The country's premier business school, the Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI-Jamshedpur) has decided to confer 2010's Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal for Industrial and Social Peace on Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for the latter's contribution in introducing new models of development and bringing back his 'backward' state on the track of fast growth.
The prestigious medal will be handed over to Nitish on March 26 during the XLRI's 55th annual convocation, to be held on its sprawling campus in Jamshedpur, about 130 km south from the state capital Ranchi.
Mr Vineet Nayar, vice chairman and chief executive officer, HCL Technologies Ltd, would be the chief guest and main speaker at the convocation, the institute's senior faculty member Prof Madhukar Shukla told Hindustan Times on Sunday. Prof Shukla also confirmed the selection of Nitish Kumar for the prestigious Ghandy Medal.
"The XLRI decided to confer the prestigious medal to Nitish Kumar in view of his contribution in introducing new development models and ensuring social peace in Bihar," he said.
Veteran communist leader and ex-chief minister, West Bengal, late Jyoti Basu was the only serving CM who was conferred with the Ghandy Medal in the past.
In 2009, the prestigious Medal was conferred on Ratan N Tata, chairperson of Tata Group; while in 2010, it was conferred on Delhi Metro Railway Corporation chief, E Sreedharan.
{{/usCountry}}In 2009, the prestigious Medal was conferred on Ratan N Tata, chairperson of Tata Group; while in 2010, it was conferred on Delhi Metro Railway Corporation chief, E Sreedharan.
{{/usCountry}}The Ghandy Medal was instituted by XLRI in 1966 in memory of Tata Steel's (then TISCO) first general manager Sir Jehangir Ghandy. Previous recipients of the medal include respected names from diverse fields such as J R D Tata, Arvind Mafatlal, Holck-Larsen, Rajmohan Gandhi, P N Bhagwati, V Kurien, M S Banga, Subir Raha (chief, ONGC), Azim Premji (chairman, Wipro), Sister Nirmala, (Mission of Charity) and KV Kamath (ICICI Bank).
Vineet Nayar, the main speaker at the convocation, is also author of the book 'Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down,' published by Harvard Business Press in June 2010.