A monthly eMagazine focussing on igniting thoughts for actions amongst professionals of all kind.

1. Dear Readers
No editorial is needed when the
person you dedicate this Ymag is
larger than life and India recognizes
him with a PADMA BHUSHAN.
Time to fold the hands and hold him
in awe forever!
Actions always speak louder…
Cheers,
Rajiv Khurana
Editor
rajiv@rajivkhurana.com
9810211256.
#1
Felicitating Dr. Athreya 2
YouTube link;
What he means to us…
3
Dr. M B Athreya - Profile 4-7
TEN Questions to
Dr. M B Athreya
8-12
In this issue…
YWindow for action
loving professionals
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#24 March 1, 2014
Coaching Learning Advancing Sharpening Smartening ©
Advt. Pages 13-14

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#24 March 1, 2014
Glimpses of the Facilitation event hosted by
The Institute of Management Consultants of India, Delhi Chapter,
held on 20.02.2014 at IIC, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
Picturesby:Dr.AmitParinjaandRajivKhurana

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http://youtu.be/VOxe-ZVz4Gc

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#24 March 1, 2014
PROFILE
*ABCD…G = Academia, Business, Consulting, Development….Government Sectors
MBAM B ATHREYA
Dr. Mrityunjay Athreya has been a founder and pioneer in
Indian management education. He joined the faculty of the
Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, as early as 1967.
The IIM-Kolkata along with IIM-Ahmedabad was one of the
two first Institutes of Management set up by the Government
of India, in 1962. He was one of the outstanding members of
the IIM faculty, much sought after by Public and Private
enterprises as a Trainer and Consultant. Since 1967, over the
last more than four decades, he has advised enterprises in
several sectors, such as Oil & Gas; Power; Fertilizers; Steel;
Automobiles; Banking; Insurance; IT; Health etc. By the
decade of the 1980’s, his name became synonymous with
management in India. He has been an icon of Management
to several generations of Indian Managers; Management
Teachers; Trainers; Consultants; and students.

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#24 March 1, 2014
MBAM B ATHREYA
Dr. Athreya chose Management as his life mission, early in his
academic career. He returned from the US, in 1967, with a
Doctorate in Business Administration from the world leader, the
Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Before
Harvard, Dr. Athreya also studied at the Stanford Business School,
California, USA. Thus he had the benefit of the two best
Management schools in the US. He brought this intellectual
capital immediately to India. He was not for a moment tempted
to stay on for a lucrative career, in the US. He was very clear that
his karma bhoomi was Bharat. Before proceeding to the US, with
full scholarship aid, Dr. Athreya had acquired a first degree in
Statistics from Loyola College, University of Madras, Chennai. He
is also a qualified Cost Accountant, with all India First Rank and
Gold Medals in both the Intermediate and Final Examinations of
the Institute of Cost Accountants.
Dr. Athreya has served on many Government policy Committees.
The best known is the 1991 Athreya Committee on Indian Telecom
Restructuring. He chaired the Committee. Its distinguished
members included Dr. Sam Patroda; Mr. N Vittal, IAS; Dr. V.
Krishnamurthy; late Mr. M. R. Pai, Consumer Activist; and other
very senior professionals. Over the years, the Committee’s
recommendations have been implemented, leading to a cell
phone-based revolution in rural-urban connectivity; and
applications in entertainment, health, shopping, travel, etc. and
many other sectors. It has been the most successful reform of any
Infrastructure Sector of the Indian economy, as compared to
Power, Transportation, Ports, Airports and others. While he was a
young professor at IIM, Kolkata, Dr. Athreya was invited by Dr.
Karan Singh, then Civil Aviation Minister, to be on the Committee
to Restructure Indian Airlines, in 1971, along with Dr. Vijay Kelkar
and others.

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#24 March 1, 2014
MBAM B ATHREYA
He was a member of the Committee to Restructure State
Enterprises of the Jammu & Kashmir state government, in
1972. He has been on several other Committees,
including on Coal; Civil Aviation; and Civilian Nuclear
Power. He was, for two terms, member of the RBI
Committee for selection of top executives in public sector
banks, along with Dr. C. Rangarajan; Dr. Montek Singh
Ahluwalia; Dr. YVR Reddy; and others.
Dr. Athreya has been the preferred educator and
consultant in Management for Public and private sectors.
He was the youngest Director of the Advanced
Management Programme for Indian CEO’s, held annually,
by the All Indian Management Association, in Srinagar,
J&K. His first such AMP was in 1968, at the age of 27. He
has also spoken at many Conferences of the apex national
Chambers of Commerce --- FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM. In
the course of his intense travels on Management teaching
work, through the length and breadth of the country, Dr.
Athreya has spoken at the Regional and State level
branches of the above three apex chambers.
Dr. Athreya’s consulting work has evolved through several
phases, along with reforms of the Indian economy.
Initially, in the 1970’s, the MNC’s already present in India,
like ITC and Levers were more receptive to Management,
and called upon his expertise. In the 1980’s, many PSUs
like IOC, ONGC, BHEL, SAIL, HMT, HAL, NFL embarked on
Strategic Planning, Organisation Development and HRD,
with Dr. Athreya’s help. In the 1990’s Indian Private
Sector, Family and Entrepreneurial Groups were also his
clients.

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#24 March 1, 2014
MBAM B ATHREYA
Dr. Athreya went abroad on sabbatical leave from the IIM-Kolkata in the
1970’s. Having already learned about American Management in the
1960’s, he chose to learn about European Management, in the 1970’s. He
was a Visiting Professor at the London Business School, England; and a
Chair Professor, at the young age of 34, at the Strathclyde Business School,
in Scotland. With these bases he travelled extensively on training and
consulting into the Continent. He returned to India, enriched with this
additional learning. This has enabled him to help many Indian companies
globalize, through increasing their exports; overseas operations; foreign
investments; M&A; global procurement, etc.
Dr. Athreya has also contributed to the NGO sector. He brought modern
management ideas, with suitable adaptations, to the non-profit sector. He
was Founder-President of Sampradaan, The Indian Centre for
Philanthropy, whose Mission is to recreate a caring and sharing society,
through good giving. He has been a speaker in many NGO Conferences
concerned with inclusive development; health; forestry; disabled; senior
citizens and other vulnerable sections.
Dr. Athreya has been an anchor resource person for several all-India
knowledge-based Professional organizations. He has been elected Fellow
of the Institute of Management Consultants; All India Management
Association; National HRD Network; and Indian Society for Training and
Development. He has delivered innumerable Keynote; Inaugural;
Convocation; Valedictory; and Special Addresses in National and
International Conferences; Conventions; Summits etc. In 1996, he was
invited to deliver the Gandhi Memorial Lecture at the University of Kenya,
Nairobi. He has been honoured with several awards. In 2014 he was
honoured with a Padma Bhushan award by the Government of India. In
2013, he was given the Life Time Contribution Award, by Dr. Shashi
Tharoor, HRD Minister, GoI, on behalf of Thinkers50 India. He has been a
Role Model and Mentor for thousands of Indian Managers; Strategic
Planners; HRD Professionals; and Consultants in the Corporate and Social
sectors.

8. Looking through the
ACTION WINDOW:
Dr. Mrityunjay
Athreya
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What according to you are the
major challenges before the
business world in the next 1-2
decades? What kind of
preparedness do you
recommend?
The major challenges before
business are --- one, Climate
Change; two, Rising Inequality;
and Massive Youth
Unemployment. Business
needs the following kinds of
preparedness. First, make your
business sustainable. Be eco-
friendly. Reduce your Carbon
footprint. Examine every
element of the product Value
Chain and Life Cycle. ---- Raw
Materials; Inbound Logistics;
Manufacturing/Operations
Process; Outbound Logistics;
and final disposal of the used
Product and Packaging.
Second, develop strategies for
Inclusive Growth, including
affordable prices to reach the
poorer consumers; skill training
and employment of people
with lower formal education;
Third, reach out to the Youth
with Scholarships; Campus
Interactions; Internship etc. to
raise their employability.
If corporate India needs to
reinvent itself, what should be
the top 5-7 priorities? Why?
Indian Corporations need to
continue to reinvent
themselves in several ways.
First, Improve Corporate
Governance by adopting the
emerging Indian and Global
best practices. Also, be
pioneers in some of the next
practices. Second, develop a
deep Leadership Pipeline for
smooth succession for
expansion. Third, Strengthen
Values and Culture, to ensure
survival and continuity. Fourth,
Step up Project Management
towards the awesome Chinese
levels of megaproject planning
and execution within time and
cost. Fifth, improve System
Discipline in all areas,
especially Quality.
1 2

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Where is India missing in its
action agenda towards a
comprehensive and inclusive
growth?
The major barriers to inclusive
growth are poor Health and
Education. The Central, State
and Local governments should
focus on Basic Human
Development. The two crucial
components of BHD are Health
and Education. India is falling
behind Bangladesh and some
African countries on Human
Development indices. Children
should be the top priority of
government. Once the teens
reach the market with good
health and basic education,
industry should reach out and
do its own Human Resource
Development, to make them
productive workers;
consumers; and responsible
citizens.
What action steps do you
recommend towards an
impactful integrated ABCD
growth (Academia, Business,
Consulting and Development
Sectors)?
In the integration of ABCD, the
proactive role of C, Consulting
is most important. Academia
has the knowledge. Business
and Development need that
knowledge. Consulting should
be the pipeline from A to B and
D. A may be theoretical. C has
to make it practical. There will
be many in A keen to share
their knowledge. Similarly,
there will be many in B and D,
hungry for that knowledge,
along with the application
skills. But, there may be some
in Academia with the
arrogance of knowledge; some
in Business with the arrogance
of Wealth; and some in
Development with Moral
arrogance. So, the Consultant
has to be a Karma Yogi, with a
strong identity to be a good
bridge, despite these pinpricks.
3
4

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How should we leverage the MSME to the forefront
of all round growth?
The majority of MSMEs should be adopted by the
bigger corporate as part of their Value Chain. Many
have the potential to be Vendors of parts;
components; sub-assemblies, etc. The corporate
should mentor them to be become globally
competitive, in their own enlightened self-interest.
Some MSMEs will have the potential to be
Distribution partners. A few will be capable of
becoming Service partners. The Corporates should
guide them in their management with SOPs,
Standard Operating Procedures. Some MSMEs may
be export competitive. Consultants should help
them organize for growth. We should also
encourage mergers, to build scale, to compete
effectively in the tough global market.
5
Our management education is mainly based on
western thoughts, how should the practitioners
blend the Indian-ness effectively?
We should continue to build Indian case studies;
concepts and books. Here again, the ABCD
teamwork is essential. C can refer to A companies
and NGOs worthy of being written up as case
studies. C may also draw upon A’s research reports
and books for examples and insights. For historical
reasons, western technology and industrial
management came first on the scene. We should
adapt and utilize relevant ideas from the west. At
the same time, we should draw on our indigenous
experiences and conceptualize from them. For this,
A and C need to overcome any superiority complex
and condescension, and develop respect and
empathy for Indian Business and Social
entrepreneurs.
6

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So far, there is more talk and
less walk, how can we
capitalize on the demographic
dividends in India?
Turning India’s big youth
population into a demographic
dividend requires three things -
-- Health; Education; and Skill
Development. The first two
have been covered in my
answer to Question 3 above.
The third, namely Skill
Development is a shared
responsibility between
Government and Corporates.
The GoI set up a few years ago
the NSDC, National Skill
Development Corporation.
Every state should set up a
SSDC. Corporates should
recruit from these centres. In
addition, they should also
reach out to Schools and Junior
Colleges, in Tier 2 and 3 towns
and offer skill training.
What is your action advice for
the youth in India?
Take Charge of your own life.
Benefit from the support and
advice of your parents and
teachers. But, don’t expect too
much. Never blame them.
Focus your energy on action.
Introspect on your strengths
and weaknesses. Don’t obsess
about your weaknesses.
Leverage your strengths.
Develop a Mission for your life
--- What do you want to do;
and contribute to India and the
world. Dream up a Life Vision.
Go on upword spiral of
Learning; Action; Further
Learning; lifelong.
7
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What have been the pleasures
and pains in your success
journey so far?
I have experienced the thrill of
reaching ideas and enthusiasm
for action, to large audiences. I
have had great platforms from
many Professional Bodies ---
AIMA, IMCI, ISTD, NHRDN, ICAI,
ICSI etc. Also, the apex and state
chambers. I have experienced
deep satisfaction in being on
Government Committees and
making recommendations. It has
been a joy to see many
companies transformed. The
pains are from unimplemented
advice, mainly in Government;
some neglect of the family;
inadequate time for art,
aesthetics, spirituality, travel and
fellowship.
9
To be somewhat like you, what
do professionals in India need to
do?
Start from aham Brahman asmi.
God is in me. Treat others as tat
tvam asi. You are also Divine.
Evolve from a Karmachari to a
Karmayogi. Be a Life Marathoner,
able to run for decades. Keep
physically and mentally fit. Avoid
self-pity. Look at clients,
colleagues, opponents,
detractors and all with
compassion. Heal them and heal
yourself. Keep learning. Stay
always in utsaah; aasha; and
aananda.
10

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Coaching Learning Advancing Sharpening Smartening ©
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14. Coaching Learning Advancing Sharpening Smartening ©
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Creation
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Horizon
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Decluttering
Thoughts
Enthusing
Actions
Rejuvenating PERSONAL BRAND
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Intensifying INFLUENCING
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Call these the handshake programmes or
celebrating Learning and Development in ‘tasters’
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Coaching Learning Advancing Sharpening Smartening
at your place and time with the quality
commitment of Rajiv Khurana, CMC, FIMC.
Visit us at
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to know more about
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facilitation.
Better call us at
9810211256 .
Rajiv Khurana
CMC, FIMC
rajiv@rajivkhurana.com