I suspect few of you have visited the part of India from which I recently returned: the state of Chhattisgarh and the city of Raigarh in central India. Raigarh is a two-hour flight from Delhi (which is a 20-hour flight from Boston), followed by a 100-km car ride from the regional airport in Jharsuguda. Long story short, I was a long way from home.
On the two-lane road that winds from that local airport to Raigarh, I joked to my host, Vice Chancellor Dr. RD Patidar, that I had counted over a thousand trucks carrying iron ore, coal or other minerals. He said I’d probably underestimated that number. I was immersed in the most heavily industrialized region I’ve ever encountered, and I wasn’t even there yet! The university I was visiting, OP Jindal University (NECHE’s first applicant in India!) was another 45 minutes and 500 trucks from my guest house.
India’s history with iron and steel production is remarkable — and of particular interest given the current tariff wars and contentious sale of U.S. Steel. Most of the country’s plants lie in a region sprawling across four of India’s 28 states: West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, and my locale in Chhattisgarh.
Once a modest player in global steel production, India has evolved to become the world’s second-largest steel producer, after China. Between 2019 and 2023, India’s steel output expanded at a 6% compound annual growth rate, trouncing China’s 1%growth rate and dwarfing global steel production, which saw a 1% decline. This development is emblematic of India’s journey toward modernization, self-reliance, and sustainable industrialization. Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised the steel industry will play a “vital role” in fortifying the nation’s infrastructure as India becomes a developed country.
The university I was visiting carries the name OP Jindal. Mr. Jindal (who was killed in a tragic helicopter accident in 2005) was the founder of Jindal Steel and Power (JSP). It is now one of India’s leading business enterprises with a significant presence in steel, mining, power, and infrastructure and over 800,00 employees. During my visit, I made two trips to JSP steel plants. The first was stunning in its scope and size and was powered entirely by solar energy. The second made the first seem like small potatoes. That plant sits on 800 acres and is part of a larger complex — an entire company town with a hospital, housing for workers, and a K-12 school educating 7,000 students.
Jindal Steel and Power is currently being led by Jindal’s son Naveen and his wife Shallu, who are also co-founders of OP Jindal University. The couple is deeply invested and personally committed to the university’s success. Shallu serves as Chancellor of OPJU (which, in India, means she is Board Chair) and since the University’s founding ten years ago, the couple has contributed more than $50 million in technological capital expenses. They have plans to support a new $250 million expansion of the campus and, every year, they provide scholarships to most OPJU students, ensuring tuition will remain affordably low.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that OPJU is a special place with a unique mission, based almost entirely around steel. Its 2,300 students are enrolled in three schools: engineering, science, and management. Each school offers a baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degree. While the majority of the students come from the local populace, the student body hails from 20 of the 28 Indian states and 8 Union Territories. This Fall, OPJU will also admit some 100 international students from neighboring Nepal and Botswana, where JSP has other mining operations.
Experiential education is the rule here, with every student working two months each year in business (many in nearby steel operations) and every faculty member working in business one month each year. It’s a communal sense of commitment, as about 60% of students, faculty and staff live on campus.
The week I was there coincided with a major conference (OPJU hosts six annually), with scholars from across India presenting more than 1,400 research papers. That firehose of scholastic achievement made me think of the thousands of trucks I watched barrel past me on my way to Raigarh… and of India’s defatigable march to progress.
OPJU’s mission is to educate and train the region’s next generation of engineers and business leaders, while lifting their families out of income insecurity. I spoke at length with students and their ambition and drive were immediately apparent. Big aspirations are ubiquitous at OPJU and to see what this institution in a relatively remote region of India has accomplished in ten years is remarkable. The plan is to double enrollment in the next five years, and while that might seem like wishful thinking, the students, staff and leaders seem entirely comfortable with these audacious goals.
I have little doubt that great things are ahead for OPJU!