Medikids secured first place for its innovative waqf initiative, addressing waqf management challenges in Indonesia. The initiative leverages dental clinics for children and families to generate sustainable funding. Established in 2018, Medikids achieved financial stability within three years and launched a scholarship program for healthcare professionals in its second year. A portion of its net profit waqf is dedicated to enhancing waqf assets and various social welfare initiatives.

The selection committee has decided to withhold the second-place award.

The third-place prize was awarded to the Blue Filter initiative, which created a prototype to purify water by removing harmful pollutants like nitrates, chloride, and heavy metals. This technology combines natural filtration techniques with advanced automation and control systems, resulting in a solution that is both sustainable and highly effective. It also features real-time monitoring and loss management systems to ensure optimal performance and minimize water waste.

The prizes will be presented at the IsDB Group Annual Meetings, scheduled for 19-22 May 2025, in Algiers, Algeria.

IsDB Group Chairman HE Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser congratulated the winners, praised their contributions to Islamic economics, and wished them continued success. “The IsDB Prize serves as a key driver of strategic significance, promoting the transformation of knowledge and principles of Islamic economics into actionable initiatives and innovative projects aimed at fostering comprehensive economic development,” stated Dr. Al Jasser.

The winners were chosen by the IsDB Prize Selection Committee, which comprises eminent experts and scholars, coordinated by the IsDB Institute.

Excerpts from the IsDB Prize Selection Committee Citations:

Medikids Clinic

• It serves the important role of civil society waqf in supporting the mission of a combined health sector and education sector, serving the underprivileged component of society.
• The waqf-based model is considered sustainable due to its appropriate earning incentive framework, which is in harmony with the principles of Islamic economics.

Blue Filter

• It provides a potential solution for IsDB member countries while aligning with the strategic goals of the IsDB, especially concerning food and water security.
• The model emphasizing blue and bio elements has rendered it more appealing than alternative solutions that are generally contaminated with chemicals.

Established in 1988 as the ‘IsDB Prize in Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance,’ the prize expanded in 2020 to recognize achievements in two categories, offered alternately: (i) Development Achievement and (ii) Knowledge Contribution. The 1446H (2025) Prize cycle focuses on Development Achievement, highlighting successful projects addressing development challenges in IsDB member countries and Muslim communities worldwide.

The post The 2025 IsDB Prize: Recognizing Groundbreaking Projects in Islamic Economics appeared first on NRI News.

Organized by the Youth Empowerment and Research Association (YERA) (Regd.) in association with the Commerce and Management Association of India (CMAI) & Norbuling Rigter College (NRC), Bhutan, the conference is aimed at providing a meeting ground for the Intellectual and Professional experts and will be held at the Sherubtse College Auditorium at Kanglung in Bhutan. Delegates from countries like the USA, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan are participating in this conference.

The conference will touch upon subjects like economic sustainability, cultural heritage, sustainable social development, business start-ups, emergency management, digital economy, gender equality, artificial intelligence, sustainable energy, environment, trade, investment, and facilitating tourism in Asia. Experts are going to present research papers on these subjects.

The post Dr Preeti Joshi To Chair An International Conference At Bhutan appeared first on NRI News.

• IN-PERSON
• Fri 16 Feb 20248:30 – 9:30 a.m.
• 725 Park Ave, New York, NY 10021
• Click for directions; BUY TICKETS

NEW YORK: Last fall, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a significant move by appointing five women to his cabinet, notably including the first female foreign minister in over two decades. Demonstrating a commitment to gender diversity, Kishida has also set an ambitious target of achieving a 30% representation of women in executive positions within prime-listed companies by 2030. While these initiatives are welcome, persistent challenges and untapped opportunities remain for Japanese women in the workplace. They continue to face issues such as unequal pay, being hired for “temporary” jobs with fewer benefits, and enduring long hours, which make child-rearing more difficult, among other obstacles.

How can Japan effectively address these challenges, maximize the role of women, and harness their crucial contributions to the nation’s economic revitalization? Additionally, what insights and lessons can the U.S. or other societies offer Japan in this pursuit? What further steps could be taken by the government or in the workplace to promote gender diversity? To explore these critical questions, the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) invites you to join an engaging discussion featuring distinguished speakers, including Wendy Cutler, ASPI Vice President; Joshua Walker, President and CEO at the Japan Society; and Akiko Yamahara, General Counsel at Citi Private Bank. The discussion will be moderated by Rorry Daniels, ASPI Managing Director.

SPEAKERS

Wendy Cutler is Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the managing director of the Washington, D.C. office. She joined ASPI following an illustrious career of nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she also served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. During her USTR career, she worked on a range of bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade negotiations and initiatives, including the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S.-China negotiations, and the WTO Financial Services negotiations.

Joshua Walker serves as the President and CEO of the Japan Society. He brings more than two decades of international business diplomacy to this role, most recently serving as Global Head of Strategic Initiatives and Japan in the Office of the President at Eurasia Group the world’s leading political risk consultancy. Previous to that role, he was CEO and president of the USA Pavilion of the 2017 World Expo in Astana, Kazakhstan; founding dean of the APCO Institute; senior vice president of global programs at APCO Worldwide, and Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. Before joining the private sector, he worked in numerous roles at various US government agencies, including the State Department and the Defense Department.

Akiko Yamahara is the Global General Counsel for Citi Global Wealth and Citi Private Bank, and a member of the Legal Management Committee. With over two decades of legal expertise, she initially joined Citigroup in 2003, focusing on investment banking. During her eight years in Tokyo, she expanded her role to become the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, overseeing Citi’s entire Japan franchise. She is a Steering Committee member for the Asian Heritage Network and represents Citi at the National Women’s Law Center. Additionally, she has served on the Board of Overseers at Temple University Japan since 2023.

Rorry Daniels (moderator) is the Managing Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), where she leads and oversees strategy and operations for ASPI’s projects on security, climate change, and trade throughout Asia. She is also a Senior Fellow with ASPI’s Center for China Analysis. She was previously with the National Committee on American Foreign Policy where she managed the organization’s Track II and research portfolio on Asia security issues, with a particular focus on cross-Taiwan Strait relations, U.S.-China relations, and the North Korean nuclear program. Her most recent research project audited the U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue to evaluate its process and outcomes.

The post Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in Japan’s Womenomics appeared first on NRI News.

She delivered a keynote address on ‘Catalysing Impactful Governance Though Evidence-Based Policy Making’ and touched upon aspects that affect the economy like pension schemes, extended maternity leave, skilling, and employment. After her keynote address Dr Ajit Ranade, VC, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics interacted with her on certain topics. Indranil Chitale presented the opening remarks and briefed the gathering about the thought behind organizing PPPF.

“While considering the cost of any welfare scheme apart from the actual accounting cost, its economic cost should also be considered. MNREGA is a good scheme and its usefulness came to light again during the pandemic. Though welfare schemes are meant for the benefit of poor people at large, we must check if we are in a position to afford them. A big chunk of the Government’s budget goes into taking up the interest cost and for making salaries and pension payments. Reforms brought in the pension scheme in 2003 made some funds available for developmental work. So, going back to the old pension scheme as demanded by some sections and backed by some political parties is not feasible“, said Shamika Ravi.

“Extension of the paid maternity leave has some positive side. However, the fact is that it has lowered the percentage of women in the workforce. As a result of this policy, SMEs are preferring to employ more male employees. Though every state has a policy, the progress made by each state is different and the factor of Governance plays a key role there. There was a time when Punjab’s GDP was the highest which declined due to heavy deindustrialization. Thus, questions like how the new jobs will come in the future need to be answered, she added. 

Shamika Ravi stated that while facing the government job psychology we must understand that the private sector has a huge potential to create new jobs. The current findings indicate that unemployment is higher in the highly educated section of youngsters as compared to the ones that are not so highly educated. This is primarily because of the gap between the skills required by the industry and the perception of the right job amongst the highly educated youth. In India, unemployment is as high as 34.8% among the youth who possess graduate and above degrees. She advised the students of economics to study the open source data and use it in research.

After the inaugural session a panel discussion on Reimagining Urban Transformation – The Trade-off between Environment and Development. PCMC Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh, PWC India’s partner Shardul Phadnavis, Greater Mumbai’s Additional Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, Bandu Dhotre, and Ambika Vishwanath participated in this panel discussion.

Photo caption – Dr Ajit Ranade, VC Gokhale Institute interacted with Shamika Ravi during the inaugural session of the Pune Public Policy Festival at Gokhale Institute.

The post Evidence-based policymaking is the need of the hour Opines Shamika Ravi, Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council appeared first on NRI News.

Commenting on this tie-up Dr. Pramod Chaudhari said, “We are taking this step forward keeping in mind a holistic development approach while shaping the students as responsible citizens and individuals. This first-of-its-kind tie-up in the country will help them to learn economics from one of the best institutes in the country.“

Disclosing the details of this tie-up Prof. Sudhir Agashe said, “While the implementation of the new National Education Policy is underway across the country, many good educational institutions are being awarded the status of the university or are being given autonomy. This provides them the flexibility required for updation and improvement in the education offered. The approach is going to be more multidisciplinary. So, we realized that joining hands with like-minded top educational institutions can pave the way to the promising future of students.“

“Tie-up with the Gokhale Institute is the first concrete step towards nurturing engineering students to take up entrepreneurship. Economics forms the base of most of the things in one’s life particularly in business. Thus, lessons in economics will enable them to change the way they look at engineering. Here, we propose to offer a course of 3 credits each semester for 6 semesters. Starting from the first semester of the second year of engineering to the chosen students who have a flair for entrepreneurship. Lessons in economics will be taught by the expert faculty members of Gokhale Institute, who will come to the campus of COEP. The evaluation process would also be done by them“, Prof Agashe added.

The pilot of this project shall commence in January 2024 and the course will be formally introduced as an option from the academic year 2024-25. Most importantly, there will be no additional fee for this course in economics for the students of engineering at COEP. Under this tie-up, the Gokhale Institute will lend its expertise and resources to the students of COEP. Similarly, COEP Tech University will also offer its knowledge and skilled faculty for the students of Gokhale Institute to conduct short courses in the engineering field like data sciences, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and so on.

Dr Ajit Ranade said, “Today, as a large number of engineers are turning to start-ups and entrepreneurship, imparting education in economics to them is essential. This was required but somehow it has not been thought of till now. To realize the ‘Make In India’ dream of our Prime minister it is necessary to educate budding engineers about economics, finance, various economic surveys, and their importance in business. The same applies to students of economics, they need to learn some important aspects of technology. Such an approach will play the catalyst in creating the required ecosystem. Today, the oldest engineering and economics institutes are coming together for this path-breaking initiative.“

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