IIM Calcutta to cut fees, confirms board member

Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) is likely to accept the government's proposal of reducing fees to Rs 30,000.

ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar has been entrusted with the task of framing the resolution on the matter for the next IIMC board meeting on April 3.

S K Dube, government nominee on the IIMC board and director of IIT Kharagpur, said the IIMC board at its March 26 meeting had decided on reducing fees to Rs 30,000 but was divided on the issue of autonomy. Deveshwar would primarily frame resolutions on the autonomy issue.

Dube said he was personally in favour of lower fees. When asked about the right fee for IIMs, he said the IIT management institutes at Delhi and Kanpur charged Rs 6,000 and this appeared to be fair.

"IITs and IIMs are centres of excellence but the issue of reducing fee structure could in no way be related to loss of excellence," Dube explained.

"A reduction in fees will in no way affect the excellence IIMs have achieved over the years," he added.

Citing example of IIT Kharagpur, Dube said, "Ours is also an centre of excellence and we have been charging around Rs 24,000 per annum, for the last 10 years. In spite of this we have enough funds to finance modernisation and expansion plans."

The government provided around Rs 150 crore to IIT Kharagpur, while Rs 70 crore came from industry and commercial research on behalf of corporates.

IIT alumni has raised Rs 10 crore or so over a period of 10 years, too small to finance any large engineering project. IIMs could follow IIT Kharagpur, Dube added.