Royal connection

For the first time the Commonwealth Study Conference is held in India.

She drew attention as the royal patron of the conference. Princess Anne of the British royal family, though in India to participate in the 10th Commonwealth Study Conference (CSC) in India and Malaysia, says this visit means much more to her personally.

Accompanied by the Duke of Kent, she participated in the opening proceedings of the conference in which study groups comprising 180 participants from 30 commonwealth countries spoke on subjects such as infrastructure, environment, women empowerment, agriculture, tribal welfare, information technology, tourism, education and health.

The theme of the conference was "Working together for inclusive growth and development" and these groups visited 18 states and union territories in India before compiling their findings.

Said Princess Anne, "It is for the first time that a study conference has done in India and Malaysia. But more than that, this gives me an opportunity to return to India and the experiences of the study groups have only added to my own experiences and observations."

This was the first time since 1956 that a full international CSC has been held outside the organising triangle formed by UK, Canada and Australia. The conference was initiated by the Duke of Edinburgh at Oxford University in Britain as a means of examining the human aspects of industrial issues in Commonwealth Nations.

What emerged at the concluding day of the conference was a clear blueprint of how nations can work together for development.

Said Princess Anne, "Inclusive growth may seem like a focused topic but the learning from this is that if the growth is inclusive then there is a very good chance that it will be sustainable too."