Autonomy high on IRMA agenda

The Administrative Reform Commission, chaired by M Veerappa Moily, will visit the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) later this month to discuss issues on the strategic aspects of rural development and policy changes with IRMA faculty members.

IRMA has also been invited to be a participant in various national development activities and the 27-year-old institution is all set to make its presence felt on the national front "" all with a new chairman at the helm of affairs.

In his first chat with the media after taking over as the IRMA Chairman, Y K Alagh, told Business Standard: "We want to institutionalise IRMA and set up system of rules, structure of faculty, governance board and friends of IRMA. It is a strong organisation. It has resources, tradition, commitment and style, which we will take forward."

IRMA is preparing a perspective plan and autonomy will be a part of it. Setting up structures and implementing them fairly is high on the agenda of the plan. Interestingly, for the first time, IRMA will be sending one of its faculty members abroad to participate in an international conference. But there are more such initiatives in the offing.

Says Alagh, "A challenge today is to change these institutions to match pace with changing times. IRMA is financially sound but we are of course looking for more resources and funds to support various activities on the campus. IRMA's message is that we have to use the vitality of the market, demand, cost reduction and product innovation. We need community organisation to capture this and considering IRMA's location and field of work, it is a viable option."

The institute is engaged in extensive faculty recruitment now and wants to infuse fresh talent and thought process in the institute by bringing in new faculty and visiting fellows.

"Even available faculty on a short-term basis are welcome. The more the people, the better," adds Alagh.

The institute is also introducing incentive promotion to encourage the faculty to take up research activities. But what about IRMA's locational disadvantage and how does it plan to position itself at the international level?

"Anand is now linked to the national highway and connectivity is not an issue. Its location is right for an interaction at the larger and international level. In fact, in this global set up, we are telling people that if you are passing through India, do visit IRMA," affirms Alagh.

"People are free to avail themselves of all the facilities but have to be responsible to it and work towards making IRMA a broad based institute which will produce leaders in all fields," he adds.

"IRMA is located at the cusp of the happenings today. There is a lot of interest in rural development and the times ahead are exciting for IRMA to participate and facilitate the process with its strong structure and resource base. The vision for IRMA is that of an institute which has access to all the modern communication facilities, research-oriented faculty and a place for international conferences," he adds.