Participants of the Jesuit Economics Association of India workshop

KOLKATA, India (UCAN) – Jesuit economists say development must be given a “human face” if it is to reach the majority of India’s poor.

Most of the country’s most vulnerable are missing out on the benefits of aid programs, said Father Dominic Savio, who organized the first national seminar of the Jesuit Economics Association of India (JEAI) in Kolkata on Sunday [Feb. 28].

The 14 Jesuits attending vowed to continue the work, engaging their confreres around the country.

Subhash Seraphim, assistant general manager of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), said there were some “major grey areas” in economic policies.

Economic students and researchers as well as NGOs working for the poor need to translate government policies into reality, he said.

Jesuit Father John Felix Raj, the association’s convener and principal of the city’s St Xavier’s College, said he had recommended to the Jesuit Provincial of South Asia to bring together all Jesuits of India involved with teaching or researching economics.

Father Raj said any Jesuit with a master’s degree in economics would be eligible to become a member of JEAI. Jesuit seminarians studying economics at master’s level, and Jesuits engaged in economic fields are also eligible, he told UCA News.

The association aims to examine Jesuit economists’ contribution through research, encourage them to undertake research projects and influence policy-makers of the country, he said.

The Jesuits have already made a notable contribution in education, Father Raj said. The new association should aim to influence policy-makers.

“It may take some years,” he acknowledged.

Father Ajay Kumar Xess from Ranchi, Jharkhand state, said the association would help members clarify many economic issues.

The principal of St Xavier’s School in Duranda expects the association to “make concrete contributions” in policy-making at the national and state levels.