Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday introduced a Bill in Lok Sabha to pave the way for a new Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Guwahati. The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was tabled amid protests by Opposition MPs over the Special Intensive Revision exercise in Bihar. The Bill provides for a corpus fund of `555 crore from 2025-26 to 2029-30 for IIM Guwahati. After five years, no additional fund support will be extended as the institute is expected to generate revenue through internal accruals by then. IIM Guwahati, once established, will be the country’s 22nd IIM. The Assam government had requested an IIM in the State, “keeping in view the geographical location of the state and its all-round development,” going by the Bill’s statement of objects and reasons. It added that the Government of India, the Assam government and representatives of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) signed a Memorandum of Settlement for the all-round development of the State, and as per this settlement, a Special Development Package (SDP) comprising developmental projects was to be implemented by the Union government. Setting up an IIM at Guwahati as an institution of national importance is one of these projects, it stated. The Bill amends the IIM Act of 2017 to provide for all provisions of the Act to apply to IIM Guwahati. “Assam is one of the very few States with more than three crore population which does not have an IIM. Establishing an IIM at Assam shall boost the overall education and development of the region,” the Bill’s statement of objects and reasons read.
