XLRI gives its students a first-hand experience of rural India
XLRI gives its students a first-hand experience of non-metro, rural India. It encourages them to work among the less privileged and get a better insight into an untapped market.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may not be aware that his Jan Dhan Yojana, a tool to eradicate "financial untouchability" by providing bank accounts to the poor, had a modest prequel in Jamshedpur. It's called Sanchetana, a financial inclusion programme spearheaded by H.K. Pradhan, a professor of finance and economics at the Xavier School of Management (XLRI), Jamshedpur.
Pradhan conceptualised Sanchetana, an initiative aimed at eradicating financial illiteracy among the rural poor, in 2012 and then joined hands with the State Bank of India in February 2013 to assist the villagers in opening bank accounts.
Today, Sanchetana is not limited to Jamshedpur. Pradhan has involved students in 25 cities, associated with XLRI through its distance-learning programmes, in the campaign. These students, along with research scholars and professors, organise sessions with villagers and tell them about the advantages of securing their savings.
"Sanchetana is sanchay plus chetana, to awaken and save. When a poor person secures access to banking, receives cash transfers or even social security benefits through his bank account, it will free him or her from the grip of moneylenders," says Pradhan.
The project, however, goes beyond this. The XLRI students are encouraged to work among the less privileged and help them manage their finances. "Our students make investment plans for poor households," says Pradhan. As many as 40 XLRI students have joined Pradhan's Sanchetana drive, which has so far assisted more than2,000 people to open accounts. "XLRI has a goal to make financial inclusion possible. Bank linkages are very important for low-income households. They need financial literacy," he says.
"We always seek to underscore XLRI's mission as a management school with a difference and to uphold its commitment to inculcate social consciousness in future business leaders," says Fr E. Abraham S.J., director, XLRI Jamshedpur.
XLRI, a premier, private management institute founded in 1949 with less than 20 students by a Jesuit priest, Quinn Enright S.J., in the steel city, is perhaps the only B-school where managerial ethics is a core subject. "Ethics, integrity and excellence are XLRI's hallmark. Today's business leaders often face ethical dilemmas. We teach our students to trust their values in such situations," says Abraham.
"While XLRI, over the last six decades, has grown into a top-ranking business school with a wide portfolio of educational programmes, it has stayed rooted to the Jesuit spirit-pursuit of excellence, personal values and social concern," he adds.
XLRI is also defined by another tagline-For the Greater Good. In 2014, the Rural Development Department of Bihar recognised XLRI alumnus Kumar Ankit's Green Leaf Energy (GLE) as the best sustainable model project. GLE focuses on creation of sustainable assets through plantation. It was mooted with a vision to check labour migration from Bihar.
XLRI's presence in Jharkhand gives its students a first-hand experience of non-metro, rural India and the challenges the less privileged citizens face on a day-to-day basis."It has a business sense as well. Constant exposure to rural settings gives XLRI students a better insight into underserved markets. They can visualise and market customised products catering to nonmetro cities and villages," says Sunil Varughese, chief brand and sustainability officer at XLRI.
Year 2014 has been a defining one for the 65-year old institute. It added a six-storey International Centre with 26 new classrooms to its campus. This will create 120 additional seats for business and human resources management courses.
XLRI's Delhi campus will take final shape in a year. Built with investments of more than Rs 100 crore, the campus will accommodate 120 students.
In addition to the institute's flagship post-graduate programmes in human resources management, and business management, XLRI also offers a one-year general management programme for working executives.
Getting into XLRI is no cakewalk. Roughly, one lakh students apply every year. Based on their Xavier Admission Test (XAT) scores, 2,500 are picked for group discussion (GD) and interview. Finally, just 240 make the cut. The XLRI mandates a minimum 90 percentile score in XAT or 650 in the GMAT to be shortlisted for the GD/ interview stage.
Students vouch for the experience at the institute and say it's worth the hard work.
Alumni speak
Jaspal Bindra
CEO, Standard Chartered Bank, Asia
Batch: 1982-84
Student life in XLRI was community living at its best. It allowed me to build a strong sense of freedom with responsibility and friendships which continue to grow. My academic pursuit was about solo performance till XLRI introduced me to the wonders of team work, the merits of which have significantly contributed to my success.
XLRI is unique.The Jesuit value system is about an intellectual, emotional and spiritual mix-a winning combination for leadership in the current world.XLRI,housed in Tatanagar, helped me to learn and adopt the Tata business philosophy of doing the right thing the right way.On my recent visit to XLRI, I was delighted to find that the diversity of science and non-science graduates remained intact. I am envious of the improved gender ratio in classes.Wish I could be back!
Follow the writer on Twitter @Amitabh1975
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