Vikas Nath

Sankalp Forum, 16-18 April 2013. Mumbai. India

When we talk about impact investing, our focus invariably turns to “investing” and in particular to investments which involve capital flows in form of loans, equities, grants or other financing options. We end up ignoring two other forms of investments, namely technology and skills which end up increasing the capacities and efficiency of workforce, and leverages the impact of any other investments being made. Technology and skill based investments may not have the liquidity of capital flows, and precisely so the benefits of these investments remain in the country and the impact is more long lasting.

India is emerging as a leader in making such investments within the South-South collaboration framework in the area of agriculture, energy, health and information technology, says Vikas Nath at the plenary discussion at the Sankalp Forum.

Stephen Browne and Thomas G. Weiss (with Vikas Nath)

Extracts from the 2012 Global Perceptions Survey: The survey underlines two challenges currently facing the UN’s development activities: the lack of system-wide coherence; and the possible increasing irrelevance for contemporary development problems.

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Most people in developing countries are hesitant to engage with governments and avoid getting entangled in government affairs. They do not trust the public servants to act honestly and resolve their public grievances quickly. Many end up paying bribes, using unscrupulous middlemen, or currying favours for government officials to get their work done quickly. Continue reading →

22nd IFIP World Computer Congress, 24-26 September 2012. Amsterdam. The Netherlands

As developing countries industrialise and incomes rise, the pressure on fresh water resources will increase further. Inevitably, as demand is increasing, tensions are manifesting at the national and international level. Where do we look for solutions to manage our water resources? Continue reading →

World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR), 16 – 18 April. Delhi. India

Watch the panel discussion on Doordarshan.

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