In 1999, I embarked on a journey with BIMTECH at its humble abode in Pushp Vihar, New Delhi.
As I delved into the institute’s prospects, I recognized a crucial need: a residential campus equipped with cutting-edge facilities for both students and faculty. Drawing inspiration from the trajectory of esteemed B-Schools globally, I crafted the ‘Vision-2005’ document, envisioning BIMTECH among India’s top 25 B-Schools by 2005. This vision was imperative, given our modest premises lacking residential amenities.
Guided by Dr. C B Gupta, a luminary in academic circles, I navigated bureaucratic hurdles, seeking a suitable plot for our campus. Despite initial setbacks with the DDA, a beacon of hope emerged when the Greater Noida Authority advertised institutional land. Despite concerns about relocating from New Delhi, I ardently advocated for a Greater Noida campus, believing it to be essential for BIMTECH’s evolution.
Our application to GNIDA marked a pivotal moment, albeit amid logistical challenges. A standout moment was when a student, Anshul Verma, showcased our vision to GNIDA, earning admiration from Shri Rao, the CEO. Despite offers for more land, we settled for seven acres, mindful of budgetary constraints.
The journey continued with the blessing and guidance of our founders, Late B K Birla Ji and Late Sarla Birla Ji, who envisioned a campus blending tradition with modernity. Inspired by the ISB campus, we endeavored to infuse our Greater Noida campus with state-of-the-art facilities and green spaces.
During a heartfelt conversation with our founders, I pledged unwavering commitment to BIMTECH’s vision, cementing a partnership dedicated to excellence in management education. This pledge resonated with our founders, propelling us forward on our quest to establish a renowned hub of learning and innovation.
After wide consultation with leading management educationists, I prepared the ‘Vision-2005’ document and submitted it to the Management. The major focus of this document was to build a residential campus with an objective of getting recognized among the top 25 B-Schools of India by the year 2005. It was necessary because our premises at Birla Vidya Niketan, Pushp Vihar, New Delhi was very modest and without a residential character.
My predecessor, Dr C B Gupta, a legendary academician (ex-Principal, SRCC, Delhi and Founder Director, IMT, Ghaziabad) was designated by the Management as the Advisor and my mentor. He advised me to try with the DDA for getting a two-acre plot in Delhi. DDA, being a bureaucratic government body, was not willing to help us and scuttled the proposal with some flimsy legal objections.
In January 2002, I saw an advertisement in the India Today in which, the Greater Noida Authority (GNIDA) offered institutional land for educational institutions. I was excited and started thinking of having a campus around 50 km away from Pushp Vihar, New Delhi.
The matter was discussed with the Management and I sought their permission to submit our application. Our advisor, Dr C B Gupta, was not in favour of moving the campus from New Delhi to Greater Noida, due to fears of losing locational advantages of South Delhi. In the meantime, for expanding the geographic base of our student population, we had started hostels in rented premises at Sarvapriya Vihar and Devri Road. It was a tough decision and full of challenges. I continued to convince our Management that having a residential campus was a sine-qua non for a good B-School and there was no harm in setting up a campus at Greater Noida.
We submitted an application for getting institutional land from the GNIDA at the Knowledge Park in the last week of January, 2002. At that time, there were only a few institutions at Greater Noida and reaching the city was also difficult because the Noida Expressway was not ready and access through Dadri – Surajpur side was always cumbersome.
After some weeks of the submission of our applications, the GNIDA office called us for a meeting and for making a presentation about our plans for setting up a campus at Greater Noida. We identified a student of PGDM-II year to make the presentation. On March 21, 2002, the presentation was made. The CEO of GNIDA Shri Rao was very impressed by the presentation and he asked me about the person who had done it. When I told him that he was a student, it was a big surprise for him. That student was Anshul Verma, who later joined BIMTECH as a faculty and worked with us till 2013. Currently, Dr. Anshul Verma is a Professor of Finance at SPJIMR, Mumbai.
When Shri Rao, CEO of Greater Noida Authority asked me how much land is needed for the campus of our Institute, I said that we needed only seven acres (about 32000 sq. mtrs). Knowing that we were representing an institute owned by Birla Family, he said, “ Why don’t you take at least 20 acres of land? In the future, you will not be able to get more land at current prices, i.e., Rs 850 per mtrs.” I politely regretted his offer and returned to Delhi.
I met Shri R N Jaju, Chairperson, Board of Governors, and told him about the offer of 20 acres of land to buy from Greater Noida Authority. He explained about budgetary constraints and told me that it was beyond our budget for the total project. Today, we realize that had we bought 20-25 acres of land in 2022, we would have become a university of repute.
After receiving the allotment letter of a 7 acres plot in Knowledge Park II in 2002, we started planning for the construction of the campus. Our Founders, Late B K Birla Ji & Late Sarla Birla Ji were very excited about the project of developing a residential campus for BIMTECH at Greater Noida. Occasionally, I used to meet them along with Shri R N Jaju and discuss with them the layout and the design of the campus. Our founders were fond of developing campuses for schools, colleges, and temples. Their aesthetic sense and practical experience for construction projects were pragmatic. They always liked a fusion of tradition with modernity in building designs. They were using the services of a Delhi-based architect Pratap Parikh & Associates for long time who very well understood their liking for aesthetics, design, and quality of every aspect of a campus building.
In 2002, the Indian School of Business (ISB)was established in Hyderabad by a group of Indian industrialists and businessmen with big support from Shri Rajat Gupta, the then CEO of McKinsey Global, USA. Late B K Birla Ji suggested Shri Jaju to take architect Late Pratap Parikh and me to Hyderabad and arrange a visit to ISB to see its beautiful campus and its latest facilities. Both late B K Birla Ji and Late Sarla Birla Ji had visited the ISB campus because their granddaughter Late Vidul Khetan was studying there. They liked the campus building very much. They asked Late Pratap Parikh and his team to imbibe some of the features of the ISB building in the Greater Noida Campus of BIMTECH and in its buildings.
On the suggestions of our founders, the academic building was designed to use natural light and a green environment to create a cool and green environment. In hostels, a cluster model was used in place of dormitories. Central air conditioning was provided to all buildings to maintain temperature both during harsh winters and scorching summers. Overall 55% of the land was used for construction and 45% was kept for open and green spaces.
On the eve of the Ram Navmi of 2003, both late B K Birla Ji and late Sarla Birla Ji were in Delhi to join their annual Ramcharitamanas Satsang at Birla Mandir. On Ram Navmi Day, I was called to Mangalam, Amrita Shergil Marg (their residence) in Delhi in the forenoon to have lunch with them and Shri Jaju Ji. Before lunch, we were sitting with them at the dining table. Late Pratap Parikh was also present with all layout designs. Late Birla ji told me, “Chaturvedi, we have committed sufficient funds to go for a residential campus at Greater Noida on your proposal. This is our commitment to make it a renowned abode for learning management and to do MBA. But what is your commitment to work with us?” I also became emotional and immediately replied, “Sir, I also commit myself for life. I will not leave this institute until it becomes a well-known abode for business education”. Both Birla Ji and Madam were very happy and asked the architect Shri Pratap Parikh and Shri R N Jaju ji to go ahead and start construction.
