Speech at ISB Inauguration - Down the memory lane.
January 21, 05 by BharaniWhile I was browsing the net, I stumbled upon this link..Thought It would be relevant to post it here
http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/lyr2001/rdec2001/02122001/r021220011.html
December 2001. - Inauguration speech given by Prime Minister Mr.Vajpayee
“India is becoming a ” Young Nation” in a literal sense of the word. In twenty years from now, as many as 45 per cent of Indians would be in plus twenties. Against this, a large percentage of the population in today’s advanced nations would be of senior citizens. This means that young men and women from India, well educated in diverse professions would be in great demand as knowledge workers all over the world. I would like the education system in India both in the government and private sectors to gear itself up to tap this great demographic opportunity”. Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajapyee said, while inaugurating the International School of Business at Gachibowli here today.
Referring to education as a key that would unlock the potential of all our states, he said that high literacy rate was one of the chief factor in countries like South Korea achieving rapid progress, although they had a comparable development index with India, forty years ago.
Lauding the efforts of the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri Chandrababu Naidu, who fought hard to locate the prestigious institute in the state, Shri Vajpayee welcomed the new spirit of competition among different states of India. “Those states that are more enterprising, hard working and persevering will naturally get ahead in this era of competition. But the beauty of this competition among states is that, who ever wins, it is India that ultimately wins”, Shri Vajpayee said. Referring to the ISB as manifestation of patriotism and gratitude that successful Indians have towards their motherland, he complimented this collective action of many Indian businessmen in India and abroad as “Rashtra Dakshina”.
Stressing the importance of management, Shri Vajpayee said, every task however small, however mundane requires proper management. In this connection he referred to Bhagwad Gita which has elevated management to the status of yoga. He felt that the difference between success and failure, or even between success and better success lies in how well we manage our work. As administration and management are largely synonymous, Shri Vajpayee felt that there is a need for continuing management training for government employees and officers to make them result oriented.
The Prime Minister further said that the basic management education should be affordable and should also be taught in non-english lanaguages.
Earlier, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh Srhi Rangarajan in his address said that the need of the hour is to improve the efficiency and productivity of our system. “It is not enough to produce more goods and services. We must do so at unit costs that are affordable by many. That is why we look to experts in management who can bring about a significant change in the productivity” Shri Rangarajan said.
In his speech, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu said that ISB is an institution that does not carry any baggage of the past. “It is a 21st century institution catering to the needs of the 21st century he said. Shri Naidu hoped that ISB would become a crucible of leadership and excellence in management education.
Shri Rajat Gupta, Chairman of the ISB Board welcomed the gathering.
The ISB set up in a sprawling 250 acres campus has affiliations with Kellogg School of Management, The Wharton School and London Business School. It offers a one year post graduate programme in management and a series of Executive programmes.
It’s been 3 years since the speech was given. ISB looks promising and is living up to it’s expectation, not an easy job. I agree it still has a long way to go in terms of increasing research capabilities, permanent faculty strength, achieving accreditions, becoming reputed world-wide etc.,. But the roadmap is pretty clear and I feel, ISB is going in the right direction..Every year, the competition to get into ISB is increasing. All this increases the quality of student body. This attracts more recruiters and lucrative jobs. This simple cycle, happening year after year, is vital in building the brand and reputation. The brand and reputation attracts more quality professors. I am glad that ISB is caught in this ‘positive’ cycle. In this 3 years ISB has grown to such an extent that even traditional giants - IIMs are looking in to the one-year market. GLIM, Great Lakes institute of management is another example. MBA market is becoming a very competitive environment. Conducive for excellency..Hope the trend continues..
