Armed Forces officers join IIM-A to prepare for boardroom battles

Ahmedabad, Oct 12: After spending a good part of their lives with tanks around them and adapting themselves to the heat of deserts and cool climes of the Himalayas, 60 officers of the Indian Armed Forces have joined the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad to prune their management skills and equip themselves to enter the private sector, post-retirement.

Welcoming the 'new students' at the campus at a formal inauguration function, IIM-A Director Bakul Dholakia said, ''The basic idea behind the course is to smoothen the transition of these men in uniform to civilian life after retirement and to help them find gainful employment.'' He said since the retirement age in the armed forces is much lower, after superannuation they can still work for 20 years or so.

The course is designed to give them inputs which will help them to take up managerial positions in the corporate sector, he added.

He said designing the course was a challenge for the IIM faculty. ''This was because these distinguished senior officers have leadership qualities and strategic insights and have been trained to deal with uncertainties all the time. They were also expected to have a quick response ability and their decision-making ability was bound to be above average,'' Mr Dholakia added.

In a lighter vein, he also hoped that their highest levels of discipline would also rub off on other students in the campus. ''I think they (students) are taking notes of the discipline aspect in the mess room,'' he quipped.

He also said the intake of students for the course may be increased in the coming years.

Also speaking on the occasion, Maj Gen Harwant Krishan, Director General, Resettlement, said it was an achievement for the Armed Forces Resettlement Board to have struck a partnership with the most premier management institute in the country and expressed the hope that the officers will combine the ethos of the Forces like loyalty, team spirit, punctuality and discipline with that of civilian life.

He said about 3,000 officers retire from the Forces every year and such courses can be of help to them to re-orient themselves to civilian jobs.

''Similar courses are also being run by IIM-Lucknow and IIM, Indore while those in Kolkata and Bangalore are due to start the programme next year,'' he added.

Among the 60 personnel who have enrolled for the course, 36 are from the Army, and 12 each are from Navy and the Air Force, said Prof P Khokle, one of the coordinators of the course. Officers who are not below the rank of colonel in the Army and its equivalent in the Air Force and Navy, have been selected for the course. ''They are either on the verge of retirement or have few months in service. In fact, at least four to five of them are already retired,'' he added.

The course will comprise of 24 subjects including accounting, finance, economics and the like. ''The basic pedagogy, and the depth and range of method of instruction will remain the same. Your takeaway will be proportional to the input you provide,'' Prof Dholakia told the students.

The selection of the officers has been done by the Directorate General of Resettlement and Training. It will also be contributing 60 per cent of the course fees of each student. ''The officers have been shortlisted from among 450 applicants, who were keen to join the course,'' said Maj Gen Krishna.

For Hemika Bakshi, it was a God-sent opportunity to enter the portals of the country's most premier institute. ''When I was posted in Ahmedabad and used to cross the IIM, I would look upon with envy and never thought that I would be here as a student,'' she said.

Hemika, who is from Delhi, had left the Army a month back and was looking for employment in the corporate sector.

On the hand, Captain H B Sharma from the Indian Navy, said he was keen to attend the course to equip himself for a good corporate sector job. ''I have two more years of service and may take premature retirement if I get a good break,'' he said.

UNI