XLRI hosted the '5th Social Entrepreneurship Conclave' on a virtual platform on Tuesday.

The conclave, anchored by the Social Initiative Group for Managerial Assistance (SIGMA), XLRI was organized under the aegis of Fr. Arrupe Center for Ecology and Sustainability (FACES) in association with Destiny Reflections.

The conclave sought to deliberate and have an enriching discourse over rural healthcare in modern India and to create a platform for the exchange of ideas, challenges and their solutions among the speakers and the attendees by means of interactive sessions in the conclave.

The theme of this year's conclave was, ‘Strengthening Rural Healthcare in Modern India.’

The conclave brought together social changemakers, pioneers and young dedicated social entrepreneurs hosting insightful discussions on the topic.

The conference saw six speakers who ventured out of their comfort zones to bring tangible changes in the society. They have made significant contributions in areas such as nutrition, Covid relief, rural healthcare and development.

The conclave was inaugurated by Anand Bang, joint director at Society for Education, Action & Research in Community Health (SEARCH), a non-profit organisation of Maharashtra.

He delivered the key-note address and covered the broad aspects of rural healthcare. In the context of identifying a problem and working towards the solution.

He spoke about the need for social entrepreneurs to ‘go where the problems are and work to resolve them’. The first panel included discussions on the topic of ‘Bridging the last mile in Rural Healthcare.’

The speakers for the first panel were Sujay Santra, founder and CEO of iKURE; Thulasiraj Ravilla , founding member and director of Aravind Eye Care System; and Radhika Batra, founder and president, Every Infant Matters.

The panel discussed how accessibility was a major problem when it came to rural healthcare, and how technology, while being a powerful tool, is not enough.

They discussed the issues with logistics and how it was a major challenge in the healthcare sector. The conversation extended into how healthcare providers need to have the mindset to provide accessibility to the rural communities.

The panel concluded as the panelists agreed that true transformation could only be brought by the young educated generations who can do a lot for their hometowns and villages.

It is a continuous process which will take time, but the persistence will pay off. Perseverance is the key to success. Lastly, they encouraged the budding social entrepreneurs as well as everybody present to do their bit irrespective of the field they were in.

The second panel discussion was on the topic 'Challenges in Achieving a Nutrition Secure India'.

The speakers of the panel were, Indu Capoor, founder-director of CHETNA; Aparna Hegde, founder of ARMMAN, an NGO and Jaydeep Mandal, founder of Aakar Innovations.

Aparna Hegde discussed the importance of leveraging technology along with infrastructure and healthcare personnels in strengthening the nutrition profile of our nation.

Indu Capoor explained that nutrition is not limited to food intake but extends to nurturing. She emphasized on the significance of spreading awareness along with empowering communities to tackle the problem of undernutrition. Jaydeep Mandal of Aakar Innovations focused on what are the challenges and how to identify them.

According to him, challenges arise due to a lack of awareness. Often people are misled by religious and cultural beliefs which act as a hindrance from approaching a conscious healthcare mindset. He specifically focused on the plight rural women have to go through and the lack of menstrual hygiene awareness. He highlighted the various programmes his organisation has been spearheading to deal with the issue of menstrual awareness.