Private sector can help turn wheel of economic growth: Hinduja

With the gap between the rich and poor widening, the private sector can help turn the "wheel of economic growth" by dedicating its resources towards improving education, health and basic infrastructure, Hinduja Foundation US Chairperson has said.

"The seed of a people's prosperity is planted by securing their health, their education and basic social and physical infrastructure, in particular financial inclusion," Shanu SP Hinduja said in her address to the annual 'InfoPoverty World Conference' yesterday.

Participating in a high-level panel discussion on 'Strengthening Social Development to Fight Poverty Through the Use of New Technologies', Hinduja said she, along with her father Hinduja Group Chairman Srichand Hinduja "strongly believe that the private sector should dedicate its resources - both financial and in kind - to help secure these three dimensions. Then the wheel of economic growth can begin to turn."

On how the private sector can work with technology, Hinduja said "we need better regulations from the UN and governments. We require partnership between the private sector and governments to realise the opportunities presented by technology."

Hinduja stressed that socially, the gap between rich and poor continues to widen, where a "few hundred families boast more than half of the world's wealth, while less advantaged majority of societies continue to lack even basic facilities.

"History has shown that when states are unable to resolve their differences through diplomacy, it is always the poorest communities who suffer the most in the end. Furthermore the global economy including the volatility of financial markets, inflation, rising unemployment, sovereign debt and numerous interrelated challenges continue to loom as constant threats," she added.

Hinduja noted that expanding technologies that support disability-inclusion is another very important requirement for the private sector, which can also contribute towards natural disaster relief and disaster management.

Hinduja said by using easy to learn technologies, the private sector can provide tremendous benefits to the local population.

"I believe if the private sector focused on this inclusive approach, we could then build a value chain of user-friendly, profit-making technology hubs in less advantaged regions," she added.