Shri Aboobacker Siddique, IAS, Secretary, Department of Forest, Environment & Climate Change and Department of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Co-operative, Government of Jharkhand, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. He emphasized the immense potential of Jharkhand’s forest resources, agricultural strengths and circular economy opportunities in creating sustainable livelihoods and environmentally responsible enterprises. He further noted that the proposed study would identify new avenues for entrepreneurship and value creation in areas such as non-timber forest produce, agro-processing, recycling and waste-to-wealth initiatives, while also promoting enterprises rooted in forest-based livelihoods, local culture and sustainability.

The MoA signing ceremony was chaired by Shri Arava Rajkamal, IAS, Secretary, Department of Industries, Government of Jharkhand. Addressing the gathering, Shri Rajkamal highlighted that the collaboration with XLRI would help strengthen a professionally managed institutional platform to nurture startups and transform innovative ideas into scalable enterprises, thereby creating meaningful opportunities for the youth of Jharkhand.

As part of the collaboration, XLRI will undertake a six-month scoping study focused on two critical thematic areas circular economy enterprises and non-timber forest products (NTFP) based enterprises. The circular economy study will primarily focus on MSMEs while also covering other relevant industries and sectors. The NTFP component will additionally explore forest, place and culture-based enterprises with an emphasis on sustainable and inclusive development.

The MoA was signed in the presence of senior officials from the Government of Jharkhand and faculty members from XLRI. The collaboration marks the beginning of a strategic partnership between XLRI and the Government of Jharkhand to promote innovation-driven growth, sustainable enterprise development and employment generation while further strengthening the state’s entrepreneurial landscape.

Representing XLRI were Prof. Sanjay Patro, Dean (Academics), Prof. Tata L. Raghu Ram, Prof. Kalyan Bhaskar, Prof. Saurav Snehvrat and Prof. Vinayak Ram Tripathi, who reaffirmed XLRI’s commitment to contributing its academic expertise, entrepreneurial ecosystem and institutional capabilities towards supporting the Government of Jharkhand’s development vision. Under the partnership, XLRI will act as a knowledge partner to support and strengthen the incubation ecosystem housed under JIIDCO by providing incubation support, mentorship, entrepreneurship training, investor connect and institutional guidance. Following the conclusion of the scoping study, XLRI will also support the identification and incubation of 100 enterprises focused on circular economy and NTFP-based opportunities across Jharkhand.

Shri Varun Ranjan, IAS, MD, JIIDCO, highlighted the association between XLRI and the Government of Jharkhand through initiatives such as the Jharkhand Industrial Policy Lab (JIPL). He noted that under JIPL, students from XLRI worked on nearly 15 policy-related projects under the guidance of Prof. Kalyan Bhaskar, primarily as part of the public policy curriculum, contributing valuable academic and policy insights to the state ecosystem.

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