IIM Ahmedabad adopts reservation policy for PhD admissions in 2025 intake

This decision follows persistent advocacy from SC/ST activists and a PIL submitted by the Global IIM Alumni Network to the Gujarat High Court in 2021

Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad has announced its decision to adopt the government-mandated reservation policy for its PhD admissions, marking a notable change for the institution, which has not historically allocated seats for underrepresented communities in its Fellow Programme in Management since its founding in 1971.

In an online statement regarding the PhD program, the institution noted that “government of India guidelines for reservation are followed during admissions”.

This significant step follows persistent advocacy from SC/ST activists and a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Global IIM Alumni Network in 2021 in the Gujarat High Court, which sought to enforce reservation provisions at IIM Ahmedabad. It highlighted that 10 other IIMs had already implemented similar quotas for their doctoral programmes.

IIM to implement reservations

In response to the PIL, IIM Ahmedabad submitted an affidavit in October 2023, indicating its plan to introduce the reservation policy for the 2025 intake. Until now, the business school had refrained from applying reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in its research program.

The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act of 2006 mandates that central government institutions reserve 15 per cent of seats for SCs, 7.5 per cent for STs, and 27 per cent for OBCs. Additionally, separate legislation has established a 10 per cent quota for EWS in both admissions and jobs within central educational institutions.

PhD admissions criteria updated

The recent announcement for the PhD admissions at IIM Ahmedabad specifies that candidates will be shortlisted based on their performance in the CAT or an equivalent standard test, as well as their academic background and experience. The institution may conduct online or in-person interviews, contingent on health advisories at the time, with admission interviews expected to occur in March-April 2025.

An Indian Express report quoted Anil Wagde, a founding member of the Global IIM Alumni Network, as saying that if reservations were not implemented following the recent reminder sent to the IIMA director about three weeks ago, the network intended to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court.

[With agency inputs]