New Delhi: Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday introduced a bill in Lok Sabha seeking to include IIM Guwahati as the 22nd IIM in the schedule of Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017, thereby declaring it an institution of national importance.
Pradhan introduced the ‘Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025’ in the lower house of Parliament, amid uproar by the Opposition over the issue of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
According to the draft of the bill, the central government, Assam government and United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) had signed a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) that includes a Special Development Package (SDP) for Assam, under which setting up IIM Guwahati as an institution of national importance was one of the key projects.
India has 21 IIMs, including IIM Shillong in Meghalaya. The IIM Guwahati will become the 22nd IIM and the second in the North-East. Guwahati already hosts leading higher education institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and National Law University (NLU), reinforcing its status as an education hub.
The bill said that the Assam government has sought the establishment of an IIM in the state, noting its population of over three crore, large student base of more than 5.5 lakh in higher education, and its strategic role in the region’s overall development.
{{/usCountry}}The bill said that the Assam government has sought the establishment of an IIM in the state, noting its population of over three crore, large student base of more than 5.5 lakh in higher education, and its strategic role in the region’s overall development.
{{/usCountry}}“Establishing an IIM at Assam shall boost the overall education and development of the region and open up significant opportunities for the students of North Eastern Region of India to develop managerial skills,” the bill said.
The bill proposes a ₹555 crore corpus for IIM Guwahati over five years (2025–30), covering both recurring and non-recurring expenses, after which the institute is expected to become self-sustaining. The amount will be met from the Consolidated Fund of India, the bill said.