XLRI, one of India’s premier B-School, is all set to hold its 66th annual convocation on its campus here on April 23, Saturday.

The convocation ceremony will bid a final farewell to the graduating students.

On this significant day, 497 XLRI students will receive their graduating diploma including – 176 and 180 students of postgraduate programmes in Business Management, and Human Resource Management; 93 students of 15-months General Management Programme; 11 students of Fellow Program in Management (FPM) and 37 students of the 2019–2022 batch of Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management Programme (conducted in the evening).

Speaking about the momentous occasion, Fr. Paul Fernandes director, XLRI on Monday said, “Convocation ceremony is a significant and huge step towards the future. The accomplishments of our students during a worldwide pandemic wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of XLRI family - governing body, faculty members, staff, students and alumnus.”

T. V. Narendran, chairman, Board of Governors at XLRI and managing director of Tata Steel said, “Established in 1949, XLRI has consistently striven to uphold its mission of shaping business leaders who are competent yet upholding high personal values and societal concern. XLRI has always given high importance to its students adopting ethical conduct, cultivating a value-driven culture and shaping an integral character formation of its students and this is what sets XLRI apart from other B-Schools in the country.”

This year XLRI would confer the prestigious ‘Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal for Industrial and Social Peace’ to Preetha Reddy, executive vice-chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited.

She will also deliver the convocation address to the graduating students at the event.

Reddy is widely recognized for her contributions in making high quality healthcare accessible to millions and for her support to various entities and industry bodies, working for the betterment of India. She works closely with the organization’s 11,000 clinicians in introducing contemporary protocols to continuously enhance clinical outcomes.

She leads the thrust on quality improvement processes to achieve the highest standards in patient satisfaction. She is the managing trustee of the Apollo Hospitals Educational Trust, a principal body steering the educational endeavors of the group.

Reddy was awarded the Economic Times Business Woman of The Year award. She was also conferred with the ‘Healthcare Personality of the Year Award’ by FICCI for her farsighted vision, exemplary work and notable contributions to the fields of healthcare and social science.

She is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award for distinguished service in the field of Social Science conferred by the Loyola Forum for Historical Research.

In the past years, XLRI has conferred the coveted Sir Jehangir Ghandy medal on eminent business leaders including Arundhati Bhattacharya, former chairman, State Bank of India in 2014, Mallika Srinivasan, chairman and CEO, Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited in 2015, Sunil Kant Munjal, joint managing director of Hero MotoCorp and chairman, Hero Corporate Services Pvt. Ltd. in 2016, Adi Godrej, chairman, The Godrej Group in 2017, and Sandeep Kataria, global CEO, Bata Corporation in 2021.