The IIM Amendment Bill which was aimed at granting statutory powers to the IIMS enabling them to grant degrees instead of diplomas received the stamp of approval from the Union Cabinet on Tuesday.

The bill may now be presented by the Ministry of Human Resource in the upcoming budget session of Parliament, after taking the approval from the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Although a premier management institute, the 20 IIMs always conferred Postgraduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) rather than the conventional Masters of Business Administration (MBA). But if the bill sees the light of the day, then soon IIM graduates will walk away not only with a sumptuous job offer but also a management degree.

Announcing the move as the ruling governments increasing thrust on higher education, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar in a tweet said, "Historic decision to give IIMs real autonomy & grant degrees. We trust excellence & quality. This reflects the vision of Modi Govt for higher education."

The bill is also slated to grant the board of governors the power to order a probe against an IIM director if his institute was not performing as per the provisions of the proposed Act. The investigation will be conducted by a person, not below the rank of a high court judge.

Even last year the HRD Ministry had plans to bring the Indian Institutes of Management Bill to the Parliament but it felt that there was scope for more discussions.