Prof Rakesh Khurana, president, Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS), New Delhi, shares his views on manpower planning in the core sector, on the eve of a conventionon `Management of Infrastructure' being organised by the Association in Delhi. The core sectors, according to him, will get increasingly automated, creating the need for professionals and workers with special skills. That apart, these sectors will undergo a high degree of ``service orientation'' in the wake of liberalisation, making it incumbent on the players in these sectors to select the most appropriate group of employees to deliver the customers' requirements.

Likewise, business schools in the country will also have to pay due attention towards creating a manpower base for the core sectors. Khurana informs that the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, conducts two courses on infrastructure management. These courses are set against the political-economy of the country. After all, the interface of political exigencies and economic thinking can hardly be overemphasised.

Khurana feels that financial engineering in the core sectors, particularly power, will be of crucial importance in thecoming times. ``For instance, the financing of independent power producers (IIPs) is a challenging task in the prevailing circumstances. Finance professionals in this stream will be required to devise appropriate financial instruments that will enable the financiers to get back their money.''

``The main areas to look at are the legal and regulatory mechanisms in the field, the possibility of creating an escrow account through which money comes back to the financier, whether the IPPs could sell directly to large customers and receive payments directly, and so on,'' adds Khurana. In the case of ports too, privatisation poses newer challenges to professionals in this field. ``What is the security that can be guaranteed to a financier in the case of ports,'' he asks.

Khurana is of the view that the license for the ports can be considered as a property and used as a security or mortgage purposes. At the same time, he cautions that the licenses should not become tradable. ``Financial professionals will have ajob cut out for themselves in working out various permutations and combinations in this field,'' he says.

Manpower planning in the core sectors should take place with the assistance of specialised institutes for training of professionals, he feels. ``Something on the lines of NIIT.''

Such specialised institutes could come in handy particularly in the field of telecom. Equipment used in the telecom companies varies with each place. There are clear opportunities for institutes to impart comprehensive training on the various kinds of equipment used in the telecom companies, he says.

Moreover, with the growth in telecom-related software exports, these institutes can assist software professionals in carving a niche in this area, Khurana adds.

High service orientation, coupled with a large investor and depositor base, will necessitate new players in the core sectors to set up `customer support centres', says Khurana. A large cadre of service personnel at the entry-level will assist the bond-holders in thecompanies. Financing of large core sector projects will also create jobs in the financial institutions (FIs), he says.

The core sectors of tomorrow will be manned by few knowledge-intensive financial and technical professionals at the higher ends of the hierarchy, and a large cadre of service personnel at the lower end of the scale, summarises Khurana.

With 150 management schools as members, AIMS seeks to play a key role in enhancing the quality of management education and training in the country, and orient it towards future needs of the economy.