The Economics Club, Department of Data Science witnessed yet another honorable talk by Professor C.G. Ranade on “Reforms in Indian agriculture for Indian economic growth” on 26 September 2020. Dr. Ranade has completed his education at John Hopkins University in Master of Arts in Education. Dr. Ranade has done a Master of Statistics from Indian Statistical Institute and Ph.D. in Economics with a specialization in agricultural economics from Cornell University, USA. This involved numerous applications of mathematics and statistic. He has worked with IIMA and International Food Policy Research Institute, USA, and made a significant contribution to policymaking. Further, he has joined the World Bank, as Senior Agricultural Economist and involved in many international projects. In the World Bank, he was managing training programs on Rural Project Analysis in the Transition Economies of the Former Soviet Union countries, Cambodia and Vietnam; and Policy Analysis programs in South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa Region. The training programs included topics from Sustainable Agriculture to Environmental Action Impact Matrix, Water Policy Analysis, and Land Economics. Presently he is an Adjunct Professor at Stratford Unversity and University of Bridgeport, USA. He is also a member of the India Agriculture Group based in Washington DC. He worked as a senior agricultural economist at World Bank & a research scholar in the International food policy research institute. He has a long teaching experience in Economics, Statistics & Mathematics, Also has several publications and reports undertaken by him.

 

He started his talk by addressing the current pandemic that is affecting the nitty-gritty's of the economy. Giving insight into the agricultural situations in India right now, he rightly highlighted the effects of Covid-19. He also compared the dairy sector of India with that of USA and gave us a better understanding of their functioning. He also stipulated several policy changes that could be bought to make a reviving economy. 

 

“In India, Technological advancements should be used hand in hand with Agriculture like other successful countries,” he rightly quoted. Further, he mentioned efficient uses of Hybrid Seeds and No plow agriculture. He also compared Indian agricultural sector productivity with US & gave useful insights about the same.