Management students prepare business model for Bengal government

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, December 31, 2007

Budding managers across the country are vying with each other to prepare a business model for the state to help it attract more investment and upgrade its economy.
Students of IIMC, IIM Ahmedabad; XLRI Jamshedpur and Faculty of Management Studies New Delhi are preparing the Blueprint, as it is being called, as part of Intaglio 2007, the business management fest of IIMC. Over 3,000 management students from universities across the world including Harvard, Yale, Wharton and MIT will take part in the three-day fest, which will begin from January 5. The fest will end with a lecture by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, followed by an interaction with students. The online version of the event has already begun.
“We are calling the business model Blueprint and we will present it to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee so that he can put it into use,” said Pritvijit Lahiri, a second-year student of IIMC and co-ordinator of Intaglio 2007.
As of now, six teams of three members each are working on their business models. “Venture capitalists and big business bosses will judge the six models in the presence of representatives from the industry. The best model will get an award of Rs 1 lakh and the business model will be handed over to the chief minister on January 7,” said Saugata Ray, professor of strategy and international Business at IIMC and faculty coordinator of the event.
“We are trying to see how we can contribute to the growth of a state whose chief minister is willing to bring in as much investment as possible. This is an initiative made by management students from across the country shortlisted from 50 teams,” Lahiri said.
The students are being helped in their job by Feedback Ventures, an infrastructure consultancy firm. Thrust is being laid on ideas to attract foreign investment and national and multinational companies to Bengal by creating special economic zones in IT, agro-based food processing industry, apparel industry, automobile industry, pharmaceutical industry and the gem and jewellery sector. “The students are trying to create a business model keeping in mind the export potential, risk factor, infrastructure and benefits to surrounding areas as well as other industries,” Ray said.
“The problem over land acquisition in Singur is definitely a point that the students are keeping in mind while framing their plans,” said professor Anindo Sen, academic affairs of IIMC. The six teams, he said, are very excited about the models they are preparing. They are also looking forward to interacting with the chief minister about the investment scenario in Bengal.
Apart from the Rs 1 lakh award for Blueprint, Intaglio 2007 will see prizes worth Rs 12 lakh given away to the winners of five online events, six semi-online events and nine campus events. “Our fest got the ISO 9001 certificate last year. And this time we will take it a step ahead by making a concrete contribution towards the business development of the state,” Lahiri said.
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