New Delhi: Today, along with the foundation stone of IIM Campus, a new stone has been laid to give new strength to the youth of Odisha. The Permanent Campus of IIM Sambalpur, with its identity of Odisha’s great culture and resources, will give Odisha a new identity in the management world. At the beginning of the New Year, this launch has doubled the joy of all of us.
The country has seen a trend in the past decades, outside multi-nationals have come in large numbers and have progressed on this earth. This decade and this century is the creation of new multinationals in India. This period has come for India’s strength to prevail in the world. Today’s start-ups are the multi-nationals of tomorrow.
And in which cities are these start ups mostly made? Which we commonly call Tier-2, Tier-3 cities, today the effect of start-ups is seen in those places. These start ups need new managers of Indian youth to grow further, for them. Management experts coming out of new areas of the country, taking new experiences, will play a big role in giving new heights to Indian companies.
I was reading somewhere that despite the Covid crisis this year, India has given more Unicorn than previous years. Today, the scope for start-ups is constantly increasing in the unprecedented reforms that are being done from farming to the space sector. You have to prepare yourself for these new possibilities. You have to connect your career with the hopes and expectations of India. We all have the responsibility to bring a new Global identity to Brand India in this new decade.
The main mantra of IIM Sambalpur is – Navasarjanam Shuchita Samagravatam. That is, Innovation, Integrity and Inclusiveness, you have to show your management skills to the country with the strength of this mantra. You have to encourage new construction, emphasize on the inclusion of all, who have been left behind in the race for development, also have to take it along.
The place where IIM’s Permanent Campus is being built, there is already a Medical University, Engineering University, three more Universities, Sainik School, CRPF and Police Training Institute. Those who do not know much about Sambalpur, can also now guess how big this area is going to become after the establishment of a prestigious institution like IIM. The most special thing for Sambalpur IIM and students-professionals studying in this field will be that this entire area is like a practical lab for you in a way. This place is naturally so grand, Hirakud Dam, the pride of Odisha, is not far from you.
The Debargarh Century near the dam is special in itself, it also has a holy place in the middle which Bir Surendra Sai Ji made his base. Students’ ideas and managerial skills can be of great use here to further increase the tourism potential of this area. Sambalpuri textile is also famous in the country and abroad. ‘Bandha ikat’ fabric, its unique pattern, design and texture is very special. Similarly, there is so much handcraft work in this area, silver filigree, stone carving, wood work, brass work, our tribal siblings are also very well versed in it. For the IIM students, they have an important responsibility to make Sambalpur local.
You also know very well that Sambalpur and its surrounding area is also known for its mineral and mining strength. High-grade iron ore, bauxite, chromite, manganese, coal-limestone to gold, gemstone, diamond, multiply the natural wealth here. You have to work on new ideas about how to better manage these natural assets of the country, how to develop the whole region, develop people.
Colleagues,
I have given you just a few examples. Forest wealth in Odisha, minerals, color-music, tribal art and craft, poems of the nature poet Gangadhar Meher, what is not here near Odisha. When many of you will use your skills in making Sambalpuri Textile or Cuttack’s Philosophy workmanship to make it a global identity, work to increase tourism here, along with the self-reliant India campaign, the development of Odisha and You will gain speed and you will get the new height.
To make Local a global place, all of you IIM’s young colleagues need to find new and innovative solutions. I believe, our IIMs can act as a bridge between local products and international collaboration in the country’s mission of self-sufficiency. The Alumni network of all of you, which is so vast and spread in every corner of the world, can also help a lot in this. As of 2014 we had 13 IIMs here. Now there are 20 IIMs in the country. Such a large Talent Pool can greatly expand the self-sufficient India campaign.
Today Opportunities are also new in the world, so the challenges before the management world are also new. You also have to understand these challenges. Like now, additive printing or 3D printing is changing the entire production economy. Now you must have heard in the news, only last month a company has 3D-printed an entire two storey building near Chennai. When the methods of production change, the arrangements related to logistics and supply chain will also change.
As the methods of work are changing, the demand for management skills is also changing. Now is the time for collaborative, innovative and transformative management rather than ttop-downor top-heavy management. This connectivity is necessary with our peers, bots and algorithms are also with us as team members. Therefore, as much as human management is necessary today, technological management is also necessary.
I will also make a request to you and IIMs across the country and other schools related to business management. How the country worked in the spirit of technology and teamwork throughout this period of Corona transition, how steps were taken to protect 130 crore countrymen, responsibilities were raised, collaboration was done, campaign for public participation. Research should be done on all these subjects, documents should be prepared. How did the country of 130 crores innovate from time to time How India expanded Capacity and Capability in a very short time. There is a big lesson of management in this. During Kovid, the country has launched a permanent solution of PPE kit, mask, ventilator.
We had a tradition that short-term approach should be adopted to solve the problem. The country has now dropped out of that thinking. Now our emphasis is far beyond the immediate needs and long term solution. And there is also a very good lesson to be learned in this management. Arundhati ji is present among us. She has also been witness to the entire process of how the Jan Dhan accounts for the poor in the country were planned, how the implementation happened, how the bank managed the entire process. It is not easy to open bank accounts of more than 40 crore poor who do not go to the door of the bank. And I am telling you these things because management does not mean to manage big companies. In the true sense, for a country like India, management also means managing lives. Let me give you another example and this is important because Odisha’s child brother Dharmendra Pradhan ji has played a big role in this.
LPG came into our country almost 10 years after independence. But LPG became a luxury in later decades. Rahis became a prestige of the people. People had to travel so much for a gas connection, so many papad and they still did not get gas. The situation was that till 2014, 6 years before today, till 2014 the coverage of LPG in the country was only 55%.
This is what happens when approach does not have a sense of permanent solution. LPG coverage is just 55% in 60 years. If the country had run at the same speed, half a century would have passed in reaching gas for everyone. After forming our government in 2014, we decided that a permanent solution would have to be done. Do you know how much there is in the country today? More than 98 percent. And all of you associated with management here know that it is easy to start a little bit from the beginning. The real challenge is to make coverage 100 percent.
