Bill on statutory powers for IIMs

Why in news?

A bill to grant statutory powers to the Indian Institutes of Managements (IIMs) is to be presented shortly to the Union Cabinet for approval.

What is the need for the bill?

• The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are autonomous institutes of management, education and research and are presently registered as societies under the Indian Societies Registration Act.
• It is governed by a Board of Governors.
• The government has been looking to grant more autonomy to these institutes and more powers have been granted to their Governing Boards.
• It also decided to lay down a clear rule on the line of succession in case the post of director falls vacant.

What are the provisions of the bill?

• It seeks to declare existing IIMs as institutes of national importance.
• Powers of the IIM - The IIMs will have powers to regulate admission, management and fees.
• Currently, these institutes can offer diplomas and not degrees. The bill enables IIMs to grant degrees, diplomas and other academic distinctions.
• It also allows IIMs to conduct examinations and establish and maintain necessary infrastructure.
• Authorities - The Board of Governors shall be the principal executive body of each institute, responsible for policy decisions, approving the annual budget estimates, etc.
• It grants powers to the Board of Governors to get an inquiry conducted by a person not below the rank of a High Court judge against a director in case it is felt that an institute has not performed as per the provisions of the proposed Act.
• The Board may even remove the director of the institute after proper enquiry.
• The Boards of Governors of IIMs would evaluate the performance of the institutes after every few years.
• A coordination forum with an eminent person as the chairperson will take up matters common to all the IIMs.
• The Academic Council shall be the principal academic body of each institute and will specify the academic content of programmes and the criteria and process for admission to courses.
• Powers of the central government - Any regulations made by the Board are subject to prior approval of the central government in matters relating to
  1. Admission and specifying fees,
  2. Determining posts and emoluments of faculty and staff,
  3. Establishment and maintenance of buildings,
  4. Conferring degrees and
  5. Determining powers of the Academic Council, Chief Administrative Officer and the Board, etc.
• Funding - The IIMs will discharge their functions on the basis of grants received from the central government. All institutes will be required to maintain a fund.
• The new IIMs proposed by the central government will be situated in Vishakhapatnam, Bodh Gaya, Sirmaur, Nagpur, Sambalpur and Amritsar.
• Each institute will offer post graduate programme courses. These courses will involve research and consultancy in the field of management and allied areas. The academic sessions for these IIMs will begin in 2015-16.

Category: Mains | G.S-II | Government Policies

Source: Livemint