Endowment Fund
WIMWIANS : Paving a path in the service of our country
By Chhavi Moodgal (PGP 2004), CEO-IIMA Endowment Fund (endowment@iima.ac.in)
From the setting up of IIMA to the Institute’s six-decade long legacy of contributions towards management education; IIMA has been instrumental in supporting the country’s economic development and shaping important public policies. Across the board, be it IIMA’s leadership such as the Directors and Chairpersons of the Board of Governors, to faculty members, alumni and even students, the Institute has produced numerous individuals who have contributed either directly through their roles in the government / public sector or through research, teaching and practice. IIMA itself is an example of partnership between industry and the government. And the rest is history.
Over the years, IIMA’s integration with the public sector has been multi-faceted. Traditionally, the government supported the Institute, and over time IIMA became autonomous and self-dependent. Despite this, IIMA’s active role in public policy, training and capacity building for public sector personnel as well as consulting for the government has continued and only increased largely through IIMA’s 11 Centres of Excellence, recently set up through the JSW School of Public Policy as well as faculty research and consulting projects. Our academic programmes attract students who have previously worked with government enterprises and public sector undertakings and some of our PhD scholars go on to join the government post their studies at IIMA. The academic coursework (core and elective) also infuses topics such as ‘Doing Business with Government’ and ‘Business, Government and Policy’.
Many of our faculty members are invited to several government committees from time to time. More specifically, the faculty members from the Public Systems Group work towards promoting research for effective management of public systems, as well as fostering understanding and articulation of social and political processes that underpin policymaking. Also, some of work done through the endowed Centres such as the Arun Duggal Centre for ESG Research and the Misra Centre for Financial Markets & Economy is heavily linked to the government policies & regulations; and also in some ways, contributes towards policy advocacy and advisory.
Another area where supporting regulations and government policies can make a substantial impact is endowments. Endowments are new to India and this space has a huge potential in organising philanthropy in the higher education sector. Global endowments have succeeded in multiplying the funds by diversifying their portfolio; In India, we hope in time and regulations permitting, endowments could mature from investing in fixed income to listed equities to eventually unlisted equities and then alternative assets. And in this journey the role of our alumni placed in top management roles, be it the public or private sector, is going to be critical – in collectively pushing the envelope for progressive public policies at a more macro level. Over the past two years, we have facilitated important initiatives across sustainability, inclusion, diversity, skilling, entrepreneurship and so on at IIMA that will potentially make a multidimensional impact both within and outside the Institute’s ecosystem.
Moving on, and capturing the essence of this edition’s theme, let us look into the undoubted contributions of IIMA’s alumni in government and the public sector. The Institute’s vision and strategic priorities focus on “impacting the world of policy and practice through continuous engagement with prominent stakeholders, decision makers and leaders across the board including government, businesses and non-governmental enterprises”; and this is evident in the achievements and notable contributions of our many alumni. We are proud of our alumni, to name a few; we have Mr Kiran Karnik (PGP 1968) who has contributed immensely towards broadcasting and outsourcing in India; Dr. Arvind Subramanian (PGP 1981) as the 16th Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India; and Dr. Raghuram Rajan (PGP 1987) as the Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, former Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India & former Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund. More recently we have all celebrated Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch’s (PGP 1988) appointment as the first woman and non-IAS Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India and Mr. Ajaypal Singh Banga (PGP 1981) for becoming the first Indian-origin President of the World Bank Group. The list of our alumni who have been at various government positions is long and covered in the many sections of this edition. And many of our younger alumni’s contributions, especially in the government and public sector, are recognized through the Young Alumni Achiever Awards.
IIMA is a management school and our stakeholders are myriad with direct and indirect roles in the nation’s development and growth. The Institute has been a torchbearer in many ways and over the years, our alumni have further created a great pedestal for IIMA to drive continued pursuit of excellence. We are proud of our alumni and the entire IIMA community for their undeterred commitment for being recognized as a top global management institution – and we invite you to join us and participate in shaping IIMA’s future. For more information, download our newsletter Neev from IIMA’s website or write to us at endowment@iima.ac.in.