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.
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| Shri Hari S. Bhartia presenting memento to the Chief Guest, Dr. M.M. Pallum Raju, Hon'ble Union Minister of HRD |
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,
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.
