The Online Management Development Programme for the Officers of the Indian Postal Services began at IIM Indore on June 07, 2021. The two-week programme (June 07-18, 2021) was inaugurated virtually in the presence of Professor Himanshu Rai, Director, IIM Indore; Ms. Alka Jha, Member-Planning and HRD, Indian Postal Services; Mr. P.M. Lal, Director, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai National Postal Academy (RAKNPA); and Mr. Ambesh Upmanyu, Additional Director, Indian Postal Services and Course Coordinator of the programme. Professor Subin Sudhir, Chair, Executive Education, IIM Indore, and course coordinators Professor Manoj Motiani and Professor Manish Popli, Faculty, IIM Indore were also present on this occasion.
Professor Rai commended the resilience with which the national services have risen to the occasion during calamities- be it the banks, administrative services, postal services etc. He said that in the post 4th industrial revolution world, the kind of skill sets which would be required is going to be different from what the management institutions have provided conventionally. ‘Today, dreams are becoming the reality, and artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics are going to take over certain elements of the jobs we currently do. Therefore, there would be more complex decision-making jobs that would fall upon human beings. Hence, we need to learn how to make the right choices’, he said. He advised the officers to add imagination to vision to create a better world; add compassion to passion; and work hard with perseverance to find the grit.
Addressing the officers, Ms. Jha said that the programme will help them gain as much knowledge and exposure for the skills required for the Indian Postal Services. ‘The officers participating in the programme have reached the mid-point of their careers and it is the right time to upsurge the knowledge of their expertise, she said. She noted that the postal services have been very traditional, but the pandemic has taught and left the department a couple of significant lessons; that the department with its robust network can not only reinforce itself but also come up to the level of expectations of the government and people. This programme will help the officers learn and upskill themselves to meet those expectations. ‘The pandemic has triggered the online training programmes to gain a foothold. This is the new-normal for knowledge sharing. I hope that the officers appreciate the training programme and utilise this constructively’, she said.
Mr. Lal mentioned that this batch of offices have a work experience of 15-17 years and are amongst the biggest stakeholders in the Indian Postal Services. ‘These officers are the ones who will carry forward the name of the department ahead, considering the current scenario and the important role that the postal services have to play. We have great expectations and hope from them and we believe that this programme will enhance their skills in terms of leadership, management, strategy and decision making’, he said.
Mr. Upmanyu also welcomed the officers and thanked IIM Indore for organizing the programme. The inauguration concluded with a vote of thanks by Prof. Manish Popli. Total 20 officers have registered for the programme.