Now, an SBI Cell for Research on Public Sector Leadership at ISB Hyderabad

SBI in collaboration with the ISB, Hyderabadlaunch a research cell with focus on Public Sector Leadership

The State Bank of India (SBI), in association with the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad announced the launch of a research cell on Public Sector Leadership at the ISB campus on June 04, 2009. A MoU was also signed by the Dean of ISB Ajit Rangnekar and the Chief General Manager of SBI (Hyderabad Circle) R.K. Sharma. The cell titled SBI Cell for Public Sector Leadership will function under the aegis of the Centre for Leadership, Innovation and Change (CLIC) at the ISB campus.

The objective of the cell will be to focus on innovation, change management, organisational transformation, leadership comparisons between public and private enterprises, managerial mindsets and risk taking in middle management.

SBI Chairman, O.P. Bhatt, who was also present when the MoU was being signed, said that as part of its CSR activities, SBI had set up a Research and Development Fund way back in 1977. The primary objective of the Fund was to support research work relevant to the activities of the banking industry and the emerging financial scenario.

Bhatt said, We are proud to inform you that over the years we have extended research grants to several academic institutions for research projects at various universities. In one of our on-going projects, in 2007-2008, in participation with RBI we had extended grants to the London School of Economics for establishing an Indian Observatory and IG Patel Chair at their Asia Research Centre. While lauding SBIs collaboration with the ISB, he said, We are proud to be associated with the ISB, this time to set up the SBI Cell for Public Sector Leadership which will focus on Public Sector Leadership. The outputs of the research cell would be of great relevance to the industry in general and public sector enterprises in particular.

Making the announcement, Ajit Rangnekar, Dean, ISB, Hyderabad said, We are privileged to be associated with the SBI for conducting research on Public Sector Leadership in India. PSUs have played an important role in ensuring inclusive growth in India. The need for ensuring inclusive growth, while meeting domestic and global competitive pressures has put enormous leadership demands on the PSUs. The objective of this cell will be to draw lessons from the performance of the successful PSUs, identify areas for further improvement, contribute lessons for the private sector and how they both can work collaboratively towards inclusive growth.

Speaking about the need for this research, Prasad Kaipa, Executive Director, CLIC, ISB said, With the growing success of the PSUs in the global landscape there is an increased interest in understanding how Indian public sectors lead, innovate and manage change. This cell is to maximise cross organisational learning in PSU leadership community with an agenda to research, share best practices and transform the PSU ecosystem.

As a part of the launch of the cell, a high profile executive roundtable was also held at the campus on June 04, 2009. The roundtable session which delved into the subject of India PSUs vis--vis new challenges, strategies and social responsibility attracted participation from the leaders of around 30 top PSUs in the country.