MBA STUDENTS TO LEARN INDIAN ETHOS AND ETHICS

NEWDELHI: How much does karma affect a manager? Future managers in India will soon find out.

Students in business schools, excluding IIMs, will have to take a course on Indian ethics and concepts, according to a revised curriculum for the master’s degree and postgraduate diplomas in business management.

It also includes lessons on Kautilya’s Arthashastra, an ancient treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy. The model curriculum has been drawn up by the AICTE, the regulator for technical institutes and business schools in the country, in a bid to impart “good values” in future CEOs and CMDs.

The panel has introduced a mandatory course titled, “Indian ethos and business ethics” which takes effect this year and will include the “gurukul” system of learning and karma, the ancient Hindu concept of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual influence his or her future. Students will also study management lessons fromthe Vedas, the Mahabharata, the Bible and the Quran. According to the course outline, several scams in Indian business could be attributed to a lack of moral scruples.

“The scandal of Satyam, NSEL crisis, Sahara fiasco, and increasing trend of wilful loan defaulters to banks, huge deposits made by a few business firms/ individuals during demonetisation exposes the weak foundations of ethics and values in Indian business scenarios,” it says.