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Member Secretary of PM's Economic Advisory Council calls for fiscal restructuring, reforms in agriculture marketing and labor-intensive manufacturing at National Workshop on Macro Policy Environment, IPRs and Competition Policy; hopes young researchers will inject their own perspectives into global debate
Dr. Alok Sheel, Member Secretary of PM's Economic Advisory Council, addresses delegates at the National Workshop on Macro Policy Environment, IPRs and Competition Policy, at IIM Bangalore on February 18, 2014.
"When the entire world is outsourcing to Bengaluru, we must not outsource our own thinking to Western universities, think tanks and international institutions whose governance structure continues to reflect the political economy of an age that is gone," declared Dr. Alok Sheel, Member Secretary of the PM's Economic Advisory Council after inaugurating the National Workshop on Macro Policy Environment, IPRs and Competition Policy at IIM Bangalore on February 18 (Tuesday).
Addressing young researchers, students from Bengaluru's premier colleges as well as experts in the Economics and Social Sciences (ESS) Area at IIMB, he called upon emerging markets to step up to the plate by injecting their own perspectives into the global debate.
"The global economy is not out of the woods; it is on extraordinary life support but even with such support with the notable exceptions of Germany and the United States, other advanced countries are struggling with the aftermath of the Great Recession," he said, explaining that in India, the challenges were different.
"I am optimistic about India. In a demand-constrained world, India has the luxury of grappling with supply side problems. Our supply side crisis is of our own making, so the solutions should be within our control. This will not be easy. Like the celebrated poet T S Eliot said, 'Between the idea and the reality, falls the shadow'. This calls for tremendous political will. In India, we should leverage our 3 'brahmastras' (critical levers or arrows) - agriculture that targets the inflation problem, labor-intensive manufacturing that targets current account deficit and fiscal restructuring that targets the infrastructure deficit. We should fire these 3 arrows from the crossbow of good governance."
Stating that financial depression may not remain a peculiarly emerging market phenomenon, Dr. Alok Sheel reiterated that emerging markets were now better placed to inject their own perspectives into the global debate at forums like the G20.
"The world is slowly recovering from one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression. In its wake both economists and policy makers are in a state of self-doubt about the state of global recovery, and also about what still works and what does not. That is why such a workshop is timely and relevant," he observed.
Focusing on three themes in his inaugural address, the 1982 Kerala cadre IAS officer who read Economic History at JNU discussed at length the state of macro-economic theory and practice, the current macro-economic environment, and the domestic macro-economic scenario.
Quoting from personalities as diverse as Alan Greenspan and T S Eliot, he reiterated the changing nexus between economic debt and growth. "Ironically, shadow banking, that was the source of instability and financial panic, is back on its feet while central banks struggle to adjust to tighter regulations. And with its framework broken, monetary policy is driving up asset prices rather than driving recovery. The economic landscape is changing on account of globalization, financialization and rapid ageing of societies. We need a new growth and policy paradigm from policy makers and economists."
He declared that on a philosophical plane, both finance and economics need to stop pretending to be natural sciences. "They are human sciences," he said, suggesting that economic policy, financial models and even regulatory practices need to take note of their impact on human behavior and adjust accordingly.
(L-R) Dr. Alok Sheel, Member Secretary of PM's Economic Advisory Council, takes questions from students and delegates at the National Workshop on Macro Policy Environment, IPRs and Competition Policy on Feb 18, 2014 as Dr. Devanath Tirupati, Director Incharge, IIMB, and Dr. A. Damodaran, MHRD Chair on IPRs at IIMB, look on.
Welcoming delegates to the first ever workshop of its kind on Macro Economic Policy and IPR, Professor A. Damodaran, MHRD Chair on IPRs at IIMB, said: "One of the main aims of the workshop is to show that IPR is a positive, social safety net idea rather than a protectionist, monopolistic one. I hope by the end of the workshop we will be talking integration instead of silo-based thinking."
Earlier in the day, Dr. Devanath Tirupati, Director Incharge, IIMB, welcomed the delegates to the daylong workshop. "We do not lack in this country for innovation. However, we need to create an environment that nurtures innovation. We need policy initiatives and this is where a workshop such as this is useful." Opining that debates on reforms are usually based on ideology and emotion, Dr. Devanath Tirupati said: "Very rarely are such debates based on facts and rigorous research. The participation of young researchers - our doctoral students - at this workshop is therefore heartening."
Earlier Dr. Alok Sheel remarked, "I am delighted and happy to be here at IIMB. Delighted because I get to interact with the movers and shakers of tomorrow and I see many young faces here; and happy because IIMB is one of the finest institutions that nurtures innovative thinking. I understand that a recent Stanford study has ranked IIMB the best among Indian colleges, universities and institutes in research in business and management. My congratulations to the institute."
Over three sessions, each lasting 2 hours, the workshop discussed Macro Policy Environment in India and New Technology Development, IPR Issues and Competition Policy: The limits of compatibility, and New and Innovative Technology Development and its role in solving key development and sustainability concerns.
Delegates and panelists included Prof. A. Damodaran, Prof. Charan Singh, Prof. Gopal Naik, Prof. Chetan Subramanian, Prof. Subhashish Gupta, and Prof. Manaswini Bhalla from IIM Bangalore; Prof. B. S. Sahai, Director, IIM Raipur, Prof. Prafulla Agnihotri, Director, IIM Trichy, Prof. Murali Agastya, University of Sydney, Australia, Prof. Ulf Petrusson, Gothenburg University, Sweden, Prof. Subhashis Gangopaghyay of IDF, Gugoan and SNU, Dadri, Mr. Anil Sinha, Head, SME Division, WIPO, Geneva and Mr Kshitij Urs of Action Aid India.
The Young Researchers Colloquium that discussed New Technology Development and Key Development Policy Issues was moderated by Professor Manaswini Bhalla of IIM Bangalore. Presentations were made by IIMB's FPM scholars in the ESS Area. Radhika Joshi spoke on 'Innovation and Social Returns to Education in India', T S Krishnan made his presentation on 'Design and Analysis of Public Policies to Manage E-Wastes', Vipul Mathur on 'Monetary Policies in Emerging Economies: Understanding Asset Markets and Financial Inclusion', and Dinesh Masta presented a paper on 'Slum rehabilitation as Social Safety Nets'. Prof. Gopal Naik, Prof. Subhashis Gangopadhyay, Prof. Murali Agastya and Mr. Kshitij Urs made their observations on the papers.
Click here for Session 1
Click here for Session 2
Click here for Session 3
Click here for Young Researchers' Colloquium
Member Secretary of PM's Economic Advisory Council calls for fiscal restructuring, reforms in agriculture marketing and labor-intensive manufacturing at National Workshop on Macro Policy Environment, IPRs and Competition Policy; hopes young researchers will inject their own perspectives into global debate
Dr. Alok Sheel, Member Secretary of PM's Economic Advisory Council, addresses delegates at the National Workshop on Macro Policy Environment, IPRs and Competition Policy, at IIM Bangalore on February 18, 2014.
"When the entire world is outsourcing to Bengaluru, we must not outsource our own thinking to Western universities, think tanks and international institutions whose governance structure continues to reflect the political economy of an age that is gone," declared Dr. Alok Sheel, Member Secretary of the PM's Economic Advisory Council after inaugurating the National Workshop on Macro Policy Environment, IPRs and Competition Policy at IIM Bangalore on February 18 (Tuesday).
Addressing young researchers, students from Bengaluru's premier colleges as well as experts in the Economics and Social Sciences (ESS) Area at IIMB, he called upon emerging markets to step up to the plate by injecting their own perspectives into the global debate.
"The global economy is not out of the woods; it is on extraordinary life support but even with such support with the notable exceptions of Germany and the United States, other advanced countries are struggling with the aftermath of the Great Recession," he said, explaining that in India, the challenges were different.
"I am optimistic about India. In a demand-constrained world, India has the luxury of grappling with supply side problems. Our supply side crisis is of our own making, so the solutions should be within our control. This will not be easy. Like the celebrated poet T S Eliot said, 'Between the idea and the reality, falls the shadow'. This calls for tremendous political will. In India, we should leverage our 3 'brahmastras' (critical levers or arrows) - agriculture that targets the inflation problem, labor-intensive manufacturing that targets current account deficit and fiscal restructuring that targets the infrastructure deficit. We should fire these 3 arrows from the crossbow of good governance."
Stating that financial depression may not remain a peculiarly emerging market phenomenon, Dr. Alok Sheel reiterated that emerging markets were now better placed to inject their own perspectives into the global debate at forums like the G20.
"The world is slowly recovering from one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression. In its wake both economists and policy makers are in a state of self-doubt about the state of global recovery, and also about what still works and what does not. That is why such a workshop is timely and relevant," he observed.
Focusing on three themes in his inaugural address, the 1982 Kerala cadre IAS officer who read Economic History at JNU discussed at length the state of macro-economic theory and practice, the current macro-economic environment, and the domestic macro-economic scenario.
Quoting from personalities as diverse as Alan Greenspan and T S Eliot, he reiterated the changing nexus between economic debt and growth. "Ironically, shadow banking, that was the source of instability and financial panic, is back on its feet while central banks struggle to adjust to tighter regulations. And with its framework broken, monetary policy is driving up asset prices rather than driving recovery. The economic landscape is changing on account of globalization, financialization and rapid ageing of societies. We need a new growth and policy paradigm from policy makers and economists."
He declared that on a philosophical plane, both finance and economics need to stop pretending to be natural sciences. "They are human sciences," he said, suggesting that economic policy, financial models and even regulatory practices need to take note of their impact on human behavior and adjust accordingly.
(L-R) Dr. Alok Sheel, Member Secretary of PM's Economic Advisory Council, takes questions from students and delegates at the National Workshop on Macro Policy Environment, IPRs and Competition Policy on Feb 18, 2014 as Dr. Devanath Tirupati, Director Incharge, IIMB, and Dr. A. Damodaran, MHRD Chair on IPRs at IIMB, look on.
Welcoming delegates to the first ever workshop of its kind on Macro Economic Policy and IPR, Professor A. Damodaran, MHRD Chair on IPRs at IIMB, said: "One of the main aims of the workshop is to show that IPR is a positive, social safety net idea rather than a protectionist, monopolistic one. I hope by the end of the workshop we will be talking integration instead of silo-based thinking."
Earlier in the day, Dr. Devanath Tirupati, Director Incharge, IIMB, welcomed the delegates to the daylong workshop. "We do not lack in this country for innovation. However, we need to create an environment that nurtures innovation. We need policy initiatives and this is where a workshop such as this is useful." Opining that debates on reforms are usually based on ideology and emotion, Dr. Devanath Tirupati said: "Very rarely are such debates based on facts and rigorous research. The participation of young researchers - our doctoral students - at this workshop is therefore heartening."
Earlier Dr. Alok Sheel remarked, "I am delighted and happy to be here at IIMB. Delighted because I get to interact with the movers and shakers of tomorrow and I see many young faces here; and happy because IIMB is one of the finest institutions that nurtures innovative thinking. I understand that a recent Stanford study has ranked IIMB the best among Indian colleges, universities and institutes in research in business and management. My congratulations to the institute."
Over three sessions, each lasting 2 hours, the workshop discussed Macro Policy Environment in India and New Technology Development, IPR Issues and Competition Policy: The limits of compatibility, and New and Innovative Technology Development and its role in solving key development and sustainability concerns.
Delegates and panelists included Prof. A. Damodaran, Prof. Charan Singh, Prof. Gopal Naik, Prof. Chetan Subramanian, Prof. Subhashish Gupta, and Prof. Manaswini Bhalla from IIM Bangalore; Prof. B. S. Sahai, Director, IIM Raipur, Prof. Prafulla Agnihotri, Director, IIM Trichy, Prof. Murali Agastya, University of Sydney, Australia, Prof. Ulf Petrusson, Gothenburg University, Sweden, Prof. Subhashis Gangopaghyay of IDF, Gugoan and SNU, Dadri, Mr. Anil Sinha, Head, SME Division, WIPO, Geneva and Mr Kshitij Urs of Action Aid India.
The Young Researchers Colloquium that discussed New Technology Development and Key Development Policy Issues was moderated by Professor Manaswini Bhalla of IIM Bangalore. Presentations were made by IIMB's FPM scholars in the ESS Area. Radhika Joshi spoke on 'Innovation and Social Returns to Education in India', T S Krishnan made his presentation on 'Design and Analysis of Public Policies to Manage E-Wastes', Vipul Mathur on 'Monetary Policies in Emerging Economies: Understanding Asset Markets and Financial Inclusion', and Dinesh Masta presented a paper on 'Slum rehabilitation as Social Safety Nets'. Prof. Gopal Naik, Prof. Subhashis Gangopadhyay, Prof. Murali Agastya and Mr. Kshitij Urs made their observations on the papers.