Competitive Mindset Institute (CMI), a New Jersey-based non-profit organisation, launched a training program for meritorious students in India. CMI, in a long-term collaboration with the Foundation for Excellence (F.F.F.), aims to offer a leadership training program called ‘Finding the Leader in You’ (F.L.Y.) to 7,500 scholars in tiny batches each year.
As per the information available on its website, CMI focuses on “developing these skills among students in schools and universities and young working professionals across India.”
F.F.F. grants scholarships to potential students with financial need to complete their college education. In the past 26 years, the organisation has offered over Rs 228 crore scholarships to more than 24,000 pupils in India.
As per the 58th Global Competitiveness index collated by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (W.E.F.), India slipped 10 spots to rank 68th out of 141 BRICS nations.
There is an economic and non-economic impact due to India’s lower ranking in global competitiveness, Co-Founder and President of CMI Inc., Harsh Bhargava, told N.R.I. Pulse only if the domestic industry makes world-class products, a consumer would buy its products on a sustainable basis.
A customer may purchase substandard or high-quality products out of patriotism for the short term and during a national crisis but not on a sustainable basis, he further elaborated. ‘To be competitive domestically, the industry will have to be internationally competitive as competitiveness leads to sustainable growth in employment, pride and confidence in the country.
Harsh Bhargava and Uday Nadkarni conducted an independent study and, based on the results, made up their minds to address the loophole in global competitiveness among Indian youth, through their own initiative and efforts in shaping through leadership training. As a result, CMI provides leadership training by developing non-cognitive skills with an office based in Ahmedabad in India.
CMI’s independent study included around 27,000 CEOs, policymakers, government officers, educational institutions, media, N.R.I.s and civil society. The survey disclosed that Conscientiousness, Taking Initiative, Perseverance, Innovativeness, Problem Solving are the most valued attributes in the global marketplace for competitiveness. Still, they are also immensely lacking among Indian young professionals. The research also indicated increasing global competitiveness may raise India’s capita export to 50% of the lowest nation like Brazil and potentially create a space for over 30 million well-paying jobs.
Hence, CMI introduced the one-of-a-kind program called F.L.Y. with its trademark L.I.F.E. framework to provide non-cognitive skills after an increasing requirement to address the survey results.
