This was the advice that came from eminent lawyer and Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Mr Kapil Sibal when addressed the batch of 120 outgoing students at the International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi, on April 18.
“The world economy is undergoing a process of profound restructuring,” he said. Quoting Moore’s Law, Metcalf’s Law of Network Effects and Monsanto’s Law on genetic information, he added, “We are witness to technological changes that are mind-boggling.” Four forces are setting the pace of change: Technological revolution, managerial revolution, unhindered flow of capital across boundaries and formation of WTO.
Mr Sibal offered his mantra of innovation to manage this change. “In today’s globally competitive environment, no firm can survive with innovation,” he said. “While individual firms that capture and realize the benefits of innovation for the nation, it is the national innovation system that nurtures and disseminates technological change.”
Mr Sibal is well-known for his close association with the education sector; he did his LLM from the prestigious Harvard Law School. He was also a member of the governing body of Delhi’s St. Stephen`s College (where he did his graduation from), and served on the Board of the Indira Gandhi National Open University for several years.
As an eminent lawyer, he was Additional Solicitor General of India in 1989-90, and the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association for many years. Not many know that he was offered an appointment in the Indian Administrative Service – which he declined! He has represented India at the World Economic Forum 2005 at Davos.
Mr Sibal urged students to act with conviction and courage: “Future is not fixed, it is fluid. The world is more malleable than you think and it is watching for you to hammer it into shape. It’s a great time to be in India and to be of your generation. Good luck!”
