IIM in Jammu
The new Indian Institute of Management will be the 20th one in the country, which will come up in Jammu. Pictured: Aru Valley, Jammu and Kashmir [Representational Image].Wikimedia commons

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the establishment and operationalisation of Indian Insititute of Management (IIM) at Jammu in a temporary campus at old Government College of Engineering & Technology from the academic year 2016-17.

The project will involve a cost of Rs 61.90 crore in temporary campus for the initial four years from 2016 to 2020. The student strength intake for the present year in the Post Graduate Diploma Programme (PGDP) in Management is 54 which will progressively go up to a cumulative student strength of 120 by the 4th year.

In addition, steps would also be taken up for setting up campus at Jammu and an out-campus in Kashmir region. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the permanent campuses is under preparation and thereafter the process for setting up of the campus' would start, a statement by the ministry read.

The Cabinet has also approved formation of an IIM-Jammu Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. IIM-Jammu will be run and managed by the Society with a Board of Governors (BOGs) to be constituted by the central government, which will administer the Institute and would be responsible for establishment and operationalisation of the college.

This is a part of PM Narendra Modi's development package for Jammu & Kashmir.

The Institute coupled with opening of IIT at Jammu, modernization of NIT Srinagar and opening of two new AIIMS institutions, one each in Kashmir region and Jammu region, would go a long way in meeting the requirement of high quality living and education in Jammu & Kashmir.

At present, there are nineteen IIMs. Out of these, thirteen IIMs are located at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Kozhikode, Shillong, Ranchi, Raipur, Rohtak, Kashipur, Trichy, Udaipur. Another six IIMs which have been started in 2015 are located at Amritsar, Sirmaur, Nagpur, Bodhgaya, Sambalpur and Vishakhapatnam.