The Hindu Business Line : IIM-A board reviews RC Bhargava panel report

Ahmedabad, Dec. 19 The board of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, which debated the RC Bhargava Committee report extensively at its meeting, was unable to arrive at an official response to it.

The board members might meet again within a week or 10 days’ time to finally draft a response, said Professor Samir Barua, Director. “We want to come up with a response as soon as possible and should hold another meeting — actual or virtual through networks — within a week to 10 days’ time. There were many points discussed but since every point has its pros and cons, each member’s view was obtained,” he said. The only unanimity that the board had was that the institute had been able to create a successful name for itself which should not be compromised in any way and the purpose and standing of the institute was a critical factor in the debate over its autonomy, he added.

The report, appointed by the Government of India and formulated by four representatives including Mr R.C. Bhargava, former Maruti Head, and Mr Ajit Balakrishnan, Founder and Chairperson, Rediff, threw up some important issues concerning the IIMs while proposing a pan-IIM board as an umbrella over all the institutes.

All the IIMs are expected to hold internal board meetings to prepare a response to the report and though IIM-A is aware of some of the stands of the other IIMs, officially it is not going to present a common response as of now, said Prof Barua. The reason is that the six IIMs have always functioned independently and are distinct in all respects, starting from the atmosphere on the campus to the fees charged to the management. But the possibility of a common IIM response cannot be ruled out, said a professor.

The board meeting was attended by Mr Vijaypath Singhania, Chairman, Mr Chintan Parikh, Mr Noel Tata, Mr Praful Anubhai, Ms Rama Bijapurkar and Mr Shrenik Kasturbhai among others. Apart from the Bhargava committee report, the meeting also discussed the budget of IIM-A for the year.

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