Its quite a transition for a battle hardened armyman to reorient himself for the boardroom at the age of 51. Thats exactly what Col Satish Tyagi did when he opted to undergo a special program at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) called Armed Forces Program (AFP) in Business Management, early this year. In this column series for MBAUniverse.com, Col Tyagi shares his experiences at IIM-A.

AFP in Business Management is a full-time, six-month residential program for defence personnel. AFP has been designed by IIM-A at the instance of the Directorate General of Resettlement, Ministry of Defence (DGRMoD) and has as rigorous a schedule as any other IIM-A course. The objective of the program is to build on the defence experience and create management executives who can contribute to the corporate world.

Col Tyagi joined the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 1972. He served the nation in the Army for 31 years. He was part of the IPKF in Sri Lanka, handled insurgency in North East, Punjab and J&K, and founded the Counter Terrorism School in Kashmir for the Army. He also was part of the Kargil war and penned Kargils official history. He has authored Fourth Estate — a book on Kargil and the media. Within the Army, he has been a trainer at NDA, the Army War College and the Counter Terrorism School in Kashmir.

More : mbauniverse.com

The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) on Thursday indicated they might send offer of admission to students in next two days if they recieve communication from the Union HRD ministry giving a go-ahead to start admission as per last year by Friday.

The IIMA welcomed the Centres decision to give a go-ahead to fill general and SC/ST category seats as per last year.

We welcome the decision of the central government. This was what we had proposed to the Ministry on April 12, IIMA sources said.

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The Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) Alumni Association yesterday filed a petition in Supreme Court (SC) seeking a direction from the court to the government not to implement reservation in higher educational institutions like IITs and IIMs.

The former students of these elite institutions argue that according to Section 4 (B) of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2007 itself, quotas would not apply to the institutes of excellence specified in the Act. This should have been reason enough to keep the IITs and IIMs out of the purview of the present statute, they described in the petition.

The alumni association called the caste-based reservation policy unconstitutional and also pointed out the problems of implementing reservation in higher educational institutes. The students claimed that the quality of education at IIMs would be affected if the reservation is implemented. Any compromise made in the process, either in lowering eligibility standards or in reckless expansion of capacity without expansion of faculty, will undoubtedly lower standards of the output.

Source : indiaedunews.net

Brand IIM might just have to think of a fresh branding exercise. With the Centre toying with the idea of pulling the autonomy carpet from under the feet of the IIMs, ripples are already being felt among directors and faculty.

IIMs feel that the Bill, once it becomes an Act like the Institutes of Technology Act of 1961, is an ominous sign for the future of the premier institutions.

Most of all, it will affect the already existing faculty crunch in IIMs.If and when it comes through, the Bill will adversely affect the administrative, financial and academic functioning of the IIMs, said IIM-Bangalore director Prakash Apte.

More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

IIM-A Alumini Trust to bail out students

IIM Ahmedabad Alumni Trust has come to the rescue of students who face the prospect of losing money due to the delay in admissions. The admissions have been delayed due to the stand-off between the government and the IIM managements following a supreme court stay on OBC reservation.

The trust has decided to give soft loans to shortlisted students who face the deadline for paying up the admission fee at other management institutes. The students fear that they may have to forfeit their deposit money if they chose to accept admission to IIM-A, once the lists are finally out.

Needy students, despite being meritorious, may thus opt out. It is precisely to help such students that the IIM Ahmedabad Alumni Trust has decided to step in, said the trust advisory committee member KN Vaidyanathan. Students could take a loan from the trust to the extent that they lose through forfeiture of deposits paid to other B-schools.

More : economictimes.indiatimes.com

IIM-A to make position on admission clear on April 21

Even as the Supreme Court has posted the hearing on quota in elite educational institutions case on April 23, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), yesterday said it will make its position on admission to the coming academic session clear on April 21.

We will make our postion on admission clear on April 21, IIM-A Director Bakul Dholakia told yesterday night.

The six IIMs had given a virtual ultimatum to the government that they would go ahead with the admissions without the OBC quota for the coming academic session if they did not hear anything from the government by April 21 following the Supreme Courts stay on it.

More : hindu.com

Oyoun to organise workshop on project appraisal

Oyoun Education is organising a workshop on project appraisal from April 24 to 26 at Radisson SAS. The workshop will be conducted by Professor V. Ranganathan, the professor on infrastructure at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.

He has a B.Tech from IIT Madras and a doctoral degree from IIM Ahmedabad. His thesis was on Cost benefit analysis, which is the methodology of project appraisal from a countrys point of view.

Currently he teaches at IIM Bangalore managerial economics, contemporary economic policy and infrastructure appraisal, financing, privatisation and regulation.

More : timesofoman.com

IIM delay confuses MBA aspirantsThe Centre is likely to go the Supreme Court this afternoon in the OBC quota case.

In the meantime, with the IIM admissions being deferred, many MBA aspirants have been left in the lurch.

Private management schools are going ahead with their admissions and have asked students to pay the first installment of fees.

More : ibnlive.com

IIM Indore announces 46 MDPs for 2007-08

The Indian Institute of Management-Indore (IIM-I) has announced its Management Development Programs (MDPs) calendar for 2007-2008.

According to the information shared by IIM Indore with MBAUniverse.com, in the financial year 2007-2008, it has planned 46 MDPs on the variety of topics. The MDPs will cover a wide range of areas including General Management, Financial Management, Marketing Management, Supply Chain Management, Production & Inventory Management, Quantitative Techniques, Decision Making, Information Technology, International Business, Business Communication, Human Resource Management and Behavioral Science.

The fees will range between Rs 8,000 and Rs 18,000.

More : mbauniverse.com

IIMs will now wait for govt green signal

While government is clear that it will seek remedies to the situation created by the SC by going back to the apex court, it is under severe pressure to ensure that the quota regime gets going in 2007-08 itself.

Big OBC players like RJD boss Lalu Prasad have not raised the tempo — given new alignments in north India, they too are seeking some upper-caste support.

But all parties with OBC bases point out that the staggered introduction of the quota was acceptable to their constituents only if it began rolling out this year.

More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

IIM-A hikes fees for two PG courses

The Indian Institute of Management -Ahmedabad (IIM-A) yesterday hiked the fees for its post -graduate management programme from Rs177,000 to Rs200,000.

The fees for the post-graduate programme for executives (PGPX) has also been increased from Rs1 million to Rs1.4 million IIM (A) Chairman Vijaypat Singhania told reporters here yesterday.

The decision to hike the fees was taken at the meeting of Board of Governors of IIM-A here.

Source : khaleejtimes.com

IIM Ahmedabad hikes fees

The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) Saturday announced a nearly 12 percent fee hike for its prestigious two-year post-graduate programme.

The IIMA has decided to hike its fees for PGP (post-graduate programme) by 12 percent, Vijaypat Sighania, chairman of the IIMA board of directors, told reporters.

The IIMA board of directors has decided to increase the fees for the PGP courses from Rs.177,000 per annum to Rs.200,000, he said.

More : indiaedunews.net

Join hands with poor for inclusive growth, PC tells IIM-A grads

Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday urged the graduating students of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) to join hands with the deprived part of the country for achieving an inclusive growth of the country.

Chidambaram was speaking at the institutes 42nd Annual Convocation in which 317 students received their diplomas.

The students included those from Fellow Programme in Management, Post Graduate Programme in Management, Post Graduate Programme in Agri-Business Management, and Post Graduate Programme for Executives.

More : cities.expressindia.com

IIM-A term for quota: BJP targets govt on Sachar findings

The Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on Saturday said if the OBC quota issue is resolved before April 12 then admissions will be given to students under the category.

IIM-A Chairman Vijaypath Sanghania told reporters after the institutes board meeting that the view taken by the board was that if they give admission to the OBCs now it may amount to contempt of court.

So if the issue is resolved by the Supreme Court before April 12, then only admission will be given under the OBC category (in the coming acadamic year).

More : centralchronicle.com

IIM Indore to increase tuition fee by Rs. 40,000

The Indian Institute of Management, Indore (IIM-I) has decided to increase its tuition fee by Rs 40,000 for its flagship postgraduate programs in management.

Confirming this with MBAUniverse.com, Dr SP Parashar, director, IIM I, said, Yes, this year we are increasing our tuition fee from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 1.9 lakh.

When MBAUniverse.com questioned the rationale for the fee hike, Dr Parashar clarified, We are increasing our fee because providing quality education has become more expensive now…. Also, we havent raised our fee for many years. The last time we increased our fee was in 2004 – when we increased it from Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs. 1.50 lakh

More : mbauniverse.com

Rahul Bajaj, Baba Kalyani preside over IIM Indore’s 8th convocation

The Indian Institute of Management, Indore (IIM-I) celebrated its 8th convocation on its campus on 24th March.

Mr. Rahul Bajaj, CEO, Bajaj Auto, and Mr. Baba Kalyani, chairman and managing director, Bharat Forge, and member of the Board of Governors of IIM Indore, presided over the function.

According to information shared with MBAUniverse.com by IIM-I, postgraduate diplomas of management and degrees for the executive postgraduate program of management were given out by Mr Kalyani, while Mr Rahul Bajaj awarded Scholistic Medals (IIM-Is gold medals for scholastic achievement) to three students — Anku Bhajankara, Ritesh Bansal and Rohit Arjunwadkar.

More : mbauniverse.com

IIM admission process for 2007 goes haywire

The Supreme Courts stay on implementation of the 27% reservation for OBCs has thrown the admission process for the academic year 2007-08 out of gear. The apex court has put the brakes on the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, by which the Indian Institutes of Management, Indian Institutes of Technology, National Institutes of Technology and Central Universities would be required to increase intake by 54% in order to provide for a 27% increase in reservation for Other Backward Classes.

The most affected by the stay would be the Indian Institutes of Management. The IIMs were to have completed their admission process by April 12. As a matter of fact, IIM-Ahmedabad was in the last stage of finalising the list of successful candidates. IIM-Bangalore and IIM-Lucknow are in the process of conducting the group discussions.

Sources in the IIM management said that they were awaiting the government order before working out the next step. Once we receive the governments order, we will convene a meeting of the IIM admission committee to decide the next course of action, said a senior IIM official.

More : economictimes.indiatimes.com

IIM Ahmedabad to hike fees soon

The Indian Institutes of Management in Bangalore and Indore hiked their fees for the postgraduate programme and IIM-Ahmedabad is likely to follow suit after its board meeting on March 31.

IIM-Bangalore raised its fee for the postgraduate programme in management by Rs 75,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh, while IIM-Indore hiked the fee from Rs 1.50 lakh to Rs 1.90 lakh from the coming academic session. The IIM-B board approved the hike and its director Prakash G Apte justified the move, saying students earn between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 10 lakh a year after the programme and could easily afford the increase.

The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta has proposed to hike its fees from the next session. There is a proposal for hike in fees from Rs 1.75 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. It, however, has to be ratified by the board, IIM-C head admissions Ashish Bhattacharya said.

More : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Profiles get more interesting at IIM -A PGP-ABM placements

The Post Graduate Programme in Agri-business Management (PGP-ABM) at IIM Ahmedabad batch of 20 students received 35 offers this year. Recruitments 2007 saw average salaries increasing by 25 pc for freshers and 20 pc for laterals. It also gives credence to the tremendous value addition to the ABM students who undergo common academic module with the PGP programme for the first year of study.

Greater job diversity was the distinguishing feature of placements this year. The PGPABM students bagged consulting and advisory roles in RABO bank, one of the largest bank worldwide, engaged in agri-financing and consulting. Excited about his job profile in RABO bank, Manoj Nair, who got placed as Manager, Research/Strategic Advisory, (Food and Agribusiness) said, This has opened yet another major sector where ABM grads would be required in large numbers in the coming years. Being an international concern the exposure will be challenging as well as rewarding.

Yet another new profile in offer was that of knowledge banking in YES bank. While continuing the long association with the big names in sectors of Food, Supply chain, Procurement, Agricultural finance, Retail and Commodity trading, the placements this year also saw interest of FMCG giants like Pepsi and Marico who participated in the process for the first time.

More : pagalguy.com

IIM grads to regulate market

M Damodaran should be pleased. Indias brightest are giving up lucrative job-offers at blue chip companies to join the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The capital markets regulator is recruting from IIM campuses for the first time in its 15-year history. Though the offers were modest, a handful of IIM students at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and Lucknow have signed up to join the market regulator.

The Sebi chairman recently said the organisation is looking for bright students from law and management schools. This was aimed at bringing new and fresh ideas to an organisation, that has been singled out for being dependant on old hands. Sebi was offering two profiles - one to monitor legal compliance especially the IPO channel and the second was to work on the restructuring and reform of Indian bourses.

At both IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Kolkota, two students each have opted for Sebi out of the handful offers made. Elsewhere, one student each from IIM Lucknow and IIM Bangalore were selected to join Sebi. While the student from IIM Lucknow is still considering the offer, the student from IIM Bangalore is taking it up, it is learnt.

More : economictimes.indiatimes.com

These IIM students want to follow their own dreams

Eleven students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) have this year said no to attractive pay packages during the campus placement drive as they want to follow their own dreams.

A number of leading global and national firms had pitched their tents at the five-day placement event ending Monday at the IIMA campus here, offering salaries in the range of $225,000 to $300,000 for international jobs and between Rs.6 million and Rs.10 million a year for Indian jobs.

However, the 11 students of the prestigious business school either opted out of placements or rejected job offers to start their own enterprise, IIMA authorities told the media Tuesday.

More : indiaedunews.net

Railways hire IIM experts for freight corridor

The mutual admiration of Indian Railways and the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) seems to be growing.

After IIM-Ahmedabad invited railway minister Lalu Prasad to deliver a lecture on the railways turnaround last year, the public behemoth has appointed a three-member team from IIM-Calcutta to prepare a business plan for a Rs 25,000-crore dedicated freight corridor (DFC) project.

Rather than hire a fancy consultancy firm, the Railways has reposed faith in a team from IIM-C to study transportation requirements of key industries and analyse burgeoning freight market.

More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com