India Rising

HBS announced its decision yesterday to appoint Anjali Raina to serve as Executive Director of its India Research Center (IRC) in Mumbai, India (see AScribe Newswire article). The IRC was established in 2006 to support the school’s efforts to research economy and business related matters in India and South Asia generally.

Also in recent news, the 12th annual Wharton India Economic Forum concluded successfully last Saturday, 3.22.08. The event, organized around the theme “India ¦ Imagine” drew a diverse array of business professionals and luminaries, including the former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who delivered the closing speech.

The push to establish a presence in Asia (including India) is not exclusive to Harvard. INSEAD and Chicago GSB both have campuses in Singapore. Other business schools have established programs dedicated to Asian studies, such as Haas, which launched its Asia Business Center this year. For more on the rise of Asian business schools, check out this CNN article discussing global program rankings.