Compiled by: Sukanya Nandy
Last updated: Nov 13, 2023 4:38 PM IST
The President will have the final say in the appointment of the director of an IIM (file photo/news18)
The President will now have full autonomy to appoint search panels for the appointment of new directors. The visitor can also make policy decisions, approve annual budgets and determine fees
The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Rules, 2023, which were passed in Parliament in July this year, were introduced to amend the IIM Rules, 2018. As per the rules, the President of India will now be a ‘visitor’ at all Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). The president will have the power to appoint the chairman of the board of governors, appoint or remove directors, and dissolve the board for his inability to discharge his duties, Hindustan Times reported.
The visitor also has the final say in the appointment of the director of an IIM. “The Visitor shall nominate one of the names recommended by the Board and send it to the Board for appointment of the person as Director: Provided that if the Visitor is not satisfied with the names recommended by the Board, he or she shall must make new recommendations,” the Ministry of Education said.
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The President will now have full autonomy to appoint search panels for the appointment of new directors. The visitor can also make policy decisions, approve annual budgets and determine fees. Previously, a search and selection committee consisting of five eminent persons selected from among administrators, industrialists, educationists, scientists, technocrats and management specialists was constituted by the Council for the same.
The President may also dissolve the board of directors under three circumstances, including if the Visitor is of the opinion that the Board is unable to properly discharge its duties, persistently fails to comply with any instructions given by the Visitor. on the basis of this law, and in the case of the public interest.
“The Visitor may, by decision, dissolve the Board and appoint a person or persons as chairman and members of an interim board, as the case may be, for a period of up to six months, and instruct them to exercise powers and dismissal to provide. functions under the law,” the notification said.
The Visitor may also terminate the services of the director of an IIM. “Notwithstanding anything contained in any of the clauses of this sub-rule, if the Visitor decides that the services of the Director may be terminated or that the Director may be relieved from the services of the Institute, the Board shall be obliged to comply with the decision. of the Visitor,” the notice states.
As per the IIM Rules 2018, the board of directors had the power to remove the director if two-thirds of the members present cast their votes and more than 50 percent of the members of the board.
Moreover, the educational qualifications of an IIM director have been revised. Earlier, the necessary eligibility criteria for an IIM director was “distinguished academics with PhD or equivalent”. According to the new rules, he/she must be a “distinguished academic with a first-class degree at both bachelor’s and master’s levels and with a doctorate or equivalent from a reputed institute.”