Teachers’ Day Celebration at IIM Raipur marked by Panel Discussion on “Swach Bharat Abhiyaan”

IIM Raipur celebrated the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi and Teachers’ Day. The event began with the auspicious lightning of lamp by Dr. B.S.Sahay, Director IIM Raipur, faculty members and the students. It was followed by a melodious Saraswati Vandana performed by PGP 1st year.

Dr. B. S. Sahay, on this very occasion, remembered his teachers and shared his experiences on how they contributed in shaping his life. He stressed upon the unique relationship between teachers and students, a symbiotic relationship with the teachers providing a broad picture and perspectives of the challenges and the students being a source of inspiration and further learning for the teachers. He highlighted the importance of values like commitment, hard work, honesty, sincerity & discipline. He also acknowledged the initiative of MHRD, Government of India of streamlining the Teachers’ Day celebration and amalgamating it with “Swacchhta Pakhwada”. He emphasized on the need of joining hands for a clean environment for nation building.

To mark the day, a panel discussion involving students was conducted, which provided enriching insights on “Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan- A Manager’s Perspective”. The panelists Jasojeet Mukherjee, Monika Vaswani, Tilak Kakkad and the moderator Aayush Singh presented their views with diverse themes such as structural reforms in waste management, open defecation, limitations of earlier programs and swach bharat cess. The progress made in cleanliness drive was talked upon by invoking the past values of Indian Culture. The panel also discussed the different campaigns and initiatives by the corporate world in order to inculcate a sense of hygiene and cleanliness. Also a very prominent point was made regarding the theme “managing dirt or being clean” and how we can break the social inertia and get cracking on the ground with whatever capacity we can.

Dr. PRS Sarma, Chairman, PGP, IIM Raipur paid reverence to Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. He brought out the importance of teachers in Indian culture by citing various shlokas which emphasized the role of a teacher as someone who removes darkness from student’s life, guides them and imparts them the treasury of knowledge.Prof. Vinita Sahay, Chairman, International relations, IIM Raipur shared her experiences and enlightened the students with information about diverse Indian culture. She proudly gave an insight on management lessons from ancient Indian culture. Prof. Debaddata Pal cited the example of the great Mathematician Ramanujam and the pivotal role of teachers in catapulting the careers of students to new heights.

This was followed by a heartfelt speech by Avisha Munjal, a PGP 1 st year student. She highlighted the importance of teachers as the most influential personalities in anyone’s life. Sharing from her own experiences, she regarded teachers as the important pillars who educate the youth of the society who in turn become the leaders of the next generation of people. The speech was followed by cutting of a cake by Dr. B.S.Sahay and the students.The icing on the cake, was a powerful recitation of Shri Atal Bihari Vajapayee’s poem by Aayush Singh, a student of PGP 2 nd year. The celebration ended with a melodius song performance by students of PGP 1st year.

The Closing ceremony: Freedom Fortnight

IIM Raipur, IIT Bhillai and GEC, under the initiative of Ministry of Human Resource Development, came together to celebrate Independence Day in a grand way which lasted a fortnight. The mega event, rightly christened as ‘Freedom Fortnight’ was celebrated from 9th to 23rd August, 2016 with the closing ceremony being celebrated on a cheerful note. The chief guest of the event was Hon’ble Governor of Chhattisgarh, Shri Balramji Dass Tandon. The event was also attended by Dr. B. S.Sahay, Director, IIM Raipur; Dr. A. K. Dubey, Principal,GEC; Dr. Amirtham Rajagopal, Associate Professor, IIT Bhillai and Dr. Atri Sengupta,Chairperson Student Affairs, IIM Raipur.

The Chief Guest of the event, the Governor, Shri Balramji Dass Tandon, expressed his delight on being a part of the closing ceremony of the Freedom Fortnight organized collectively by IIM Raipur, IIT Bhilai and GEC Raipur. He stressed upon the contributions being made by the youth and the government towards strengthening and expansion of our country. He praised the initiatives like Swachh Bharat and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao which are essential in the solidification of our society. He added that to serve the country we need not be a part of the armed forces. We can always serve the nation by doing what we do to the best of our capabilities. The thought process of every citizen working in different industries should be inclined towards making India a self-sufficient nation.

Dr. B.S.Sahay, Director of IIM Raipur, applauded the efforts made by the faculty, administration and students of all the three institutes. He quoted the former president, Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, on the idea of how good thinking leads to positivity and progress and also appreciated the government’s initiatives such as Make in India, Skill India, Digital India and Clean India for nation building. He enthusiastically mentioned the fact that around 27 crore Indian students from all over the country sang the National Anthem at exactly 11 amduring the celebrations.

The vote of thanks was given by Dr. A.K. Dubey, Principal, GEC. He thanked the Honourable Governor for gracing the event. He also expressed his gratitude towards the heads, faculty and students of all the three institutions for participating and making the Freedom Fortnight a huge success.

Earlier in the day, the event started with an electrifying performance by the music band ofIIM Raipur which was followed by a thought provoking speech by Nishant Joshi, of IIM Raipur, on the meaning of Independence. The event witnessed a mesmerising dance performance by the students of IIT Bhilai. To stir the feeling of patriotism in each and every one present at the closing ceremony, there was a beautiful poetry recitation by Anuj Sabrawal, a PGP 1 st year student of IIM Raipur. It was followed by an inspiring play, Vijay, by the students of IIT Bhilai.

The Freedom Fortnight extravaganza was conducted from 9th to 23rd August, 2016 and it encompassed a gamut of activities organised over a fortnight. It started with a slogan writing competition on the 9 th of August in which Anuj Sabarwal of IIM Raipur bagged the 1 st prize. The debate competition held on 11 th August left everyone spellbound by the views presented by the paticipants among whom Nishant Joshi of IIM Raipur was adjudged the winner. This In addition to academic events, activities like tree plantation and cleanliness drive were also organised. These initiatives received huge participation from the excited students of all the three institutes. By means of these initiatives, students were able to spread awareness about nature and sanitation. A Freedom Run was also organised to commemorate and celebrate the sacrifices made by our freedom fighters. On Independence Day, the three institutes hoisted the national flag and staged cultural performances. The students were very happy to participate in group dance competition, drama competition and poetry recitation. The scintillating band performance lifted the spirit of both students and faculty alike. In the second leg of Freedom Fortnight, events like rangoli competition, essay and poem writing competitions, Independence Day quiz and many more activities were organized.

Suyash Tiwari, a student of GEC Raipur, said "It has been a great experience to participate with the students of all the three institutes. Also, the honourable Governor's speech on the importance of our role as future technocrats was inspiring". Speaking on similar lines, Pawan Kumar, a student of IIT Bhilai, spoke about the great experience he had in participating in the various events especially the skit. He felt that The Freedom Fortnight for essential to bring the students of the three institutes together and in building unity and harmony among them. Sagar Kothari, a student of IIM Raipur looked visibly thrilled by the fortnight celebrations.When asked for his comments, he said that, “The events were very engaging and inspiring.There is a lot to learn about our country and events like these would go a long way in imprinting on our minds the history of our country and in acknowledging the sacrifices made by great freedom fighters.”

At the end of this fortnight celebrations the students and faculty of the three institutes appeared to be very exultant and were emerged in patriotic fervour. Such a celebration would surely leave behind a mark on their hearts for a very long time. The collaboration of the three institutes was a great success.

IIM Raipur had one of the Largest Contingent in the Indian Youth Delegation to China

17 students of IIM Raipur were part of the Indian Youth Delegation to China. The delegation visited major cities, cultural and historic centres of China from 17^th to 24^th June, 2016. The delegation was part of the annual initiative by Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, Government of India to send 200 youths to China. The main purpose of the visit being to promote mutual understanding of values and culture among the youth and to develop better relations between India and Peoples Republic of China.

The delegation comprised of students from all over the country including from IIM Ahmedabad, Kozhikode and Trichy, with IIM Raipur having one of the largest representation among the selected delegation.

The students of IIM Raipur toured in two groups, with one group of eight visiting Beijing, the capital city of China; Xi’an, Nanjing and Shanghai. The other group of nine visited Beijing, Chengdu, Guilin and Guangzhou. The groups visited historical place like The Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City, The Terracotta Warrior Army and Dayan Pagoda; and educational places like Beijing Sports University, Urban planning museum and Chanba ecological district among many.

The tour focussed on showcasing the cultural as well as developmental growth of China. Through visit to various urban planning museum and ecological districts, the students were made aware about reason behind rapid infrastructural and commercial development. The students also visited universities to get a first-hand experience of the educational system and infrastructure in the country.
A special session on Belt and Road Initiative, popularly known as Silk Road initiative was also held, where it’s historical and commercial significance were explained. The presentation of traditional dance forms and cultural exchanges helped in better understanding of the Chinese culture. The students also experienced travel in Bullet train that is going to be implemented very soon in India.

Here are some of the students of IIM Raipur describing their experiences and learning from visit to China.

Aditya Pratap, PGP 2^nd Year, IIM Raipur 

 The trip was a very informative one for me with respect to learning how a nation has reached the peak of development without a common knowledge of English. The trip was a mix of appreciating the engineering and architectural development of traditional China by visiting to historical monuments, and that of modern urban planning and infrastructure in Beijing, Shanghai and Xi’an, which has been developed to cater logistics need in China as an inland port city. The important lesson to draw from China is that they have focussed on developing the facilities that directly affect their manufacturing and exports based economy, which is seamless road and rail infrastructure, dedicated large financial districts and faster decision making process. Our country being an agrarian economy needs to focus, with identical vigour, in agriculture technology development, complete support in supply chain from storage of produce to their selling and seamless logistics infrastructure. 

Chinese youth are very hard working and with complete support of governmental infrastructure they are committed to their goal be it in academics, sports or music, from a very young age.

I would like to thank the Government of India for giving me the opportunity to explore China and present a clear picture of it.

Lakshmi Prasanna, PGP 2^nd Year, IIM Raipur

From the strangers with similar intentions to the friends with noticeable differences; from the  shining early mornings to the glittering late nights; from the 6AM Breakfasts to the 6PM Banquets; from India Gate to Great Wall of China - the overall Indian Youth Delegation to China program never failed to inspire me.

In 8 days we covered 4 important cities of China – Beijing, Xi’an, Nanjing and Shanghai. Each and every city got its own beauty, advanced infrastructure and vivacious culture. The good people always bring out the good in people and may be this was the reason why I always felt good while interacting with them. The Universities (Beijing Sport University, International Law University), the Museums (Terracotta Warriors, Urban Planning Museum, Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall) and the Historical places (The Great Wall of China, Forbidden city, Dayan pagoda) left me with a lot of experiences and new thoughts.  The overall trip enhanced my perception towards sports and urban development. 

Finally, I want to say Xièxiè (thank you) to China for giving me a life time experience and thanks to IIM Raipur and Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports for providing me with such a great opportunity.

Isha Tayal, PGP 2nd Year, IIM Raipur

An Experience, never to be forgotten. The Indian Youth Exchange Program to China introduced me to a country which perhaps otherwise no planned trip could. The hospitality extended to the delegation by the Government of India and the Government of People's Republic of China was overwhelming.

The journey began with a send-off banquet hosted by Chinese embassy in New Delhi and a warm welcome by Indian embassy in Beijing, China. It was followed by an enriching exploration across four cities of Beijing, Chengdu, Guilin and Guangzhou. Each city had a unique feat to offer. From the Great Wall of China in Beijing, to the amazing Karst topography across Li river in Guilin, every place left us awestruck with its beauty, be it natural or magnificently man-made. Visit to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding that houses 80% of global giant panda population was a personal favourite. Interaction with students and professors in various universities, visits to factories and companies, innovation centre and incubators focused on multi-faceted approaches to learning and development.

The program offered an opportunity to explore the synergy between India and China which strengthens my belief on INCH TOWARDS MILES. Above all, the newly developed outlook and exposure through exchange of culture, ideas and values resulted in an overarching exchange experience and new lifelong friendships.

Shreya Agarwal, PGP 2^nd Year, IIM Raipur

 Youth delegate to China - an opportunity not to be missed. The purpose behind the visit to China is to understand the Chinese people, culture, tradition and art form, and strengthen friendly relationship with the neighbouring Country. This was aptly fulfilled by the delegation which comprised of young professionals, students, scholars, athletes, artists and representatives from civil society organizations and political parties. I am thankful to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and IIM Raipur for giving me this golden opportunity to represent my Nation.

The memorable 9 days trip to China started from the IGI Airport, New Delhi and spanned to Beijing, Chengdu, Guilin and Guangzhou. The lavish welcome dinner hosted by the Indian Embassy in Beijing, the stay and travel arrangements, places to visit and the helping nature of the Chinese student volunteers was highly appreciable. The main highlight of the trip was the Cruise on the Li River in Guilin which captured its magnificent beauty and picturesque view. The industrial visits ensured learning about the Startup Ecosystem in China and how we could implement those in our own Country. This short trip became an unforgettable journey with friends owing to the cuteness of Pandas, the fun in teaching Hindi phrases to Chinese volunteers, the hassles of bargaining in English on the streets of Guangzhou and learning the not so difficult Chinese Calligraphy.  

This trip gave me an opportunity to observe the Chinese people and culture very closely and I can surely say that they are very similar to my Motherland.  

 
Mohit Jethi, PGP 2^nd Year, IIM Raipur

 An unexpected opportunity to represent India as a delegate to China knocked my door (my mail box) when I received a mail form Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports about my selection. The “Wow” feeling was amplified upon realization that I was selected out of 1.3 billion people to represent India as a Youth delegate to China? The next big thing for me was, “It’s my first foreign trip, and it starts bang on from China and would cover 4 places there!”

The 200 membered delegation had a total of 17 representatives from IIM Raipur which accounted for 8.5%, that’s something to take a pride for the institute and its students. The visits were memorable, be it to the grand ‘Great Wall of China’, popular Panda base Chengdu, scenic Guilin –a prefecture level city or the bullet train ride from to Guangzhou covering approximately 500 km in 2 hours.

The overall experience was highly enriching and culturally stimulating as it provided deep insights about our Asian Counterpart. Also, this gave me an opportunity to build new relationship and friends.

This trip to China will be cherished throughout my life and will be very close to my heart forever. Whenever I recall this trip, I take pride in saying that’ I represented India as a Youth Delegate to China’.

New batch of students brings in oodles of ardor and avidity at IIM Raipur

IIM Raipur welcomed its 7^th PGP batch and 5^th FPM batch with a four day orientation programme. As it is aptly said ‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’, the new batch began with its journey with dreams and aspirations of becoming the corporate leaders.  With the learning and skills that they would acquire here at IIM Raipur, the students are sure that they will be able to shape their corporate careers and turn their dreams into realities. The students from the incoming batch of PGP 2016-18 are from diverse backgrounds ranging from engineering, commerce, management studies, medical and life sciences. The students have shown a lot of enthusiasm and a spirit of healthy competition and have soon adapted themselves for the next two years of extensive corporate grooming.

A few excerpts from the student speak –

Aditi Koomar- Bachelors in Dentistry, MCODS Manipal  After completing my Bachelors in Dentistry from one of the leading dental college of India, MCODS Manipal in 2013, I worked as a Probationary Officer with IDBI Bank for 7 months. The environment and work culture at the bank made me contemplate management studies. I decided to appear for the Common Admission Test in 2015 and got a call from IIM Raipur, which I promptly accepted. After arriving here, a fortnight was spent in the introductory classes and the Orientation Programme which gave us a flavor of the corporate life.  The daily schedule has been full of lectures, assignments and activities. The seniors have been very helpful and supportive, and have prepared us for an eventful two years at IIM Raipur.

Namrata – Bachelor of Commerce, SRCC After an eventful start of the PGP programme with the orientation ceremony and the preparatory classes, I had a great deal of learning from the various activities organized by the clubs of IIM Raipur -Mantra, Finatix, HRidhaan, Consulting and Entrepreneurship Club (CEC), Operations Club (OPEP), CUSP and Kartavya. International Yoga Day celebration has inculcated in us the need of healthy living and high thinking. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to interact with many eminent people from the corporate world. The students got a chance to show their creativity and talent through the cultural activities. The teachings of the professors and dignitaries have instilled in the students a new force of confidence that they have entered one of the premier B-schools in India.

Prabhash Sharma- Civil Engineer,  NIT Surathkal There are moments when we have to make some of the most important decisions which can change the course of our lives. One of those moments for me was when I, having worked for a year with Tata Housing Bangalore, decided to pursue MBA at one of the most prestigious educational institutions of the nation “IIM RAIPUR”. The Preparatory Classes that made our knowledge base sound was followed by the four day Orientation Programme, where we got to meet some of the most influential leaders from the corporate world like Mr. Raj Raghavan from Amazon , Mr. Nikhil Sahni from Yes bank to name a few. The support of the seniors has been commendable and I’m thankful to them for introducing us to the unique IIM culture. Within such a short period, I have participated in numerous events such as IPL auction, Junkyard, Beer-game, toastmaster etc. I can see myself embarking on a steep learning curve and am very glad that I made the right decision by joining IIM Raipur.

Pratik Garg – B.Tech, Civil Engineering, IIT Roorkee I have worked at ZS Associates as a Business Analyst before joining the PGP programme at IIM Raipur. Right from the day 1 at IIM Raipur, I have experienced a high level of innovative energy in the unique culture and business ecosystem at IIM Raipur. The batch profile at IIM Raipur is very diverse with students being not only engineers but also economics graduates and doctors. It helps in generating and exchanging more ideas and learning from varied perspectives. The curriculum at IIM Raipur is anchored in the fundamentals of general management, from finance and marketing to strategy and organizational behavior. During my stay at IIM Raipur I expect I would develop leadership skills across multiple dimensions to be able to deliver strategic, operational and organizational innovations in the corporate world as well as the society. Also, I’m particularly ecstatic about the Student Exchange Programme at IIM Raipur through which I can have direct exposure to foreign universities.

Sagar Kothari – Bachelor of Commerce,  St. Xavier’s College Kolkata After completion of my graduation in commerce, I cleared the CA Intermediate Level Exam conducted by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. I had the desire to pursue MBA since the final year of my college and the moment I received my convert mail for IIM Raipur, it was clear that this place was to be my destination for the next 2 years. The student exchange programme, constantly improving placement record and a relatively smaller batch size were some of the factors which helped me in making my choice. The journey so far has been an enthralling one with the co-operation and support extended by the seniors being commendable. We got the opportunity of interacting with the industry stalwarts from reputable companies who shared their experiences and provided tips and tricks about making the best of these 2 years at IIM Raipur.

Hershita Tigga- B.Com, SRCC Having completed my graduation from Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), New Delhi; I secured admission at IIM Raipur. Right from the registrations to the hostel room allotment, everything went on smoothly with the help and guidance from the seniors. The International Yoga Day function was a very wonderful experience and gave us a head start about the good days to come. We were also introduced to various clubs and committees through innovative games and events where we learnt a lot about team work, time management and also got to interact and know our batch mates better. Meanwhile, we were also interacting and learning a lot from our esteemed faculties in the preparatory classes, which were a great help and gave us a steady start to our student life here. The orientation programme gave us great insights of the various aspects and sectors of the market. Both the PGP batches, celebrated ‘EID’ here at IIM Raipur as one big family where we had a lot of fun and learnt about team building and event management.

Views of IIM Raipur students on Union Budget 2016

"I am presenting the budget when the global economy is in crisis," Jaitley said in his opening remarks, adding that India, however, remained the bright spot in this gloom, turning difficulties into opportunities”. With this in mind, the management students of IIM Raipur gave their views on the Union Budget 2016 –

 Rajat Lakhotia, a 1st year management student feels that the taxes and cess imposed on services to initiate rural welfare programs clearly indicates a shift towards rural economy. Major Banks were trading in green after the announcement of increased legroom for recapitalization of PSU banks and focus on rural infrastructure. The focus on infrastructure vis-a-vis roads and highways was a positive signal for infra giants.

Shivam Jaiswal, another 1st year management student thinks that the move to provide 100% tax exemption, for the start-ups, for the 3 years is a brilliant step toward pushing more number of Entrepreneurs in India. Also, the incentives being given to the new manufacturing companies and small enterprise companies will give a boost to the Start-Up India initiative. The other good point in the Budget 2016 is the money allocated under MNREGA, Swachh Bharat and roads.

Shreya Agrawal, a first year management student presents her views that focus on agricultural sector and leveraging the technology to provide transparency and convenience to farmers is a key point in Budget 2016. Connecting states and districts through increased road projects and achieving the mission of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ will help in providing a conducive environment for businesses in India.

Ritisha Choudhary, a first year management student says that The Union Budget of 2016-17 has paved way for massive reforms and promising opportunities. With the robust growth achieved and reforms in health insurance, LPG, HRA allowance and stress organic farming, rural infrastructure, Make in India, promoting affordable housing, relief to small tax payers, resource mobilization for agriculture, rural economy and clean environment; this budget has the potential to bring India on a faster track of growth.

Amey Limaye, a 1st year management student says that the Union budget 2016-17 is majorly pro-poor budget. The provisions related to LPG connections with state support, increase in tax deduction for rent, additional exemption for housing loans etc. clearly shows that the lower and middle income class have a lot to benefit from the budget. Special focus has been put on Health, Education, Infrastructure, Agriculture and Banking sector. Overall, the budget seems to fulfill the hopes of many sections of the society.

Pushp Mitra, a 1st year management student says that “The Union Budget of 2016-17 had the imprints of Prime Minister than our Finance Minister whose major thrust is to uplift India’s rural villages, encourage small entrepreneurs & showing some “Achhe Din” for common man who earlier said that Budget would be Pro-village, Pro-Poor & Pro-Farmers. The adherence to Fiscal deficit with emphasis on growth & development besides the increasing infrastructure are the highlights of this year’s budget. It's a friendly budget which is inclined more towards the welfare of farmers & infrastructure with reduced benefits to corporate.”

Union Railway Budget: IIM Raipur student’s take on it

The Union Railway Budget 2016-17 was unveiled by Mr. Suresh Prabhu, the Hon. Railway Minister in Lok Sabha on 25th February, 2016. In his words, "Every customer is our brand ambassador." Taking cue from it, we noted the views of young management students of IIM Raipur. Here is the take of budding managers on the Railway Budget:


Ms. Rucha Badhe, a 1st year management student, views are, “A visionary, consumer-centric and an all-encompassing budget by our astute Railway Minister that caters to the needs of the middle and the economically backward classes as well as to form and function- with the introduction of the 4 new trains, technologification of platforms, and introduction of bio-toilets. And all this in line with the Make in India initiative, boosting investments and employment."

“The Railway budget is focussed on improving the quality of travel in all aspects of journey and journey planning. The developed areas in the railroad topography have resorted to fewer gains from the budget whereas the untouched areas are to receive majority of the benefits,” opined Mr. Dinesh Venkatesan, a 1st year student. He conveys that states that were previously separated by tough geographical landscape like Assam, Mizoram and Manipur are expected to get boost for industrial development in North East region, because railroad connectivity stands as a key competency indicator for the ideal pro-business environment. This effort is conducive in supporting other ongoing projects such as the NH-54 Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project aimed at international trade relations.Dinesh further adds that, “Opening our own first auto rail hub in the country and registering for special purpose vehicle in the much awaited Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor is an addition to the self-reliance of the massive organisation. The sprouting aggressive technological transformation in the railroad transportation is heralded by the efforts as mentioned above. Also infrastructure of close to 500 stations are to be improved in the next two years by installing or enhancing the wi-fi hubs present, E-catering to all rail stations and increase in lower berth quota for women passengers and senior citizens, 33% women quota in all reserved classes, incorporation of children's food menu are measures proposed to improve the travel of women and senior citizens.”

Mr. Punit Agarwal, another management student, charted out the major highlights of the budget as,” the introduction of fully unreserved superfast trains on dense traffic routes, bar-coded tickets on pilot basis to tackle menace of ticketless travel and increase in seat quota for woman and senior citizen and no fare hikes. 17 States have approved to form joint ventures for rail projects which opens new vistas for ownership in railway sector.

He also announced the setting up of a full-fledged Railway University soon and the first auto hub in Chennai.”

Mr. Ajay Singla, a 1st year management student, commented, “The development agenda of the current government has clearly been complemented by the Railway budget 2016-17.
The provisions for WiFi facilities, increased quota for senior citizens and women, CCTV surveillance, GPS-based digital display, cleaning of toilets by requests through SMS etc. will help in improving the railways scenario in India. The new infrastructural projects announced in the budget require huge funds giving a hard challenge to the government given there are no hikes in the passenger fares. In the budget, there are no announcements of any new trains. However, the government has promised to add the new trains after the review about the capacity is over. Overall, the budget aims to facilitate the general public via various passenger friendly initiatives.”

IIM Raipur Placement Snapshots 2015-16

IIM Raipur proudly announces another successful year of placements. Backed by strong industrial relations, the placement season of 2015-16 witnessed an overwhelming participation from previous recruiters along with a host of new recruiters vying for some of the country's best minds.
The institute recorded a 12.3 % increase in the average CTC offered to the students over the last year and would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to all the corporate partners and associates.

INDIA FOR AFRICA OR AFRICA FOR INDIA?

The India-Africa relationship has a long and distinguished history and it goes back to hundreds of years, to the days of struggle against colonialism, poverty and illiteracy. The two nations have had long established trade relations, starting from the days when Indian traders made their way to the east coast of Africa in search of elephant tusks, gold and gemstones. Similarity in terms of rich natural resources, demography and a large domestic market showed them the way towards building partnerships.

                                                   

Factors such as similar socio-economic conditions in many of the African nations and India, no conflict of interest and sense of solidarity with the African nations contribute to the shared belief of the two nations to find a common solution to the existing problems.

The trade relations between the two nations have become more prominent with the growth of the once immigrated Indian diaspora in Africa. And with the passage of time, they have become critical elements in the export of African goods such as cotton, coffee and tea and the import of Indian products such as textiles and pulses.

AFRICA FOR INDIA:

Today the importance of Africa for India is quite evident in itself. India very much requires the support of the African nations, if it wishes to achieve its ambitions of being a global power and nowhere is this importance felt then on the issue of the UN Security Council’s expansion.Recent years have witnessed the African Indian partnership extending beyond trade to different spheres such as technology transfer, knowledge sharing and skill development .Trade growth from a modest level of US$ 24.98 billion in 2006-07 to US$ 53.33 billion in 2010-11 and CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of 20.87%[1] proves that the economic relations between these two nations have grown many fold during the last few years. Some of the biggest Indian names likes Bharti Airtel, Tata Kirloskar, Mahindra, Essar Group are among the 250 other Indian companies having investment linkages with Africa.

A large number of factors such as trade Geography, composition of trade and investment in specific areas such as agriculture, mining and telecom define India’s Economic profile in Africa.

                                                        

[2]Scarcity of oil reserves has made India heavily dependent on foreign producers such as the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Israel which form about 70% of the total supplies, and that has proved to be a key driving force for India’s African engagement because of its urge to diversify the portfolio of suppliers by increasing the amount of purchases in major oil-producing African countries. A large number of Indian companies are becoming livelier in oil rich regions of Angola, Egypt and Libya with some of them already possessing oil investments in Mozambique and investment in gas sector in Tanzania and Kenya.

In addition to it, Africa’s nuclear energy potential also drives India’s interest, with India exploring Uranium mining opportunities in Nigeria and Namibia. Apart from these factors, for a major jewelry market like India, richness in precious metals and gemstones garners huge interest. (Gems and stones constitute about 7% of India’s total imports[3]).

Africa is equipped with resources that are of vital importance to fuel the economic powerhouses of India, China and Brazil and the African Union is now in a position to take advantage of these assets and boost the trade and bilateral exchanges.

The Indian government has always been pro-active on the front of moving the partnership forward and the establishment of the India-Africa Forum Summits has certainly been an important step in that regard.

Although, India’s trade with Africa has been dwarfed by China, its overall trade in 2013 stood at US $ 70 billion compared to US $ 200[4] billion for China. But, because of the increasing dependency of Africa on the Chinese, the African leaders have started to look beyond them and India might just prove to be the right option for them and although India is yet to become a major player, under the new government it is likely to challenge the Chinese supremacy across Africa.

Africa is poised to become a global manufacturing hub in the coming future, with the working population to reach about 1.1 billion by 2040[5], according to a report published by McKinsey in 2010 and India’s capital building focused initiatives in Africa recognizes this fact.

INDIA FOR AFRICA:

The Indian tie ups benefit Africa in certain particular ways, such as the engagement with the rising economies that may help African economies to bypass. An important area of interest for Africa in India is the agribusiness, as it would definitely like to address its food security concerns by gaining from India’s range of knowledge in this particular field. At the same time it also knows that the Indian investment in Africa also means a boost of production. For example: the declining Cotton industry in West-Africa saw radical improvement with the launch of a three-year project by the Indian government.

The Indian investors are also looking forward to spend around $2.5 billion on the large hectares of land in East Africa in order to grow produce such as rice and maize for export, especially to India0. (The graphical representation also shows that India has increased its share, as a major rice supplier to South Africa by approximately 800 times in 2012-13 in comparison to 2010-11)

The burgeoning ICT sector is another area where Africa looks to benefit from India, as India with its tailor made-technology for SME’s and vast knowledge and experience in the field of education and Information Technology can have a huge impact in the development of skilled human capital in Africa through transfer of knowledge and skills which is more crucial than just providing extended lines of credit. A very good example of that of Uganda, where Indian technology led to nearly threefold electricity being generated; from 300 MW to 1000[6] MW. India’s ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) framework which focusses on deputation of Indian experts abroad and training is particularly useful for African nations for knowledge transfer through ITC.

The online education industry with an expected worth of $1 billion by the end of the decade, is one area of ICT that could of particular benefit to Africa, India is a major player in this field along with the likes of United States. The lack of skilled teachers and rising internet penetration in Africa provides the ideal ground for a large scale growth of online education system. The said industry has already taken off in South Africa with launch of services such as EduNet and the other African nations should take a hint from it to tap into India’s expertise in this field.

India is also a major player in pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry and that is another area where Africa can benefit from.  The model of development that India has to offer based on the multicultural and democratic setup is perfectly suited for the diverse ethnic, religious and tribal divisions of Africa.

Moreover, the growing demand for commodities in India and China has somewhat helped in the redirecting the African exports toward the Asian market and away from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations.

CONCLUSION:

India has looked to position itself to exploit Africa’s niche areas while avoiding direct competition with the Chinese and has been a major collaborator in African development both from outside and within the continent.

The recent developments in terms of expanding business relations and investments ensures that the partnership has moved beyond a verbal repetition of the South-South cause. The Indian investment in Africa is by and large different from that coming from other areas of the globe, which tend to drive out local competition whereas the Indian firms operating in Africa promote the local integration of their workers and tend to engage in sales to local African units. For sure, India needs to gather resources for its growing middle class and strengthen its diplomatic ties in the global South but the investors are also nurturing another vital asset i.e. the human capital, and it can be rightfully said that the Indian- African partnership is all about person to person growth on both sides of the Indian Ocean.

To conclude, India’s relationship with Africa and vice-versa, has its own opportunities and reservations, but with unique benefits and drawbacks for each of them. Therefore. It becomes imperative that the economic ties between the two nations is approached on terms that recognize this uniqueness.

 References:

[1] http://in.reuters.com

[2] Source (pie chart): U.S. Energy Information Administration, Global Trade Atlas.

[3] http://www.riceauthority.com

[4] http://www.westafricanrice.com

[5] http://focusafrica.gov.in/Imp_SA.html

[6] http://data.worldbank.org

First Published here

By: Kumar Abhishek

PGP 1st year (2015-17)

Indian Institute of Management Raipur