MADURAI
A project focussing on sustainable and holistic development of nine villages in Sivaganga district as a ‘smart village cluster’ will be taken up under an initiative to be launched in memory of Manikam Ramaswami, renowned industrialist and former Chief Managing Director of Loyal Textile Mills, his family announced here on Tuesday.
Speaking at a function organised in celebration of the life of Ramaswami, who passed away last October, Vishala Ramaswami, his daughter, said the initiative would focus on a variety of causes held dear by her late father.
This included inclusive growth, environmental sustainability, healthcare, skill training and employment for women, she said. The project would cover Thekkur, the ancestral village of Ramaswami, and eight nearby villages, covering a total population of 10,000.
Stating that the project would involve initiatives identified in consultation with the local population, she said that priority areas at the initial phase would be addressing water shortage, creating jobs for women, construction of public toilets and providing access to primary healthcare.
The initial phase would also include setting up of a Japanese language training lab to prepare people from young age for tremendous job potential in Japan, a sports programme and a technology training centre, Ms. Vishala said.
Lauding Ramaswami as an industrialist who was concerned about societal problems, Lakshmi Narayanan, former Vice-Chairman of Cognizant and a governing board member of Thiagarajar School of Management (TSM), said that the corporate social responsibility policy devised by him for Loyal Textile Mills was worth emulation by all corporates.
Pointing out that participation of women in jobs was witnessing a worrying decline in the country, he said it was appropriate that the proposed project focussed on creating employment for women, a cause felt passionately by Ramaswami.
In the first Manikam Ramaswami memorial lecture delivered at the function, R. Gopalakrishnan, author and a governing board member of TSM, stressed the need for younger generation to study and appreciate India’s long trading history, particularly by the mercantile communities like Chettiars and Marwaris.
Highliting that Ramaswami was deeply concerned about unequal growth in India where the top 1 % of the population held 58 % of total wealth, S. Aravind, a board member and Director - Projects at Aravind Eye Care System, said that it was the responsibility of the people on the top 1 % of the pyramid to ensure economic development of the underprivileged sections of society.
A number of friends and family members of Ramaswami recollected their memories of him. His bronze bust was unveiled at TSM by Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan.
