CM urges IIM graduates to focus on development of rural areas

Shimla/Paonta, Apr 8 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh today urged the management students to focus on development of rural and hilly areas and under privileged sections of the society.

Addressing the first convocation of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Dhaula Kuan near Paonta Sahib in Sirmaur district, Singh said that the experience of management graduates could help in growth and expansion of economic activities in hilly areas as they can simplify complex issues and offer solutions related to environmental sustainability, energy security, health care and sustainable development.

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 added.

He urged the IIM faculty to have a broader and inclusive view of the management needs in the country that will not only address the challenges of the industry but also contribute towards the development of the Nation.

The CM said the state government had played a very pro-active role in establishing these institutions of importance by way of providing land free of cost and taking other effective steps to make these institutes functional.

Singh said Himachal is proud to have all the leading technical education institutes of the country like IIT in Mandi, NIT Hamirpur, NIFT Kangra, IIIT Una, CIPET Baddi, RVTI Shimla, besides the IIM Sirmaur.

Chief Minister said the state government had made remarkable achievement in the field of education and public health.

Chairman IIM Sirmour Ajay Sriram, while welcoming the CM lauded the role of state government in continuous support to IIM.

He said that India is having sustainable growth and has created diverse opportunities and the new GST regime would bring about transformation in the economy of the country.

He said that there was a challenge for providing productive employment to millions of educated youth.

Director IIM Nilu Rohmetra called upon the students to ensure quality in jobs managed by them and said that research, development and training were necessary to achieve quality. PTI PCL RCJ