After four-year long deliberations, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bill, 2017, under which the IIMs would be declared as Institutions of National Importance which will enable them to grant degrees to their students.

Till now the students of 19 IIMs all over India received diplomas for two year Post Graduate Program in Management (PGP) and Fellow in Management apart from other courses, as the IIMs were considered “Societies“.Henceforth, IIMs' postgraduate students will get MBA degree while postgraduate research students will get a Ph.D. degree.

The move has got thumbs up from management and students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) as the standardization move will put its students on par with degrees awarded by other reputed global business schools. Now, Ahmedabad will boast of hosting two Institutes of National Importance. In 2014, National Institute of Design was the first to get the tag by an Act of Parliament.

IIM Bill 2017 will also grant “complete autonomy to IIMs, combined with adequate accountability“. This means the periodic review of the performance of these institutes by independent agencies is on the anvil, results of which will be put in the public domain in. As part of the greater accountability, the annual report of the IIMs will be placed in the Parliament and CAG will audit their accounts.

Cabinet clearance of the crucial Bill will also empower the Board of Governors of respective IIMs to appoint chairperson or director. Currently, the BoG forms a search committee that recommends three names. The appointment on the post, however, is done by the MHRD from the shortlisted candidates.

The Bill has asked the IIMs to have a greater participation of experts and alumni in the Board. In a first, provision has also been made for the inclusion of women and members of Schedule Caste Tribes in the Board.

Students welcome move

“Being awarded Diploma for the two-year programme carried an inferior connotation. It demanded additional verification by global B-Schools for further studies,“ said Manu Gulati, 26, PGP-2 student, IIMA However, PGP-1 student Sarthak Mehra said: “Brand IIMA offers better mileage anyways. Whether you have a degree or diploma doesn't matter. However, students from newer IIMs will benefit by getting MBA degree.“

IIMA gave a tough fight

IIMs have been fighting for autonomy from the time the Bill was discussed in the UPA-II regime. The IIM heads and MHRD in UPA times had reached a Memoranda of Association in which the premier B-schools secured autonomy. However, the Bill underwent some changes after NDA came to power in 2014. IIMA, headed by then chairman AM Naik and director Ashish Nanda, had opposed changes in the original Bill stating it curbed IIMs' autonomy and allowed MHRD to micro-manage B-schools.The IIM Bill passed on Tuesday grants autonomy to IIMs as demanded.