"Another IIM to open soon"

R. N. Dutta

RATHINDRA NATH DUTTA, former Chairman of PwC India, has just been appointed Chairman of the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shillong, the seventh and the youngest amongst the IIMs. He discussed his plans for the youngest IIM with BT’s Ritwik Mukherjee. Excerpts:

When will the intake of students for this new IIM begin?
The process has already been kicked off. Students appearing for the Common Admission Test (CAT) next month will have the option of joining IIM-Shillong. Classes will begin in June 2008.

Is the infrastructure in place?
It will initially operate out of a temporary campus at the Mayurbhanj Complex, which was earlier occupied by the North Eastern Hill University. The permanent campus will come up in the new Shillong township.

What are your priorities now?
We will start with 30 students in the first year; this will rise to 60-65 students in the second, 120 in the third and go up to 180 students in the sixth. My top priority is to finalise a strong permanent faculty. Apart from the two-year PGP and the Fellow Programme in Management (FPM), we will have courses with a local flavour—on tea, tourism, horticulture and hydel power, to mention a few.