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ACCESS Development Services organized the annual Livelihoods India Summit co-hosted by NITI Aayog at Le Meridien, New Delhi today. Currently in its thirteenth year, the first day of the event saw attendance from prominent speakers such as Mr BB Swain, Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India, PVS Suryakumar, Deputy Managing Director, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), S Sivakumar, Group Head - Agri and IT Businesses, ITC Limited, Saroj Kumar Mahapatra, Executive Director, PRADAN and Mercy Epao, Joint Secretary, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India  along with other dignitaries.

The event started with the launch of State of India’s Livelihoods (SOIL) Report by Mr. BB Swain, Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India. The annual flagship sector report discusses the policy and programmes of the government, the role of the private sector and the civil society in livelihoods promotion. The report covers contemporary themes and is authored by sectoral experts such as Dr Orlanda Ruthven, Dr. Ashok Kr Sircar, P V S Suryakumar, Girija Srinivasan, Alka Talwar amongst others.  The report covers themes such as the ultra poor initiatives, digitalisation of agriculture, jobs, CSR amendments, viable business case for women-led farmer producer organizations, policy and programme landscape for climate smart agriculture and initiatives that bring digitalization for the benefit of small-holder farmers.


During the inaugural session, Mr BB Swain, Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India said “The ambition of the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises is to identify the micro small and medium entrepreneurs and bring them under formal structure. I have been through the book. I really appreciate the focus that it puts on livelihood enhancement and strengthening livelihoods of the particularly unprivileged sections of people.”


The first session focused on - “Jobs in the future, Jobs for the Future’ shared how India has brought down poverty rates, but this has yet to match equal job growth. The session moved beyond examining what the numbers tell us about employment in India in terms of quantity and quality of jobs on offer to the question of what can be done about employment generation to drive transformation in the Indian Workforce to achieve equitable economic advancement for all.

Arun Maira, former Member, Planning Commission of India said “While India has the maximum number of women working, we still need to get more women in the workforce, and we also need to work on getting these women recognition for their work.”                  
                                                                                                                                             
                                                         
Experiences, case studies, issues and challenges from within the country are shared at the Livelihoods India Summit and over 80+ thought-leaders, policymakers, and practitioners 80 eminent thought leaders and sector specialists from the region who will speak on 17 sessions panels.

About ACCESS Development Services:

ACCESS Development Services is a global catalyst to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. By accelerating collaborative action with global, regional, and local stakeholders, ACCESS is driving financial resilience and security as key outcomes. Set-up in March 2006, with support from the Department of International Development (Govt of UK), ACCESS is structured uniquely to build evidence, create models and align thought leadership in collaboration with Civil Society Organizations, Governments, Private Sector, Donors and Multilateral / Bilateral Agencies.

About Livelihood India Summit:

Each year ACCESS organizes the Livelihoods India Summit, a national conference that targets delegates from the livelihood sector including practitioners, policy makers, private sector, non-governmental organizations, donors, multilateral / bilateral organizations, academicians, researchers and other support organizations from within the country. The Summit presents a unique experience for the participants from a diverse array of themes that are discussed in over 17 sessions across two days. Experiences, case studies, issues and challenges from within the country are shared at the Livelihoods India Summit and over 80 thought-leaders, policy makers and practitioners are a part of the two-day deliberations.