The fast pace of Indian economic development has caught the attention of the world. While the Indian economy averaged over 9 per cent growth last year, the eastern region also witnessed substantial economic growth. This has brought about much optimism and people in the region are looking ahead to faster growth & development. . At the same time, for this growth momentum to continue and be sustainable, it is imperative that every section of society & every part of the region is included and involved in this growth process. This orientation is most visibly manifested in the theme of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, which runs from 2007 to 2012. The theme is ‘towards faster and more inclusive growth,’ which clearly reflects the need to find a sustainable balance between growth and inclusion.
The Eastern Region, comprising of West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar, is witnessing a spurt of industrial activity and investments due to change in attitude of the States, abundant natural resources – minerals, metals and ores and availability of a vast pool of talented and skilled manpower.
With a host of investors continuing to sign MoUs with the state governments of Eastern India and planning to start operations in the eastern states, this region is poised for tremendous growth and development in the years to come. In order to provide a stable and holistic foundation to the nation a very critical factor is the people and it is important that growth and economic development are evenly distributed and comprise people from all walks of life and people from each strata of society.
After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s call to CII in 2006 to pro-actively adopt an Affirmative Action Agenda to obviate the need for legislation, CII set up the National Council on Affirmative Action. Awareness has been created in Industry about the importance of Affirmative Action to further social stability and cohesion, so necessary for business. A beginning has been made in many companies to embed Affirmative Action in their business strategy.
This newsletter showcases the best practices and initiatives taken by CII members from the eastern region on Affirmative Action.