IIMA Hikes PGP Fee to Rs 23 Lakh: Prof. Kaushik Basu Tells Grads At Convocation to Follow Reason & Morals

For the third successive year, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has hiked the fee for its flagship 2-year full-time Post-Graduate Program (PGP) in Management to Rs 23 lakh, an increase of about 4.5% from the previous year’s Rs 22 lakh.

IIMA Director Errol D’Souza said the decision to increase the fee was taken at the meeting of the Board of Directors on March 17, keeping in line with the inflation.

The IIM had hiked the fee in 2018 to Rs 22 lakh and to Rs 21 lakh in 2017 from Rs 19.5 lakh in 2016.

• PGP fee hiked to Rs 23 lakh for 2019-21 batch
• 54^th Convention held at IIM Ahmedabad on April 16. For the first time, 398 PGP graduates receive degree certificates instead of diplomas
• Kaushik Basu, Professor of Economics and Carl Marks Professor of International Studies at Cornell University as Chief Guest, delivers the keynote address at the Convocation
• Basu calls upon the graduates to follow reason and morals in all their endeavours

Meanwhile, IIMA has become the third, after IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta, to distribute degree certificates instead of diplomas to graduates of the PGP program at the Annual Convocation on March 16.

The ceremony, held at the Louis Kahn Plaza in the campus, saw a total of 593 students receiving their certificates. Of them, 398 graduates of the PGP 2017-19 were given degree certificates. The graduates included 45 from PGP-FABM (Food and Agribusiness) and 137 from the one-year PGPX program.

Delivering the keynote address at the Convocation, Chief Guest Prof. Kaushik Basu, Professor of Economics and Carl Marks Professor of International Studies at Cornell University, called upon the graduates to follow reason and morals in all their endeavours.

Policy Mistakes From Lack of Reasoning

“I have, over the years, become convinced that reasoning is the most under-utilized of human faculties. Read some of the discussions and commentary on social media, and listen to television debates, and you will wonder where reason has vanished. This is a telling commentary on education and explains why we make so many policy mistakes,” he said.

“Within economics game theory illustrates the power of good reasoning. One important axiom of game theory asserts: It is not good enough to be rational yourself. You must recognize that others are likely to be rational too and take that into account.

In the rough and tumble of everyday life, in trying to be successful at any cost, many people push aside all morality. We see this among politicians, who try to win elections at all cost; we see this among business persons, who try to earn more profit at all cost. This is the cause of many of society’s woes. Indeed, for long-run success of a society, it is essential to have these moral anchors

“Policy mistakes, such as the demonetization, which has hurt India’s growth, would not have occurred if there were policymakers that paid heed to this simple axiom. For every policy, you have to anticipate how ordinary individuals and also bureaucrats will respond. That is the key to designing successful policy mechanisms,” he added.

Morality, a Key to Success

Prof Basu also asked the students not to pursue only success but keep in view morality. Traditional economics talks a lot about profit-motive and individual rationality. What is often forgotten but is actually as important for a society’s long-run success is morality.

“Morals and trust provide the nuts and bolts of society. Without those you can get short-run success but not long-run development,” he added.

“Let quickly clarify that the morality I am referring to instinctive ideas, such as compassion and kindness, basic human decency, trustworthiness, and adherence to some form of Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative, which is the principle of treating others the way you wish them to treat you,” he said.

“In the rough and tumble of everyday life, in trying to be successful at any cost, many people push aside all morality. We see this among politicians, who try to win elections at all cost; we see this among business persons, who try to earn more profit at all cost. This is the cause of many of society’s woes. Indeed, for long-run success of a society, it is essential to have these moral anchors.

Reasons for India’s Economic Slowdown

“Let me briefly turn to India’s economy to illustrate some of these arguments. There are unmistakable signs of India’s economy slowing down over the last few years. The latest data on industrial growth, pertaining to January 2019, shows that India’s industry is barely growing, with the growth rate down to 1.7%.

“In the year 2017-18 India’s exports were a little less than what the country exported in 2013-14, which means virtually 0% growth in exports on average for 4 years, which has rarely happened in the past.

“Further, the agricultural sector is in recession, and the farmers feel neglected. The most worrying is the jobs situation. If you put together all the piecemeal data coming in, it is clear that our workers are suffering greatly, with the unemployment rate at over 7%, according to the Center for Monitoring the Indian Economy, and youth unemployment at 16%, as per a study by Azim Premji University. It is unfortunate that data on unemployment are being held back,” Prof Basu said.

“The concern about this, expressed recently by 108 leading economists, is a genuine concern. When I was Chief Economist of the World Bank, it was always good to see that India stood out, not just among emerging economies but all countries, for the quality and integrity of its statistical system.

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The Nobel prize-winner, Angus Deaton, in an article with Valerie Kozel in 2005, gave India tribute for its pioneering statistical work. He mentioned how India’s “NSSO surveys, pioneered by Mahalanobis in the 1940s and 1950s, were the world’s first … household surveys to apply the principles of random sampling.” We must take care not to damage this reputation.

Shortage of Professionalism and disproportionate focus on big business

“None of all this is necessary. India’s fundamentals are strong and we should be doing much better. The two reasons why this is happening are a shortage of professionalism and a disproportionate focus on big businesses and their interests. The first pertains to reason and the second to morals,” he said.

“Professionalism means policymaking based on data and reasoning. The economy is too complex to be handled by hunch and gut feeling. Passion is important but you cannot have exports booming, jobs being created by passion alone. Expertise and professionalism are critical.

“Make no mistake. Business and enterprise are important. Big business is also a fact of today’s world and technology. But in trying to nurture business and enterprise we must not neglect the poor and the unorganized sector. India is still largely an agricultural nation and it is sad to see this major sector suffering.

“India’s long-run prospects are excellent. I feel we can be a global leader. I must add that I want India to be a leader not to enrich itself, but to be a force for good in the world. The aim should be to provide leadership for a better world, a world of prosperity, equality and sharing. As you, the students of IIM, go out into the world, you will have your own ambitions, but harbour, somewhere in your heart, the ambition for goodness for the world,” he added.(Image Source: Wikipedia.org)