India Through the Eyes Top Biz Leaders

Rural Market, An Incredible Opportunity: Harish Manwani

Rural India is a powerhouse for our country waiting to emerge and presents an incredible opportunity of potentially adding $1.8 trillion to the Indian economy which is equal to the current GDP, said Harish Manwani, Chairman, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) according to the report appeared in The Hindu.

He hoped that though there were challenges in agriculture, rural employment and employability and human development, the Indian rural market will grow more than ten-fold to become a $100 billion opportunity for retail spending by 2025.

Recommending sustainable growth models for rural India, Manwani said, “If the masses of rural India were to consume like their urban counterparts, we would face even more pressure on our natural resources. The challenge is to decouple growth from the environmental footprint.”

Management Education Must Address Needs Of The Industry: R C Bhargava

Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R C Bhargava stressed on the need for strengthening the manufacturing sector to sustain the economic growth. Drawing the references of Japan, Korea and Singapore, he stated, when the country was growing at nine percent, it was driven by the service sector, which is not sustainable, and manufacturing must contribute at least 15 percent to the GDP.

With the inception of market-driven economy, the government control has diminished and the licence raj was no longer a trend. The private sector stepped in to drive the growth of the economy. With the mushrooming of the private sectors, the need for quality managers grew manifold said Bhargava. The employability of MBAs has dipped as the education they receive at B-schools does not sync with the industry demand. IIMs should adapt themselves with the changing needs so that management graduates become equipped enough.