Raj Adhikary is the Gurgaon (Haryana)-based president and CEO of the Japan Education and Information Center (JEIC), which offers Japanese language learning programmes, hygiene and culture, and skills education to institutions in India. Promoted in 2014 by Adhikary, a former professional pilot, the prime objective of JEIC is to “promote interaction between the people of Japan and India through various educational initiatives, cultural bonding, business and industry cooperation”.

History. An aviation business administration alum of Minnesota State University, USA, Raj Adhikary worked as a commercial pilot in the US until 2001, after which he relocated to Tokyo following his marriage to a Japanese national. In Japan, he transformed into an entrepreneur with two enterprises — the Planet One International and Colors of India Center — for facilitating and enabling Indo-Japan business collaboration. After residing there for a decade (2002-2014), Adhikary returned to India in 2014 and promoted JEIC with similar objectives and to facilitate student and faculty exchanges between the two countries. 

Programmes. JEIC’s menu card of services includes a civic cleanliness and personal hygiene programme for kindergarten students, a combination of swachhata (cleanliness), Japanese language learning and student exchange programmes for primary-secondary students, and Japanese skill excellence programmes for higher ed institutions. 

Direct talk. “Currently, the number of Japanese companies doing business in India is an impressive 5,100, and is projected to touch 10,000 by 2020. Japan is the third largest economy in the world and its education practices, civic management systems, high-quality precision industrial products and ancient culture are appreciated worldwide. In JEIC, our objective is to provide Indian students exposure to Japanese culture, education practices and business opportunities to enable greater cooperation and exchanges between the two countries,” says Adhikary.

Future plans. JEIC has finalised a plan to deliver its various programmes to 500 schools countrywide by 2023. “Japan is synonymous with quality, excellence, cutting-edge technology and rich civilisation. There is much we can learn from Japan, which has quickly rebuilt its economy and sparkling clean cities after they were razed to the ground in World War II. For instance, Indian students can make the Central government’s Swacch Bharat Abhiyan (‘Clean India Project’) a success by replicating the civic management and hygiene curriculums of Japanese schools. I believe our two countries can enrich and enable each other through our student exchange programmes,” says Raj Adhikary. 

Autar Nehru (Delhi)