IIM-Indore asks for Rs 2 crore aid annually

Joshi being misled: Narayana Murthy

After agreeing to the Centre's decision to drastically reduce fees, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indore, has sought an annual assistance of Rs 2 crore from it.

"In view of the reduction in the post-graduate programme fee, the additional requirement of non-Plan funds would be Rs 2 crore annually," S Sudarshanam, acting director of IIM-Indore, said in a communication to the human resource development (HRD) ministry.

He recalled that the Board of Governors of the institute had on March 22 unanimously resolved to implement the ministry's decision to reduce the fee of the post-graduate programme to Rs 30,000 from the current Rs 1.5 lakh.

Observing that the department of secondary and higher education has some Plan funds under the IIM head, Sudarshanam said these should be released to meet the need for additional funds, if possible, during the current financial year.

Meanwhile, Infosys Chairman and Chief Mentor NR Narayan Murthy, who is also the chairman of IIM-Ahmedabad, today said HRD Minister MM Joshi had been "misled" and "misadvised" on the entire IIM issue and that the controversy was about the autonomy of the institutes rather than a fee cut.

"You can't take a decision (on fee cut) and then say I will appoint a committee to look into the impact. I think Dr Joshi is a very good man. He has been a professor, an academician. He understands the problems of faculty members. It is just that he has been misled and misadvised. I have no doubt at all that he would realise it soon," Murthy told reporters on the sidelines of a book release function here.

Asked if IIM-Ahmedabad would be part of the public interest litigation filed in the Supreme Court against the fee cut, Murthy said: "On April 2, the IIM-Ahmedabad Society will vote on whether we should go to court or not. Based on that some action will be taken."

"The whole issue is about autonomy. It is not about fee cuts. Let's be very very clear. If you want to reduce the fee by 80 per cent then there is a certain way to do it. Involve all the stakeholders, make an analysis, find out the impact of it and then take a decision," he said.

Responding to the charge of financial irregularities by the IIMs levelled by the minister, he said: "Making any allegation without proper substantiation is not what we should be doing. As somebody who has tremendous respect for Dr Joshi, I am surprised that he has made that statement. He is the best man to answer it."

"As the chairman of IIM-Ahmedabad, I have not received any such information from the minister," he added.