The Chief Guest for the inauguration was Mr Manoj Kohli, President – Bharti Airtel Ltd. Prof Shekhar Chaudhari, Director, IIMC, was the Guest of Honour.

The function was kicked off with a short introductory speech by Aditya Paranjpye, one of the Overall Coordinators for Intaglio 2006-07.

This was followed by an address by Prof Chaudhuri, where he commended the organizing team for this year for keeping up the good work done by previous teams and building on it. He appreciated the metamorphosis of Intaglio into a truly international meet, with participating teams from the US, Australia and several countries in Europe and South-east Asia. He introduced IIM Calcutta’s various educational programs, including the recently introduced program for executives, to the guests present. He also mentioned a discussion he had had earlier with Mr Kohli about the possibility of Indian industries making a mark on the world stage in the foreseeable future.

Continuing the motif of Transforming Potential to Performance, which is the theme for the meet this year, Mr Kohli talked about the fantastic possibilities available to India’s youth today in his inaugural address. Welcoming the future leaders of India, Mr Kohli stressed on the need to take measures to nurture the vast talent pool India has by building on human capital, improving the social sector and extending high standards of education beyond IITs and IIMs, the “islands of excellence”.

Expressing delight at India’s good fortune in having two extremely learned men at the helm of affairs at the Centre, Mr Kohli further stated that owing to the gradual, but steady, cleaning up of the democratic system and India’s growing stature in the world because of good fundamentals, India’s economic supremacy is not a distant dream anymore.

Mr Kohli was especially appreciative of the development in eastern parts of the country in recent times, because of which there is a greater chance of equitable growth, unlike in the past, and which also gives India an edge over its competing developing nations. India’s “trailblazing entrepreneurs”, according to him, have set the stage for many more to follow.

Moving on to the importance of developing certain personal characteristics – an issue very relevant to the students from leading B-Schools – Mr Kohli expounded on a 5-point basis. He stressed on the need for a positive attitude, a world-class benchmark, mastery over intellectual analysis, strong values and work-life balance for ordinary individuals to develop into inspirational leaders.

There were lighter moments in his speech, like the instance where he mentioned feeling nostalgic coming back to an educational institution and offered his post to Mr Paranjpye in return for a student’s life. The latter, in turn, accepted the offer without batting an eyelid, not surprisingly.

The function was wrapped up with the inauguration lamp being lit by the guests and Mr Hari Nair, the other Overall Coordinator, followed by a vote of thanks by Prof Sougata Ray, the faculty coordinator of Intaglio.

The inauguration marks the commencement of a fascinating combination of intense competition, interaction and networking, debates and discussions and cultural performances lasting over the next three days.