CII and Sa

The Center will be located in India and in Oxford, UK.
The MoU was signed in London on June 26 by Professor John Hood, Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Sunil Bharti Mittal, President of the CII.

In announcing this initiative, Dr John Hood, said: The primary objective of this research centre is to learn from Indias business success - for the issues faced by India are a microcosm of those in the world. A clear understanding of these issues and their innovative solutions, as India transitions from poverty to prosperity, will form a guide to future generations of countries attempting similar transitions.

Professor Colin Mayer, Dean of the Sa?d Business School added: I am delighted that this Memorandum of Understanding is being signed between the Sad Business School and the CII. The purpose of the Centre is to address major business policy questions in India through collaborative research between academics in Oxford and in India and to engage practitioners and policymakers actively in formulating a research agenda that will be relevant and significant.

The intention is that the Centre will analyse the relevance of the success of the Indian economy, particularly in entrepreneurship and corporate development, for other economies. At the same time it will address some of the major environmental and social problems that confront India, and consider how the emerging strains on infrastructure and the provision of public services can be managed.

The Centre will undertake research on the provision of infrastructure, both hard projects such as rail and road and soft infrastructure such as health and education; public-private partnerships and the way in which government can provide a conducive environment for promoting business and entrepreneurial activities; the development of financial markets and institutions; new management practices such as in relation to programme management; and alternative approaches to addressing social and environmental problems.

Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal, President of CII, stated that the link between CII and Oxford Universitys India Business Centre represented a milestone in building bridges between British academic institutions and Indian business. He highlighted that the establishment of this unique Centre by a university as prestigious as Oxford, reflected the emergence of India and India Inc. in the new global economic order.

Lt. Gen. S. S. Mehta, Director General, CII added: One of the main objectives of the MoU will be to access and develop competence in undertaking high quality industrial research for the benefit of policy makers, institutions and the corporate sector in India as well as the UK. This kind of research can help academia, industry and policy makers take higher quality decisions as we globalize. Effective research and development is a cornerstone for a developed economy.

Areas of engagement between the CII and the proposed Centre will include stimulation of dialogue on highly relevant policy debates on the Indian economy and the identification and promotion of ideas that will help support the Centres activities across the business community in India.

The signing of the MoU was attended by a delegation of senior Indian CEOs, including Uday S Kotak, Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Dhruv M Sawhney, Past President, CII & Chairman and Managing Director, Triveni Engineering & Industries andPhiroz Adi Vandrevala, Co-Chair, IBP India & Executive Vice President, Tata Consultancy Services.