Dr Swayam Sampurna Panigrahi, Assistant Professor, Operations and Area Chair – Operation, IFMR GSB and SIAS students Tanisha Tayal and Daniel George have co-written an article titled, Growing e-waste crisis in Telangana Today. Through the article they emphasise that e-waste is not just about disposal but about redefining technology, consumption and sustainability.
Dr Sambaiah Gundimeda, Associate Professor and Discipline Coordinator, Politics, SIAS was invited by Telangana University, Nizamabad, Telangana, to deliver a talk at a webinar held on 13 April 2025, marking the 134th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar. The webinar was titled “Relevance of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s Thoughts in the 21st Century.” In his address, Dr Gundimeda focused on three key aspects of reservations concerning the Dalit community: education, employment, and political representation. He argued that while reservations—particularly in education and employment—have contributed to the emergence of a small Dalit middle class, political reservations have largely failed to empower marginalised communities. Instead, he contended, they have led to the creation of what Kanshi Ram called “political slaves” or chamchas of the upper-caste leadership.
According to Dr Gundimeda, the voice of Dalits in caste- and religion-based political formations can only be meaningfully heard when Dalits have their own independent political entities. He also explored Ambedkar’s ideas on the annihilation of caste and religious conversion as means of social emancipation. Dr Gundimeda concluded by asserting that transforming India’s vertical social hierarchy into a horizontal one is possible only when the marginalised gain real political power.
Professor Madhuri Saripalle, Professor, Economics and MBA Chair, IFMR GSB recently gave two lectures as visiting faculty at the University of Catania and Ragusa. Professor Saripalle gave a lecture on urban mobility to PhD students at the university and also a lecture on agribusiness supply chains to the undergraduate economics students at Ragusa. The University of Catania, founded in 1434, is the oldest university in Sicily and is a unique blend of ancient civilization with a modern curriculum adapting to the needs of the new generation. The visit was supported by the IFMR fund for the visiting faculty exchange program at Krea University. She also had a chance to interact with the head of the Department, Dr Roberto Cellini, and the hosts- Professors Luca Ruggeiro and MariaOlivella Rizza and other faculty members.
Dr Dipanjali Deka, Visiting Assistant Professor, Centre for Writing and Pedagogy presented a lecture-demonstration in Jindal Global University on 8 April 2025 titled ‘The Art of Dying – Songs and Dohas of Kabir and other Nirguni Poets’. In the presentation, Dr Deka examined the questions of orality, memory, fluidity and relevance in the living tradition of Kabir, through the themes of social and religious criticism, death and impermanence, non-duality and love in Kabir’s philosophy.
An article co-authored by Dr Chirag Dhara, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies and Dr Soumyajit Bhar, BML Munjal University, titled Why sustainable development ought to look more like Costa Rica, less like Norway has been recently published in 360info. The article deep dives into the question, “which countries have achieved decent living standards in a way that could be scaled worldwide without severely breaking planetary limits?”
Dr Sambaiah Gundimeda, Associate Professor, Politics, SIAS was invited to speak on the panel “Caste and Equality” at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, during its annual conference on “The Courts and the Constitution”, held from 29-30 March 2025. Dr Gundimeda discussed a recent Supreme Court verdict on the sub-classification of Scheduled Caste reservations in Davinder Singh v State of Punjab, 2024.
Dr Gundimeda, in his discussion, critiqued Justice Bela Trivedi’s dissenting opinion, which asserts that Scheduled Castes (SCs) should be treated as a homogeneous group without internal divisions in reservations. He countered this by emphasising the diversity within SCs, the dominance of certain Dalit sub-castes in availing reservation benefits, and the structural inequalities that necessitate sub-classification.
He argued that true justice is not merely about treating all SCs as equals but about ensuring that the most marginalised within the category receive the support they need. Additionally, he addressed broader themes of structural injustice, representation, and systemic barriers that hinder equitable access to opportunities for the most disadvantaged SC sub-groups.
Dr Suchika Chopra, Assistant Professor, Economics, SIAS presented her research paper, titled ‘Home and Community-Based Services: A Strategy to Decrease Nursing Home Use?’ at the 17th Annual Conference of the German Association of Health Economics at the University of Paderborn on 25 March 2025. The paper explores the impact of Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) on nursing home utilisation by looking at county-level changes in HCBS establishments and their employees.
Dr Sairam Moturi, Assistant Professor, Finance, Accounting, and Quantitative Finance, IFMR GSB, conducted a workshop on Financing Startups using LEGO blocks as part of a Faculty Development Program. Sponsored by the Ministry of Education Innovation Cell and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the program was held at IISER-Tirupati on 27 March 2025. Faculty members from universities and colleges across Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu attended the workshop.
Under the guidance of Nagarani M, Associate Professor, OB & HR and Head of Placements, IFMR GSB, Professor Srinivasan Kalyanasundaram, Professor of Practice, Finance, IFMR GSB and Suresh Kurukkath, Senior Manager, Placements, IFMR GSB represented Krea University at the UK-India Skills Mission Meeting. The event, coordinated by the IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council of NASSCOM, was hosted at the British High Commission on 21 March 2025 in Chennai.
The gathering brought together leading Chartered Institutes and Certificate Awarding Institutions from the UK, fostering discussions on collaboration opportunities to enhance industry-relevant skills among students. These engagements pave the way for international partnerships, internships, and certifications, further enriching students’ career trajectories.
Professor Srinivasan Kalyanasundaram, Professor of Practice, Finance, IFMR GSB, has successfully completed the Fundamentals of Case Teaching course by Harvard Business Publishing.
