Japan, India Collab to Develop Future Leadership Through Academic Cooperation

Hyderabad: The first Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) lecture, under the JICA Chair (JICA Program for Japanese Studies), was held at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT-H) on February 22, 2023, and was attended by researchers and students from the institute as well as a Japanese delegation. Around 60 books were also donated to IIT-H in the event as reference materials to study the experience of Japan. IIT-H has been selected as the first program partner in India in view of the long history of its collaboration with JICA.

Japan is the first country that has modernized from a non-Western background to establish a free, democratic, prosperous, and peace-loving nation based on the rule of law, without losing much of its tradition and identity. At the same time, Japan has extensive experience of development cooperation through official development assistance (ODA) toward Asian countries, most of which have achieved remarkable socio-economic progress. JICA Chair was launched to develop future leaders of developing countries through providing opportunity to study Japan’s modernization and development cooperation experiences. The JICA Chair includes short, insightful lectures by Japanese professors and researchers, wherein they share their developmental experiences in the areas such as politics, economics, public administration, law, and others. The JICA Chair will also provide research and educational opportunities as well as reference materials for establishing and strengthening programs and courses for Japanese studies.

The first lecture under the JICA chair program at IIT-H was delivered by Professor ONO Taichi, Director of Healthcare Policy Concentration at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan, on the topic “Aging Society, Social Systems and Care for the Elderly: Implications from the Experience of Japan”. Professor Ono has more than three decades of experience in policy and research, having worked closely with the Government of Japan. His academic specialization is in Social Security Policy, Health, and Long-Term Care Policy. During the lecture, the professor talked about the Japanese experience of building aging society-oriented social systems. Drawing from Japan’s own experience, he also spoke about the implications – both positive and negative – of such policies for developing countries.

Mr. SAITO Mitsunori, Chief Representative, JICA India said, “Japan's road to modernization began 155 years ago.  Since then, Japan has become the first, and one of the best examples, of modernization through a non-Western approach. JICA has been engaging in various initiatives with IIT-H, which has become a crucial platform for engagement for both countries. There are almost 100 JICA projects in India mainly in the field of infrastructure development, but I believe the investment in the Indian human resource can play fundamental role in nurturing better relationship between two countries. Since the technology and innovation are the only solutions for solving complicated challenges like aging society, I strongly hope that today’s lecture not only inaugurated the JICA Chair program in IITH but also stimulated the adventure of promising young leaders in India to tackle various development challenges to come.  Through our projects, JICA is committed to enhancing the education system in India and around the world for a bright future.”

JICA has extended integrated support to IIT-H through an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 23,035 million Japanese yen (around INR 1,400 crore) for the development of the IIT-H campus. Apart from Infrastructure, JICA also extends technical cooperation projects to supports personal and organizational interaction with Japanese academia and industries, along with joint research projects and public-private partnership projects.