SAMVIT 2011

Samvit 2011 - The Annual Leadership Summit of IIM Lucknow was held on December 3, 2011. Samvit 2011 witnessed the congregation of some of India’s most brilliant and potent minds who ideated on “The Sinking World Economy and its Implications for Indian businesses”. The focus was on how India should face the stormy headwinds seeking to derail the progress of its fledgling industries and emerge stronger and surer of her place as one of the vanguards of global economy. This year’s panel consisted of corporate leaders and banking-stalwarts. The eminent speakers included Mr. Aditya Puri, MD HDFC Bank, Mr. KR Kamath, CMD Punjab National Bank, Mr. Roopen Roy, MD, Deloitte Consulting, India, Mr. Srinivasan Iyengar, MD-Strategy, Standard Chartered Bank, Mr. Dharmakirti Joshi, Chief Economist, CRISIL, Mr. Naresh Kothari, President & Co-Head, Edelweiss Financial Services and Mr. Sonjoy Mohanty, CEO, Educomp Supplemental Business. Mr. Sharat Pradhan, eminent journalist, donned the role of Master of Ceremonies.

Leader's Panel at SAMVIT 2011

Opening the round of discussions, Mr Aditya Puri set the tone for the evening with the idea that Indian economy has a bright future. He spoke about the Indian economy being structurally resilient with sound banking fundamentals. He added that India’s economic model is quite different from that of the US and most of the European countries. Further, he expressed optimism for India’s future saying that there will not be a huge impact of current global crisis on India and that 7% growth in GDP is still magnificent. He expressed confidence in the Indian banks and commented that they are safe and secure to run. However, he was circumspect about the surge in commodity prices and proffered that this trend can lead to a drop in growth rate to below 8%. Elaborating on the issue Mr Puri quipped “This is not the only for problem for us, government needs to take supply side measures for a sustainable growth rate in the long term.”

Taking the cue from Mr Puri, Mr. Kamath enlightened the audience with several anecdotes and explained that Indian banks had the capabilities to handle the growing non-performing assets (NPAs) which comprise only a small percentage of the bank’s total portfolio. He laid stress on protecting the weakest links of the economy such as the consumer, Non-Banking Financial Corporations (NBFCs) etc. However he too expressed optimism for the long term growth of the country and stressed on reaping the strong demographic dividends and intellectual property that is inherent to India. He explained that a lot of pessimism has been created about India’s future by the media and philosophically predicted that “The only way ahead is to prepare for challenges and be patient”.

Mr. Roopen Roy presented an optimistic view to the discussion with the idea that we as a country are more global than we think. Taking cue from Edward Lorenz’s famous Chaos theory and the butterfly effect, Mr. Roy explained how a small disturbance in a place like Lucknow can result into a tornado in Los Angeles. Justifying his stance, Mr Roy said “We should not ignore the small things that happen globally.” Further, he mentioned that looking at the economy only from the GDP and stakeholders’ perspective narrows down the vision. To broaden our view, we should include the needs of the people in rural areas. A more realistic view on our economy is the need of the hour, appreciating what is good but at the same time keeping our eyes open for the impending challenges. On the global crisis, Mr. Roy said that Europe is likely to witness supervised fiscal union with poor countries being brought under the surveillance of European Union, especially Germany.

Mr. Dharmakirti Joshi painted a grim scenario of the future ahead and warned the students of painful times ahead as he suggested that the internal and external firepower to make the necessary changes in policy and governance is missing. He remarked “It will be difficult for us to offset any future downturn without a fiscal muscle power. In 2008, India managed to escape the global crisis mainly because of the policy measures that had already been embedded in the economy such as the increase in the public sector wages, farm loan waiver and NREGA.” He also talked about the growing interaction of Indian industries with the world in that currently around 25% of the revenues for top 50 corporations in India come from outside the country. He also mentioned how economic cycles of India and western countries are synchronised. He said “Even though the long term growth trajectory may be different from the OECD countries but in short term a downturn in western countries leads to a downturn in India.”

Mr Iyenger described the Indian economy as interdependent and said that we should have the resolve to turn around the situation considering what we have done it in the past. He compared the Indian economy with a swarm of bees indicating that the directionality towards growth of India is clear and we are marching ahead but the pace of this growth is in question. He also talked about doing things right and doing the right things. Stressing that the solution to the present scenario is well within our hands, Mr. Iyenger quipped “we are well positioned to take the advantage of the opportunities that shift of power from west to east will bring.” He concluded with the point that there is supporting infrastructure to foster reverse brain drain in the country and that sinking world economy is a big opportunity for us.

Mr Kothari sounded a word of caution “Although Indian economy is insulated at its core with a domestic consumption of close to 70% of GDP and low dependence on the global debt. He felt that India can grow at 6-7% on its own but to grow beyond 8-9%, it has to depend on its global trading partners to perform well.” He explained further “This is mainly because Indian is well integrated in the global economy.” He expressed disappointment that lately there has not been much policy making but only policy tinkering.

Mr Mohanty, an alumnus of the first batch of IIM Lucknow, explained how things have changed over the years. He famously remarked that “We looked to the west for everything but now the west looks to the east. India brings unparalleled innovation to the world.” He urged the youth to be more entrepreneurial in their endeavours. Talking about our adaptability and using the vast reserves of knowledge that we have, Mr. Mohanty said sinking world provides a lot opportunities for the country.

In its 4^th edition, Samvit 2011 lived up to its reputation as the Annual Leadership Summit of IIM Lucknow. The excited student crowd, mingled freely with the leaders in the informal high tea session, which marked the closure of the event. Speaking jubilantly and reminiscing about his favourite moment of the summit, Vamshidar Bandi, a 2^nd year student of IIM Lucknow said “It was an eye opener of sorts for me. Mr. Aditya Puri’s and Mr Kamath’s age old adages make a B-school student wonder what exactly he should be aiming for in his life?” His dreamy smiles however suggested that he had actually found his answer.

Gurcharan Das on Dharma-based Management

IIM Lucknow added a new flavour to its Leadership Talk Series – Prodigies through a guest lecture by one of the most revered authors of current times Mr. Gurcharan Das. Mr. Das is the author of the bestsellers such as India Unbound and The Difficulty of Being Good.  Before becoming a full-time writer, he was Managing Director of Proctor & Gamble Worldwide and CEO of Proctor & Gamble India.  

 

Mr. Gurcharan Das delivering lecture on learnings from Mahabharata

Mr. Gurcharan Das discussed how contemporary leaders can learn some of the important lessons of leadership from one of the greatest Indian epic Mahabharata. He said that intelligence is overrated in today’s world and the three essential qualities a leader should have are – determination or will power, humility but not lack of ambition and integrity. Leadership is all about inspiring others through high energy, strong will power and most importantly through integrity. Leaders face moral dilemma throughout their career and what they choose and the motivation behind their decision defines their character.

IIM Lucknow students learning Management Mantras from Mr. Gurcharan Das

He drew examples of courage, dharma or doing what one ought to, loyalty or righteousness and compassion from Mahabharata. When Draupadi was humiliated in front of everyone she asked Bhisma why was he silent. Dharma says half the punishment should be given to the person committing the crime, quarter to the allies and the remaining quarter should be borne by those who remain silent. Mr. Das opined that today this is the biggest problem of our society - our leaders remain silent such as our respected Prime Minister when the entire nation is full of anger on so many issues.

Further, he talked about one of the greatest warriors (Kshatriyas) from Mahabharata – Karna. Karna despite being enormously talented and ambitious was not treated as a Kshatriya but a Soodputra (someone of lower caste). Krishna realized that Karna was the only person who could lead to Pandavas’ defeat. Krishna approaches Karna to entice him and make him switch sides by offering him entire kingdom, status of elder brother of Pandavas and Draupadi as his wife. But Karna denies saying a mother is not someone who gives birth but who raises you. This thought reflects on our caste ridden society and shows a sense of value, a sense of loyalty of Karna towards Duryodhna and a sense of right and wrong.

Finally, Mr. Das talked about compassion of Yudhistra towards a stray dog who accompanies him in his journey to heaven. Eventually, Yudhistra sacrifices heaven because Indra does not allow a dog to enter heaven, suggesting that one should help someone who comes for refuge to you.

 Mr. Gurcharan Das signing copies of his latest book

 'The Difficulty of Being Good' for the students

Mr. Das ended his talk with a note that message of Dharma is act of goodness and how his latest book ‘The Difficulty of being Good’ describes this in further detail.

Overall, it was a great learning experience for the students. The insights helped to understand that corporate life and life in general is not just about achieving success but also about making the decisions that are fair and hold moral high ground.

Article in HT: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Dharma-based-management-Lessons-from-Mahabharat-for-IIM-L-students/Article1-751163.aspx

ASK RBI: India’s Economic Performance – The Present & The Future

Keeping with IIM Lucknow’s continuous endeavour to provide students with exposure to a variety of  exciting opportunities and leadership roles, an interactive guest lecture was organized by the Industry Interaction Cell, as a part of Prodigies – The Leadership Talk Series.

Mr. Deepak Mohanty - Executive Director RBI

The students were introduced to the framework and nuances of India’s monetary policy by Mr. Deepak Mohanty, Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India. Following an address by Dr. Amrendra Sahoo, Regional Director, RBI Lucknow, who discussed India’s challenges and listed possible paths for the county to tread in the future, the keynote speaker, Mr. Mohanty, who has served as a special advisor to the IMF prior to his current position and holds post graduate degrees from JNU and Yale University, discussed the importance of monetary policies and their implementation by Central Banks. He then described the RBI’s framework before extensively explaining how the RBI conducts its operations. The main lecture concluded with a discussion on the challenges faced by the RBI in the present scenario.

The event, aptly titled “Ask RBI”,was a highly innovative concept wherein questions were invited from the audience via social media before the event. Most of Mr. Mohanty’s lecture was based around the queries of the students and those not addressed within the body of the talk were dealt with in detail in the ensuing Q&A session.

The experience was enriching for all in attendance and the rich flow of thoughts brought  new ideas to surface. It was surely an enlightening talk for all and the attending students had much to take back home from this session.

Anjuman 2011 - The Annual Leader's Corporate Luncheon

Anjuman – The Annual Leader’s Corporate Luncheon, is one of the most anticipated events at IIM Lucknow. Anjuman 2011, structured along the same lines as its predecessors, brought together iconic leaders as key note speakers and provided an ideal platform for corporate heads, alumni, IIM Lucknow faculty and a select set of students to interact and learn from one another.

The theme for Anjuman 2011 was “Renaissance 2030: Shape the Change” and the keynote speakers this year were Dr. Devi Singh (Director, IIM Lucknow), Mr. H.K. Dua (Padma Bhushan and MP, Rajya Sabha), Mr. Sanjeev Bikhchandani (CEO, Naukri.com), Mr. Ashank Desai (Founder, Mastek Limited) and Mr. Baru Rao(COO, Capgemini, Europe).

The event was flagged off by a keynote address from Dr. Devi Singh (Director, IIM Lucknow) who succinctly summed up the salient challenges facing India, and the possible paths the country should tread in future, to ensure holistic development.

Mr. H.K Dua (Padma Bhushan and MP, Rajya Sabha) expanded the ambit of the discussion by stressing on the role of youth in India’s development. Exhorting the young management students of the campus to take an active interest in the administration of the country, Mr. Dua harped on the need of fresh ideas for sustaining India’s economic growth in the new millennium.

Mr. Sanjeev Bikhchandani (CEO Naukri.com) gave a personal tinge to his discourse as he enumerated examples from his life to describe how an individual’s endeavours fit in the greater scheme of things.  Stressing on the need for entrepreneurial skills, Mr Bikhchandani praised the Indian social system for consistently churning out new ideas, which according to him are invaluable in shaping the future course of the nation.

Mr. Baru Rao (COO, Capgemini, Europe) regaled the crowd with his immaculate Urdu, as he successfully speckled the serious discussion with humorous anecdotes from his life. Marvellng at the great growth that India has achieved in the past, he talked about the need for inclusive growth and social integration, as necessary measures to rein in India’s continued prosperity.

As the sunny morning progressed into forenoon, the event shifted into an interactive session where the guests sought to engage the key-note speakers on a wide array of issues relevant to contemporary India. The rich flow of thoughts brought newer ideas to surface as the leaders balanced their positions vis-à-vis the inputs from the crowd. 

The event concluded with a sumptuous lunch which presented the lighter side of the leaders, as they opened up to informal discussion with the attendees. Even as the orange hues of the evening sun signaled the successful closure of the luncheon, the campus was abuzz with the reflections of the event gone by. Speaking about the event, Karan Sehgal, a first year student of IIM Lucknow, remarked “Events like Anjuman are few of the unique ways in which industry interaction is facilitated at IIM Lucknow. By bringing together such a diverse set of leaders, teachers and corporate, Industry Interaction Cell has successfully amalgamated the best of campus education with industry experience.”