The historic economic liberalisation and deregulation initiative of 1991 which lifted production restraints imposed upon Indian industry by the ubiquitous licence-permit-quota system, has dramatically transformed India into a major exporter of goods and services. But with Indian academia still mired in the licence-permit-quota mindset, it hasn’t been able to supply foreign trade specialists in adequate numbers. This is a lacuna which the Foreign Trade Development Centre (FTDC, estb. 1991), promoted by former Delhi School of Economics professor K.L. Bhatia, has been attempting to fill.
For the past two decades the centre has been offering short-duration diploma and certificate courses infused with hands-on practical training to its students. “Exporting goods and manufactures out of India requires ardous document-ation, and companies engaged in foreign trade require trained specialists. In the past 18 years FTDC has trained over 22,000 students who are all well employed in Indian industry,” says Aseem Bhatia, an alumnus of BITS and Delhi’s Faculty of Management Studies, who took over management of FTDC in 1995 and has since pursued his father’s vision vigorously.
On average over 1,500 students with Plus Two certification, and working executives sign up for FTDC courses annually in export-import management, merchandising, retail management, etc at its training centres in Delhi, Noida, Jaipur and Lucknow. Last year FTDC inked an agreement with the Sikkim Manipal University (SMU) under which it offers a six-month export-import trade certificate programme and a postgrad diploma in international business certified by SMU. “We have industry practitioners in our faculty, and extensively use case studies to add value to our study programmes,” says Bhatia who is also planning to plant the FTDC flag in Nepal and Mauritius in the near future.
“Right upto the 17th century, India was among the world’s major exporters and trading countries. Unfortunately this tradition was destroyed during 150 years of British rule, and later by the country’s isolationist socialist economic policies after independence. It’s only a matter of time before this tradition is revived and reinvigorated, and India regains its position as a major trading nation,” says Bhatia.
Determined to give a proactive impetus to this national objective, Bhatia plans to set up training centres in all major export zones — Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Panipat. “Simultaneously we are also getting into distance education with a focus on the Middle East to stimulate Indo-UAE trade,” he enthuses.
Wind in you sails!
Autar Nehru (Delhi)