Manipal should emerge as the pioneer in getting solutions to all the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) by 2030, according to Harish Hande, Founder and Chairman of Selco-Solar Light Pvt Ltd. Speaking at the 39th TA Pai Memorial Lecture, organised by TA Pai Management Institute at Manipal, he said 2030 is the end goal of 17 UN SDGs.
Stating that every country has signed up SDGs agreeing to meet those goals by 2030, he said most of the countries are behind in it. India should have solutions for all SDGs, and Manipal should be the pioneer in getting those solutions out. This will be a true tribute to late TA Pai, he added.
Accessible healthcare
Highlighting some of the SDGs, he said SDG-3 is about accessible health to everybody, and SDG-7 is about sustainability. No other place in this country can actually mix sustainability and health other than Manipal. With TAPMI as the glue, mixing the health infrastructure in Manipal and sustainable energy initiatives, he stressed the need to focus on the democratisation of the delivery of health to every individual in remote parts of the country such as Manipur or Brahmaputra. Those examples then can be transferred to other parts of the globe such as Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and in Indonesia also, he said.
Today, India has about 200 million poor people, and the world has four billion. “The solutions that we do in Manipur are valid for Tanzania. The solutions that we do for Gujarat are valid for the Philippines, the solutions that we do in central Maharashtra are good for Ethiopia. We don’t have to look at the US or Europe,” he said.
India has to become that centre of knowledge where every kid in Brazil, Tanzania, Sierra Leone or Indonesia should come to India to find solutions for his/her country, he said Referring to Bharatiya Vikas Trust (a non-governmental organisation founded by TA Pai in Manipal working in the area of rural development), he said the Trust should be an international place of knowledge sharing and solutions for the five four billion people who are poor in the world. He urged the gathering to make Manipal the capital of solutions by 2030.