This year, the Indian School of Business did something that few management institutes on the subcontinent would have dreamt of five years ago: it published research that analysed solutions to one of India’s many social woes, its chronic lack of housing.
Until very recently, India’s management institutions had but one aim – to train managers for positions in banks and conglomerates. But that has changed, and the Centre for Emerging Markets Solutions at ISB, which published the research, is emblematic of the transformation. India’s business schools are now trying to create well-rounded leaders, who can both land a job with an Indian conglomerate or start a small business to tackle India’s vast social problems while also turning a profit.
Nikhilesh Sinha, lead author of the report “New Frontiers in Affordable Housing: Notes from the Field”, says the proposal was simple: India’s housing shortage is massive, and solving it will require dedicated and sustained government action that is currently lacking. But the private sector can tackle part of it: the shanty towns and housing needs that spring up around industrial projects outside of cities.