MDI graduates pass out with flying colours

The annual convocation of the prestigious Management Development Institute, Gurgaon was held on the sprawling campus of the institute on March 8. It was a momentous occasion for proud parents and the faculty when 209 students graduated from the institute. The deputy chairman of Rajya Rabha, Montek Singh Ahluwalia presided over the function. Among other luminaries present on the occasion included N K Singh, chairman of the board of governors.
The director of MDI, Pritam Singh, in his address urged the graduating students to excel and win battles like the ''Pandavas'' did after taking ''deeksha'' from ''Guru Dronacharya.'' He underlined the five mantras of leadership which would prepare them for effective governance. He alsohighlighted the fact that on the occasion of International Women''s Day, 46 women students were graduating which was the largest number of women graduating from MDI since its establishment in 1973.
In his convocation address, Ahluwalia emphasised the importance of management in the present times and the times to come. He said: "Management identified as the ''x efficiency'' was missing in the past governance because of a very tightly controlled economy. With the changes in the economic policy and the ushering in of reforms in the 90s, the management came into its own." The era of liberalisation is going to be a huge challenge as the competition is going to be intense, the technology will be changing rapidly and any change anywhere in the world will impinge on India. "Like all developing countries we will be moving away from a system dominated by family-managed firms to systems where separation between ownership and management will gradually increase," Ahluwalia said.
He defined leadership as the ability to make organisations do things differently from what they have been conditioned to do in the past. Although it is not an easy task it is going to be even more daunting because of far greater changes which are going to come in the future.
It''s going to be an exciting challenge as certainly in the perception of the world what India can achieve has improved hugely but its certainly not a question of continuing with cruising speed. "We are not near the kind of growth rate that we want to achieve. It can only be done when the many different elements of Indian industry in which you all will be serving are able to cope with the new environment in the times to come," Ahluwalia concluded.
With their wards walking out of the institute with jobs in their pockets parents and family members of the students joined in the celebrations clicking pictures and saving them for the happy days to come.