13th December, 2103, New Delhi: Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida hosted its third Annual Management Conclave (JAMC) that brought together the who’s who from industry and academia as guest speakers. The institute has always laid emphasis on a more practical approach to learning for the benefit of its students and on creating platforms where they can learn from the best in the business. And this event, themed “Resurgent India: The Path of Globalization”, held on 13th December, was another endeavour in that regard.

The theme of the event was in keeping with the emerging might of our nation on the global stage today and topics covered everything from cultural to economic globalisation. Shri Yashwant Sinha, MP (Lok Sabha) and Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, inaugurated the first session of the two-day event. Mr. Sudhir Jalan, Past President, FICCI & Co-Chairman, Reiter India (P) Ltd, Chairman and Vice Chairman of Jaipuria Institute of Management; Mr. Sharad Jaipuria and Mr. Shreevats Jaipuria were the guests of honour.

The event began with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp, and Mr. Rajiv R. Thakur, Director, Jaipuria Noida introduced the theme for the first session. The topic dealt with the growing challenges for businesses in today’s times and Mr. Sharad Jaipuria set the ball rolling by talking about the importance of globalisation for India. Mr. Jalan, on the other hand, encouraged today’s youth to, “Go a step beyond ‘Made in India’ and work on business models that are ‘Designed and Dreamt of in India’.

Shri Yashwant Sinha gave examples from his tenure as a Finance Minister and the challenges he faced along the way. It instantly struck a chord with the audience, which was sitting in rapt attention. About globalisation, he said, “It’s a two-way street because we have as much to take as to give. We have as much to learn as to teach.” He then urged the gathering to be proud Indians in the global arena.

After the inspiring first session that set the tone for the rest of the event, the discussions moved on to ‘Globalization and India: Post 1991 Experiences’. The late ‘90s were indeed the crucial time for the Indian economy and the stepping stone in many ways for our nation on the international platform. Mr. Arun Kumar Jha, Director General, NIESBUD, was the first from the esteemed panel to speak on the matter. He reminded everyone of the challenges faced by us in a liberalised and globalised world. He added, “In order to have a growth rate of 10%, India must have investment rate of 40%.”

Mr. Rajan Mathew, DG, CAOI, caught the attention of the audience by narrating an anecdote from his days working with the Birla group on the AT & T venture. Insightful, thought-provoking and engaging, his style was definitely a hit with the audience.

Luminaries from industry and academia made important contributions during the ‘Global MNCs in Emerging Economies’ and ‘Indian Enterprise Competing Globally’ sessions that were held on the day. The proceedings for the highly eventful and interesting day ended on an enjoyable note as a cultural event was held. Everyone left the venue looking forward to Day 2, which held a lot of promise.

The next day did not disappoint, as it was packed with several poignant sessions that turned out to be eye-openers for the gathering. ‘Sunrise Industries and Globalization’, ‘Going Global: Problems & Challenges’ and a valedictory session were the order of the day, each of them handled by imminent dignitaries. Mr. Baldeep Singh, CEO & MD, Jabong.com was present for the first session and spoke about E-commerce, which seems to be the way of the future. He talked about its benefits in the long run.

Ms. Deepa Bhatia, Director Sales, Disney UTV, on the other hand stressed on the “Television industry, which will grow at about 18% in the next five years. Cable digitalisation has spread across 35 cities and the entire country will be digitised by 31st December 2014.” This was an interesting forecast from an expert who clearly knows the industry inside out.

Dr. Sandeep Krishnamurthy, Dean, Bothell School of Management, Univ. of Washington, was present for the second session of the day. He was asked how aspiring entrepreneurs could use the three “C”s (the Customer, the Competitors, the Corporation) to overcome challenges along the way. He offered as advice, “As you develop your plan, you should show and share your ideas with senior mentors and consider their opinions. ‘Sweat equity’ is one thing industrial people are looking for in any entrepreneur. It means that an idea should not just be on high terms but should have been implemented to an extent.”

He was quite impressed by the communication skills, confidence and enthusiasm of the students and congratulated the organisers for hosting a fantastic event. That seemed to be the general consensus as the conclave ended, creating greater expectations for the next instalment.

Gazal Jain
PGDM: 2013-2014