Click to play videoAhmedabad (Gujarat): Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad paid a visit to IIM Ahmedabad on Monday.
He was invited to deliver a lecture on railway management and share his experiences in turning around Indian Railways, one of the largest rail networks in the world.
Accompanied by Minister of State for Railways Narayan Rathwa, Lalu Prasad chatted with the students and faculty and told them how he pulled back the Indian Railways from bankruptcy and on track.
Written-off as a "white elephant" two years ago, the transformation of Railways into the second largest profit-earning state-run unit has become a model for corporate management at the premier B-school.
So, while they may be travelling in two different directions, Brand IIM will took a look at the complete turnaround of the Indian Railways with an almost reverential awe.
“We had written a case study on Indian Railways with Lalu as the protagonist. His lecture has been all the better for the students,” says IIM-A professor, G Raghuram.
The institute does not see Lalu as a politician. For the faculty and students of IIM-A, Lalu Prassad is the top of the management of the organisation called Indian Railways.
After the interaction with IIM Ahmedabad students Lalu Prasad announced the setting up of a chair at the institute to study the Indian railways.
"Considering the interest of the students and the faculty, we have decided to set up a permanent chair at IIM-A devoted to the study of railways," he announced.
For Lalu, the visit has proved as fruitful as it has for the students of IIM-A who will want to replicate his success story in different fields.
Now, premier international business schools like Harvard and France's HEC Management School have shown an interest in turning Lalu's experiment with the railways into a case study for aspiring business graduates.
The Minister has attracted the attention of railways and engineering houses across the globe, prominent among them being the US business giant General Electric.
Despite the accolades, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has rejected Lalu’s claim that he had turned around Indian Railways.
"Lalu might succeed in projecting his performance out of proportion elsewhere but he would find it hard to convince the people of Bihar," said Kumar.
“I have nothing to comment on what Mr Prasad said in his lecture in Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedamad, as people are aware of realities, '' he quipped.
(With inputs from IANS and UNI)
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