<b>Shyamal Majumdar:</b> Empowering the IIMs

The government has reined in its urge to control; it's up to the boards now to prove their worth

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has indeed walked the talk on his pet theme “minimum government, maximum governance” in at least one area of critical importance — the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM). One of the most significant proposals in the new IIM Bill that awaits Parliament’s approval is that the boards will have the final say in the appointment of directors. This is a huge improvement over the draft Bill, which said where the visitor (the President) “is not satisfied with the recommendations of the search-cum-selection committee, he may ask the… committee to make fresh recommendations”.
 
To gauge the