Growth of the manufacturing sector in India has been recognized as a key thrust area by the Government of India. The National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has been constituted by the Government of India. One of the key objectives of NMCC, among others, is to serve as a policy forum for enhancing the competitiveness of Indian manufacturing sector.

The NMCC has drawn up a long term manufacturing strategy which includes strengthening education and training at various levels. For implementation of this strategy of creating visionary leadership in manufacturing sector, four programs for training of different level of engineers/managers working in manufacturing sector are structured under the guidance of Professor Shoji Shiba. A renowned international expert in the manufacturing sector, and a recipient of the Deming Prize, Professor Shoji Shiba has been associated for more than a decade with very successful Leaders for Manufacturing Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One such Program is one year Post Graduate Program for Executives for Visionary Leadership in Manufacturing (PGPEX-VLM) jointly to be conducted by IIM Calcutta, IIT Kanpur, and IIT Madras.

The Government of India and the Government of Japan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the year 2007 that includes “Cooperation within the framework of Japan-assisted ‘Visionary Leadership in Manufacturing Program’, under which Japanese manufacturing management and skills will be transferred to senior managers of Indian manufacturing industry”. Under the terms of the MOU, the Government of Japan has agreed to extend cooperation to support transfer of Japanese expertise and visit to manufacturing centers of excellence in Japan for the four VLM Programs.

The objectives, contents, curriculum, pedagogy, and modalities of the PGPEX-VLM Program have been designed by the IIM Calcutta, IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras in consultation with industry, Confederation of Indian Industry, Japanese International Cooperation Agency, NMCC and MHRD. The first batch of the PGPEX-VLM Program was admitted in August 2007 and would graduate in August 2008.