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Face-To-Face
'Obama is a Big India Fan'
Relations between India and the United States have entered a phase of “redefining strategic
partnership” as the US President Barack Obama said while visiting this country recently. Ahead of
Obama's visit to Mumbai on the first leg of his four-day India tour, Uday Tarra Nayar & Deepa
Ranade of Indo-US Business met Suresh Kumar, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director
General for the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service at the U.S. Department of Commerce, who
talked about the future of Indo-US trade ties in various potential growth sectors that include energy,
education, healthcare and infrastructure. A person of Indian origin, who had made it big in the US,
Kumar fondly remembered his college days in Mumbai and TV anchoring experiences for the Door
Darshan national channel in Delhi. Excerpts.
There is a great urge in students of business schools
particularly to go to the U.S.A and study and work
there. What would you like to tell the students?
India is a happening place. There is vibrancy in the
market but, like us, you also have a high unemployment
rate. So the question we have to consider is: does the
education measure up to what the country needs?
Interestingly, during most of my interactions with the
students of premier management institutes in India, the
most frequently asked question is that of relevance. How
relevant is the education the institutes offer and how can
we improve the content of that education.
When we begin to answer the question, two elements
come to the fore - the aura of the U.S. which makes
everybody want to go to that country and the needs of this
country.
I was educated in this country and I educate people in the
US. I have been teaching in major business schools and I
am a consultant and coach to institutions and
corporations. So I can tell you that the question of
relevance is not being asked in India alone. We too are
questioning and introspecting in the US asking ourselves
what should we do. Should we teach financial
regulations, should we dwell on ethics, should we build
our teaching on case studies…. Which process of
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