COULD RURAL SELF ENTERPRISES BRING BACK THE VERVE IN INDIA’S ECONOMY?: In the rural sector, rising unemployment is complicated by deeply entrenched caste hierarchies though over the last seven decades there have been changes. Entrepreneurship is the marshalling of resources to build something innovative – incremental or paradigm-shifting. In rural India, entrepreneurship is usually tougher due to the lack of a supportive ecosystem of resources and mindsets. How can we bring about a systemic change to make rural India atmanirbhar?

Speakers - Madan Padaki, Co-Founder, GAME

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ARE WE ERODING OUR WEALTH BY NOT MANAGING WASTE?: There is no denying that the launch of Swachch Bharat Abhiyan provided the right impetus for waste management India has improved its sanitation coverage, but even today urban India generates 62 million tonnes of waste (MSW) annually, that is not properly segregated, treated or managed. On top of it, there is mounting medical waste thanks to thousands of PPEs and masks being dumped without treatment in the wake of the pandemic. There are several solutions that have been effectively adopted and we have many success stories. Why then are these not scaled to reach optimal results.

Speakers - Bharati Chaturvedi, Founder, Chintan

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WHEN WATER FLOWS LIKE MONEY: For millions of people in the arid zones of India, clean drinking water is a luxury. What if instead of spending 3 hours trekking every day in search of clean drinking water, they could rely on a Water ATM set up close to a village or an urban shanty? The good news is that more than 36 districts in India already have access to about 450 Water ATMs. But hold your breath: there are as many 640,000 villages in India. There is a very looooooong way to go. How do water ATMs work? How much do they cost? Can villagers really pay -- and are they willing? Can this path-breaking idea really work on a large scale? We speak to some who sell water like it was cash.

Speakers: Akshat Shukla , National head Sarvajal 

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WHEN HOME IS A HURDLE: Work-from-home may be a useful, fashionable idea for knowledge workers and executives curtailed by the Coronavirus. But remote working is a setback for people with disabilities, especially the deaf, who had found opportunities in mainstream jobs before the virus hit their upswing. They are suddenly finding themselves ill-equipped to deal with the new normal. What some organizations are doing to help them overcome the handicap may be music to the ears of the deaf -- or socially concerned citizens. What's more, innovative thinking can also help normal folks. We focus on some interesting innovations that help the disabled overcome their new challenge.

Speaker: Shanti Raghavan, Co-Founder, Enable India

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ARE OUR FARMERS IN TRUE FORM? India's government has recently opened up agricultural markets to help farmers get better prices. But is the market good enough for them to gain from this? What are the missing bottlenecks and linkages so that they get the fair price they deserve? We speak to rural management experts to get a reality check so we know what it takes to make atmanirbhar more than a catchy phrase for self-reliance for those who grow our food.

Speaker - Dr Shambhu Prasad, expert on agri management and faculty at the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA). Mayank Gandhi,co founder DeHaat

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HAS THE PANDEMIC BENT GENDER GAINS?: Even in normal conditions, India’s gender balance was always in question. The pandemic has severely impacted it further. The government initiatives are not very proactive, and increased work burden, significant rise in incidences of domestic violence and lack of support systems, due to the lockdown and the continuing pandemic situation could leave any long term pernicious effect on women’s empowerment, especially for those who work in the rural and urban unorganized sectors. Are critical interventions with men and boys needs to bring about more gender equity in society?

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It sounds cool when we talk of words like upskilling for executives, engineers or BPO workers. But learning new skills is not easy for daily wage earners, for whom life is a struggle. Can the game of advanced capitalism play out at the bottom of the social pyramid? Fortunately for some help is at hand from voluntary agencies who try to make migrant workers and others living on the edge to find ways to stay and grow in their lives.

Speakers - Rajiv Khandelwal, Co-Founder, Aajeevika Bureau. B. Ganesh, Founder, Skill Train

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TOUCHING THE LIVES OF THE NEW UNTOUCHABLES: While we worry about the few lakh COVID patients in India, more than 20 lakh Indians suffered from tuberculosis last year alone and more than a lakh from leprosy? People suffering from pre-existing conditions and other infectious diseases are at higher risk when a pandemic like Covid 19 hits the country. How can we give them prolonged, meaningful care? Who pays for them?

Speakers: Mary Varghese, Executive Director, The Leprosy Mission Trust, Madhur Singh, Managing Editor, India Spend

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