Yunus Meets the Chief Minister of Orissa and Addresses the top Officials of Orissa Government
DHAKA, May 15 (NsNewsWire) — In a visit to Bhubaneswar, as a State Guest of State Government of Orissa, Nobel Laureate Profrssor Muhamnad Yunus addressed the ministers and top civil servants of the Orissa government organized by the government sponsored by the Orissa Knowledge Hub at the State government Secretariat in Bhubaneswar. At the end of the event Prof. Yunus held an one on one discussion with the Hon’ble Minister Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare and Cooperation Sri Surya Narayan Patra, Chief Secretary Sri Aditya Prasad Padhi, Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Sri R. Balakrishnan. The lecture was also attended by several ministers, a large number of secretaries, and other dignitaries from the State Government, academia, and non-profit sector of Orissa on micro finance, social business and entrepreneurship for poverty reduction. The talk was connected via video to district collectors and administrators in 30 other districts, who also participated in the discussion. Hon’ble Minister Finance and Excise Sri Sashi Bhusan Behera presented Professor Yunus with a memento to commemorate his visit.
During his stay Nobel Laureate Professor Yunus was invited by the Chief Minister of Orissa , Naveen Patnaik at his residence Naveen Nivas to hold a discussion on poverty alleviation, upgrading microcredit in the region and empowering women in the process, especially tribal women. Prof. Yunus lauded the State Government’s initiatives in this regard saying “The way by which the State Government is making continuous efforts to eradicate poverty is indeed praiseworthy” to the media, post meeting.
Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus was honored with the 11th KISS Humanitarian Award 2018 at a function held in Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, Bhubaneswar. At the event, Prof. Yunus addressed over 1000 attendees where he emphasized on the mobilization of one’s imagination to overcome the issues in India owing to wealth concentration. The event was attended by the State dignitaries where Saswati Bal, President of KIIT and KISS, and Achyuta Samanta, Founder of KIIT and KISS presented the award to Prof. Yunus.
KISS is a remarkable educational institution providing free schooling and higher education to over 27000 indigenous students in Bhubaneswar, India. Founded by Achyuta Samanta, who also founded Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KITT), KISS is subsidized through the returns from KIIT. Achyuta Samanta, a social entrepreneur supporting and uplifting tribal youth’s education and employment, has also recently been elected as the Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament.
Professor Yunus also launched his latest book, “A World of Three Zeros” at an event organized by Kadambini, a local magazine in Bhubaneswar. The book launch took place in the Mango Orchard of the Trident Hotel in Bhubaneswar attended by local dignitaries, writers, activists and journalists. After the launch of the book, there was a conversation moderated by Dr Suraj Kumar between Professor Yunus and actor/activist Rahul Bose, who also is a social business enthusiast, on the themes of the book, especially discussing about the role that technology and sports can play in social transformation.
Prof. Yunus formalised the association with KISS through the creation of a Yunus Social Business Centre (YSBC) at KISS. The YSBC has been initiated through the signing of an MoU between Yunus Centre and KISS by their respective representatives, Prof. Yunus and Achyuta Samanta. The YSBC at KISS is set to act as a research centre that undertakes academic and action research programme to drive entrepreneurship among the tribal youth in Chhattisgarh and uplift the economic condition of the community.
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