Pragyan ’21 introduced Pragyan Talks, an online Q&A series with notable speakers who spoke on pressing issues such as the novel coronavirus, the Indian economy, and education. It consisted of five episodes with guest speakers such as Dr. Duvvuri Subbarao, the ex-RBI Governor, Padma Bhushan awardee, Dr. Ashok Seth, and many more. 

• Episode 1: When, Why and Who of Normalcy

The first installment of Pragyan Talks brought up the topic of the novel coronavirus and whether we could go back to our normal lives anytime soon. Talking about this topic we had Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan, an advisor to the Indian Government and the Director of CDDEP. He spoke on the reasons for the lockdown and the prospects of a second wave.

• Episode 2: Indian Economy: Looking Inwards

The second episode of Pragyan Talks gave an insightful look into the transformation of our Indian economy at the time of crisis. With Dr. Duvvuri Subbarao, the ex-RBI Governor and the former Finance Secretary to the Government of India, as our guest lecturer, we had a firsthand look at how to revive the economy.

• Episode 3: The Indian Economy - A Global Outlook

The third episode of the Pragyan Talks gave a global perspective of our economy and answers pressing questions about the global GDP and whether this crisis would lead to deglobalization. To answer these, we had the Director for CNED, Mr. Navdeep Suri. He spoke extensively on the never-ending relations India has with its neighboring countries and whether this crisis might reduce any existing geopolitical issues.

• Episode 4: Rebooting Healthcare In a Post COVID world

The fourth episode of the Pragyan Talks talked about the anticipated and ideal development of our healthcare system and our preparedness for such situations in the future. Who better to talk on this topic other than Dr. Ashok Seth, Padma Bhushan awardee and the chairman of the Cardiology Council, Fortis Group of Hospitals. He spoke on the vitality of technological advancements in our current healthcare system and also how to individually combat the virus.

• Episode 5: Blueprint for Education 4.0

The final episode of the Pragyan Talks discussed the major issue of every student's life during this crisis. It gave an insight about how this crisis could change the entire education system for future generations to come and its impact on job opportunities. 

For this segment, Dr. Soumitra Dutta, the Professor of Management at the SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University, talked about the challenges faced by education and the innovations required in the field to keep up with the times.