Sambalpur (Odisha): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said innovation, integrity and inclusion have emerged as the key mantras in the field of management which can help the country achieve the goal of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.

Laying the foundation stone for the permanent campus of IIM-Sambalpur through video conference, the prime minister said the goal of a self-reliant India will be achieved with the help of collaborative, innovative and transformative concepts in management.

Noting that technology is reducing distances between regions, Modi said India has brought speedy reforms in the digital connectivity sector in order to cope with changes taking places all over the world.

"Technology management is as important as human management," he said, adding the country has been able to build substantial capacity over the last decade which was evident during the COVID-19 crisis.

Emphasising that the young generation should take along those lagging behind to ensure inclusive growth, Modi said local products will have global reach with the help of new management concepts and technology.

"Today's start-ups in India are tomorrow's Multi- national Corporations," he said, and asked young managers to align their career goals to the aspirations of the country.

The prime minister said IIM Sambalpur will go a long way in giving Odisha a new identity in the field of management education apart from creating tremendous opportunities for the handloom and other sectors in the region.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.

The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.

Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.

The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.

India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.

In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.

Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.

The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.

It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.

Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.

The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.

The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.

On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.