Book Discussion - Anchoring Change: 75 Years of Grassroots Interventions That Made a Difference

The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) is delighted to invite you to the Book Launch of Anchoring Change: Seventy-Five Years of Grassroots Interventions That Made a Difference on Tuesday, 15th November | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM IST. The book has been edited by Vikram Singh Mehta, Neelima Khetan and Jayapadma RV.

The book will be launched by the Hon’ble Dr Karan Singh. Mr Mehta will also be discussing the book with a stellar panel comprising of Naina Lal Kidwai, Renana Jhabvala and Vijay Mahajan.

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regis...

About the event:
All too often, the focus of conversation in India is on our failure as a socio-economic polity. We despair about our inability to realise our full potential as a country: we find fault with our political system, the leadership, the state of our institutions, the economic model and much else. What we do not do is reflect on the micro successes and the many examples of hugely impactful interventions that have shifted the needle of society in positive directions. We do not ask the questions: what were the ingredients of these successes? Are they scalable? Are there learnings from these that could be applicable elsewhere in India, and might these learnings provide the guts for a new developmental model?

Anchoring Change attempts to answer these and several other such questions, through accounts of organisations from across India, spanning the seventy-five years since independence. The idea is to revisit these examples of civic action and explore their relevance for the future of India.

Chair:

Hon’ble Dr Karan Singh
Hon'ble Dr Karan Singh was born heir apparent (Yuvaraj) to Maharaja Hari Singh and Maharani Tara Devi of Jammu and Kashmir. He was head of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir as Regent, as elected Sadar-I-Riyasat and lastly as Governor. In 1967, Dr Singh was inducted as a member of the Union Cabinet. He was elected thereafter to the Lok Sabha from the Udhampur Parliamentary Constituency in Jammu and Kashmir on behalf of the Indian National Congress. He was a four-time member of the Rajya Sabha from Delhi and Chairman of its Ethics Committee. Dr Karan Singh was for many years Chancellor of the Jammu and Kashmir University, the Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Banaras Hindu University among others.

Speakers:

Vijay Mahajan
Vijay Mahajan is the CEO of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. He was co-founder and former CEO of Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) from 1982-87, an NGO which has promoted the livelihoods of over two million poor households. In 1996, he co-founded and was the CEO (1996-2016), of the Basix Social Enterprise Group which has supported over five million poor households through microfinance and livelihood promotion services. In 1999, he co-founded Sa-Dhan with Ela Bhatt; and in 2009, the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) with other MFI leaders.

Naina Lal Kidwai
Naina Lal Kidwai is Chairman Rothschild India and Senior Advisor Advent Private Equity, and a non-executive Director on the boards of Global and Indian companies and Past President of FICCI. She retired as Executive Director on the board of HSBC Asia Pacific and Chairman HSBC India. An MBA from Harvard Business School, she is the recipient of several international and Indian awards and honours including the Padma Shri for her contribution to Trade and Industry.

Renana Jhabvala
Renana Jhabvala is best known for her 40 year long association with the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and for her writings on women in the informal economy. SEWA, which has a membership of over 2 million women, is India’s largest non-profit organisation and the largest organisation of informal workers in the world. Jhabvala has served a five-year term as the Chancellor of Gandhigram Rural University, Tamil Nadu (2012-17). In 1990, she was awarded a Padma Shri from the Government of India for her contributions in the field of social work.

Moderator:

Vikram Singh Mehta
Vikram Singh Mehta is Chairman and Distinguished Fellow at CSEP. He was the Executive Chairman of Brookings India and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution from 2012 to 2020. Vikram is an independent, non-executive, director of Larsen and Toubro Ltd, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, Colgate Palmolive India Ltd, Apollo Tyres, Hindustan Times and Jubilant Foods. He is also on the Board of Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company, among others. Vikram was the recipient of Asia House’s “Businessmen of the Year” award for 2010. He also received the Asia Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability’s Award for “Best Independent Director” in India for 2016.

All content reflects the individual views of the speakers. The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) does not hold an institutional view on any subject.