‘Big gain’: CM Sarma hails Guwahati’s IIM win after past loss to Meghalaya
The Rs 500-crore institute will come up on a 76.83-hectare plot at Marabhita in Kamrup district, near Palashbari
A file image of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. (Photo:@himantabiswa/X)
Guwahati, Aug 14: The city is set to become home to Assam’s first Indian Institute of Management (IIM) after the Union Cabinet approved the establishment of the premier business school — only the second in the Northeast and the 22nd in the country.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, addressing a press meet at Lok Sewa Bhawan on Thursday, said the permanent campus will come up at Palasbari and will be mentored by IIM-Ahmedabad.
The state government will provide a temporary campus to enable classes to start within the year. The Union Cabinet cleared the Rs 500-crore project on August 12.
“This is a historic moment for Assam. Once the IIM starts functioning, the state will have every major central government institute, making Guwahati a hub of flagship educational institutions in India,” Sarma said.
Chief Minister had earlier said the approval came after a sustained push over the past 18 months, during which a strong case for an IIM in Assam was presented to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and senior officials of the ministry.
On Thursday, he recalled that Assam had earlier proposed Guwahati for the first IIM in the Northeast, but the institute went to Meghalaya. “Now, with this approval, we have achieved what we had long aimed for,” he added.
The Chief Minister said the IIM would not only strengthen Assam’s higher education profile but also contribute to the region’s economic growth.
“We are working to ensure Assam becomes a centre for top-tier education and talent development for the entire Northeast,” he noted.
According to a letter from PK Banerjee, Joint Secretary in the Union Education Ministry, to the director of IIM-Ahmedabad, the new institute will be set up on a 76.83-hectare plot at Marabhita village, near Guwahati.
IIM-Ahmedabad, as mentor institute, was earlier tasked with preparing a detailed project report in consultation with the Assam Higher Education Department and submitting it to the Ministry for further action.
Sarma had first announced the proposal in June, 2024, calling the upcoming Guwahati IIM a “game changer” that would cement Assam’s position as an education hub for eastern India.
With inputs from agencies