XLRI GMP Students visit Embassy of India, Philippines

The much anticipated visit to Indian Embassy in Manila concluded with greater insight into bilateral relations between India and Philippines, Historical perspective and contemporary issues facing both nations.

AIM Manila arranged meeting with Mr. Amrit Lugun, Councilor, Embassy of India, Philippines. We were delayed by 15-20 minutes because of heavy traffic and security checking. Nevertheless, we reached and had interesting and engaging discussions with Mr. Lugun. He gave historical perspective on development of Philippines, Indian community’s contribution in Philippines and queried us on our backgrounds, future plans and experiences in Philippines.

Some of insights were:
• Philippines is heavily dependent on rice imports and agriculture needs lot of attention.
• He shared that there is huge potential in tourism industry.
• English Language and strong customer orientation are key to success of Filipino BPO industry.
• Trade between India and Philippines is doubled but balance of trade is in favor of India. There is huge scope of Filipino exports to India.
• Philippines is strategically located with proximity to Japan, China, Korea and ASEAN countries but because of greater distance from India, Indian businesses have been restricted to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand etc.
• There is strong Sindhi community who has excelled in alien land as they have in their home country.
• There are many companies from India including Infosys, Wipro and Sutherland having operations in India. Embassy of India facilitates Indian companies who want to start operations in India
• Philippines executive and judicial setup is heavily influenced by American System. Hence, a re-haul in bureaucratic setup is expected after next year’s presidential elections.

Some links
http://www.embindia.org.ph/
http://www.rpindia.info/news/

We normally visit embassies of other countries Indian for getting visa but this was the first time for many of us to visit Indian Embassy in other country.

Overall, it was another Manila experience that we would cherish forever.

Synergies within GMP

The notice reads—After the economics & quantitative technique classes group ‘A’ has to attend a seven course dinner with a senior faculty member—“PLEASE BE SUITABLY DRESSED FOR THE OCCASION”. The same night a doctor goes to room C-31 & asks a guy, an engineer 15 years younger to him, to help him out with maths & stats. After finishing here, he approaches an IT guy, with thirteen years IT experience behind him, to teach him how to work on excel-sheets. During the day this doctor had delivered a talk on how the healthcare insurance sectors in the US, the middle-east & here in India were different from each other.
Five years means five years. People with 59 months of experience are not considered. There are classes on corporate etiquettes & Ethical Leadership & Corporate Citizenship. Faculty members are accessible round the clock. Projects, assignments, classes, quizzes, speeches & presentations drive you to the limit of exhaustion. You are left wondering why you had to take the condensed version of the regular programme and slog this much after a hiatus from studies of at least five years. You wish that the day had more hours. The guy in C-37 goes to bed at 4am after waking up the person in C-38. The sun never sets here. Then comes another day & matters of common concern are sorted out in the dining hall, where all one hundred of them, along with their families, gather four times a day. This is the support system that keeps them going. It is a matter of relief that the professor of maths is taking extra classes for the entire batch before the mid-term tests. The faculty members encourage discussions in the classes & critical analysis of subjects is not frowned upon. WELCOME TO THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME (GMP) AT XLRI, JAMSHEDPUR, the oldest of its kind in the country.
The diversity of the batch is carefully structured at the time of selection of candidates. The current batch comprises of Architects, Army personnel, IT professional, Engineers, Doctors and Entrepreneurs. The Institute provides the best accommodation in the country, keeping in mind the experience of the students & in order to ensure a suitable ambience to enable students to handle the rigorous nature of the course.
The course is unique in that, among other things, it lays a lot of emphasis on leadership skills & excellence by organizing outdoor adventure programs & village exposure programs in order to allow the students to interact with social entrepreneurs & NGOs & to study the needs & aspirations of the “REAL INDIA”. This is interspersed with an International immersion programme to allow the students to interact with students & faculty abroad & to work on international assignments of common interest.