Preparations for the Magnetic Maharashtra summit are on at BKC. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
Maharashtra’s upcoming global business summit will feature a soft component. While new industrial investments will be the summit’s mainstay, a social transformation initiative being planned has begun generating interest. With the who’s who of India Inc expected to participate in the Magnetic Maharashtra summit, the state’s tribal department has decided to tap the platform to bring in business houses to improve the condition of state-run tribal boarding schools and anganwadis in tribal pockets.
The three-day summit in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex will kick off on February 18. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will open the summit. Participating in an investment summit for the first time, the state’s tribal department has plans to roll out its Adopt a School programme and Adopt an Anganwadi programme during the event. Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Savara said: “We’ll set up an independent desk at the summit. Corporates will be encouraged to adopt government-owned tribal residential schools and anganwadis to fundamentally transform the lives of tribal students.” Savara said he would himself be present at the desk.
Nearly 2 lakh students belonging to tribal families study in 502 state-run residential facilities. Although the government spends over Rs 1,200 crore annually for running the schools and anganwadis, it has often come under criticism for the sorry state of infrastructure and amenities. The lack of good teachers has also invited a lot of flak.
According to Savara, the Adopt a School programme is aimed at bringing in the private sector through corporate social responsibility. The plan is to encourage top corporate houses to read reports, visit schools and then choose one of them. “An official from the company would be appointed as a special invitee to the school’s management committee. Along with the parents and the department’s project office, the corporate house can then undertake customised programmes for improving the infrastructure and facilities in these schools,” said a senior government official.
According to the official, the department has a Plan B for those not too keen to be a part of a school’s day-to-day functioning. “We would be encouraging them to sponsor an initiative for these schools,” an official said.
A similar plan has been drawn up for anganwadis that run supplementary nutrition schemes in tribal belts. “We want business houses to come forward to adopt anganwadis with a high proportion of malnourished children. They can partner the department to run interventions for improving children’s nutritional health,” the minister said. In a bid to empower the tribal youth, Savara said the plan is to encourage industrialists to skill and recruit tribal youths, besides marking tribal goods and services in the domestic or international market. The minister said that his department would also roll out a scheme encouraging investors to partner a tribal entrepreneur for business opportunities. Savara said the department’s desk will showcase tribal art and culture. “I have extended a personal invitation to the Prime Minister Modi, Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, (Union Home Minister) Rajnath Singh, (Union Road Transport Minister) Nitin Gadkari and the Chief Minister, among others, to visit our desk,” he said.
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