‘Zero poverty’ can be achieved: Yunus

Zero poverty can be achieved by activating citizens and execution of proper policy, opined Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus while delivering 16th Lecturer of Odisha Knowledge Hub (OKH) at the Secretariat on Friday.

“Removing poverty needs activating the citizens.

This cannot be done only through Government money. It can be achieved through appropriate policy, institutions and strong willingness,” Yunus said.

He said ‘zero poverty’, zero unemployment and zero carbon emission (A World of Three Zeros) are not academic concepts rather they are jobs, which can be realised through joint action.

Prof Yunus said the micro credit system through the models of ‘social banking’ adopted by Grameen Bank of Bangladesh has proved successful and lakhs of families benefited. He emphasized that the similar banking model has also been successfully tried in different western countries. He expressed the confidence that the same model can be replicated in India and elsewhere for removing the poverty.

He added that every individual has the qualities of entrepreneurship and it through opening their access to credit that his/her productivity can be enhanced.

Yunus noted that Odisha has taken the lead in ‘knowledge sharing’ about good governance through the institution of the OKH and the model should be followed by other States.

Finance and Excise Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera presented OKH memento to Yunus in commemoration of his visit to the State.  Yunus too presented his book “A World of Three Zeros” to the Minister and Chief Secretary AP Padhi.