Centre for Sustainability
October 18, 2023 2023-10-18 6:37Centre for Sustainability
Jindal Journal of Public Policy
Centre for Sustainability
Motivation
Sustainability of human existence on the planet has been recurrently emerging as a serious concern. The Brundtland Commission in 1987 called for efforts to push towards a path of sustainable development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” and lead us to our quest for common future. It took almost three decades to generate the necessary political will to embrace the spirit of sustainable development as a future roadmap for moving ahead. Agenda 2030, often synonymously referred to as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was adopted in 2015 to ensure that no one is left behind. 17 sucg goals have been identified with their associated targets (169, to be precise) and 230 indicators to monitor the progress of our journey towards a sustainable world that may turn inhospitable in a few centuries if not consciously protected.
The road to sustainable development requires a delicate balancing act between people and planet that would facilitate prosperity to all living creatures and bring about peace across the globe. The delicate balance in the face of apparent conflict among the actors is proposed to thrive in a spirit of partnership. Thus, evolved the centrality of 5 P’s – people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership – in charting a path towards sustainable development.
Being a part of a global university that aspires to achieve the highest standard of academic credentials, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (JSGP) considers foray into “sustainability” a fait accompli. Governance of sustainability and the implications of SDGs in designing effective public policy interventions cannot be over emphasized. The Centre for Sustainability housed within JSGP is thus a timely effort by the School to contribute meaningfully to the challenges of achieving Agenda 2030. Being a research-led School, it will engage its students in both academic and action research to understand and disseminate the possible pathways to sustainable development that capture the pluralities in approaches to achieving the goals, rather than looking for a one size fits all solutions.
The interrelationships among the 5 Ps are not straight forward and simple. Rather, they are complex. The linkages vary over space and time and are often highly localized. However, localized aspirations to achieve the SDGs may also breed conflicts at broader levels. Research in sustainable development cannot afford to miss this apparent tension between local and global. Hence the emphasis on fostering enduring partnership among people, on the one hand, and between planet and the people, on the other. The Centre would effectively engage in understanding and documenting such relationships and will partner with other research outfits across the globe in identifying the common threads of ideas to create a global perspective on sustainable development.
Three fundamental concerns are being seriously raised today. They are:
- Global warming and climate change
- Threat of increasing incidence of zoonotic diseases and
- Increasing inequality with economic, racial, religious and gendered ramifications
The Centre would, initially, focus on these concerns.
It would be governed as a student-led initiative, with a member of the faculty from the School serving as a mentor. Given that sustainability involves focus on 5 Ps, the members of the Centre will divide themselves into five teams, each concentrating on one of the P’s. Thus, there will be a group to look into the sustainability of people, while another group will consider the issues related to the sustainability of the planet. Groups on peace, prosperity and partnership are also being formed. Needless to add, there would be constant interactions among the groups to understand the complex interactions among these 5 P’s.
Further, students pursuing different programmes in public policy, economics and social science are being exposed to the issues of sustainability through internship engagements with different organizations located in India and abroad. They would be roped in as Associate Members of the Centre to contribute to the ongoing activities of the Centre.
- International Dialogue on “Paradigmatic Shift from ‘Extracting’ to ‘Intersecting’:
2030 Agenda through the Lens of Covid-19 Pandemic” on 28th and 29th July 2021 - Speakers’ Profile for the International Dialogue on “Paradigmatic Shift from ‘Extracting’ to ‘Intersecting’: 2030 Agenda through the Lens of Covid-19 Pandemic”
Prof. (Dr.) Milindo Chakrabarti
Director, Centre for Sustainability
Professor & Associate Dean, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. (University of North Bengal)
Prof. (Dr.) Milindo Chakrabarti has distinguished experience of over 34 years as a Professor of Micro-economics, International Trade & Business, Environmental Economics, Indian Economics and Development Economics, nationally and internationally. Along with his long standing career in teaching, Dr. Chakrabarti holds Research Experience of 34 years and has written and published numerous research paper, articles and books from India and abroad. He has also delivered lectures at Indiana University, Bloomington, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Gandhi Nagar.
Dr. Chakrabarti has extensive experience in policy development and practice, and wide knowledge and experience working in different sectors such as: natural resources, social sectors, rural development, key cross-cutting issues, environment, governance and institutional development. Dr. Chakrabarti regularly travels throughout India on various academic and research assignments, and has travelled across many countries on academic assignments, for instance Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Kenya, USA, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Portugal Egypt and Turkey. He has also been consultant to different ministries of Govt. of India, the Planning Commission, the World Bank UNDP, IFAD, the British Council. In his list of professional affiliations, he has also been a Member of Western Economic Association International, USA, Executive Director in Development Evaluation Society of India (DESI) and also Member, Network of Network on Impact Evaluation (NONIE)
Akshay Kannan
Founding Member
Akshay Kannan is a TRIP Fellow and Academic Tutor at Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (JSGP). He completed his M.A. in Public Policy from JSGP in 2020 and B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from Kerala University in 2014. Before joining JSGP, he worked for 18 months as a Test Engineer at IBS Software, Kerala. During his tenure at JSGP, he had worked with organisations such as Mahindra Group of Industries (Policy Department), Centre for Development Studies, Centre for Land and Warfare Studies, RTE Forum and Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation. Akshay is currently involved in a research aimed at further exploring the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index in an Indian context. His principal research interests include Development Economics with a focus on human development and poverty, Governance and service delivery, and Impact Evaluation.
Akshay Singh
Founding Member
After having completed his bachelor’s in English Literature from the University of Delhi, it was Akshay’s association with the Ministry of Agriculture as a policy researcher which galvanised his academic interest towards public policy. Akshay built on his learnings through the master’s programme in Public Policy from O.P Jindal Global University. The course helped him appreciate the interconnected nature of public policies which makes the discipline challenging yet fascinating. Currently Akshay is a Teaching for Research and Intellectual (TRIP) Fellow & Academic Tutor in the Jindal School of Government and Policy. As a TRIP fellow, Akshay is keen to leverage his skill set by undertaking interdisciplinary research to contribute towards the development and policy discourse in the country. His interests lie in examining the delivery of services through the lens of program design and evaluation.
Kavya Gupta
Founding Member
I graduated with a Master’s in Public Policy from the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, OP Jindal Global University in the August of 2020. I joined the school two months later as a research fellow and an academic tutor. I am very interested in the matters of democratic reforms, particularly the deepening of citizen’s political agency through participation and deliberative reasoning. I am especially keen to study such deepening of democracy in the context of tribal communities and their rights, especially how their knowledge systems which contribute to the very effective conservation of biodiversity, can be brought more political visibility by enhancing the space for their participation in political decision making and public policy. At the center, I will be pursuing and examining the goal of SDG 15 (Life on Land), which actively prioritizes the preservation of the planet’ biodiversity.
E Lokesh Kumar
Founding Member
Lokesh graduated in M.A. in Public Policy in the year 2019. After graduation, he worked as a research assistant in a Department of Science and Technology funded project titled ” Population vulnerabilities, household’s barriers to access health services, health system response, resource tracking and resource gap analysis for vector-borne diseases in urban areas (PARTHIV)” under Dr Indranil Mukhopadhyay and Dr Pradeep Guin of Jindal School of Government and Public Policy.
Meenuka Mathew
Founding Member
Meenuka Mathew is a (TRIP) Fellow & Academic Tutor at JSGP. She has a bachelor’s degree in Humanities from Aquinas University, Colombo and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from O.P. Jindal Global University. Her research focus is on Refugee Economies, Labour, livelihoods, and Public Health.
She has worked and travelled extensively in Asia as a Regional Coordinator for International Non-Governmental organizations based in the Philippines, France, and Uganda. Additionally, she worked in programme design, monitoring of Sri Lanka’s post-tsunami rehabilitation programmes.
She co-founded Policy Talks.
She is currently conducting primary research on Kerala’s Gulf Migrant workers and returnees.
Shriya Singh
Founding Member & Convener
Shriya is a recent postgraduate in Public Policy from Jindal School of Government and Policy, O.P Jindal University, with a Bachelor’s in History (Hons) from Miranda House and Master’s in History (Lady Shriram College) , Delhi University. She has been actively associated with IHRC in tribal district Saraikela-Kharsawan district in Jharkhand, grievances committee for problems associated with education, health, sanitation and women empowerment. Her journey as policy student and activist has inspired her to explore multi-faceted domains, under the guidance of organizations like Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Sruti- Society of Urban Rural and Tribal Initiatives a Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, and RIS New Delhi. She wishes to pursue her PhD in “History and Public Policy” and design courses for students to explore Historical evaluation of Public Policy In India.
Tenzin Ngawang
Founding Member
Tenzin Ngawang is a TRIP(Teaching Research and Intellectual Pursuits) fellow 2020-22 at O.P. Jindal Global University. He did his schooling from Darjeeling. For Bachelor’s he pursued a course in Zoology(H) from Hans Raj College, Delhi University (D.U). He graduated in 2016. After which he did his master’s in public policy from O.P. Jindal Global University, graduating with the batch of 2018. He has done an internship at Tibet Policy Institute analyzing education policy among Tibetans. He has also been involved in voluntary teaching for a period of one month at a school in Darjeeling.
Vivekanand Jha
Founding Member & Co- Convener
Vivekanand Jha is a Teaching & Research for Intellectual Pursuit(TRIP) fellow & Academic Tutor at Jindal School of Government & Public Policy(JSGP), and Assistant Editor for Jindal Journal of Public Policy. He received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Loyola College, Chennai and master’s degree in Public Policy from Jindal School of Government and Public Policy of O.P Jindal Global University.
Before Joining JSGP as a TRIP Fellow and Assistant Editor, he worked as a Project & Research Associate with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. At IIT-Madras, he worked on a project to understand the Innovation in Primary Health Care in India and assessed the newly created Health and Wellness Centres by the Government of India and prepared a detailed report titled “ Review of PHC Innovation in India: With a specific focus on Haryana”
During his studies at JSGP, he worked on different projects with senior and highly qualified professors on various topics and areas.
He completed his dissertation on Inequities in access to Antenatal care coverage in India” as a fulfilment of the degree of M.A Public Policy. He also interned with National and International organizations such as the Indian Institute of Public Administration, Madras Institute of Development Studies, and the Australian Council for Educational Research. He also has publications in an academic and international journal.
He closely worked with the State and district Health officials of the Government of Tamil Nadu and Haryana. He is interested in the study of Health Policy& System, Healthcare financing, Rural & Urban Governance, Strategic and geopolitical analysis, and Fourth Industrial Revolution and SDGs 2030.