Former Vice President Venkaiah Naidu Applauds IRMA Graduates At 43 Convocation

Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Hon’ble Former Vice President of India graced the 43 convocation Ceremony of Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) as the Chief Guest on 7 June, 2024 at the TK Patel Auditorium, NDDB Campus, Anand. He was joined by Meenesh Shah, Chairman, IRMA & NDDB and Umakant Dash, Director, IRMA. A total of 303 students were conferred with degrees during the ceremony.

Ahead of the Convocation ceremony, Hon’ble Former Vice President of India also inaugurated a newly constructed 126-room hostel block built by NDDB on technical consultancy basis, with modern facilities for the students’ comfort and well-being. Later, he took a tour of the IRMA campus with Meenesh Shah and Umakant Dash.
The convocation ceremony began shortly after the Hon’ble Chief Guest joined the procession, along with Meenesh Shah, IRMA Society Members, Board of Directors, Umakant Dash, faculty members and students.

In his address the Hon’ble Former Vice President remembered Verghese Kurien, Founder Chairman, IRMA by calling his impact on the nation as profound. Kurien’s impact, the Chief  Guest added, reverberated through institutions like the National Dairy Development Board, IRMA and many others, that have shaped the future of our nation. With their unwavering commitment to rural development and management, these institutions have laid the foundation for the Bharat of the future. He urged the graduating batches of IRMA to remain committed to lifelong learning and personal growth. The world, he said, was evolving at a rapid pace and it was necessary for the students to evolve their skills and knowledge accordingly. He again congratulated the graduating class of 2024 on its remarkable achievements and wished that as they left the hallowed halls of IRMA and ventured into the world beyond, they would continue to uphold the values of excellence, integrity and service that define the esteemed institution that is IRMA.

Meenesh Shah stated that the vision towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, ‘Make in India’, ‘White Revolution 2.0’ etc. have opened up more avenues for rural management professionals.  He further stated that ‘Rural Bharat’ or ‘Grameen Bharat’ is today on a transformative path giving ample opportunities to work towards food security, women empowerment, technological innovations, enterprise and entrepreneurial development and we have to embrace technology and it is our role as  rural management professionals to use it innovatively across the value chain be it production, procurement, processing, storage, marketing or even financing.

As the Government of India nurtures the vision of inclusive development and equal opportunities especially for people in rural India, IRMA, over the last four decades, has been nurturing a workforce dedicated to rural management through its consistent efforts.

At the Convocation, 303 students received degrees. 265 students received PGDM(RM) degrees while the remaining 37 were conferred with PGDM (RM-Executive) degrees. Additionally, one student received a degree for the Fellow Programme in Management - RM.

During the ceremony, the prestigious Kuchibhotla Vasanthi Gold Medal for academic excellence was awarded to Anupama D, a graduate of the 2022-24 batch of PGDM (RM). This highly esteemed recognition was established 27 years ago in honour of the Late Kuchibhotla Vasanthi, an alumnus of PGDM-RM programme who tragically passed away in 1997. Sandeep Hirpara was awarded the IRMA Gold Medal for academic excellence in the PGDM (RM-X) programme.

Working in rural areas gives IRMA’s students a unique exposure to the heartland of the country. Such exposure is central to IRMA’s philosophy of nurturing management professionals who are empathetic and conversant with development issues at the grassroots. Two PGDM(RM) students from the graduating batch of 2022-24, Shubham Tayal and Reuben Papang, were honoured with the ‘Best Village Fieldwork Segment Award’.

Students from the 43 batch of IRMA have been placed in organisations of repute with an average package of Rs 14.14 lakh per annum and a median package of Rs 15 lakh per annum. Over 63 organisations participated in the campus placements offering 325 job offers to the students. The highest package of Rs 31.15 lakh per annum was offered by Wipro with some of the other top recruiters being NDDB, AMUL, Adani Wilmar, Cipla Health, Ernst & Young, PwC, Deloitte, ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank, Axis Bank, McDonald’s, Mother Dairy, NPCI, Piramal Pharma Limited, IndusInd Bank, among others.