Sunday 5 May 2013

Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony






The Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Raipur was held today, Sunday May 5, 2013 at village Pota Cheriya, Naya Raipur. Dr. M.M.Pallam Raju, Hon’ble Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Government of India, was the Chief Guest of the occasion with Dr Raman Singh, Hon’ble Chief Minister presiding over the function.

 The foundation stone laying ceremony marked the beginning of the establishment of the campus of IIM Raipur which will be a state of art campus presenting a blissful mix of modern architecture, culture and heritage of Chhattisgarh. The first phase of the campus will be functional from 2015-16.

IIM Raipur was established in 2010 at Raipur. The thrust was to provide quality management education while addressing concerns about regional imbalances in management education, play leadership role in the nation’s managerial manpower development and carryout research in emerging areas. The focus was the ideal and the firm belief that manpower trained at IIMs will contribute significantly to the overall economic growth of the country.


The event saw the most esteemed presence of dignitaries like Dr. M.M.Pallam Raju, Hon’ble Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Government of India, Dr Raman Singh, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Shri Hari S. Bhartia, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIM Raipur, Shri. Ram Vichar Netam, Hon’ble Minister of Higher and Technical Education, Government of Chhattisgarh, and Shri.Bhushan Lal Jangde, Hon’ble Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) who most kindly had consented to grace the occasion with their esteemed presence.

The campus of IIM Raipur will come up on the 200 acres of land and will be one of the finest examples of state of the art campus planned with a blend of modernity and cultural heritage of Chhattisgarh. The campus will depict modern architecture and assimilate the culture and traditions of Chhattisgarh.


The ceremony began with Shri Hari S. Bhartia, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIM Raipur welcoming Dr. M.M.Pallam Raju, Hon’ble Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Government of India, Dr Raman Singh, Hon’ble Chief Minister and Shri Ram Vichar Netam, Minister for Technical and Higher Education, Government of Chhattisgarh. Prof. B.S. Sahay then welcomed Shri Hari S.Bhartia.



This was followed by lighting the traditional lamp which marks the beginning of the significant historical event. The lighting of the lamp is a salutation to the supreme who is in the light of that lamp and brings auspiousness, prosperity, knowledge and abundance of wealth. The proceedings of the convocation began with the rendering of the Saraswati Vandana where Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of learning and knowledge was invoked to bless and provide guidance for the success of the auspicious beginnings of the temple of learning and higher education.


Shri Hari S. Bhartia presenting memento to the
Chief Guest, Dr. M.M. Pallum Raju, Hon'ble Union Minister of HRD
This was followed by unveiling of the Foundation stone by the Chief Guest, Dr. M.M.Pallam Raju, Hon’ble Minister of HRD and Dr. Raman Singh, Hon’be Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh in the august presence of Shri Ram Vichar Netam, Hon’ble Minister of Higher and Technical Education, Government of Chhattisgarh. Shri Bhushan Lal Jangde, Hon’ble Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), and Shri Hari S.Bhartia, Hon’ble Chairman, Board of Governors. The esteemed Board of Governors, IIM Raipur also graced the occasion with their presence.

Shri Hari S. Bhartia, delivered his Welcome Address. In his address he thanked and appreciated the contribution of the State Government in particular the encouragement from the Hon’ble Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh for continuous support in the form of providing 200 acres of land for IIM Raipur as well as for providing other resources. He stressed on the involvement of entrepreneurial system with the government to overcome the challenges faced by the state.

Speaking particularly about management education he said, “management education has drastically changed and is driven by factors like demography, globalisation and rapid pace of technology. Success involves going beyond the narrow confines of disciplines and addressing issues that need cross functional and sometimes answers beyond the cross functional areas.”

Adding further on the role of IIM Raipur as a centre for world class management education and training he emphasised, “the vision for IIM Raipur is to provide high quality value education, serving society, state and nation for economic growth and development. Besides this, IIM Raipur has also partnered with the state on three fronts-policy, growth and development and will remain committed to this role. It will also be a centre for knowledge creation in form of high quality research.”

He also urged for the support of all stakeholders including the State Government to be one of the world class institute with a Global perspective and remarked that, “IIM Raipur was a shining opportunity for entrepreneurial development of the state.”

Shri. Ram Vichar Netam in his address began with voicing a firm belief in the quality of IIM Raipur when he said, this foundation stone laying of IIM Raipur can be seen as another milestone in the history of Chhattisgarh.” With a thunderous applause from the crowd he delineated, “immense opportunities present at Raipur in the form of minerals, flora and fauna which can be utilised to serve the state at large and especially the underprivileged who will be benefitted by the progress of the state.” With particular emphasis on IIM Raipur he expressed great expectations from the students of IIM Raipur who will transform the state and the country into a land of opportunities.”  He also stressed on the capacity building of the youth who have the zeal and energy to lead growth of the country.

After the motivating speech of Shri Ram Vichar Netam, the presidential address of Hon’ble Chief Minister, Dr Raman Singh followed.  He in a very interesting manner drew out similarities between managing an organisation and successfully managing the state. For example, shareholders for both an organisation and state are important for successful working. However, the shareholders of the state are more varied and constitute a large group, approximately 2.5 crores in case of Chhattisgarh and managing in such circumstances becomes challenging. In terms of ‘Profit motive’ of the organization, the state’s profits lie in, “the progress and welfare of its people, in accomplishing the dreams of this 2.5 crore of Indians.” Drawing on his rich and fruitful experiences he stressed on the principles of “team work, self-confidence in taking timely and right decisions, setting targets, managing time frames, selecting right people for work and executing with transparency.”  Addressing the IIM Raipur students he invited the students to join hands with the Government of Chhattisgarh for its progress, recommend reforms. He asked them to study the Government projects because, “Success comes through the strong will power to execute theories and understand ground realities.”

The Chief Guest, Dr. M.M.Pallum Raju, Hon’ble Union Minister of Human Resource Development,
Government of India addressed the gathering. He began on a solemn note when he said that “We owe it to the nation to expand the capacity of higher learning. It is the supreme duty of the Institutes to provide avenues for strengthening the skills.” He urged IIM Raipur to, “participate and join hands with Government in finding solutions to the regional problems and issues of the state. This was the only way to provide meaningful education.” Addressing the faculty and students of IIM Raipur he asked them to , “orient their focus to the growth and development of state.” He vocalised that education as a medium to build the strength of the nation is, was and will always be the area of utmost priority for the Central Government which has from the primary education to the higher education professed and encouraged development of knowledge and skill base in country.



This was followed by the Vote of Thanks by the Director IIM Raipur, Prof. B.S.Sahay who expressed his gratitude to the Dr. M.M.Pallam Raju, Hon’ble Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Government of India, Dr Raman Singh, Hon’ble Chief Minister of the state, Shri. Ram Vichar Netam, Shri Hari S. Bhartia and all dignitaries present. He said, A dream so beautiful, an effort so noble and a vision so grand could not have been completed without the support, encouragement and guidance of the central and state Government.”

The ceremony concluded with the gracious words of the Director followed by National Anthem and a sumptuous lunch.

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