School of Social Sciences and Inter-disciplinary Studiesand Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution ofRajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjaborganized 5th RGNUL Multidisciplinary Congress on Foreign Direct Investment in South Asian Region on 31st August, 2019 in collaboration with Center for Trade and Investment Law, New Delhi.
Prof. Dr.Naresh Kumar Vats, Registrar, RGNUL inaugurated the conference. While addressing the participants in inaugural ceremony he emphasized the impact and relevance of FDI in South Asian Region. He also talked about specific sectors such as healthcare, infrastructure and why is it important to attract FDI in these sectors specifically in LDCs. He also, appreciated the faculty members of RGNUL who took this multi-disciplinary initiative. The Conference was convened by Dr. Shveta Dhaliwal, Dr. Gurmanpreet and Ms. Jasmine, RGNUL faculty members from Department of Political Science, Department of Law and Department of Economics, respectively.
The Keynote address was delivered by Mr. Satwik Shekhar, (designation)and he highlighted the value of investment in South Asian Region. He talked about the impact of Political and Geographical factors on FDI. He also talked about the problems of reducing FDI in manufacturing sectors. He said, “Protection of Investors is necessary to attract greater magnitude of FDI”.
The conference witnessed an enthusiastic response from students, scholars, academician around the country. Participantsare from the institutions like Chanakya National Law University, Symbiosis law school, Hyderabad, Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Ghandal, Shimla, University of Dodoma, Tanzania, East Africa, Bar Association,Nepal etc.
Highlighting the theme of the conference, the papers discussed various aspects of Foreign Direct Investment, for example,Foreign Direct Investment Challenges in Hydro Power Project of Nepal, Policy and Implications of Foreign Direct Investment in India, The Journey of International Trade to Investment in the Light of Liberalization and Protectionism, Challenges and Future Prospects of Foreign Direct Investment, Challenges and Future prospects of Foreign Direct Investment in South Asian Region, Foreign Direct Investment and Green Finance highlighting the environmental and energy concerns etc.
The conference took place in two sessions with parallel sessions each. The first session was chaired and cochaired by Mr. Satwik Shekhar, Ms. Jasmine Kaur and Dr. Vipan Kumar and second session by Dr. Brindpreet Kaur and Dr. AbhinandanBassi. Papers were also presented by way of Web Conferencing which was chaired and co-chaired by Dr. Sangeeta Taak, Dr. Shveta Dhaliwal, and Dr. Gurmanpreet Kaur. The first session highlighted the concept of Regional Disparity in the FDI while the second session focused upon the challenges and prospectus of FDI in South Asian Region. The other session threw light upon the issue of Green Finance and Sustainable Development Goals.
The Conference was concluded by the valedictory ceremony where the participants were felicitated with certificates.