Himachal CM asks IIM students to focus on rural areas

Paonta Sahib (Himachal Pradesh), April 8 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Saturday asked management students to focus on development of rural areas and underprivileged in order to help growth and expansion of economic activities.

Addressing the first convocation of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Sirmaur here, he said management tools could help in simplifying complex issues related to environmental sustainability, energy security, healthcare and sustainable development.

Noting that the emergence of India and China as major economies in the world has paved the way for enormous business opportunities and requirement of capable managers, he urged the faculty to have a broader and inclusive view of the management needs in the country that will not only address challenges of the industry but also contribute towards the nation's development.

He said that the state had played a pro-active role in establishing these institutions of importance by way of providing land free of cost and taking effective steps in making them operational, adding 200 acres had already been provided free of cost for setting up of its permanent campus at Dhaula Kuan in Sirmaur district.

Virbhadra Singh said Himachal Pradesh is proud to have all the leading technical education institutes of the country.

Earlier, the Chief Minister awarded Roziwala Suraj Hira Lal for securing first rank in the postgraduate programme and Anas Ahmad for the best all-round performance.

IIM Chairman Ajay S. Shriram said the new Goods and Services Tax regime would bring about transformation in country's economy. He said there was a challenge for providing productive employment to millions of educated youth.

Institute Director Neelu Rohmetra called upon the students to ensure quality in jobs managed by them and said research, development and training were necessary to achieve quality.