IIPM’s social initiatives are ahead of any B-School

The latest B-School rankings to hit the stands, DNA Best B-Schools of India, have once again proved IIPM's growing stature as a top ten B-School in India. IIPM was ranked No.6 overall. However, what is worth special mention are its International Exposure, CSR, Placement and Industry interface rankings where IIPM got ranked 1, 1, 10 and 6. While over the last decade IIPM’s climb up the ladder in factors like Global Exposure, Placements and Industry Interface has been well known, it is the CSR ranking that has brought to light this institution's human face. "None of the rankings ever focused on this very important parameter in the past, so it never got highlighted but IIPM has always been a front-runner when it comes to CSR," said Prof Arindam Chaudhuri, the Hony. Dean of IIPM Think Tank completely delighted with IIPM’s latest achievement.

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) was instituted with a focus on social commitment. The objectives of IIPM have always included a huge focus on National Economic Planning in order to reorient the growth in favor of the marginalised sections of India. IIPM’s social initiatives are ahead of any B-School even globally as it has sought to dispel the myopic notion that management is only about enriching the bottomlines of companies. Not only does IIPM amalgamate social commitments through its course curriculum, it also goes beyond the classroom to work at the grassroots level, particularly in the areas of education, health and employment generation.

As a part of the course, all IIPM students compulsorily have to spend two weeks working for society in various slums/villages of India. In order to give shape to this vision, IIPM started Manav Seva Kendras way back in 1994 and floated a fully dedicated CSR arm by the name of the Great Indian Dream Foundation (GIDF) in 2002.

GIDF today focuses on myriad developmental agendas, viz., education, health, gender reforms, environment, slum development, child care, skill development and many more. Through their ‘Rural Artisan Training Programme' which started in January 2011, more than 7,500 rural artisans across seven States would be empowered through counseling sessions on various areas of art and craft and skill upgradation workshops by the end of 2014.

Along with this, e-Shiksha, another initiative by GIDF, was designed to make computer education reach the hinterland. This programme is aimed at providing computer education at the doorstep of rural dwellers through vehicles specially equipped with laptops and power back-up. Going by the success of the programme, organisations like GAIL (India) and UNICEF have extended their help to the foundation. In the last five years, more than 2,700 students have been trained in computers and around 6,700 girls have got Life Skills-based Education through e-Shiksha programme. The CSR head from GAIL (India), Prodosh Bhardwaj, who is facilitating GIDF’s e-Shiksha project in Vijaypur, Madhya Pradesh, says, “e-Shiksha, an initiative towards the development of rural GenX, is bringing radical changes in the overall behaviour of underprivileged youth.”

Furthering their initiatives, GIDF through Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) prepares local youth with skill training programmes and provides them with employment opportunities. The programme was initiated in April 2010 and shored up later in association with the Union Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India, and further aims at educating 7,200 more candidates in various vocational courses across four major States of the country -- Assam,Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan -- by mid-2013.

“I am thankful to GIDF for giving me training and helping me get a job. I am really grateful to GIDF for changing my life. After getting a job I feel confident. I really owe GIDF,” says Ram Singh Daroga of Choudhary Petrol Pump, Jaipur, Rajasthan, whose life was put back on track by GIDF. Sohan Lal Khatik of Manish Textiles, who attended SGSY sessions, also thanks GIDF and says, “By providing training and getting me employment, GIDF has done a lot for me. Now I don’t have to borrow money from anyone. I can earn and I am capable enough to bear the expenses of my family. Me and my family are thankful to GIDF.”

Dr. Subramanyam Das, Admin Manager (Fortis Health Care), where GIDF-trained employees are working, says, “Aurobindo Chaudhuri Memorial Great Indian Dream Foundation provides skill-based training to the rural BPL youth which is a very good initiative. The employees coming from GIDF are working in our hospital as General Duty Incharge. They are very punctual and honest towards their duty. I am sincerely grateful for their hard work and the effort they have put in to provide resources in a short span of time. All the candidates are sincere, punctual and very hard-working. Our organisation is very much satisfied with the working of all the resources.”

Similarly Mr. Anirudh Singh, HR, Reliance Retail Limited,states, “Reliance Retail Limited (RRL) has grown into an organisation that has made rapid progress towards building an entire value chain starting from the farmers to the end consumers. The manpower coming from ACM-GIDF is above satisfactory level and is meeting our requirements. Their performance is impactful. We look forward to their support towards fulfilling our manpower needs in future as well.” Striving towards achieving their vision of a disease-free IIPM’s rural development programmes are also simultaneously carried out from IIPM's Manav Seva Kendras in various villages of India. The programme runs many rural schools as well as many rural medical camps. It runs ambulances for village India, puts newspaper boards at strategic points in villages to spread socio-economic awareness among villagers, organises rural entrepreneurship programmes, works for upliftment of women in rural areas, organises relief camps during national calamities among a plethora of committed social activities under the personal and passionate guidance of Dr. M. K. Chaudhuri, the Director of IIPM.