New IIMs won't dilute brand image: Sibal

Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said that the setting up of new IIMs won't dilute the brand image of these prestigious business schools.

Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said on Friday that the setting up of new IIMs won't dilute the brand image of these prestigious business schools.

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Speaking to reporters in Bhubaneswar, the minister said that the seven new IIMs won't affect the existing institutions.

"The new IIMs would be of the same standard. The infrastructure and faculties would be of same standard in the new ones," Sibal said.

The union government Thursday approved the setting up of seven IIMs to boost higher education in the country.

Four of the new IIMs will come up in Trichy (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and Rohtak (Haryana). They will start classes in the 2010-11 academic year.

The other three will come up in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan and they will become operational from the year after. The location of the IMMs in these states is yet to be decided.

The existing IIMs are in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Kozhikode and Shillong.

IIMs, considered the best B-schools in the country, are a major brand name in the global management education.