Biz leaders must prepare for a 'never normal' due to Covid: UGC chairman

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SME Times News Bureau | 19 Nov, 2021
"Business and leaders today are preparing for 'never normal', a new age which will be characterised by rapidly evolving cultural, social values and attitudes such as increased demand for good corporate governance and enhanced brand intent," said Dr. Dhirendra Pal Singh, Chairman, University Grants Commission (UGC).

Singh was giving the inaugural address at the first Dr. Pritam Singh Memorial (PRISM) Conference on "Architecting the Future of Business: Leadership, Governance & Technology".

The three-day conference has been organised by the Jindal School of Banking and Finance at O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) in collaboration with Ecole Superieur De Commerce De (ESCP) Paris and Dr. Pritam Singh Foundation. The conference has also had some leading corporate sponsors including Hindustan Petroleum (HP), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC), Union Bank of India, and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

"Pritam Singh devoted his entire life working tirelessly in the field of leadership and governance in the Indian higher education. Covid-19 has changed the fundamentals of business and thus leaders need to reflect and act in new ways. Leaders and organisations who have been unable to plan well have witnessed potentially disastrous consequences. The need of the hour is leadership focusing on speed, compassion, empathy and resilience, which in turn will determine the chances of sustainability and survival of the organisation. A critical dimension of leadership in present times is also to take care of the socio-economic wellbeing of the employees in order to curb mental stress. The present crisis requires employees to respond effectively and quickly deal with challenges and opportunities and this is possible only when employees are empowered. The vision of our Honourable Prime Minister to make India the knowledge superpower is envisioned in the National Education Policy. The NEP 2020 is a unique amalgamation of ancient cultural values and modern knowledge and science. The NEP will not only connect the students with their cultural roots but will also inspire them to be the world's best citizens," Dr. Dhirendra Pal Singh said.

The conference's Patron Address was delivered by the Founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, who said: "The Indian economy is struggling from the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, which caused a global economic recession and disruptions to health systems that affected the lives of millions around the world. India is witnessing a considerable drop in GDP, increased unemployment, a liquidity crisis in the banking industry, and a shock to resource allocation and fiscal management in addition to the tremendous pressure on the healthcare system.

"It has been a clear indicator of the fact that while technology has been a driver of solutions, diversity brings greater innovation to the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world around us. Therefore, this is indeed the time to embrace inclusivity in technology-led growth, especially involving large-cap companies, MSMEs and start-ups to prepare ourselves for a digital future where the shared prosperity of our society takes primacy."

The inaugural PRISM conference will deliberate on contemporary economic issues with industry leaders, CEOs, policymakers, academics, finance and banking experts as they share their thoughts on India's post-pandemic growth and re-imagine the future through shared growth, resilient leadership, governance and technology.

Dr. Simon Mercado, Executive Vice- President, Directeur General-Adjoint and Dean for Executive Education, Corporate and External Relations, ESCP, one of the Patron Addressees, said: "Dr. Pritam Singh was the very embodiment of the spirit of ambassadorship, leadership and friendship. His great ability was to bring philosophy and mindfulness into management education. He was particularly skilled as a humanist in reminding us of the importance of the human element in management and leadership, and bringing in Indian philosophical principles into management education and leadership. What are the key leadership skills executives need to be successful at? The idea is to commit to the personal and professional development of everyone, believing that the organization is best served always by stewarding all involved towards shared goals and this requires a strong sense of mutual purpose and co-identification, humility and empathy. Servant leaders must be agile, resilient and adaptive."

Dwarkanath Patnam, Former Chairman, GSK Consumer, Healthcare Limited, and President, Pritam Singh Foundation, India, delivering the opening address, said: "As the president of Dr Pritam Singh Foundation, it won't be wrong to say that Dr. Pritam Singh touched countless lives across industry and academia. The foundation aims towards developing leadership and building institutions rooted in ethical and human values."

Ranjan Mohapatra, Director - HR, Indian Oil, Chairman, Lanka IOC and Chairman, Indian Oil Mauritius Ltd., India, extolled Pritam Singh as one of India's great academicians.

"An educationist par excellence, a true visionary, and an inspirational leadership guru of global stature. With his entrepreneurial vision, and innovative methods, he has left an indelible mark on the academic world. For the past several years, he has guided the efforts and initiatives of several universities and institutions to achieve academic excellence. At Indian Oil, we have been extremely fortunate to gain from Dr. Pritam Singh's touch of Midas over the years through our continued association."

The welcome address was delivered by Prof. (Dr.) Asha Bhandarker, Professor, Organizational Behaviour, International Management Institute, New Delhi, India who said, "Numerous people and organisations benefitted from Dr. Pritam Singh's wisdom and guidance. Inspired by his ideals, this conference honours his memory by celebrating the creation and dissemination of knowledge, which he stood for."

Talking about the relevance of the conference, Dr. Ashish Bhardwaj, Dean, Jindal School of Business and Finance said, "Dr. Pritam Singh's life is a celebration of social impact created through education. This conference is an attempt to continue his legacy by bringing together the thought leaders and young minds of our nation to re-imagine and architect the future of our nation to create a platform to build resilient and stable solutions to address the enormous challenge of the Indian economy emerging from the devastating Covid-19 pandemic."

PRISM 2021 has panel discussions, keynote addresses, paper presentations by academicians, a young managers' competition, a student competition and an international case writing competition. There are attractive prizes and publication opportunities in SCOPUS-indexed and ABDC-listed journals. The conference will also feature prominent industry leaders from the corporate, education, technology, financial sector as well as regulators, and policy-makers. The sessions will cover a vast array of economic issues and topics including the Role of Governance in Managing Sustainable, Technology Driven Businesses and Organisations, Future of Business in Uncertainties and Digital Era, Resilient Leadership in Disruptions, and Fintech, Financial Inclusion and Data Governance.