Ansari opens 'IIM-like' B-school

PATNA: Vice-president Mohd Hamid Ansari has said he sees the dawn of a new era in benighted Bihar with the opening of Chandragupt Institute of Management (CIM), being developed on the pattern of Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Ahmedabad.

"Bihar has been a land of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship and wealth creation have been the ancient themes in this state," Ansari said while in-augurating the institute here on Wednesday. He hoped this institute would promote this ancient, yet thoroughly modern, virtue.

The institute, being developed with monetary support from the government, is due to start its session from July. However, chief minister Nitish Kumar said there would be no government interference.

The first batch would have 60 students for the PG management course. It is mandatory to have 50% of the students from Bihar. Institute director Mukunda Das, who has been selected on advice from IIM-Ahmedabad, has already completed the admission procedure.
The vice-president referred to the relevance and usefulness of CIM for the state since its "facilities and brand value" are built "using public money". "They need to move beyond campus placement and faculty con-sultancies to undertake applied research into management areas of social relevance to the people of the state," he said.

He was satisfied that CIM has also "decided to focus on research on core areas of public policy and business management as micro-enterprise management, agri-business management, entrepreneurship, appropriate management and water management".

He felt it is necessary for the entre-preneurship to also "move beyond the manufacturing and service indus-tries to cover the enormous potential in agriculture and allow the state to reap its multiplier payback effect on society".

Ansari said, "Management education and research, when combined with entrepreneurship, have a manifold impact on the national effort of building knowledge society and an inclusive society." He hoped CIM would help in giving a push to the "emergence of knowledge as a re-source". "I am confident that CIM would play an important role in the knowledge economy of the state," the vice-president said.

Quoting renowned Indologist A L Basham, he endorsed the naming of the institute after Chandragupt Maurya as "apt" since he was the "chief architect of the greatest of India's ancient empires."

Also, he had Kautilya as his principal adviser who had given two principles of management rele-vant in the present times — 'sukhasya moolam ethics'(the basis of happiness is ethics), and ‘dharmasya moolam arthah' (the basis of ethics is resources).