CIMP students perform during the national B-fest on the institute campus in Patna on Thursday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, Oct. 20: Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna (CIMP) today organised a daylong national B-fest, Gnosis, where experts from the corporate world and academicians deliberated on emerging aspects of rural marketing and future possibilities.

The national B-fest, touted as the biggest of its kind in eastern India and held on CIMP premises, discussed the unexplored market for companies.

A number of dignitaries, including former chief secretary RJM Pillai and chief guest, Sudeep Ghosh, director, Indian Institute of Coal Management, Sanjay Patro, associate director, XLRI, Jamshedpur, Niraj Kumar, regional manager, customer development, Colgate Palmolive and others. V. Mukunda Das, director, CIMP graced the occasion.

Students from 35 B-schools, including IIM-Rohtak, IIT-Allahabad, XLRI Jamshedpur, IIT-Kharagpur, Delhi School of Economics, Institute of Technology and Marine Engineering, took part in this national level B-fest.

Ribhu Kumar, lecturer, CIMP, said: “This is an endeavour of CIMP to bring innovative minds from across the country to a common plat- form to present the creative aspects of their managerial and marketing skills of rural India. We chosen the theme, as we know that the urban market is shrinking, prompting the marketer to explore the rural market, which promises a huge potential.”

Students from local institutes like IIT-Patna, BIT Mesra, Patna Women’s College and LN Mishra Institute of Social Sciences were registering on spot.

While the 35 teams will take part in events like case study, B-quiz, on advertising for rural markets and on B-plan for rural marketing, the students of local management institute can participate in selective events like case study, street play and busi- ness quiz.

The competition for the 35 participating teams and the local management teams would be held separately. Prizes worth more than Rs 1 lakh would be given away for the competitions.”

Former chief secretary RJM Pillai wished the students success in life.

“The CIMP campus will be ready by 2012. I am happy that the students would very soon shift to their new campus. It’s a great achievement for CIMP that within three years of its inception it has made an indelible mark among the B-schools of this country.”

Niraj Kumar said: “It is a myth that there is not much demand for goods in the rural marketing sector but the scenario is changing rapidly. It can be gauged from the fact that today a consumer from the rural market covers many miles to get one product of his/her choice. So demand is there already.”

“A programme of Spic Macay in the evening is also one of the attractions today, where young dancers from Orissa will present Gotipua dance. The best thing about this programme would be that it would be performed by young boys dressed as women,” said Ribhu.