri Masjid and whether he could have played a more central role.  Mr. Veeraraghav posed the question of whether moral responsibility of Babri Masjid rested on Rao who was Prime Minister at the time.  Mr. Sitapati vehemently denied this, saying that no one blamed Atal Bihari Vajpayee who was PM during the Godhra riots.

 

Day 2 | 12.20 p.m.

 

Session 3: Terror-proofing India

Hormis Tharakan, former chief, R&AW; M.K. Narayanan, former Governor of West Bengal and former NSA, Gulshan Rai, cyber security chief; Lt Gen Ramesh Halgali, former Deputy Chief of Army Staff; in conversation with Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu

It is an indication of the importance of cyber security now that a post was created for Mr. Rai, says Ms. Haider. 

"To talk of terror proofing is a great mistake. We have entered a new era of Internet-enabled terror," said Mr. Narayanan. He added that while security forces in the West was working with this in mind, India had just woken up to the threat of "remote controlled" attacks. "Welcome to the age of remote controlled attacks," he told the audience, "where the perpetrators may be kilometres of miles away."

On a scale of 1 to 10, how prepared is India for a cyber attack? "We can't ensure 100 per cent security but we are trying to enhance resilience," Mr. Rai responded.

The State has the responsibility to strengthen security in the areas of capacity building, coordination at apex and functional levels, and legislation, said Mr. Tharakan.

'India has moved from its earlier defensive stance'

India has moved from its earlier defensive stride against Pakistan, said Lt. Gen (Retd) Halgali. "Pakistan has continuously used its resources to destabilise India through proxy wars. For over thirty years, Pakistan has been staging a proxy war against us. The reason we have thwarted it is because India is a strong capable nation. In the past, we were working on a defensive framework, something which changed in 2016," said Lt Gen (Retd.) Halgali.

"For the first time in 2016, the international community got to know that India is capable of delivering precise strategic strikes capable of decimating Pakistan," he said, adding, "This thought of moving from a defensive frame to offensive requires India to gear up.

Ms. Haider countered this, saying that the "surgical strike" had not stopped terror across the border.

 

Day 2 | 11.15 a.m.

 

Session 2: Draconian Laws: Defamation, Sedition, Contempt and Privileges.

Tathagata Satpathy, MP and Editor, Dharitri; politician Manish Tewari and lawyer Gautam Bhatia in conversation with Mini Kapoor, Ideas Editor, The Hindu.

Acknowledging that the term "draconian" can have different connotations to each invididual, Ms. Kapoor asked his guests to define what the term meant to him.

"Any law that infringes on personal or collective independence is draconian," said Mr. Satpathy. "It eventually hampers growth of society." Laws like POTA that abridge fundamental rights and freedoms, are draconian, he opined.

"The sedition law was made by the British to control us, and we still have those laws. It means we are still a colonised country," said Mr. Satpathy. He said the ADM Jabalpur judgement, issued during the of Emergency, was the darkest in Supreme Court history.

"Law should be a living component of modern society," he stressed, referring to the Free Speech Bill he proposed.

Stating that India has a very wide definition of contempt law, Mr. Bhatia said the scope of the law needs to be narrowed down like in other European countries.  

"It is doubtful we will see the current Parliament repeal Section 499 and 500,"said Ms. Tewari.

 

Day 2 | 10 a.m.

Session 1: Ravi  Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Law and Justice and Information Technology

In conversation with Nidhi Razdan, Executive Director, NDTV.

"As an IT Minister of India  I am seeing the transformation of India," said Mr. Prasad.  India has the biggest start up system in India, he said.

The present government fought during Emergency for the freedom of individuals, judiciary and media, he said during his speech.

In a Q &A, Nidhi Razdan said there was a delay in appointing members of the judiciary. "With all respect, the previous Chief Justice need not have gone public on this," said Mr. Prasad. 

Giving the example of what would happen if a court decreed that matches should not be held in a city due to drought, Mr. Shankar said governance and judiciary were complicated matters. 

A member of the audience raised the question of interference in selection of judges, a topic the Minister was quizzed on by Ms. Razdan.  "The separation between judiciary and executive is one of the checks of democracy. What you say seems like the government wants a pliable judiciary?"

To this Mr. Prasad replied, "Please remove this misconception, we [our party] went to jail for the freedom of the judiciary. However, the Supreme Court itself has said the existing system of appointment of judges needs improvement. We are working in that context. Judges of the 50s, 60s were excellent."

There was a light moment when one member from the audience refused to give his name, fearing he would be held for "contempt of court".

Chairman of Kasturi & Sons N. Ram posed a question on why Lokpal has not been constituted. "Where are we on this process?" he asked.

Mr. Prasad said that certain amendments were under process, until that happened, the constitution of Lokpal would be delayed. "As far as our government is concerned, in terms of corruption in decision making, it has completely stopped," he claims. "I am very proud of my Prime Minister that way," he added.

Before the session wound up, Ms. Razdan had a last question on the Uttar Pradesh elections. "Would you concede this UP election is like a referendum on the BJP government?" asks Ms. Razdan.

Mr. Prasad countered this saying "how many referendum does Modi have to win? We have won municipal elections, State elections since coming to power." "UP is heading for a change, and we trust that the results are going to be different," he said.

 

 

Day 1 | 6.15 p.m.

We have come to the end of Day 1 of The Huddle. Join us tomorrow for sessions by Ravi Shankar Prasad, Manish Tewari, M.K. Narayanan, Karan Johar, Tanmay Bhat and others.

Day 1 | 5.30 p.m.

Session 6: 'Freedom will be quite meaningless without freedom from want and fear'

Quoting from the Preamble, Mr. Hamid Ansari says freedom implies unhampered right to think freely and explore boundaries. Yet freedom will be quite meaningless without freedom from want and fear.

He also speaks about rising inequality in the world. It is not surprising that reducing inequality is one of United Nation's goals, even in this world of post truths and alternative facts. Despite an increase in the number of people coming out of abject poverty, inequality has grown. The share of national income with the rich one per cent has doubled since 1980s. If we divide income of worlds in two half, the richest 8 per cent get the half. The means the wealth of rich exceeds 10 times the median wealth of the poor. Today in India, the richest one per cent owns 60 per cent of the country's wealth. Bottom half collectively own only 2 per cent of national wealth. This has a great implication for political, social and political fabric of the country.  "Rising inequality can lead to conflicts both at social and national levels," he says.

 

Day 1 | 4.30 p.m.

Session 5: The Sacred and the Secular: Are the two irreconcilable?

Sadhguru, founder, Isha Foundation, is in conversation with Arundhathi Subramaniam, poet and writer.

''Seeking is not religion by itself, it is not an identity, not a choice. It is a natural consequence of unprejudiced conscious,'' says Sadhguru. ''People need to have clarity and not confidence. Most idiots are confident."

On what he thinks is sacred, he says anything can be sacred. ''The physical itself can be seen as sacred. Those who let rational logic to evolve can reach the sacred''.

Asked whether spiritual debate had gone down from the time of Buddha, Sadhguru says 'no.' ''There are still endless number of spiritual questions that people ask. A question is a tool to dig deeper.''

On what is the right way to approach scriptures, he says, "when we have spiritual questions we turn to scriptures. But we must look beyond them." 

On being a guru, he says a guru is a person with advanced perception and if a person can reach that level he will not need a guru.

Highlighting the importance of devotion in life, Sadhguru says that devotion is not about going to temple. "Sachin Tendulkar is a great cricketer. What makes him great is his devotion to the sport."

Day 1 | 3.15 p.m.

Session 4: Global Desi: On Being Both Foreign and Indian

On what anchored her to her culture, Padma Lakshmi, author, actor and model says that, "My biggest anchor was my grandfather and the Indian food. From 5 to 17 years of age, I spent three out of 12 months in India, though i grew up in America. I also spent most of my 20s in Europe."

Jonathan Gil Harris, professor of English, Ashoka University, says that Indians have a natural flexibility to adapt. It is partly due to their growing up with multiple languages. He speaks about his experience of learning Sanskritised Hindi and realising that no one understood it when he came to Delhi. "I learnt that Indians speak a multitude of rich languages, a khichidi of Hindi, Urdu, Punjab, Bhojpuri and English."

Asked if she is conscious of instilling 'desiness' in her daughter, Ms. Padma Lakshmi says "As an Indian and a mother, I think about it everyday. She is biracial, raised by an American father and a very Amercianised Indian mother. Luckily for her it is a good time to be an Indian in America."

Day 1 | 2.30 p.m.

Session 3: ''Can We Ever Make Enough in India?''

Ms. Sitharaman in conversation with Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson and MD, Biocon Ltd.

Speaking about the growth of the service sector and those driven by technology, which contribute to 60 percent of the GDP, she notes that "we need to focus on the manufacturing sector."

To increase the share of manufacturing to growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the Make in India initiative in 2014.  "If your GDP is dependent on one source , it is risky for the country. That is why the manufacturing sector has to be given a push,"she says.

Apart from identifying sectors, regulations need to be simplified to allow more investment. Also, the sector needs to constantly engage with the government. 

Stating that there is a lot of scope for Make in India, she says, "there is a large domestic market, which our own businesses can serve."

On India being ranked 130 in the ease of doing business globally and inability to unleash the full potential of the pharma sector, Ms. Sitharaman says far a large country like India with so much diversity, the ranking does not capture the reality.

Day 1 | 12.15 p.m.

Session 2: ''Shooting the Messenger: Media Bashing in Today's Age''

.

N. Ravi, Director, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., in conversation with John Yearwood, executive board chairman, International Press Institute; Ravindra Kumar, Editor, The Statesman ; and Mahfuz Anam, Editor, The Daily Star.

On the question of trusting the media, Mr. Kumar says the press cannot be held responsible for the "sins" of TV and social media groups.

''Today you find news in the multiplicity of advertisements instead of vice-versa and the readers are getting tried of it'', says Mr. Anam.

 

On trust and social media

A newspaper comes to the reader much after online media has come. "With what do I go next morning, which is different from the day's news?" he asks, explaining how the role of print media has changed.  "The future of newspaper lies in the authenticity of its views," he adds.

On how to retain the credibility of traditional media in times of social media explosion, Mr. Yearwood says traditional media needs to reconnect with the core part of the job, that is reporting as accurately and fairly as possible. "I still think there is a market for that." 

Traditional media should stick to the basics and not be affected by social media. The way to deal with social media is to ignore it, says Mr. Kumar.

Day 1 | 11.45 a.m.

Ms. Padma Lakshmi to Karzai: ''How can we encourage girls' education in Afghanistan?''

 

''We tried to ensure women are part of administration, and we now have 27 per cent women representation in parliament, a number higher than many countries. We set up schools. But then the attack on schools began, and the number of girls in schools declined. We realised Afghan women must find their voice. Luckily, the traditional structure of Afghanistan had supported us. Extremism tried to keep us backward, but we have managed to make some progress," says Mr. Karzai.

 

 

Day 1 | 11.15 a.m.

The keynote address is followed by a Q&A with Mr. Karzai, where he stresses that India is a part of the solution in Afghanistan. "India is our greatest partner in our development and search for peace," he says.

 

"Nawaz Sharif wants peace with India and Afghanistan," says Mr. Karzai, "but the military does not want it. We are stuck as far as talks with Taliban are concerned. I have no desire to come back to power in Afghanistan.''

Day 1 | 11.00 a.m.

Mr. Karzai delivers the keynote address on 'A Strategic Arc for South-East Asia'

He makes a strong plea for peace in South Asia. "A strategic arc in Asia can have no basis other than cooperation and peace." "The faces of extremism in the region have been brought in by others who have their own gains in mind.''

Echoing Gandhi, he says, "Ahimsa was as old as the hills."

Day 1 | 10.45 a.m.

The Huddle begins

Inaugurating the event, Mr. Mukund Padmanabhan says, ''We take Oped and Edits seriously. We are a paper that engages with ideas. Let's listen, let's interact, let's huddle."

Ravichander, group president, Yes Bank, says,"The India story is becoming the global buzz word. We must answer what next. That is why Huddle is important."

 

Day 1 | 10.30 a.m.

 

 

Setting up the stage.

 

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