The 4th Ranjit Kumar Dutta Memorial Lecture on Leadership was held on March 25, 2025 in the packed Rangghar Auditorium of Dibrugarh University. Organized by the Centre for Management Studies, Dibrugarh University; the lecture was delivered by Dr. Ranjit Rath, CMD of Oil India Limited. In his speech, he paid tribute to Late R K Dutta by calling him a visionary leader of the petrochemical industry of India in spite of his background being in History. He called on the students to revere their faculties who are shaping their future. Dr. Rath said that he was speaking to the brightest students in this part of the country and remarked that failures should not be talked about. He said that leadership is about showing respect and it is about inducing a collective effort. He was of the view that the genesis of leadership is taking responsibilities whenever it comes in one's way. He also talked about the exciting possibilities and mentioned about Advantage Assam 2.0 in this regard. After his lecture, he interacted with the students and the audience and answered various queries.
Before the lecture of Dr. Rath, Prof. Pratim Barua, Chairperson of the Centre for Management Studies, Dibrugarh University gave the welcome address. It was followed by the inaugural speech of the Hon'ble Vice Chancellor of Dibrugarh University, Prof. Jiten Hazarika. Prof. Hazarika touched on some facets of leadership in his speech. The vote of thanks was offered by Mr. S K Barua, former MD of NRL and current CEO of North East Gas Distribution Company Limited. Mr. Barua took the initiative to create an endowment fund in the memory of Late R K Dutta at Dibrugarh University to organise the lecture.
The Bhubaneswar Barman Memorial Award 2024 was also presented during the programme to Ms. Hena Parbin of the MBA (FT) 2022 Batch by the Hon'ble Vice Chancellor, Prof. Jiten Hazarika, Dr. Ranjit Rath and Mr. S K Barua. The award is given to the topper amongst girl students of the MBA (FT) programme at the Centre. It carries a cash prize of ₹ 10,000/- along with a memento and a Certificate.
The lecture was attended by prominent people including the MD of NRL, Mr. Bhaskar Jyoti Phukan; MD of BCPL, Mr. Pranjal Changmai; the RCE of OIL, Mr. Rupjyoti Phukan; Mr. Manoj Jalan and others. The students and faculty members from various other departments of the University apart from those of the Centre were in attendance for the lecture.
