PL Capital’s Zarin Daruwala and NITI Aayog’s Debjani Ghosh deliver landmark addresses to two convocation ceremonies, urging graduates to lead with integrity, embrace perpetual learning, and shape India’s technological future.
MUMBAI, India, May 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai, held its Annual Convocation 2026 on May 9, 2026, across two landmark ceremonies — a morning ceremony for programmes for working professionals and an evening ceremony for full-time programmes. Founded in 1981, the institution today stands 45 years strong as one of India’s most societally impactful and internationally recognised management schools, holding the prestigious triple-crown of international accreditations — EQUIS, AACSB, and AMBA — and leading global rankings.
Nearly 1,000 participants graduated across nine programmes, joining a global SPJIMR alumni network of more than 18,000 professionals. The ceremonies were presided over by Dean Dr. Varun Nagaraj, and attended by Chairman of the SPJIMR Governing Council, Mr. Deepak Parekh, faculty, corporate partners, and the families of graduating participants.
The morning ceremony was graced by Ms. Zarin Daruwala, Group CEO, PL Capital (Prabhudas Lilladher), Former Cluster CEO for India and South Asia markets, Standard Chartered Bank, and Member, Governing Council, SPJIMR, bringing decades of banking leadership and an inspiring message of resilience to the graduating cohorts of programmes for working professionals.
The evening ceremony welcomed Ms. Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog, Former President, NASSCOM, and Former Vice President and MD, Intel South Asia — and notably, an alumna of SPJIMR herself (Batch of ’93). Her return to the institution she calls home added a deeply personal dimension to an already historic occasion.
The morning ceremony brought together nearly 500 participants across five programmes for working professionals — Post Graduate Executive Management Programme (PGEMP) with 264 graduates from five PGEMP cohorts, Post Graduate Programme in Marketing & Business Management (PGPMBM) with 33 graduates, Post Graduate Programme in General Management (PGPGM) with 51 graduates across the Delhi and Mumbai campuses, the inaugural cohort of the Post Graduate Diploma in Management Online (PGDM Online), with 37 graduates, and Post Graduate Programme in Development Management (PGPDM) with 91 participants, the highest graduating cohort in the programme’s 15-year history.
The PGEMP marked a landmark double milestone in 2026: its 25th year of operation, and the graduation of the 1,000th participant from founding partner Larsen & Toubro — a testament to a partnership that has shaped a generation of functional managers into well-rounded, action-oriented business leaders.
The evening ceremony also celebrated nearly 500 full-time graduates across four programmes — beginning with the doctoral milestone of Dr. Arti Jain, who completed the Fellow Programme in Management (FPM, PhD-equivalent), Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) with 239 graduates, Post Graduate Diploma in Management Business Management (PGDM BM) with 118 graduates, and the Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) closed the evening with 164 graduates.
Drawing on a career spanning the transformation of Indian banking from a pre-internet era to the digital age, Ms. Zarin Daruwala brought her message to life through vivid stories of resilience and self-belief: “Just like the falcon, all of us can fly high, reach the sky, and achieve much more. But very often, we cling to our comfort zones. So embrace challenge and change, because change will be the only constant in your journey ahead.”
In her closing charge to the graduates, Daruwala brought together the three pillars of her address — knowledge, values, and wisdom — with a single, defining call to action: “SPJIMR has given you knowledge, frameworks, and discipline. Your parents have given you values. Your professors have given you wisdom. Technology has given you tools. But only you can give the future direction.”
Returning to her alma mater after more than three decades, Ms. Debjani Ghosh — a pioneer in India’s technology sector — delivered a personal, urgent, and forward-looking address on leadership in the age of AI: “The one thing, and the only one thing, that defines your ability to get ahead in this race is your ability to learn, unlearn, and learn again. I am sorry for those who thought that today learning is over. Learning is just starting for you.”
Grounding her address in what she believes will be the enduring differentiator for human beings in an AI-driven world, Ghosh issued her most personal caution: “In this world of ever-changing technology, humans will shine for things that are typically human: our compassion, our integrity, our empathy, our creativity. Don’t give up on these things. This is way more important than all the skills that you have learned.”
Addressing the graduating participants, Dean Dr. Varun Nagaraj set a high and purposeful bar: “You should be proud of your accomplishment, it is a testament to your talent and effort. But today I also want you to look beyond yourself. Dedicate yourself to the pursuit of the greater good, your success and happiness should come from enabling others in society to succeed and thrive.”
And with the relationship between institution and alumni now permanently inverted, he closed with a challenge as enduring as the institution itself: “Paraphrasing John F. Kennedy: ask not what SPJIMR can do for you, but what you can do for SPJIMR, by contributing your time, talent, and treasure. Make sure that you and your future organisations do well by doing good. Innovate and drive change, but do so wisely.”
For 45 years, SPJIMR has operated on a foundational belief: that management education must be a force for societal transformation, not merely an instrument of individual advancement. The Annual Convocation 2026 is perhaps the most vivid proof of that conviction.
This graduating cohort, diverse in context and unified in purpose, has been shaped not only by academic rigour and case-study learning, but by SPJIMR’s defining commitment to bridging the classroom with the real world. The message emerging from the Annual Convocation 2026 was unmistakable: the leaders India needs tomorrow are not those who merely optimise within existing systems, but those who reimagine those systems for the greater good.
About SPJIMR
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) is one of India’s leading postgraduate management institutes. It is ranked by Business Today as one of the country’s top five business schools, and rated by the Positive Impact Rating as one of the top five schools worldwide for societal impact. Known for its innovative and socially conscious approach to management education, research, and community engagement, SPJIMR aims to influence managerial practice and promote the value-based growth of its students, alumni, organisations and its leaders, and society. SPJIMR holds the international ‘Triple Crown’ of accreditations from EQUIS, AACSB, and AMBA.
Visit SPJIMR.org for more information.
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