Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

History

After 1947, the Government of independent India focused on the development of indigenous science and technology. As a technology base was being created, it became clear that the country needed to simultaneously augment management talent and resources. This led to the creation of the Indian Institutes of Management in the country. The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore was established in 1973.

Here we present excerpts from an article on the early years of IIMB:

Growing with IIMB - G V K RAO
Two institutes of management were started by the Government of India - one in Ahmedabad and another in Calcutta. The Government of Karnataka was keen that a similar institution should be started in Bangalore.

The first two Institutes were based on models in the US and fulfilled the need for trained managers, mainly in the private sector. Persons trained in IIMA and IIMC could not, for various reasons, be taken into the public sector institutions. One of the main reasons was the low scale of remuneration in the public sector, compared with the private sector, especially in multinational organizations. This, even though at one time, the public sector was to be in the commanding heights of the economy. A number of public sector institutions were started and large investments made both by the central and state governments, respectively.

It was, therefore, felt that the institute to be set up in Bangalore should be developed in such a manner as to prepare competent persons for fulfilling the needs of the public sector. The institutions that were kept in mind were bodies like electricity boards, water supply boards and HMT, ITI, BEML, road transport, corporations, municipal corporations, and the like. Considerable investments had been made in such sectors too and they also wanted competent people to manage the affairs.

So, the idea was to offer management courses in the proposed institute at Bangalore to bright young people, who were expected to occupy important managerial positions in the public sector. The matter was discussed in various ad hoc committees, constituted by the state government, and it was taken up with the Government of India.

For the proposed Bangalore institute, the Government of Karnataka offered 100 acres of land free of cost and a contribution to the corpus of Rs. 30 lakhs. Discussions were held with Dr. L S Chandrakanth, and Mr Ravi Mathai.

Mr T A Pai agreed to be the first chairman. N S Ramaswamy, who was then director of NITIE, was appointed the first director. Considerable preliminary work was done, and the new institute was inaugurated by Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, on 28 October, 1973.

The institute was started in St. Joseph's College of Commerce, and some other buildings, which were rented. A number of difficulties were encountered, but were fairly well-handled. The most important difficulty faced was the reluctance of public sector institutions to appoint the graduates who emerged from the IIMB despite their orientation towards the public sector.

The land offered by the state government was selected on Bannerghatta Road in Bangalore and given free of cost to IIMB.

Stein, Doshi and Bhalla were appointed as architects and very good plans were prepared.

I have had the privilege of being associated with the IIMB during the first few years, as a member of the board of governors and as chairman during the years 1991 to 1996.

Mr N S Ramaswamy as the first director did considerable work for the organization of the institute. Prof. Philip handled some other problems like labour discipline and related matters. Dr K R S Murthy succeeded Prof. Philip. He worked during the period 1992 to 1997 and has been mainly responsible for the building of an institute of excellence. It has been a steady tale of considerable achievement.

Description

A 100-acre oasis in south Bangalore, the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), with its all-stone architecture, lush verdant woods and landscaped gardens provides an idyllic environment to engage in management studies, academics and learning. IIMB has world-class infrastructure that facilitates excellence in teaching, research, consulting and other professional activities.

Located in India's high technology capital, IIMB is in close proximity to some of the leading corporate houses in the country, ranging from information technology to consumer product companies, giving it the added advantage of integrating classroom knowledge with practical experience.

Established in 1973, the Institute has since then built on its base of highly accomplished faculty, world class infrastructure and motivated student body to emerge as one of the premier institutes for management education and research promoting managerial excellence in the country. IIMB strives to achieve excellence through partnerships with industry, and leading academic institutions, the world over. IIMB's mission is to "build leaders through holistic, transformative and innovative education."

The long-duration post-graduate programmes of the Institute comprise the flagship Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP); the Post Graduate Programme in Software Enterprise Management (PGSEM); the Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM); the one year full-time Executive Post Graduate Programm