IIM Bodh Gaya hosts the Orientation Program for its incoming batches of PGP07 and PhD02 on 23 July 2021. The ceremony commenced with a beautiful Saraswati Vandana sung by our students and was taken forward by Dr. Prabhat Ranjan, Chairperson of Admissions, who presented the batch profile of the incoming batch of PhD and MBA. This year we pride ourselves in a remarkable diversity in the batch – with students coming from standard fields like Engineering to Veterinary medicine which is quite unique in a management course. After this, Dr. Krishna Mohan TV and Dr. Md. Laeequddin introduced the PhD and MBA programmes respectively.

Dr. Vinita Sahay, Director, IIM Bodh Gaya welcomes the new batch to the Enlightening IIM in her first-ever address to them. She congratulated the students on joining an IIM and how they will now be contributing to creating a legacy of our institute. She also offered her good wishes for them to excel in the coming years. Mr. Gautam Kumra, Chairman, McKinsey‘s offices in Asia and BOG Member, IIM Bodh Gaya, is also our Guest of Honour for today. He spoke to the students on how one should be open to all the possibilities with a growth mindset and how we can always learn something from someone. This was followed by Sri Tripurari Sharan, IAS, Chief Secretary, Bihar and our Chief Guest for today addressing the students. He spoke about the historic institutions of our country and the relevance that they hold to this day. He also emphasized on the importance of public institutions which have become enclaves of prosperity and economic development. He concluded his speech by encouraging students to compete against the best as it would only make one better. Our Guest of Honour for the afternoon session is the Chairman of Shanthi Gears Ltd., Mr. L. Ramkumar, and President of Madras Management Association. A BOG Member of IIM Bodh Gaya, Mr. L. Ramkumar congratulated the new batch on their admission in his address and talked about how an MBA will give you a feel of what lies ahead of you when you actually become a part of the corporate world.

Mr. Santhosh Buddiraju, Head of Inventory (Design, Planning and Operations) at Flipkart, shared his experiences in the field of e-Commerce, supply chain management and logistics. Being an alumni of IIM Lucknow, he also talked about his experience as a fresh graduate from a premium B-school during recession. The next guest to speak was Mr. Vivek Sharma, Head Credit in Retail Lending and Payments at Axis Bank, who talked about the ins and outs of banking and the scope of this industry in India. Mr. Himanshu Madanmohan, Director, Safal Constructions India congratulated the students and talked about the world of real-estate, sharing anecdotes from his personal experiences. He answered students’ questions about the uncertainty that comes with starting a new venture and the importance of consistency in achieving success. The next session was taken by Mr. Sameer Nagarajan, Global President, Human Resources, Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited. He talked about how its The last session of the day was taken by Ms. Richa Singh, Founder and CEO, YourDost. She talked about mental health and wellness – something that we tend to take for granted in this fast-paced world.

The second day of orientation program commenced with a session by Mr. Akhilesh Parmanu, Faculty, Art of Living. He talked about the seven levels of existence and how they can be either an asset or a liability based on what you are feeling. He also talked about the four sources of energy that help us turn these levels of existence into an asset. The second session of the day was on Mutual Funds and Equity by Mr. Srinivas Peddi, Senior Vice President, Zen Money. He talked about personal financial management. Most people are not mindful of doing it until they are compelled to do so. He also shed light on the issues that come with financial management. This was followed by an address by Mr. Shreevar Kheruka, Managing Director, Borosil. He emphasized on how values should drive decision-making in corporations and ‘doing the right thing’ is very important, even if it doesn’t make sense on the outside. The other sessions were taken by Mr. Sudipto Mandal, VP, CHRO-HR Star Cement. He talked about the importance of management theories and their application in real life and how one should internalize them. Ms. Vinita Bali, an Independent Director, previously worked with Britannia as Managing Director. She welcomed the new batch and spoke about the importance of curiosity, listening, and empathy. Being a sustainable and responsible citizen of the world. Mr. Harsh Kumar, Partner, IBM Global Services, talked about science-data-led innovation, Extended innovative workflows and Sustainability, and its impact. The afternoon session commenced with an address by Mr. Sunil Nayak, Director, DHL Global in Supply Chain Management and Logistics. The following sessions were taken by Sri. Pankaj Dikshit, Director, Industries & Technical Development, Govt of Bihar and Sri. Abhishek Singh, District Magistrate, Gaya, Bihar, who talked about working in the state government. Mr. Shitiz Modi, who is the Product Marketing Manager (B2C) at Google Search shared anecdotes from his experience in the field of marketing. The next guest in line was Mr. Rajeev Rajan, CEO of McDonalds who spoke on the trends in the Quick Service Restaurants and how dynamic the industry is. Our final guest of the orientation was Mr. Krish Danam, Managing Partner, Skylife Success, USA. Mr. Danam addressed the new batch about the challenges that lie ahead of them. His words of wisdom, coupled with his experience offered a boost of morale to the students.