New Delhi, Mar 4 (KNN) Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) renewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Retailers Association of India (RAI) on March 2, 2021 which aimed to offer skill based and employment oriented BBA (Retailing) academic programme with modular approach.

The programme has been jointly designed and developed by IGNOU in collaboration with RAI. Learners are exposed to three months of internship during their study, where they get practical exposure to major operations of retailing, which enhances their employability in the retail sector. This is an initiative by the IGNOU to promote university-industry collaboration as envisaged in the new education policy 2020.

Speaking about the collaboration, Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI), said “The Indian Retail industry that is estimated to be 854 billion dollars, employs over 46 million people. We believe that employment in the retail sector will increase by as much as 25 per cent in the next five years. This tie up is very useful to the industry to attract talent and also to nurture talent for career progression.”

Dr. V B Negi, Registar (Administration) signed this MoU on behalf of IGNOU and Kumar Rajagopalan on behalf of RAI in the august presence of Vice Chancellor Prof Nageshwar Rao, Pro Vice Chancellors Prof R P Das and Prof. Satyakam, Prof. K Ravi Sankar, Director School of Management Studies, other senior officials and faculty members of the School.

RAI constantly engages with multiple stakeholders across sectors and value chains to safeguard the interests of the Indian retail industry. As one of the largest retail associations in the country, RAI is committed to protecting and safeguarding the interest of its stakeholders. RAI firmly believes that collaboration among different stakeholders including government, financial and academic institutions, industry bodies, businesses and even customers will be key in stimulating growth and recovery.