Hon’ble Prime Minister, Dr. Mammohan Singh; Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Chief Minister of Haryana; Shri R P N Singh, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas; Shri Naved Masood, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs; Dr Bhaskar Chatterjee, Director General & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs; ladies and gentlemen.
I am deeply grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for kindly agreeing to inaugurate the campus of the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs on this auspicious day of Baisakhi.

In some of the recent surveys and studies by renowned institutions such as Citi Bank and the global property firm Knight Frank of the US, the projections are that the Indian economy will reach a size of $ 85.97 trillion in terms of purchasing power parity by 2050. In terms of growth between2010-2050, India would be the second fastest with its economy growing at the rate of 8% annually. These reports show that the world’s economic centre of gravity will shift eastwards to lie somewhere between China and India.

Perhaps the single biggest driver of the phenomenonal growth predicted for India would be the enhanced performance of India’s corporates. With the liberalization of the economy and the resultant influx of both technology and investment, enthusiasm in terms of business confidence, buoyant economy, increasing business investments and enhanced global presence are palpably visible. Different inputs therefore, are required to address the changing needs of the corporate sector.

Global opportunities generating capital, technology, finance and expertise are no longer limited- several alliances have been forged between Indian companies and their foreign counterparts, while venture capital and private equity have experienced significant changes. All these changes have come about as a result of enabling regulatory frameworks which facilitate the corporate sector to function productively and responsibly.

The next major challenge is the adequate capacity building at all levels of corporate governance. Setting up of IICA is a step in that direction.
Let me take the opportunity to quote from the evergreen and memorable speech of Swami Vivakananda at the World Parliament of Religions, Chicago. He said and I quote “The seed is put in the ground, and earth and air and water are placed around it. Does the seed become the earth, or the air, or the water? No. It becomes a plant. It develops after the law of its own growth, assimilates the air, the earth, and the water, converts them into plant substance, and grows into a plant”. And so too will the IICA and will play a key role.

This, first of its kind anywhere in the world Institute has been designed to function as a holistic, capacity-building institution and a think-tank for corporate regulation and reform, through synergized knowledge-creation and management, global partnerships and real time solutions. The IICA is expected to undertake research, consultancy, incubation and problem-solving to enable innovative solutions. It will aim to foster inclusive growth and entrepreneurial excellence with a focus on ethical business practices.

In order to become a globally recognised front-runner in matters related to corporate affairs, we have imparted to the IICA, a well-thought-out organisation structure which includes a network of six schools - the Centers of Excellence and Forums which will pertain to the areas of Corporate Law, Competition Law, Corporate Finance, Business Environment, Corporate Governance and the ICLS Academy. We are also planning to introduce degree / post graduate academic programmes on these subjects shortly.

Training and development is expected to be another major area of activity for each IICA School. Thus, the IICA will offer education and training to working professionals both in the Government and the private sector. The Institute will be in a position to be considered as benchmark by the corporate sector for their organizational capacity building needs.

I also believe that “Certification” will be a major priority for the IICA as well as a significant potential source of revenue. The strategy will be to create certification of choice that becomes the “gold standard” for the country.
This network is supported by a state-of-the-art campus located here at Manesar which you have graciously inaugurated. We have just viewed a model of this Campus which includes an 8-floor main administrative block, a set of Residential Apartments, a Cafeteria-cum-Recreation Building, this state-of-the-art auditorium and a 72-room training hostel block. We are justifiably proud that Government of India has been able to create an academic infrastructure that can compare with the best in the world.

It gives me happiness to inform that the Indian Green building Council (IGBC) of the CII, which is playing a catalytic role in spearheading the green building movement in India has awarded the prestigious IGBC's LEED India Gold rating to this building.
The IICA is also working with Intel Corporation to establish a cutting edge, comprehensively designed and integrated data-centre which will function as a repository of corporate best practices.
The Institute has facility to impart induction level and in-service training to officers of the Indian Corporate Law Service. It will be our endeavour to upgrade it to the status of National Academies of other Group A Services.

A remarkable feature of the recent economic development is that the GDP growth has doubled or tripled since 2004 in six large but poor states – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. But for this, the national GDP rate could possibly have not risen to 8%. The heart of the growth story is that the growth will have to be evolved from the bottom of the pyramid and from poorer States. Therefore, in order to realise the growth potential fully, the corporate investment will have to focus on the backward regions.

In this respect, role of Corporate Social Responsibility has become all the more relevant. I am extremely happy to inform you that the National Foundation for CSR has just been established within the IICA. The overall mission of the Foundation is to help in creating a national platform for the Corporate Sector to work in partnership with Government, Non-Governmental and Civil Society Organisations to advocate and capture issues that lead to inclusive growth and sustainable development.

I have asked the IICA to take pro-active and immediate steps to ensure the recruitment of the leadership and support staff for each of these Schools. We will be completing these recruitments over the next 6 months time.
Let me assure, that the IICA is poised to begin its activities in right earnest. The mandate of establishing a world class Institute is paramount in our vision and strategy. We will create the platform to build a scalable and high-quality institution which will set a bench mark for the rest of the world.

In conclusion, let me express to you, my genuine, heartfelt thanks for the enormous encouragement you have given to us by being present here today. Your august presence serves as a huge incentive for me and for all the members of my team to do something extra ordinary, something different, something innovative and something truly invaluable for the nation’s development and progress. I take this opportunity to say to all those present here today that, a great opportunity is being afforded to us in the form of this institution. Let us support it, and encourage it to become a globally recognized institute of reckoning for all matters related to Corporate Affairs.