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IIM Ahmedabad and JSW Group inaugurate the JSW School of Public Policy’s new state-of-the-art building at IIMA campus

February 21, 2023: Leaders from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), a premier global management institute, and US$ 22 billion JSW Group, India’s leading business conglomerate, today inaugurated the JSW School of Public Policy’s (JSW SPP) building, a state-of-the-art multi-facility center at IIMA’s New Campus.

IIMA representatives including Mr. Pankaj R Patel, Chairman, IIMA Board of Governors; Professor Arindam Banerjee, Director-in-charge, IIMA; and Professor Namrata Chindarkar, Chairperson, JSW SPP as well as the leadership team of JSW Group Mr. Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Group; Mrs. Sangita Jindal, Chairperson, JSW Foundation; and Mr. Parth Jindal, Managing Director, JSW Cement, and Paints, participated in the inaugural ceremony. The inauguration was also attended by dignitaries from academia, industry, and the government along with faculty and other members of the IIMA community.

India is at a critical juncture of development and public policy will play a crucial role in driving the economic and societal development of the country. Envisioning this, IIMA and JSW Group collaborated to establish the JSW School of Public Policy to undertake research and teaching in public policy and contribute to India’s roadmap for economic growth and sustainable development. IIMA has an enviable legacy of making exceptional contributions to India’s policymaking efforts that have actively shaped the policy-scape of the country.

For the JSW Group, IIMA served as the ideal platform for the establishment of a School of Public Policy as the Institute offered in-house expertise and capacity through its highly qualified faculty members. Since its inception, the JSW SPP has endeavored to bring together stakeholders across public, private, and social enterprises as well as policymakers to facilitate public policy dialogues that would facilitate the exchange of ideas and contribute meaningfully to India’s policy reforms.

Spokespeople Quotes:

The inaugural event commenced with Professor Namrata Chindarkar welcoming the dignitaries and the guests. Thereafter, addressing the gathering, Professor Arindam Banerjee, Director-in-Charge, IIMA said, “IIMA has a strong legacy of making exceptional contributions to India’s policy-making space that have actively shaped the policy-scape of the country. A significant amount of research, teaching, and advisory work has been undertaken, creating for IIMA a reputation for innovative, grounded, and future-oriented contribution to improving policy formulation and implementation. The JSW School was conceptualized to be an influential think tank that can contribute to building this public policy framework for the state and the country. The School took shape with the generous support of the JSW Group. Even as the brick-and-mortar facility was underway in the last few years, the school took the lead in bringing together stakeholders across the spectrum to facilitate public policy dialogues that would engage, influence, and contribute meaningfully to policy formulation.”

Delivering the inauguration speech, Mr. Pankaj R Patel, Chairperson, IIMA Board of Governors said, “India has led the way by showing the world how policy innovation through the use of technology, private sector involvement, and community partnerships can be brought about while remaining committed to equity. Just like in business, innovation and disruption is also required in the public policy domain. Public leaders need to experiment with new models of governance and new modes of service delivery. IIMA has been known to create management leaders and it wishes to grow this footprint by shaping a new generation of public leaders. The JSW School of Policy came into being as an outcome of this vision with the support of the JSW Group.

JSW SPP aims to become the knowledge hub for such cutting-edge thinking and has the potential to become the center of policy learning and diffusion by developing case studies on the unique Indian policy experience. The school, with its enviable infrastructure, also aims to become the platform for hosting the best minds on various aspects of public policy. In doing so, it hopes to create opportunities for interactions and engagement between policy thinkers and policy practitioners. I congratulate the JSW Group and IIMA members who have played a significant role in bringing the school to fruition.”

According to Mr. Sajjan Jindal, Chairman of JSW Group, “India’s roadmap to become a US$ 10 trillion economy requires structural collaboration from the public sector, private enterprise as well as Academia. These collaborations are crucial to evolve the next phase of policy reforms and to planning efficiently for the next decade of India’s economic growth. Public policy is the backbone of our society and is linked to good governance. Over the last couple of decades, we have witnessed the positive impact of public policy on our society as well as certain challenges. Hence, there is a crucial need to promote Public Policy education in India so that we have a cadre of skilled public policy professionals who can design, implement, and evaluate policies that are effective, efficient, and equitable. The JSW School for Public Policy at IIM Ahmedabad campus has been established to meet this need. Our aim is to create a world-class institution that will foster a new generation of public policy professionals who are knowledgeable, skilled, and ethical. The School will engage with domain experts to identify research gaps and training needs necessary to promote and institutionalize new ideas. We are hopeful that these ideas will empower our future generations to eventually translate the impactful research into world-class innovations leading to policy solutions.”

Commenting on the JSW Group’s partnership with IIM Ahmedabad for JSW SPP, Mrs Sangita Jindal, Chairperson of JSW Foundation, “Education is the cornerstone of building a better future for our country. JSW Group has been dedicated to promoting education in various forms across the value chain. The partnership with IIM Ahmedabad enables us to deliver a focused Business Management curriculum in Public Policy. The curriculum of the JSW School of Public Policy has been designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of public policy and its various dimensions delivered by a faculty of renowned academics and practitioners who bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the classroom. Our aim is not just to create skilled professionals but to create empowered leaders who are committed to serving our country with dedication and excellence.”

Outlining the future plans of the JSW SPP, Professor Namrata Chindarkar, Chairperson and Associate Professor at JSW SPP said, “The JSW School of Public Policy (JSW SPP) has set out a vision to develop a unique school of thought on public policy that embraces and tries to make sense of the complex and oftentimes messy policy cape of India. It also aims to play a role in overcoming “policy myopia” and become a platform that brings government, industry, and academia together to take a citizen-centric view and open-mindedly discuss both policy successes and failures with the objective of learning and diffusion. The JSW SPP has the privilege of being a part of IIMA, the country’s best management institution. It aspires to facilitate cross-fertilization of ideas with the rest of the institute to examine the relationship between government, business, and society.”

Design and Infrastructure

Designed by the renowned architect and educator Mr. Rahul Mehrotra, faculty at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, JSW SPP covers more than 56,000 square feet within IIMA’s New Campus. In Professor Mehrotra’s words, the central ideas that inspired him while designing the building included the creation of an armature with a central promenade that brings together spaces of disparate characters and scales and specifically enhances sociability. The concept also integrates greenery across all levels throughout the building, structural innovations that allow play of light, natural ventilation and most importantly, the creation of a space that favors social interactions. The building houses a large forum, a 120-seater auditorium, one sixty-seater classroom, two seminar rooms – 60-seater and 30-seater, eight syndicate rooms, 18 faculty offices, a library extension, a program office, and spaces for research and teaching assistants.

JSW SPP – Objective, Activities, and People

Professor Namrata Chindarkar, Chairperson and Associate Professor at JSW SPP, and Mr. Parameswaran Iyer, Professor of Management Practice at JSW SPP and CEO of NITI Aayog lead the academic and research activities at the JSW SPP supported by a group of faculty members from diverse disciplines and focus on public policy. Since its inception in 2015, JSW SPP has been actively working on various studies, and organizing conferences and discussions related to public policy in India with participation from eminent policymakers, academicians, and industry leaders. Over the years, it has evolved into an influential think tank that contributes to public policy through high-quality research and training programs for practitioners from the public, private, and non-profit sectors, academics, and young minds pursuing policy issues. It has hosted the likes of the Late Shri Pranab Mukherjee – former President of India, Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman – Union Minister for Finance, Shri Amitabh Kant – former CEO of NITI Aayog, Shri Rajiv Mehrishi – former Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Shri Sunil Kant Munjal – Chairman of Hero Enterprise, among others as guest faculty and speakers.

As part of the MoU between IIMA and the JSW Group, the JSW SPP will undertake cutting-edge research studies on various aspects of public policy in India with global reference. The findings from such research will inform and support India’s economic and societal transition. Some of the key themes that JSW SPP will focus on include institutional reforms to enhance state capacity and improve governance; policies for sustainable development including energy, water, and climate change; data-driven and experimental work to identify policy impact and inform policy design; and creating 21st-century public administrators. The school will enjoy academic freedom in authoring this report.

Event to mark the inauguration

The inaugural ceremony was followed by a high-profile panel discussion on ‘Making Public Policy Education Relevant for India’s Development’ with Professor Pranab Bardhan, Professor Ashwini Deshpande, Professor Arvind Panagariya and Dr Shamika Ravi as the panelists.

AXOR presents Design Cupid powered by GoodHomes: A three-day celebration of creativity, luxury, and design

India, 21st February 2023: GoodHomes, India’s leading lifestyle and décor brand, is renowned for its credible and dependable information on design, style, décor, and beyond. With its immersive experiences, the brand has always set a high standard. In collaboration with AXOR, the brand is now curating a stimulating event that showcases an exceptional blend of luxury, design, conversations, and more. From February 21-23, 2023, the two partners will host an experiential getaway called “AXOR presents Design Cupid powered by GoodHomes” at the extraordinary Samsara Desert Camp & Resort in Rajasthan.

Design Cupid, inspired by AXOR’s remarkable ideology of “By Personalities for Personalities”, will not only feature seventeen participating couples from the architecture and interior design community but also three prominent personalities from the luxury industry, including product designer Jay Osgerby, notable architect Alan Abraham, and artist Ajay Patil. With sessions planned to provide a range of design perspectives, invitees will have a unique opportunity to engage with Jay Osgerby about his design philosophy, as well as his profound understanding of concepts like synergy in design, the impact of collaborations, and more. In another session, architect Alan Abraham will share his knowledge of the idea of Interaction Design.

Mr. Deepak Lamba, CEO of Worldwide Media, discussed the experiential getaway and stated that their goal with GoodHomes is to provide design enthusiasts and professionals with exceptional experiences that allow for creative rejuvenation. The event ‘AXOR presents Design Cupid powered by GoodHomes’ is a further step in celebrating artistry and authenticity. The partnership with AXOR for this three-day exchange of dialogues is exciting, and they aim to provide a creatively stimulating experience for all guests and luminaries involved.

Ronitaa R. Italia, Editor In Chief, GoodHomes India says, “We wanted to highlight the significance of collaboration and communication in the process of design. What better way to do this than with couples who work together? That’s why AXOR presents Design Cupid powered by GoodHomes. To explore the dynamics of engagement and celebrate the special bond these special people share. It’s all heart!”

“With AXOR presents Design Cupid powered by GoodHomes, we look at further strengthening our association with the AID community and facilitating a dialogue that centers around the idea of synergy in design explored through creative expression,” says Gaurav Malhotra, Managing Director, Hansgrohe.

AXOR presents Design Cupid powered by GoodHomes will feature luminaries from the architecture and interior design community. List of the 17 participating couples for Design Cupid –

1. Anca Florescu Abraham and Alan Abraham

2. Archana and Rupesh Baid

3. Devika and Raj Khosla

4. Ekta and Rajiv Parekh

5. Monolita Chatterjee and Punnen C Mathew

6. Nita and Indrajit Kembhavi

7. Pallavi Shetty and Zubin Master

8. Pashmin Shah and Satyajeet Patwardhan

9. Rakhee Bedi and Shobhit Kumar

10. Ritu and Yatin Patel

11. Shalini and Vinod Bachala

12. Shalini and Amit Gehlot

13. Shivangi and Manav Patel

14. Shreenu and Ranjeet Mukherjee

15. Shruti and Vaibhav Dimri

16. Sweta and Ajay Arya

17. Varuna Arvind and Arvind Rangan

AXOR presents Design Cupid powered by GoodHomes will be held from 21st to 23rd February 2023 at the Samsara Desert Camp & Resort, Rajasthan

Guru Nanak Institute of Hotel Management inaugurates the 7th World Food Competition

Kolkata, 21st February: Guru Nanak Institute of Hotel Management under JIS Group inaugurated the 7th World Food Competition at their campus on 21st February. The competition will include 12 international judges, 30 countries, and about 160 participants. Nepal, Uganda, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Australia, Philippines, Netherlands, Austria, and South Africa are some of the participating countries besides India. The inaugural event witnessed participants from different countries with their mentors and Sardar Simarpreet Singh, Director, JIS Group. The participants were welcomed with dhunuchi dance along with dhaaks playing.

A one-of-a-kind and thrilling culinary competition, the World Food Competition at Guru Nanak College of Hotel Management honors the diversity and variety of international foods and offers a platform for culinary greatness. It gathers chefs and cuisine lovers from all over the globe to showcase their talents and contend for prestigious awards. The Guru Nanak School of Hotel Management, a top provider of hotel education in India, organizes the yearly food competition. Participants from various nations compete against one another, using their distinctive ingredients and culinary methods to produce mouthwatering meals. A group of accomplished and well-known cooks, culinary reviewers, and business professionals assess the competition and rate the meals submitted by the competitors.

Commenting on the inauguration, Sardar Simarpreet Singh, Director, of JIS Group, said, “The World Food Competition gives prospective chefs a platform to demonstrate their skills and originality, learn from expert cooks and evaluators, and become acquainted with the newest cooking trends and methods. Additionally, it gives foodies the chance to know and learn about new tastes from around the globe. We try to organize this event every year to give exposure to our students.”

AirAsia India launches Start of Summer Sale with fares starting at ₹ 1,400

India, 21st February, 2023: AIX Connect, operating as AirAsia India, launched its Start of Summer sale with fares starting from ₹1,400 for routes such as Mumbai-Chennai, along with similar special sales fares across its network. Bookings are open till 24th February 2023, for travel between 12th March and 30th September 2023. The sale fares are available on the AirAsia India website, AirAsia.co.in, the AirAsia India iOS and android mobile apps, and other major booking channels. NeuPass members who book through Tata Neu or on the airline’s website and app can also earn up to 8% NeuCoins.

The launch of the Start of Summer sale presents an unbeatable opportunity for travelers to plan their spring and summer vacations to a wide variety of both popular and off-the-beaten-path destinations on the AirAsia India network. The airline also offers direct connectivity from major metros to Kochi in the South and Srinagar in the North to Goa’s picturesque beaches and vibrant nightlife. In the North-East, the airline also offers flights to Guwahati, nestled in the hills of Assam, offering scenic views of the Brahmaputra river and lush greenery, while Imphal, the capital of Manipur, boasts of a rich cultural heritage and beautiful landscapes dotted with lakes and hills. With over 50 direct and 100 connecting flights to 19 destinations, AirAsia India caters to both business and leisure travelers with Gourmair hot meals, all-leather seats, and a new in-flight experience hub, AirFlix.

The airline recently announced the expansion of its network to the city of Surat, Gujarat. Operations will commence on 3rd March 2023, with direct flights to Bengaluru, Delhi, and Kolkata, and convenient one-stop itineraries to other destinations on its network, including Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Guwahati, Goa, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Bagdogra, Lucknow, Chennai, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, and Srinagar. The addition of Surat aligns with the airline’s ongoing commitment to providing seamless connectivity and exceptional service to its guests and patrons.

Will India’s Millennial Homebuying Spree Continue Post-COVID-19?

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By Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande Spaces

Millennials, usually described as those born between 1981 and 1996, have been hogging the news as the new ‘power user’ group of Indians who are buying homes. Are they really such a big deal? Let’s look at some facts to understand why millennials are such an influential homebuyer segment in India today.

The United Nations found in 2020 that India has an estimated population of about 1.38 billion, and a 2021 report by the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) found that the number of Indians in the age group of 20-39 years was about 470 million. In short, roughly 1/3rd of the Indian population are millennials.

A TransUnion CIBIL study found that the number of home loans taken by millennials in India increased by 96% between 2015 and 2018. And this was before COVID-19. According to a report by the real estate consulting firm ANAROCK, millennials accounted for about 42% of all homebuyers in 2020. The report also finds that the COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for homes among millennials due to their need for more space and the desire to scrap the zero-returns financial burden of rented homes.

Over the next two years, more millennials than ever before will reach the median buying age of 32. When such a vast and influential segment of residential real estate buyers starts making solid moves on the housing market, there is no way we can ignore them. More and more Indian millennials are now entering their prime buying years.

Beyond COVID-19

COVID-19 was undoubtedly a game changer for millennials buying homes – including in the types of homes they prefer. From 2020 onward, millennials began looking for homes with dedicated office space for remote work. Initially, the demand was in response to lockdowns and other significant changes to daily living during the pandemic. Market pundits expected that the trends of millennial homebuying and the demand for bigger homes would change after everyday life resumed.

That prediction failed to come true. Even today, with companies having opened their offices for regular work again, millennials continue to scan the Indian housing market for bigger homes in less expensive locations. Unlike their parents, they have no aspiration for the perceived prestige of inner-city living. Also, remote working has retained its spark as was previously predicted.

A 2021 survey by job portal Naukri.com found that approximately 70% of Indian millennials were working remotely, and a survey by competing job site Indeed determined that 78% of Indian millennials were determined to continue working remotely after the pandemic because of better work-life balance, lower commuting stress, and improved productivity.

A survey by HR consulting firm Mercer had similar results, finding that 58% of Indian employees – which, as we have already seen, has a substantial millennial component, intended to continue working remotely even after the pandemic. Notably, not only millennials now prefer remote work – even older employees have taken a shine to it. However, since millennials are generally more tech-savvy and open to new work arrangements, it is predominantly the millennial demographic that drives this new mindset.

The Future of the Indian Millennial Homebuying Trend

Will millennials continue to dominate the housing market? As more of them enter the housing market, there is no reason for the trend to dissipate. Many Indian companies have realized the advantages of more cost-effective, flexible work arrangements. This means the millennial aspiration to own bigger homes in cheaper suburban areas will continue.

Can rising property prices dampen the millennial homeownership zest? That is unlikely. Before the pandemic, many Indian millennials preferred to invest their spare money in the stock market and even crypto assets because of superior ROI. In the last two years, they have turned to residential property as their preferred investment asset class.

Property prices have been increasing steadily in the last year. However, the rising property prices strengthen the overall housing investment logic. The long-term benefits of owning an appreciating asset are a convincing reason for Indian millennials. This is borne out by a survey conducted by housing market aggregator portal Magicbricks, which found that 67% of Indian millennials continue to see owning residential property as a superior option to renting homes.

In short, Indian millennials will continue to see homeownership as an excellent long-term investment that will provide financial security and stability, despite short-term fluctuations in housing prices.

Inflation and Housing Prices – Your Time Starts Now

– by Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande Spaces

In a recent report on housing prices in the country’s top cities, real estate consultants PropTiger.com found that average residential real estate price tags rose by 7% in 2022. In Pune, prices rose by 8% when compared to 2021. The consultants correctly attribute the price rise to the increased construction cost and the continuing demand wave, which began after Covid-19 and had been going strong ever since.

The fact that housing prices are rising like this after many years of relatively slow or neutral growth is notable. It means different things to different people – those who have already bought their homes are grateful for having acted in time. Those sitting on the fence feel the heat rising – the time to postpone the decision is running out.

Housing prices tend to increase due to a combination of factors, including inflation, supply and demand dynamics, and the overall state of the economy.

Inflation

Inflation plays a significant role in driving up housing prices, but what is it exactly? To put it simply, inflation is the overall increase in prices and concurrent decrease in money’s value or purchasing power over time. As inflation rises, the value of the rupee decreases, meaning that people must spend more money to buy the same amount of goods and services.

Like everything else, the cost of building materials, construction labour, and other expenses associated with housing construction also rise. In a slow housing market, developers will try to safeguard their customers from this increased cost as much as possible since demand would ebb otherwise. However, they can only do it for so long – and when housing demand is healthy, there is no reason not to pass on the increased costs to homebuyers in the form of higher prices.

Demand and supply

The dynamics of supply and demand also contribute to increasing housing prices. When there is more housing demand than supply, prices tend to rise. This can happen for several reasons. For example, if there is a growing population or a large influx of people into a specific area, there will be more demand for housing in that area, but the supply of housing may not be able to keep up. At a more micro-level, a well-known builder’s project may sell so well that there is more demand than supply. This leads to higher prices for the available homes.

There is another angle to the supply-demand argument – namely, that if interest rates are attractively low and it is easier for people to obtain home loans, more people can afford to buy homes, increasing demand and driving up prices. Interestingly, while home loan interest rates are increasing in India, this has not dampened housing demand by much.

Indians are still gung-ho about buying homes because they know that property prices are rising even faster than interest rates. In India, buying a home is one of the top-most priorities for most families. They will wait and watch for a certain amount of time to see if prices and/or interest rates are likely to fall. When they see them rising instead, the homebuyer instinct is activated.

State of the economy

The state of the overall economy can also impact housing prices. When the economy is strong, and people have more money and feel confident in their job security, they are more likely to buy homes, increasing demand and driving up prices. In contrast, when the economy is weak and people are struggling to make ends meet, they may delay buying a home or choose to rent instead, reducing demand and putting downward pressure on housing prices.

The state of the economy does not affect every category of homebuyer equally. In the Indian context, we have seen that luxury housing buyers who come from a place of existing wealth are less impacted by overall economic performance and least affected by interest rate hikes. Middle-class buyers are affected, but as already mentioned, their homebuying decisions are based on more than just how well the economy is doing.

However, there is no doubt that many lower-income Indians who typically buy affordable housing are forced to shelve their plans until the economy picks up, paid employment prospects to improve, or the government rolls out special incentives specifically aimed at helping them realize their homeownership dreams. Conversely, government policies such as tax incentives or subsidies for affordable housing buyers can increase demand and drive up prices.

While housing prices tend to increase over time, the rate of increase can vary significantly depending on various factors. For example, housing prices may be relatively stable in some areas or even decline over time due to a shrinking population or a weak local economy.

With all the action now happening in the Indian housing market, the Indian homeownership mindset now finds the pressure building. Will housing prices eventually edge into complete unaffordability? While interest rates may moderate over time, property prices will not follow suit as demand is high and prices have awakened after several years of stagnation. More than ever before, there may be no time like the present to get off the fence.