MoPSI Secretary Dr Saurabh Garg tells students it is "a great time to be young, and even better to be young in India"; nine incubated start-ups receive ₹40 lakh in seed funding
Sambalpur, 3 October 2026: The Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur celebrated its 12th Foundation Day on Saturday and opened the 11th edition of Marmagya, its Annual Business Conclave, at the institute's campus in Sambalpur. The Foundation Day was observed on the theme "Societal Impact of B-Schools", while Marmagya 11.0, running on 3 and 4 October, takes up the question of "Thriving on Business Disruption and Turbulence in an Interconnected World".
The programme was chaired by Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur. Dr Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoPSI), Government of India, attended as Chief Guest. Shri Siddheshwar Baliram Bondar, District Magistrate and Collector, Sambalpur; Shri Charan Singh Meena, IPS, DIG (Northern Range), Sambalpur; and Shri Mukesh Kumar Bhamroo, IPS, Superintendent of Police, Sambalpur, were Guests of Honour. Industry was represented by Ms Meenakshi Patil, Application Operations Practice Leader, IBM Australia; Mr Pancham Taneja, Country Head, Delta Capita India; and Dr Bhabatosh Mishra, Director & COO, Niva Bupa Health Insurance along with 21 industry leaders of different companies NRI FT India,Marsh McLennan,Smart IQ,Emami Ltd, Radisson Blu etc.
Eleven years, eleven milestones
In his address, Prof Jaiswal took the audience through eleven milestones the institute has reached in eleven years. IIM Sambalpur now runs five MBA programmes and ten degreeprogrammes in all, including dual-degree PhDs, and has become the first IIM to offer a Bachelor's degree. Its student strength has crossed 1,500, with more than 175 PhD scholars on its rolls.
He spoke at length about the Master Weaver Programme, which IIM Sambalpur launched, as the first community-led project by a business school in the country. More than 70-80 weavers have been mentored as Entrepreneurs on digital marketing platformsso far, and the institute is working with them to develop a "Bunkar Valley" in and around Sambalpur, home to the region's handloom tradition.
On entrepreneurship, the Director said the institute has incubated 35 start-ups to date, nine of which received seed funding worth ₹40 lakh at the event. He also referred to the Centre for Responsible Business, already operational, and announced that IIM Sambalpur will shortly set up a Centre for AI, the first such centre at any IIM. The institute, he noted, has been recognized as a pioneer of AI-led teaching, where lectures are delivered entirely by AI without human intervention.
"When we started in 2015, we had 49 students and a temporary campus. Today we have more than 1,500 students, a weaving community that is finding new markets, and young founders building companies out of this campus. But the numbers matter less than what they represent. A business school in Sambalpur has to answer to Sambalpur, and to the country, not only to the placement table," Prof Jaiswal said.
Addressing the students directly, he added, "The world you will step into is turbulent and deeply interconnected. What happens in one market reaches you overnight. You will not always have complete information, and you should not wait for it. Learn about what you do not know, learn to decide under uncertainty, and you will be able to manage whatever comes your way."
Chief Guest: design for the most vulnerable first
In his keynote address, Dr Saurabh Garg has appreciated the campus & its achievements. Policy and business alike, he said, must be designed for everyone, and particularly for the most vulnerable, because they are the first to feel the impact of any disruption or shock. He stressed that inclusive development depends on measuring interventions correctly, so that decision-makers know who is actually being reached.
"Whenever there is a shock, whether it is a pandemic, a price spike or a climate event, it is the poorest household that feels it first and recovers from it last. If we design for them, we end up designing for everyone. And if we do not measure who is being reached, we are only guessing. Good data is what turns good intentions into real outcomes," Dr Garg said.
He closed on an optimistic note for the graduating classes. "It is a great time to be young, and an even better time to be young in India. The opportunities in front of you are enormous. Choose the ones that create social impact, and stay adaptive, because change is the only constant you can count on. Those who learn to ride it will shape the next few decades," he said.
Achievers and founders felicitated
The Foundation Day also recognized the institute's top performers. Ten students from the BS (2025–29) batch and 16 students from the MBA (2025–27) batch were presented plaques and prize money of ₹1 lakh. Nine start-ups incubated under the IIM Sambalpur I-Hub Foundation received seed grants of ₹5 lakh each, and four new alumni-led start-ups signed incubation MoUs with the institute.
The day's proceedings began with the first Marmagya panel, "Building a Workforce That Can Adapt, Reskill and Lead Through Disruption". Over the two days, the conclave will host panels on rebuilding operations for supply, energy and infrastructure shocks; funding India's growth without losing financial discipline; low-carbon industrial growth; and scaling Indian talent and enterprises for global markets. The theme was introduced by Prof PadmavathyDhillon, Chairperson, Marmagya, and the Foundation Day ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks by Shri Amrut P. Mohanty, Chief Administrative Officer, IIM Sambalpur, followed by the National Song and National Anthem.