The Lok Sabha has passed the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, today, August 4. The IIM Bill entrusts the management accountability of the institutes with the President of India. Introduced on July 28, the bill was passed by the Lok House earlier amid disruptions by opposition members over the violence in Manipur.
According to the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023 which seeks to amend the IIM Act of 2017, the president will be the visitor to the IIMs and will have the power to audit their functioning, order probes, appoint and remove directors.
“The Visitor may appoint one or more persons to review the work and progress of any institute, to hold enquiries into affairs thereof, and to report in such manner as the Visitor may direct. The board may also recommend to the Visitor an enquiry as deemed proper against the institute which has not been functioning in accordance with provisions and objectives of the Act,” the bill stated.
The IIM Act, which came into force in January 2018 granted the top B-schools more autonomy. The board of governors of each IIM has 19 members which includes only one representative each from the central and state governments. The board nominates its remaining 17 members from among eminent personalities, faculty, and alumni. It also appoints search panels for the appointment of new directors and chairpersons. Later, it makes the appointments if it agrees with the search panels’ recommendations. According to the amendment Bill 2023, the search-cum-selection panel for the director’s appointment will have a visitor’s nominee.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government has no intention to interfere with the autonomy of the IIMs while replying to a debate on the Bill. The management accountability of the institutes has now been entrusted with the President and the academic accountability will remain with the institutes, the minister added.
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