IIM Bill 2015-a threat to autonomy

India is one of the biggest democracies in the world. What makes it a strong democracy? Well, It is primarily because of the freedom it allows to each and every citizen of the country – be it freedom to religion or the freedom to settle in any part of the country. IIM(Indian Institute of Management), one of the pioneer institutes in the country in business management, enjoyed its freedom with no interference of government bodies in its administration, making it excel in producing the brightest minds to the world.  2015 marked the year of bringing a curb to its freedom when the government passed the Indian Institute of Management Bill, 2015. As per this bill, the government took over the entire autonomy of the institute, establishing its own hegemony. The bill attacks the free-spirited institute rights in the matters of appointment of the director, admission procedure, fee structure, remunerations and employment guidelines.

Now, let me ask this question- Is India still a democratic country with complete freedom to all the institutes?

IIM is a global brand. The institute has been credited to have  a good quality in management without government support . Yet this decision of the Ministry of Human Resource Department has diluted the very brand of this institution.

Now, you may think- why is there a problem in this decision? Why is there so much of resistance and opposition on this bill?

First of all, this is the best known business school in the country. At the present moment, it is performing brilliantly in its field, attracting people from across the globe to be a part of it. It does not require any changes being imposed on its administration system at present. Secondly, the proposed bill will tend  to violate the PM Narendra Modi’s vision to develop 25 world-class institutes in India which will have an opposite effect because the bill makes for centralization of powers which is not at all good for the organization. Different IIMs across the country have different ways of management and ways to excellence and this bill will tend to take away the spirit of competition from the institutes which in future can adversely degrade its quality.

The government should work to retain the autonomy of the institute rather than reducing it. For the sake of global excellence and outstanding performance of this institute, government should look upon this bill with a critical eye, analyze all its pros and cons and then take decision accordingly.

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