IMI Fights against COVID-19

Nairit Sarkar

19PGDM-BHU041

On 23^rdMarch, 2020, as the death count due to Covid-19 in India rose to 12, PM Narendra Modi announced a 21 day lockdown. The entire country closed and so did all the institutes, companies, and government offices. The stock market shut down and the economy came to a standstill. Now after a series of lockdowns by both national and state governments, India’s first-quarter GDP data shows a contraction of 23.9% according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), Government of India. Such a huge decrease in the GDP curve is enough to create turmoil in developed countries like the US which faced a contraction of 32.9%.

During this economic breakdown and all the chaos going on around the globe, IMI Bhubaneswar decided to continue operations online. On 14^thJuly, 2020, the Inaugural session was held for the 10^th PGDM batch. Not only did IMI plan for internship programs of the final year students, but also got more than hundred new students. IMI B conducted orientation program of 2020-22 batch, online classes for both batches, several corporate webinars, and interactions to find ways to beat the situation and engage students. Moreover, IMI B is also working on conducting EGADE conference. All the student clubs and committees of the institute have also started working virtually. The college is also prepared to host all the students as soon as the Odisha government allows colleges to start functioning normally. This is a huge initiative taken by the institute in a position where it clearly looked like a wasted year for the students.

IMIB is also ranked 63^rd in India and 3^rd in Odisha by National Institute of Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking and 26^th in “India’s top 100 B-School” by Education World in 2020. IMIB is one of the youngest colleges in India to reach such heights. On 31^st August, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, GoI, said that the rate of growth of new Covid-19 cases has stabilized, and the recovery rate is improving. He also said that India is “on the path of success and will win the war against the pandemic”. Though there has not been any compromise on quality of learning and experience, to catalyse our zeal and vigour, and to adopt to the dynamic corporate life, hopefully, we can join our beloved campus physically soon. Looking forward to it with all eagerness.