SHRI
 MANIKAM
 RAMASWAMI

MEMORIAL
 LECTURE
Saturday,

20
November

2021

Thiagarajar
School
of
Management
(TSM)
Pamban
Swamy
Nagar,
Thirupparankundram
Madurai-625
005.
 SHRI
 MANIKAM
 RAMASWAMI
An
upright
industrialist,
a
passionate
educationist,
a
caring
humanist,
a
spirited
public
activisit
and
a

humble
spiritualist,
Shri
Manikam
Ramaswami
was
a
multi-facted
personality.
Ramu,
as
he
was

fondly
known
to
his
countless
friends
and
admirers,
touched
innumerable
lives
and
made
lasting

contributions
to
the
many
institutions
he
was
associated
with.








He
was
a
scion
of
the
well-known
industrialist
family
of
the
Late
Karumuttu
Thiagarajan
Chettiar,

the
doyen
of
South
Indian
textile
industry.
A
graduate
in
mechanical
engineering
from
IIT
Madras,

Shri
Ramaswami
was
awarded
the
gold
medal
for
outstanding
scholastic
performance.





As
an
industrialist
he
was
most
modern
in
his
outlook
and
constantly
strived
to
be
in
the
forefront
of

technology
at
Loyal
Textile
Mills
which
he
headed.
The
philanthropic
educational
institutions
he

was
actively
involved
such
as
Thiagarajar
Model
Higher
Secondary
School,
Thiagarajar
College
of

Preceptors
 and
 Thiagarajar
 School
 of
 Management
 all
 emphasise
 on
 holistic
 development
 of

students
and
affordability.







A
 powerful
 writer
 and
 frequent
 contributor
 to
 financial
 dailies,
 Shri
 Ramaswami
 spoke

unhesitatingly
on
trade,
economic
and
public
policies
from
the
perspective
of
a
concerned
and

responsible
 citizen
 rather
 than
 that
 of
 businessman.
 He
 passionately
 advocated
 and
 practised

sustainability.
He
painstakingly
created
verdant
green
in
barren
locales,
installed
energy
and
water

saving
facilities
and
invested
in
renewable
energy
and
recycling
infrastructure
in
the
industrial
units

and
institutions
under
his
care.












In
addition
to
being
a
committed
environmentalist,
he
was
an
avid
agriculturist.
He
personally

designed
and
installed
special
goshalas
in
all
his
mills,
creating
the
most
humane
and
comfortable

environment
for
cows
and
supplying
his
employees
with
fresh
organic
milk.
He
was
keenly
involved

in
organic
farming
of
paddy
and
vegetables
and
in
promoting
the
interests
of
cotton
farmers.

















He
 played
 an
 active
 role
 in
 industry
 bodies
 such
 as
 CII,
 SIMA
 and
Textile
 Export
 Promotion

Council,
Chambers
of
Commerce
in
various
capacities
and
addressed
large
audiences
and
policy

issues.

He
worked
tirelessly
for
resolving
the
Tamil
Nadu
industrial
power
crisis
of
2008-2012
and

played
a
pivotal
role
in
bringing
about
favorable
export
and
renewable
energy
policies
that
benefited

the
Indian
textile
industry.
He
also
succesfully
campaigned
for

restructuring
excise
duty
on
cotton

yarn
and
the
removal
of
the
exemption
given
to
certain
segments,
so
as
to
create
a
level
playing
field.

He
championed
assisduously
for
the
welfare
of
handloom
weavers
to
see
that
several
measures
were

passed
to
support
their
livelihood
and
help
them
increase
their
earnings.






















He
was
also
active
on
the
international
stage
and
served
as
Honorary
Consul
to
the
Republic
of

Maldives,
where
he
helped
with
post-Tsunami
relief
 
and
to
Federal
Republic
Ethiopia,
where
he

worked
tirelessly
to
help
develop
the
then
fledgling
textile
industry.




















In
short,
Shri
Ramaswami
was
a
rare
example
of
the
Trusteeship
that
Mahatma
Gandhi
envisioned

and
championed.















 THIAGARAJAR
SCHOOL
OF
MANAGEMENT

(Autonomous)

Shri
Manikam
Ramaswami
Memorial
Lecture
Saturday,

20
November

2021
Zoom
ID:
999
4841
8918
Password:
625005

09:45
AM Zoom
Session
Starts
10:00
 Prayer
Song

10:05
 Welcome
Address Shri.
B.T.
Bangera

Chairman,
TSM
Governing
Board

10:15
 Reminiscences Shri.
Ravi
Sam

Managing
Director,
Adwaith
Textiles,
Chairman,
Southern
India
Mills
Association

10:35
 Shri
Manikam
Ramaswami
 Shri.
Subroto
Bagchi

Memorial
Lecture: Chairman,
“Making
of
an
Entrepreneur” Odisha
Skill
Development
Authority;

Co-founder,
Mindtree.
Lecture
will
be
followed
by
Interactive
session

11:30
 Vote
of
Thanks
SHRI.
SUBROTO
BAGCHI

SAuthority.
Upon
taking
charge
of
this
full-time
assignment
in
the

hri
 Subroto
 Bagchi
 is
 Chairman
 of
 Odisha
 Skill
 Development


rank
of
a
Cabinet
Minister,
Bagchi
has
led
the
creation
of
a
brand

called
Skilled-in-Odisha.
Under
his
stewardship,
the
Government

ITIs
have
become
a
vibrant
and
proud
institution.
A
partnership

has
 been
 created
 with
 the
 Singapore
 Government
 by
 which,
for
the
first
time
in
history,
215
ITI
and
Polytechnic
teachers
and
officials
were
trained

in
Singapore.
Under
Bagchi's
overall
guidance,
Odisha
has
now
become
well
known
in

the
world
of
skill
development,
the
State
was
able
to
bring
home,
the
first
ever
gold

medal
for
India,
in
the
last
World
Skills
Competition
in
Russia.

In
March
2020,
Bagchi
was
appointed
as
the
Chief
Spokesperson
of
Government
of

Odisha
in
the
fight
against
the
COVID-19
pandemic.
His
primary
role
was
to
sensitise

the
people
of
Odisha
in
dealing
with
the
outbreak
through
information,
education
and

communication.

Prior
to
his
work
with
the
Government
of
Odisha,
Bagchi
spent
four
decades
with
the

Indian
IT
industry
where
he
is
best
known
as
a
co-founder
of
Mindtree,
one
of
India's

most
admired
software
companies.
Bagchi
 is
 a
 well-known
 writer
 with
 best-sellers
 like
 The
 High-Performance

Entrepreneur,
 Go
 Kiss
 the
 World,
 The
 Professional,
 MBA
 at
 16,
 The
 Elephant

Catchers
and
SELL.
His
latest
book
SELL
received
the
CK
Prahalad
Award
for
the
best

business
book
of
2018.
His
books
have
been
translated
in
all
major
Indian
languages
as

well
as
Chinese
and
Korean.
Bagchi
has
been
inducted
into
the
Order
of
Engineers
by
the
University
of
Florida
and

honoured
for
his
contributions
in
Management
and
Information
Technology
by
the

Utkal
University
with
an
Honorary
Doctorate
in
Literature
and
by
the
Veer
Surendra

Sai
University
of

Technology
with
an
Honorary
Doctorate
in
Science.
 Bagchi
has
served
the
boards
of
IIM
Bengaluru,
Indian
Oil,
IIIT
Bhubaneswar
and
he

currently
serves
the
Board
of
Governors
of
the
Software
Technology
Parks
of
India.
He

and
his
writer
wife
Susmita
support
the
cause
for
prevention
of
blindness,
geriatric
care

and
mental
health,
establishment
of
cancer
hospitals
and
school
education
towards

which
they
have
pledged
their
personal
resources
and
time.
SHRI.
RAVI
SAM

S Philanthropist
who
hails
from
a
successful
Industrial
Family.

He

hri.
 Ravi
 Sam
 is
 a
 leading
 Industrialist
 in
 Coimbatore
 and
 a


is
 a
 commerce
 graduate
 and
 holds
 a
 Postgraduate
 Diploma
 in


Textile
Technology
from
The
University
of
Manchester
Institute

of

Science
&
Technology
(U.M.I.S.T)

He
is
the
Managing
Director
of
Adwaith
Lakshmi
Industries
Pvt
Ltd,
Adwaith
Textiles

Pvt
Ltd
and
is
on
the
board
of
several
other
companies.

He
is
the
founder
Trustee
of
Siruthuli,
a
movement
for
preservation
of
water
bodies
in

Coimbatore
which
is
a
famed
Public
movement
of
the
State.
As
a
vivid
social
thinker,
he

is
actively
involved
in
various
social
welfare
activities.

Mr
Ravi
Sam
administers
a
Vedic
school
–
The
Vedapatashala
in
a
serene
gurukulam

environment.
This
school
has
50
students
in
the
age
group
of
7-15years,
focusing
on

the
propagation
of
Vedic
culture
and
adopts
the
traditional
guru-shishya
teaching
style

and
has
temple
of
God
Sri
Annapoorneswari
in
its
campus.


As
a
philanthropist,
he
continues
to
inspire
people
across
the
society
and
remains
a

strong
source
of
inspiration
for
the
next
generation
entrepreneurs.


He
 is
 the
 Founder
 Trustee
 and
 Correspondent
 of
 Sri
 Gopal
 Naidu
 School,

Correspondent
of
Adwaith
Thought
Academy
and
an
active
Trustee
of
the
Sruthi
Seva

Trust,
Aanaikatti.


His
interest
in
heritage
conservation
had
led
to
the
establishment
of
South
India
Art

and
Heritage
conservation
Trust,
an
institution
that
adopts
temples
across
the
country

and
renovates
them
to
preserve
their
original
glory
and
identity.


Mr
Ravi
holds
several
coveted
positions:
he
is
Chairperson
of
the
academic
wing
of

Academy
of
Archaeology
and
ancient
sciences
of
India
which
is
a
part
of
the
Rural

Education
 and
 Conservation
 of
 Heritage
 foundation
 (REACH).
 He
 is
 the
 past

Chairman
of
CII
Tamil
Nadu.
Currently,
he
is
the
Chairman
of
CII
SR
Sub-committee

on
Sustainability,
CSR
&
Affirmative
Action
and
also
Chairman
of
 
The
Southern

India
Mills
Association
(SIMA).