"Just see yourself in a mirror and you will find the individual who can change the world", advices Shri Sudhir Mungantiwar,Hon'ble Min. of Finance,Planning and Forests,Govt. of Maharashtra

“It’s time we understood the debt of the society.Do not wait for someone to come and change the world. Just see yourself

in a mirror and you will find the individual who can change the world.” With words coming straight from his heart, Sudhir Mungantiwar,Minister for Finance, Planning and Forests ,Government of Maharashtra began his dialogue with the new entrants of the Principal L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research (WeSchool) during the Foundation Fortnight. Prof Dr Uday Salunkhe, Group Director,faculty and students of WeSchool listened to every word spoken by the Hon’ble Minister in rapt attention.

As he congratulated the fresh joinees from the various MBA programs like Business Design, E-Biz,Retail ,Healthcare ,Rural Management of the 2016-18 batch at WeSchool , Shri. Mungantiwar said, “You are indeed very fortunate to have got this opportunity to study in one of leading B schools in the country. Knowledge is the key for betterment of not only oneself but also of the society but the truly knowledgable one is the one who combines knowledge with imagination. In this era of innovation, that individual will be instrumental in bringing the change in the world. Look within yourself, search within yourself and you will find the change maker. Let us become those change makers that will make this world a better place for everyone to live in .“

He added that economies of many countries have suffered from recession; but the Indian economy has not only survived the crises, it has remained consistently progressive. The main reason behind this stability is that even today the average Indian parents save and invest 27% of their earnings for educatingtheir children. For them their food or clothes are not as important as the education for their children.

“Dedicate yourself to realize the dreams of your parents. Choose the career path as per your capacities and inclinations . Everyone has qualities and limitations but the one that overcomes his limitations and converts them into strengths is the real winner. Be prepared to learn everything but always remember that the knowledge earned is to be used for societal benefit. When you change y ourselves, you will step towards changing the nation. Be grateful to all the factors in the society for the advantages that you have got and learn to contribute your mite for the upliftment of others.” He said.

Let us all conduct this “tree mission” together!

He informed the students,” Water and forest cover and other environmental resources are mutually related. In Gadchiroli district, 77% of total geographic area is under forest cover. The same reduces to 58% in Sindhudurg. But in the drought affected Latur, where drinking water had to be supplied by trains, this coverage is only 0.07%. The total forest cover in the State is 20%, ideally, it should be up to 33%. If this increase in forest cover is to be achieved, then there is a need to plant 400 crore trees. The Government has committed to the target of planting 50 crore trees in coming three years.

On 1 July,2016, 2crore trees will be planted all over Maharashtra and this will be just a beginning. For completing this great task of tree plantation, public participation is also required on large scale along with the efforts of the Government.”

Maharashtra has tremendous capacity for development

While answering many of the questions posed by the eager students ,the Finance Minister explained, “Taking loans for developmental projects is not bad, but it is important that its utilisation is done in a proper manner. The State has tremendous capacity for development and financial status of the State is also good, he added. Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra States have demanded that the Union Government should compensate for the losses rising out of implementation of the GST. “

“The State has seen a great growth of service and production sectors. Despite of the times of drought and recession, the State has increased its rate of development from 5.8% to 8%, he highlighted.” He added that if the state is blessed with good monsoon this year then we should be able to take this rate of development higher as the increasing rate of development of the agriculture sector will be augmented by the huge contribution coming in from the services and production sectors.“The Government has accelerated the development of infrastructure and regional connectivity has been increased with the development of the State roads and the National Highways, air ways, waterways. With Digital Maharashtra, the functioning of government machinery has become faster , easier and also transparent, he added.

Prof Dr. Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool said that the initiative of celebration street has been implemented by WeSchool .The Finance Minister applauded the efforts made by WeSchool in this direction and a added that Many such streets have been developed internationally. They should be studied and such streets when designed should really become knowledge streets and should pave way for raising the happiness index of the local residents and subsequently that of the city.