A two-day National Seminar on “Mapping the Social and Environmental Concerns for Sustainable Economic Development” has beenoragnised by University School of Financial Studies of Guru Nanak Dev University in collaboration with Punjab Pollution Control Board, Patiala. Dr. Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Vice Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, presided over the inaugural session. Dr. Adarsh Pal Vig, Chairman Punjab Pollution Control Board, Patiala was the Guest of Honour and Dr. Manjit Singh, Registrar Jagat Guru Nanak Dev Punjab State Open University was the Keynote speaker.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Manjit Singh, highlighted that growing population has led to over utilisation of resources and thus research and knowledge creation on sustainability is of vital importance. He pointed that seminar like thisis an opportunity to rebuild the value system by imbibing sustainable practices in our daily lives.
He gave a detailed account of the changes being incorporated by the Indian corporate sector to holistically adapt suitabilityand how companies like Infosys, ITC, Nike, etc. have changed their daily work practices to become more sustainable.
Dr. Adarsh Pal Vigappreciated green culture of GNDU and applauded the efforts of Vice Chancellor for making the campus green and eco-friendly. Dr. Vig stressed about self and individual responsibility towards conservation of environment.
Dr. Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Vice Chancellor Guru Nanak Dev University, lauded the theme of the seminar andemphasised sustainabilityas the need of the hour. He listed various initiatives taken up at the campus of GNDU in relation to sustainability as plantation of 47000 trees, use of e-vehicles as mode of transportation, recycling of waste using solar energy etc.
He also deliberated that green environment of GNDU was one of the most important parametersin NAAC ranking in which the university has superseded all previous records to achieve a sore of 3.85. He also motivated the students and youngsters present to bring innovative ideas of promoting sustainability.
Dr. Harsandaldeep Kaur, director of the seminar, gave the welcomeaddress. She pressed upon the prominent role of worthy Vice Chancellor of GNDU in taking the University to new heights. She introduced the growth and achievements of University School of Financial Studies, which is the largest departmentin the university having 1200+ students and 60+ research scholars.
Dr. Aparna Bhatia, director of the seminar, introduced the theme and sub-themes of the seminar. She presented some worrisome facts and statistics on environmental degradation, malnutrition, child mortality etc. She highlighted that the achievement of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) need a high-level collaboration between the Government, private sector and the civil society at large.
Dr. Sangeeta Arora, Head, University School of Financial Studies delivered a vote of thanks. On the 1st day of the seminar, there were four Technical Sessions.
The 1st session on “Sustainable Development and Social Innovation in Finance and Accounting” was chaired by Dr. Gurcharan Singh, co-chaired by Dr. LakhwinderSingh and the resource person was Dr. Kapil Gupta. The 2nd session on “Sustainable Development and Marketing” was chaired by Dr. Gurjit Kaur, co-chaired by Dr. Pavleen and the resource person was Dr. Rishiraj Sharma.
The 3nd session on “Sustainable Development and New Dimensions in HRM & OB” was chaired by Dr. Ran Singh, co-chaired by Dr. Gurpreet Randhawa and the resource person was Dr. Jeevan Jyoti.
The 4nd session on “Sustainable Development and Social Innovation in Business Ethics” was chaired by Dr. Ravi Inder Singh, co-chaired by Dr. Sangeeta Arora. More than 100 participants from various citiesof India such as Delhi, Jammu, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Patiala, registered for the seminar, out of which nearly 40 papers were presented on Day 1.