The participants were then addressed by Dr Harsh Vardhan, who is experienced in teaching and recruiting students from business schools across India and across the world. He compared this inaugural function to his first day at IIM Calcutta and remarked that the IIMs have come a long way since then. Addressing, the incoming batch, he remarked that the students were joining the institute at a very crucial stage in economic evolution of India and that, in spite of the current situation of the markets, the incoming batch has come at an extraordinary time.

Having recruited students from campuses all over, Dr. Vardhan said that he had been observing a certain pattern. Students from campuses all over might be brilliant when it came to analytical skills and problem solving capabilities. Students might calculate option values in their heads these days. But, what he clearly found lacking was the depth and the maturity. He did not find students involved in broader reading, even if they might be going in depth with their subjects.

At this crucial juncture for the incoming batch, Dr Vardhan reminded them that the competition did not stop at getting through CAT but rather, started after it. The most important strength that he felt should be developed is the ability to make friends with those who they compete with. He also encouraged the students to go with their gut feeling, rather than peer and monetary pressure. Throughout his experience, he had seen people make mistakes when having chosen the latter.

Various questions were posed to him, given his experience in various fields. The questions were related to entrepreneurial skills, the current oil crisis and the state of education in India.
Dr Vardhan felt that entrepreneurial skills have not been developed in India. The MBA institutes offered students a relatively risk-free way to a decent middle class style of living. This was the groove that students were falling into and therefore did not prefer to take up a profession that was filled with risks. Moreover, he felt that in the past years, India has not seen the kind of creative spirit that would be necessary for an entrepreneurial venture. He felt that the IIMs could play a huge role in changing that.

When asked about the current oil crisis situation and the ways of solving it, he posed to main solutions. In the short term he felt that alternative sources which were available should be exploited. Natural gas pipelines would be helpful in reducing the demand. However, in the long term, he pushed for serious policy changes as regards the pricing and investment policies. Moreover, he felt that demand side management was necessary. Energy guzzlers like malls should be taxed more and establishments using solutions that reduced energy consumption should be given tax rebates. This would lead to a demand-side change in energy usage.

Dr Vardhan also stressed on the educational infrastructure in India and its relation to the growing service sector (52% of the economy) that could use it. Responding to the increase in batch size, Dr Vardhan said that an increase in quality faculty was also necessary to cater to the batch.

Among other vital inputs, he said that the establishment of effective supply chain structures was very necessary to cater to the service industry. He also responded to a few doubts on growth, saying that growth in its initial stage was divisive and believed in the fact that enough growth would be distributive.