Roundtable conference on Ethical Business Practices held

Hyderabad, June 7, 2024: Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable conference on Ethical Business Practices and Integrity in Healthcare through collective action was held at FTCCI in the city on Thursday at its premises.
 
It was organised by UN Global Compact Network India, a UN body, which is a voluntary and strategic initiative that supports Indian companies, SMEs, Institutions, media houses, corporate foundations, and industry chambers that are committed to responsible business practices to institutionalise the Ten Universal Principles of UN Global Compact covering: Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.
 
It was organised in collaboration with FTCCI, an outreach partner and Kapiti Group, a knowledge partner.
 
Addressing the gathering, Chief Guest, Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, a retired bureaucrat said the Round Table was timely and need of the hour.  He appreciated the organisers for the same.
 
63 million Indians are pushed into poverty by health expenses each year. They are unable to access healthcare delivery. Affordability is also a big issue, he said. When people don't get necessary things like access to quality healthcare, they are not worried about economic growth.  And that was reflected in the recent poll verdict, which was a cry of despair. 
 
India spends just 1.2% of its GDP on Healthcare.  Despite long years of governance, successive governments couldn't take it to 2% and we can't expect any such increase shortly. America spends 18% of its GDP.  The United States has the highest health spending based on GDP share among developed countries. The UK spends in the range of 12%, he informed.
 

Though the country spends the largest amounts on education and health care, still we are unable to get any meaningful outcomes, Dr Jayaprakash Narayan added.
 

Dr Jayaprakash Narayan who is also a Founder of the Foundation for Democratic Reforms said that professional regulation has failed in India.  The Unions of these professionals are safeguarding their interests.  At the same time regulation is also a problem.  India needs a well-conceived professional regulatory mechanism.
 

Dr Ratnesh Jha, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network India, delivered a keynote address.  He said the Network, acts as an Apex-level nodal agency representing various Indian Corporate bodies/ Institutions/ NGOs/ SMEs, who are committed to the UN Global Compact principles. The Global Compact Network India has been one of the pioneering local initiatives of the Global Compact. We are the custodians of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) in India. This round table is organised to explore how we can make healthcare more accessible and less corrupt he said.
 

Dr Somnath Singh, Deputy Director of UN Global Compact Network India gave an overview of their operations and areas of concern.
 

Dr Suresh Kapiti, MD and CEO, Kapiti Overseas Pvt. Ltd while delivering welcome address said that they were committed to creating impactful solutions that address global challenges, improve quality of life, and promote environmental stewardship.
 

The inaugural function of the Round Table was graced by Meela Jayadev, President of FTCCI, Ashok Singha, Sr. V.P of FTCCI and Tarakeswari Polaki, Founder and Director of Kapiti Group.