The IIM Bill, 2017 that seeks to give greater autonomy and power to grant degrees to these institutions has been approved by the Cabinet.
The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bill 2017 has dropped the name of Rajiv Gandhi from IIM Shillong's name. While the original draft of the bill that was proposed in the year 2014 had the name of the former Prime Minister, it has been dropped in the draft that has been approved by the Cabinet recently and introduced in Lok Sabha recently.
This is the first instance of the former PM's name being dropped from a leading education institution.
The IIM Bill, 2017 that seeks to give greater autonomy and power to grant degrees to these institutions has been approved by the Cabinet. The bill seeks to change the name of Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management to Indian Institute of Management.
The IIM Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha last Thursday, mentions that the name of the existing IIM in Shillong, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 will change. The "name of the institute incorporated under this Act" will be "Indian Institute of Management Shillong", says the bill.
Sources in the ministry said that changes in the 2014 draft of the bill were incorporated after instructions from Prime Minister's Office.
The change has irked members of Congress, who are calling it "petty and cheap".
"It betrays their lack of respect for people who have led the country and have given life for the country. I strongly condemn this action," says Rajyasabha member Rajiv Gowda.
"If you look at the initiatives that they have taken, it only includes renaming the initiatives that we had taken. There are very few things that they have come up in their tenure," he adds.
The bill also seeks to change the name of IIM Calcutta to IIM Kolkata, including the new name of the city in the institution's name.
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