# Bakul Harshadrai Dholakia

Bakul Harshadrai Dholakia (born 15 July 1947) is the former Director of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (2002–2007). Prior to that, he was the Dean at Ahmedabad (1998–2001) and a professor in Economics He was also the Director General of International Management Institute, New Delhi. Prior to joining IMI New Delhi, he was the Director of Adani Institute of Infrastructure Management and Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhuj.
Dholakia is a gold medalist from Baroda University and holds a Doctorate in Economics. He has 45 years of teaching experience, including 33 years at IIM Ahmedabad. He has served as a board member of the Reserve Bank of India Western Area Local Board from 1993 to 2001. He has guided 20 PhD students specialising in Economics, Finance, Business Policy and Public Systems at IIM A. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2007 for his contributions in the field of Literature and Education.

## Education

Bakul Dholakia had completed his PhD in economics from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 1973 at the age of 26 years. His thesis topic was Sources of Economic Growth in India. He was subsequently awarded a University Grants Commission Fellowship. Dholakia had secured a master's degree (M.A.) in Economics with specialisation in Econometrics from Baroda University in 1969. He was awarded the gold medal for securing the First Rank in the course. He was also awarded a merit scholarship by the Government of India. Dholakia completed a bachelor's degree (B.A.) course in economics with mathematics as the minor subject from Baroda University in 1967 and secured the first rank throughout the course. He was awarded the B.A. merit scholarship by Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.

## Academic career

Dholakia has 45 years of experience in the education domain including 33 years at IIM Ahmedabad. During his time at IIM Ahmedabad, Dholakia occupied the Reserve Bank of India Chair from 1992 to 1999, served as the Dean from 1998 to 2001 and as the Director of the institute from 2002 to 2007. He has guided 20 PhD students specialising in Economics, Finance, Business Policy and Public Systems at IIM A. Dholakia had served as the Chairman of the MBA Program and also as the Chairman of Economics Area. Raghuram Rajan, Nachiket Mor and popular commentator Harsha Bhogle are some of his students.

### Teaching

Dholakia had taught several courses during his time as a professor in IIM Ahmedabad. For the Post Graduate Programme (MBA) students, he had offered courses such as Economic Analysis for Business Planning, Managerial Economics, Economic Environment and Policy and Econometric Analysis for Management Decisions. He had also taught courses such as Micro-economic Theory, Macroeconomic Theory and Economic Growth and Planning to students of the Doctoral Programme at IIM A. He received the Best Professor Award for teaching in the MBA Program.
Dholakia was involved in teaching assignments in Senior Management Development Programs at IIM Ahmedabad. He offered courses on several modules of Economics such as Managerial Economics, Structural Analysis of Industries, Analysis of Union Budget, Industrial Policy, Demand Forecasting etc. Many of these MDP groups have greatly appreciated his teaching methods including the Top Management Programme, the Senior Executive Programme, the Middle Management Programme, Management Education Programme, Commonwealth Programme on Economic Management and Planning, Advanced Management Programme for Public Enterprises, International Programme on Management of Economic Policy Reforms, etc.

### Administrative positions

Dholakia was the Dean at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad from April 1998 to June 2001. His tenure as director began in October 2002. Under him, IIM-A went from having 12 partner institutions for student exchange programmes to 50 by 2006–07. During his tenure, the one-year programme for management executives was started, and students in the very first batch got the highest salaries offered that year. Dholakia was pivotal in ensuring that the image of IIM-A did not suffer when, in November 2003, the Common Admission Test (CAT) papers got leaked for the first time in the 43-year history of the IIMs. Dholakia opposed the then HRD Minister's decision to ask the IIMs to cut their fees, and as a mark of protest, rejected a Rs 100 million (Rs 100 million) grant IIM-A got from the ministry. He subsequently made sure the institute became self-sufficient. Dholakia had been associated with the Adani Group since December 2007. He had been the Director of Adani Institute of Infrastructure Management and Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhuj. He is presently the Director General of International Management Institute, New Delhi.

## Memberships and associations

Dholakia was a board member of the Reserve Bank of India Western Area Board from 1993 to 2001. He was appointed by the Government of India as the Chairman of the National Board of Accreditation for Technical Education in India (2005–2008). He has also served as External Director on the boards of several public and private sector companies, including ONGC, Shipping Commission, Torrent Power, RNRL and Mahanagar Gas. He was also on the board of Arvind, Ashima and L&T Power. Over the last two decades, Dholakia has worked on numerous government committees, the recent ones being the Rangarajan Committee on Pricing and Taxation on Petroleum Products (2006) and the Expert Group on Pension Fund constituted by the Government of India (2009). The Competition Commission of India had appointed Dholakia as a member of the Eminent Persons Advisory Group (EPAG). Dholakia was associated with the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Government of India, where he was one of the three members responsible for the restructuring of the ICSSR. He has also served as a consultant to the World Bank, Mangalore Stock Exchange, Gujarat Electricity Board, Steel Authority of India Ltd., Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd. etc.

## Awards and recognitions

Dholakia was awarded the Padma Shri for Literature and Education in 2007. In 2008, Dholakia was conferred the Bharat Asmita National Award by the Honorable Chief Justice of India. In 2006, he was honoured by the Association of Indian Americans in North America (AIANA) at the World Gujarati Conference in New Jersey for his Visionary Leadership and Achievements in business education. Global Associations of Business Schools have honoured Dholakia for his sterling contribution in the field of management education. The Global Foundation for Management Education (GFME), jointly formed by the Associations of American and European Business Schools, has nominated Dholakia as a Member of the Board of GFME representing Asia. He has won the Best Professor Award for teaching in Post Graduate Program in IIM Ahmedabad.

## Personal life

Dr. Bakul Dholakia's wife Sudha completed her master's degree in economics from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 1974; they met for the first time in Baroda University and tied the wedding knot in 1975. Their elder daughter Jigisha after completing her post-graduation in India has settled in Canada. Their younger daughter Purvi has also moved to Canada recently and completed a Post-Graduate Management Program from University of the Fraser Valley. Currently, Purvi is working in a consultancy company in Burnaby.