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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval for setting up six new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in the country. The institutes will come up at Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sambalpur (Odisha) and Amritsar (Punjab).
According to a government press release, the IIMs will start functioning from temporary campuses and shift to their permanent locations after own infrastructure is ready. The first academic session will start from 2015-16.
Initiated by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru , the first IIMs were opened at Kolkata (then Calcutta) and Ahmedabad. At present, there are 13 IIMs, offering post-graduate , doctoral and executive education programmes.
The new institutes will start with an intake of 140 students each in post-graduate programmes (PGP). It is expected that the annual intake will go up to 560 students by the end of seven years. The PGP in Management would be the flagship programme. The admission to the two-year MBA-equivalent course will be through Common Admission Test being conducted by the IIMs.
This move comes in the wake of the new IIM Bill facing criticism from academicians. Not being full-fledged universities, IIMs are not authorised to grant degrees. But the post-graduate diplomas and fellowships granted by IIMs are considered equivalent to Master's degrees and Doctorates , respectively. Former human resource development minister Kapil Sibal had initiated a legislative proposal empowering IIMs with legal authority to grant degrees.
The Bill plans expansion of the powers of the IIM Council as a coordinating body for the IIMs. However, it will not have power to impose its decisions on IIMs allaying fears that it will erode the autonomy of the country's premier B-schools. Critics of the law, including IIM-Ahmedabad Director Ashish Nanda, had said it will lead to increasing Central government control over the institutions.
