New Delhi:   The annual sustainability event organised by global think tank – Development Alternatives concluded today with policy makers and experts emphasising that equity, inclusion and governance is very important to achieve SDGs.  The three-day sustainability event, TARAgram Yatra (TGY) was organized from September 20 – 22, with thematic yatras and consultations in New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Telengana.

The theme for this year was “Policy Shifts for Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in India”. The event culminated with a Plenary held on 22nd September, 2016 at Development Alternatives Headquarters in New Delhi. The two sessions in the Plenary were on ‘Policy Transitions for SDG Implementation in India’ and ‘Priorities for India within the SDG Framework’, which brought together perspectives of investments required for India to meet its SDGs commitments.

Dr. Ashok Khosla, Chairman, Development Alternatives, said that “What is relevant for India is what is relevant for the poorest “.

The Plenary started with the inaugural session of Ms. Zeenat Niazi, Vice President, Development Alternatives. Other key Speakers in the Plenary were Dr. Rajesh Tandon, Founder-President, Participatory Research in Asia, Shri P.K. Anand, Senior Consultant (PEO), NITI Aayog, Shri Krishna Kumar, Deputy Director General, Central Statistical Office, Mr. Rajib Kumar Debnath, Independent Expert, Shri Mangesh Tyagi, Principal Advisor, MP State Planning Commission, Dr. Parth J Shah, President, Centre for Civil Society, Mr. Mukesh Gulati, ED, Foundation for MSME Clusters, Mr. Tushar Pandey, Senior President and Distinguished Fellow, Yes Bank, Mr. Rijit Sengupta, COO, Centre for Responsible Business, Mr. George C Varughese, President, Development Alternatives and Ms. Seema Arora, ED, CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development.

An overview of TGY-2016

The day 1 started with a trialogue discussion on the issue of “Economic Transitions as a means to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”. The day 2 spreaded its wings travelling to five different places/institutions for thematic Round Table Consultations on:

·         Food, Resources and Livelihoods

·         Sustainable Social Housing

·         Integrated Village Development

·         Climate Change and WASH

·   Drivers for Employment and Entrepreneurship Yatra on Resource efficiency for an urbanising India, Delhi/NCR

The day 3 concluded with the Plenary session.

Background- TARAgram Yatra:

TARAgram Yatra (TGY) is an annual event led by the global think tank – Development Alternatives in partnership with international thinking–learning organisations, designed to deliberate on issues of development with the mission of inspiring sustainability in policy and practice. The Yatra – a journey of knowledge and learning to attain higher goals – brings together top-level practitioners and policy makers from across the world. Such an approach offers the potential to identify and build upon spaces of hope for transformation.

 

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