Siliguri Entrepreneur Piyush Garg interacts with PM Narendra Modi at Niti Aayog’s Champions of Change

By Hirak.D (TNI Siliguri)  |  TNI Editing Siliguri

Webdesk, TNI Siliguri, 24^th August, 2017: CEO of Siliguri-based Powertek Engineering Pvt Ltd, Mr. Piyush Garg interacted with the Honorable PM, Sri. Narendra Modi, in New Delhi early this week. Mr. Piyush said “I feel privileged to be a Champion of Change as part of Niti Aayog’s list of top 200 CEO’s. I have been able to contribute towards Nation Building, and look forward to engaging with NITI Aayog for further contributions”. Mr. Garg has in the past represented India at the G20 Young Entrepreneur’s Alliance in China. He also worked in automotive manufacturing and sourcing at Tata Motors. He is an expert in Global Strategic Sourcing and closely works with companies in South East Asia on machinery and farming technology. He is also the Co-Chair at Young Indians, Siliguri, which is a part of Confederation of Indian Industry. ‘Champions of Change – Transforming India through G2B partnership’ initiative was organized by Niti Aayog on 21 and 22 August, 2017, at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, New Delhi, where along with Prime Minister Sri. Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Sri. Arun Jaitley, over more than a dozen Union Ministers and Departmental Secretaries, interacted and discussed with the young participants about government policies and new initiatives. They further engaged with and took inputs from the CEOs, who brainstorm with each other and came up with key ideas and inputs for policy making in India. The Prime Minister urged the young CEOs to become partners of the government and share ideas which could be used as inputs for policy making. “You are my team, and we need to work together to take India forward,” PM told the young CEOs, adding that he intends to make this an institutional mechanism. Six groups of young CEOs made presentations before the PM on themes such as Doubling Farmers’ Income; World Class Infrastructure; Make In India; Cities of Tomorrow; Reforming the Financial Sector, and New India by 2022. Mr. Garg of Powertek Engineering, from Siliguri, was a part of the theme – Doubling Farmers’ Income, which included entrepreneurs such as Nikhil Nanda from Escorts, Raman Mittal from Sonalika, Mayank Jalan from Keventers, Avni Biyani from Future Group, Priya Nayar from Unilever and others. The other themes included stalwarts like Rajiv Bajaj of Bajaj Auto, Sangeeta Reddy of Apollo Hospitals, Sanjeev Bikhchandani of Naukri.com, and others. The CEOs were divided into groups which may permanently be attached to the Ministries concerned. This was part of the government’s reported decision to institutionalize the process, said Mr. Garg. “Under Doubling Farmers’ Income, we pitched for the scrapping of APMC Act, thus creating a situation where the farmer would be able to sell his produce in the open marketplace. “To double farmers’ income, we need to create a brand value for the source of origin, and encourage India’s super foods in the international markets,” said Mr. Garg. “This will encourage and lead to a demand driven Agricultural Industry. Sikkim is a fine example as the first Producer State for organic spices, vegetables and tea from India and is internationally acclaimed for its quality. E-marketplaces should be able to further connect the food processors to the Agripreneurs, who shall be instrumental in bridging the value gap. We also suggested to the PM, asking for reforms in Agri-Education at 3 levels – Farmers, Agripreneurs, and Agricultural Professionals with industry driven agricultural research.” “We have coined and proposed the SPEED Model for doubling farmers’ income in India. S – Shared Services, P – Processing, E – Entrepreneurship, E – Education, and D – Diversification and Demands. This will lead to the creation of massive jobs at rural level and also encourage and create entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector,” Mr. Garg added. In appreciating the new ideas and innovations, the PM thanked the CEOs for the valuable inputs they provided and the time devoted for the benefit of the country. The PM added, that the key decision-making team of the Government has listened carefully to the presentations, and this will surely benefit in their policy-making.

Photo: CII Siliguri