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Lok Sabha passes bill to set up new IIM at Guwahati
Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said IIM Guwahati has been a long-pending demand of North-East students and PM Modi has taken the responsibility to set it up for the overall development of the region
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the ‘Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025,’ paving the way for the establishment of a new Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Guwahati, Assam.
The bill adds IIM Guwahati as the 22nd IIM under the Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017, thereby granting it the status of an “institution of national importance.”
The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha a day after its introduction, even as the opposition staged protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
While introducing the bill in the Lok Sabha, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “I am here to take permission of Parliament to set up IIM at Guwahati of Assam, which is a major educational centre in the North-East of India. IIM Guwahati has been a long-pending demand of North-East students and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the responsibility to set it up for the overall development of the region.”
He urged the Opposition to discuss the bill while stating that Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had repeatedly raised this demand with the Centre. “IIMs have carved a big name for themselves in the world,” he said while adding that the Assam government would provide land and other requirements for the new institute.
The bill was passed without discussion through voice votes when Dilip Saikia was chairing the proceedings in Lok Sabha.
India currently has 21 IIMs, including IIM Shillong in Meghalaya. Once established, IIM Guwahati will become the 22nd IIM and the second in the North-East. Guwahati already hosts leading higher education institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and National Law University (NLU), making the city 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.
“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.
Calling the passage of bill to establish Assam’s first IIM a “historic day” for the state, Sarma in a post on X said “With an IIT, AIIMS and now IIM, Assam is on the precipice of becoming a major education hub of Eastern India.”
The bill proposes a ₹555 crore corpus for IIM Guwahati over five years from 2025-26 to 2029-30, 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.
