Sri lankan MP Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam has expressed concern over the problem of growing corruption in South Asian countries. Speaking at the start of the first Uttarakhand-America Entrepreneurship Exchange Summit at the World Integrity Centre (WIC) here, he spoke about how politicians are trying to become corporate and thus disturbing the balance.
Uttarakhand Forest Minister Dinesh Aggarwal said that the State is suffering from the effects of disaster and trying to execute redevelopment and rehabilitation of the affected. The present government has a vision and is working towards development of infrastructure. The State has envisioned connecting tourism and forests while also focusing on empowering the youth and giving them a strong foundation to build on, he averred.
The Uttarakhand chief secretary N Ravishankar said that entrepreneurship in Uttarakhand is monitored by 5 Ms - Men, Material, Money, Management and Mountains. He said that entrepreneurship in Uttarakhand is personified by farmers and that the government helps them by offering various livelihood support programmes.
The first session on framework of economic development and entrepreneurship in State, District and City had the Sri lankan MP, Fulton County Government head of Economic Development Ken Dobson, CEcD MD Dr Eloisa Klementich, chief secretary N Ravishankar and Rakesh Dhawan from SARA SAE as the main speakers. This was followed by a session on politics and public policy related to development with presentations by advisor to Ohio Governor, Scott Blake, City Counselor Atlanta, Kwanza Hall, Uttarakhand Forest minister Dinesh Aggarwal and MlA Harbans Kapoor.
Dobson said that young entrepreneurs face a problem of resources and thus the government should reduce the cost of doing business. It is important to make systems investment friendly and every business needs a pipeline, he said.
It should be mentioned here that the two-day workshop, interaction, sharing and brainstorming session is aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship, economic development and social enterprise in Uttarakhand and explore collaborative linkages between Uttarakhand and important centers of economic growth in the United States of America.