IIM-B to open campus in Singapore

Setting in motion the process to go global, the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, (IIM-B), on Friday gave its approval to amend the Memorandum of Association (MoA) to pave way for expansion of its activities overseas.

Briefing reporters after a meeting of the institute's Board of Governors which took the decision, IIM-B Director Prakash G Apte said the MoA, signed in 1973 at the time of establishing the institute, did not include a clause about expanding its activities outside the country.

"The MoA has to be modified and the board has approved that the amendment process should begin," he said.

The IIM-B board meeting comes close on the heels of the Union Human Resource Development Ministry shooting down a proposal of the institute to have a presence in Singapore, saying the prestigious institute should meet the domestic demand.

Later, in a softening of stand, HRD Minister Arjun Singh had said on Wednesday that the IIMs should first amend their MoA if they opted to have campuses abroad. Singh has convened a meeting of IIMs in New Delhi on February 1.

Apte said the Board of Governors (BoG) would hold a meeting with HRD Ministry to thrash out the issue of extending the IIM-B presence to Singapore by amending the MoA. However, before that, the BoG would hold a preliminary meeting in Delhi on January 31, Apte said.

Establishing a presence abroad "as we have always envisaged will be a virtual presence in the near future and not physical presence in the form of a campus" he said, adding they would begin with a part-time MBA programme for executives.