The Indian Institute of Management Bodh Gaya successfully conducted its Orientation Programme for the academic year 2025–27 on July 5th and 6th. A total of 542 students were inducted across the flagship MBA, MBA in Digital Business Management (DBM), MBA in Hospital and Healthcare Management (HHM), and Ph.D. programmes. This included 354 MBA students, with 51 joining through the IPM stream, and 18 Ph.D. scholars. Orientation for the third batches of the MBA-DBM and MBA-HHM programmes, comprising 94 students each, was held on the second day of the programme.
The event commenced with a welcome address by Prof. Vinita S. Sahay, Director of IIM Bodh Gaya, who emphasised the institute’s vision of nurturing mindful and socially responsible leaders. Mr. L. Ramkumar, Chairperson of the Board of Governors, and Mr. Sandip Ghose, Board Member, also addressed the students.
Prominent speakers from diverse sectors shared their insights during the two-day event. Industry leaders included Mr. Mrutyunjay Mahapatra (RBI Innovation Hub), Mr. Roopank Chaudhary (AON India), Mr. Ashish Kulkarni (BCG), and Mr. Venkat Chalasani (AMFI). Government leaders such as Mr. Prafulla Kumar Jain (IN-SPACe), Mr. Shashank Shubhankar (District Magistrate, Gaya), and Mr. Anand Kumar (SSP, Gaya) encouraged students to consider the synergy between governance and business.
Additional sessions were led by Dr. Varun Kapoor, IPS (Special DGP, MP), Dr. Suku Sukunesan (Edith Cowan University, Australia), Mr. Jayant Prakash (E&Y), and Prof. Vidyanand Jha (IIM Calcutta). Day two featured addresses from Dr. Anil Sahasrabudhe (NETF & NBA), Mr. Hitesh Tak (BCG), Mr. Udit Sethi (KPMG), Mr. Vineeth Mathew (Agappe Diagnostics), Mr. Badrish Prakash (Tiger Analytics), Mr. Debopriyo Bhattacharyya (McKinsey), Dr. Rajesh M. Patel (AGD Biomedicals), and Dr. Safeena A.N., IAS (Commissioner, Magadh Division).
Programme overviews were provided by Prof. Ashish Sharma, Prof. Swapnarag Swain, and Prof. Molla Ramizur Rahman, while Prof. C. V. Sunil Kumar presented the batch profile. The MBA batch includes 78 female and 225 male students, with 123 bringing prior work experience, averaging 23 months. The batch shows a strong academic mix, with 50.83% engineers and 49.17% non-engineers. The MBA-DBM and MBA-HHM batches have 14 female students each, with 36.17% and 87.23% of students from non-engineering backgrounds, respectively. The Ph.D. batch of 18 students includes 8 females, with backgrounds in Engineering, Science, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts.
The orientation also featured spiritual invocation sessions, cultural performances, and interactive team-building activities designed to foster collaboration, creativity, and resilience. The programme set the tone for an enriching academic journey, reinforcing IIM Bodh Gaya’s commitment to academic excellence, inclusivity, and ethical leadership.
