Plan to Set Up an IIM at Telangana Shelved by the Centre

The Central Government has shelved the plans to set up a new Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Telangana. The new IIM was likely to be located in Hyderabad. The Union Government's plans to set up a new IIM had come five years after the state was carved out of the state of Andhra Pradesh. According to reports, the Human Resource Development Ministry (HRD) had come up with a proposal and the Cabinet note was due to be put together after receiving the minister’s approval stamp on the same.

However, the Union Human Resource Development Ministry has decided against the move and shelved the plans. As per the information given out by the ministry officials, the plans were shelved after a detailed feasibility study of setting up a new IIM. The official stated that by the study, the government found the decision to go ahead with the setting up of a new IIM 'unwise' and called the plan off.

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The study also suggested that a weak economic and job scenario was impacting the newly-established IIMs' ability to reach their full potential and such conditions did not warrant the setting up of a new IIM. The officials also added that since an IIM was already established at Visakapatnam, another IIM in its close vicinity at Hyderabad is not a good idea.

Another factor that has influenced this decision, the officials added, was the growing demands for funds from the new IIMs. The demand from funds from these institutions has seen a 25% - 40% increase from what was initially allocated and the ministry has prioritised strengthening the already-established IIMs instead of setting up a new one.

Kadiyam Srihari, former Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana and leader of the ruling party -- the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, however, has put forward an opposing view on the decision. Mr. Srihari pointed out that no new Central institutions have been established in the state since its bifurcation. He also cited the industrial, infrastructural and student-absorbing capacities of Hyderabad as the reasons behind an IIM in Hyderabad being seen as a well-placed demand and need.

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The proposal to set up the IIM was fast-tracked following the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) asked the ministry to decide on the multiple requests obtained from the state along with one from the CM of the state. For the same, the ministry was offered a week.

The central government has successfully instituted seven new Indian Institute of Management since 2014 -- IIM Amritsar in Punjab, IIM Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh, IIM Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, IIM Bodh Gaya in Bihar, IIM Nagpur in Maharashtra, IIM Jammu in Jammu & Kashmir and IIM Sambalpur in Odisha.

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act guarantees an NIT, IISER, IIT, IIM, Petroleum University, Agricultural University, central university, and IIIT for the state. And, Tribal University and Horticulture University for Telangana is assured. Telangana was never promised an IIM. However, this is going to change now.

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Initial media reports say that the Deputy CM of Telangana Kadiyam Srihari and the Education Minister had requested for an IIM in Hyderabad in 2018. Roughly, there are a total of 20 IIM’s across the country. It is a group of autonomous, public institutes of research and management education in India.

The institute in Telangana would facilitate industrial and economic development of both the state and the country.