The Aryabhatta Auditorium of Ranchi University in Morabadi is all lit up on Wednesday evening for the first convocation of IIM-Ranchi. Inside the hall were a host of dignitaries, including Governor Syed Ahmed, chairman of IIM-Ranchi board of governors RC Bhargava, mentor cradle IIM-Calcutta’s director Shekhar Chaudhuri and IIM-Ranchi’s director MJ Xavier, a host of distinguished academics and parents. But the real stars were newbie managers (above) Saurabh Pratap Singh, Vijay Krishna Kandula, Anubhav Jauhari and Aditya Somani with their gold medals. The maiden convocation of IIM-Ranchi saw 34 students from the class of 43 turning up personally to receive their diplomas from the governor. “But don’t think that the learning process ends with the diploma. And never compromise on your values as they distinguish leaders from others,” Bhargava said to thunderous applause. Pictures by Hardeep Singh

At the end of the day, it does not matter if one dad is a head honcho of a Nigerian conglomerate, while another is a Madhya Pradesh farmer. What matters is that the youths are all winners from IIM-Ranchi.

No matter how diverse their background, achievers of the maiden convocation of IIM-Ranchi have three things in common. They hold the prestigious PGDM (postgraduate diploma in management) certificate, have plum jobs and have the world as their oyster.

Big city boy from New Delhi’s plush Greater Kailash, Aditya Somani topped the PGDM course 2010-12. An alumnus from Bangalore’s BMS College of Engineering, the son of a Nigeria-based top executive worked with software major IBM at Gurgaon and the US before feeling the tug to come back to class.

“I didn’t feel my job offered me enough of a challenge. So I decided to join PGDM in IIM-Ranchi. I must say that mentor IIM-Calcutta handheld things very well initially. Faculty was top-notch,” Aditya said.

With his global exposure, what did he feel about his Ranchi stint? “Oh, Jharkhand is a beautiful place. But Naxalism mars its beauty. The state has some of the best waterfalls. They can be major tourist destinations. But rebels keep people away. The government should adopt a strategic stick-and-carrot policy to end the menace,” the topper said.

Aditya has to choose between the many fat carrots — lucrative job offers — but for now, he’s playing his cards close to his chest.

Ranking second, gold medallist Saurabh Pratap Singh comes from small town Balia in Uttar Pradesh. But he is living The Great Indian Dream. He will join Reserve Bank of India with a pay package of over Rs 11 lakh a year.

Saurabh’s father retired as an office superintendent from the UP state irrigation department. Saurabh completed his economics honours from Kirorimal College, New Delhi, worked on assignments with National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco) and Unicef and landed up in IIM-Ranchi.

“The credit for my success goes to my family members and my alma mater,” Singh told The Telegraph.

Ranking third and also winning gold, Anubhav Jauhari from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, is an electronics and communication engineering from JSS Academy of Technical Education, Noida. He also worked with a software major, Infosys, in its Mysore and Pune offices for a couple of years before taking the B-school plunge.

Now, the son of a mid-level bureaucrat will join the YES Bank at an annual salary of Rs 11.5 lakh.

Judged the best outgoing student, Vijay Krishna Kandula from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, is also an engineering graduate from BITS-Pilani (Goa campus). Now, he will rev up his career with Maruti Suzuki (India) Limited at an annual salary of Rs 9.5 lakh, he beamed.

The only girl student in the PGDM programme, Piyusha Baghel, however, smiled the widest. “My father Pratap Singh Baghel is a farmer in Kukshi near Indore, Madhya Pradesh. I am proud to be a farmer’s daughter. And, yes, of IIM-Ranchi too. Despite being the only girl student, I got amazing support from faculty and friends. I will join Jaipur Rugs as I like the social sector,” said the “different” young lady.