FM to be chief guest at IIM-A convocation

AHMEDABAD: Union finance minister P Chidambaram will be chief guest at the 42nd annual convocation of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), on March 31, ’07.

Mr Chidambaram has accepted the invitation for the event where 280 odd PGP students of the B-school will graduate.

The batch of 280 students includes 250 post-graduate programme (PGP) students and 30 agri-business management students.

The India growth story talked about by Mr Chidambaram has already found takers at IIM-A. In ’03, only three graduating students at IIM-A turned down international offers in favour of domestic ones.

But the number increased to 18 in ‘06. It’s to be seen how many students at the institute will opt for jobs within the country.

Last year, IIMA alumnus and president of the foods division at Unilever, MS Vindi Banga, was chief guest for the convocation.

In the past, the institute had invited prime minister Manhmohan Singh, former prime minister Narasimha Rao (both when they were serving their terms as the country’s finance minister) and economist Raghuram Rajan as chief guests for
its convocations.

Last year, a batch of 263 students graduated from the campus. The graduating batch included 241 students of PGP in management and another 22 students of agri-business management. Six students of doctoral programme also graduated.