The letter states that Rai must transmit his acceptance letter to the government, and the IIM-C Board must make a copy of his appointment letter available to the public.

In Lucknow University's history, this is the first time a vice-chancellor has joined a central organisation such as IIM. It is also not common to appoint a non-IIM professor as the IIM director.

IIM-C hasn't had a regular, full-time director for almost two years. Rai taught management at Banaras Hindu University prior to joining Lucknow University. He was also on other senior-level committees and panels.

Under Rai, LU secured the A++ grade of NAAC becoming the first university in UP. It was classified as Category I by the UGC and ranked among the top 100 universities by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), ranking 32 among State Public Universities. The New Education Policy (2020) has been integrated into the university as well. Rai led LU on its centenary year and witnessed the celebrations.

LU has become a favoured destination for foreign students, boasting one of the biggest groups of foreign students of any Indian university until last year. During his time the university set up LUCODE (Lucknow Institution Centre for Online and Distance Education) and its own electronic learning platform, SLATE. During his time, new colleges like pharmacy, management and agriculture were set up at the university and a plan was laid for a third campus. The V-C also assisted in enhancing the infrastructure of the university.