The occasion was to bestow Lakshya Business Visionary Award 2008 upon Dr. Brijmohan Lall Munjal, Chairman, Hero Group and Dr. Vijaypat Singhania, Chairman Emeritus, Raymond Group. Mr Ajay Bijli ,Chairman PVR Cinemas was awarded Best Startup Entrepreneur and Mr. G.M.Rao , Chairman GMR Group was awarded the Most Inspiring Entrepreneur for the year 2008.
Dr. Bhala Chandra L. Mungekar, Member, Planning Commission, was the chief guest on the occasion.
The event commenced with the welcome address by Dr. Subhash D. Awale, Director NITIE, who along with Dr. Mungekar felicitated the awardees with Lakshya and Empresario awards. He defined the need for Industry Institute interaction as the essence to learn from the leaders of the industry through events like Lakshya. He stated that Lakshya provided a learning environment for the students thus nurturing and cultivating the zeal to become great leaders of tomorrow.
Dr. Vijaypath Singhania, began his charismatic speech with a famous quote "Inelligence doesn't lie in giving right answers but asking right questions". He threw light on the present financial turmoil and insisted on the need for us to retrospect the recent blow to the global economy as India is no longer insulated from the aftershocks of the crisis. He urged the students, whom he believed to be the future of India, to take the reins in their hands and investigate the nature of the situation by questioning oneself as to what the real cause of the problem was. This he said was our responsibility "as a part of the world society". Dr. Singhania said that it was time we took control of our life and future.
Dr. Brijmohan Lall Munjal, inspired the students with the success story of Hero group and elaborated on how he strove hard until he reached his "Lakshya" in life. Dr. Munjal, very humble for a person of his stature, expressed his love for interacting with students and added that Lakshya had not only given him one such opportunity but had also given him the chance to share the dias with great people. Referring to Dr. Singhania's advice Dr. Munjal stressed on the importance of being "conscience and aware about the happenings in other countries".
Mr. GM Rao, on receiving the Most Inspiring Entrepreneur Award said that it was a matter of great honor and privilege for him to receive the award from a premiere institute like NITIE. He dedicated the award to his "dearest mother, wife and the entire team of G.M.R". He said that the Lakshya of G.M.R Group was "Not only to build a large business but also a good institution".
Mr. Rao narrated his story of how as a young man he was not satisfied with just running the family business after completing his education. Coming from a small town in Andhra Pradesh, he dared to dream big and had worked hard to build one of the biggest infrastructure companies giving the international bidders a run for contracts.
The chief guest of the ceremony, Dr. Bhala Chandra L. Mungekar, appreciated Lakshya for felicitating industrialists as any management study was a result of the actions taken by such great visionaries. Speaking of the Mc Kinsey report that 7% of Indian graduates are unemployable Dr. Mungekar said that this was because the education system of India was bifurcated from practical exposure. He commended NITIE for checking on this by taking such an initiative which would give the students a true feel of the industry.
The grand inaugural ceremony culminated with the vote of thanks by Prof. Ashok K. Pundir, Convener, Lakshya. He commended the concept of Lakshya by saying "Lakshya provides our students an opportunity to develop and test their managerial skills as well as provide a forum for learning and assimilate directly from achievers in the corporate world. He wished that "in coming years, the Indian Business world will witness a new breed of business leaders and entrepreneurs, with NITIE students taking a lead in it".
