'Amend MoA for IIMs' expansion abroad'

IIM-Bangalore's ambitious plan to open a campus in Singapore got a jolt on Jan 11 when Govt denied permission.

The government was not averse to setting up Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) abroad but they should not ignore their obligations to the country and its students, Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh said here on Wednesday.

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The minister was addressing the media at the Editors Conference on Social Sector in the wake of a controversy after the government turned down a proposal of the IIM-Bangalore (IIM-B) to set up a campus in Singapore.

Arjun Singh stressed that IIMs function under certain obligations laid down under the memorandum of association (MoA) signed with the government.

"Under the association agreement, the IIMs are only allowed to set up campuses within the country," Singh asserted. For ventures abroad "adequate amendments in the MoA were necessary".

However, there was scope for IIM campuses abroad, the minister said, adding that he was open to discussions on the issue and that the proposal could be considered if the MoA was modified.

He admitted that the IIMs were autonomous, but said they would have to find alternatives if the MoA did not authorise them to take a decision independently.

IIM-B's plan to set up a campus in Singapore would have been a first for the country.

IIM-B has been recognised as an international B-school since its inclusion in the Wall Street Journal's list of top 100 business schools worldwide. It was the only Indian B-school on the list.

It would have been the third business school of the Wall Street Journal's Top 100 Business Schools to have a campus in Singapore - the other two being INSEAD and the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.