Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the IIM (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in Lok Sabha to designate IIM Guwahati as a national institution, making it the 22nd IIM in India.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma hailed the move as a “significant development,” accusing Congress of obstructing the Bill’s introduction in Parliament.
The institute will begin classes this year under IIM Ahmedabad’s mentorship, with a permanent campus planned in Kamrup district near Guwahati.
Government has introduced a bill proposing to include IIM Guwahati as an institution of national importance in the schedule of the Indian Institutes of Management Act .
The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday, amidst the commotion caused by the opposition around the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral registers. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan tabled the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
According to PTI, the draft law states that a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) for the state's overall development was signed by the Centre of the Assam government and members of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).
The MoS states that a Special Development Package (SDP) will be used by the Union government to carry out a variety of developmental projects.
One of the objectives under the SDP is the establishment of an IIM in Guwahati as a national institution.
The Schedule to the IIM Act lists all 21 of the IIMs that have currently been designated as institutions of national importance.
The Assam government has requested for establishment of an IIM in the state, keeping in view the geographical location of the state and its all-round development.
"Assam is one of the very few states with more than three crore population which does not have an IIM. As per the latest published results of the All-India Survey of Higher Education, more than five and a half lakh students are enrolled in higher education institutions in Assam," the Bill noted.
"Assam is at the centre stage of all-around development of the region. Establishing an IIM at Assam shall boost the overall education and development of the region and open up significant opportunities for the students of the North Eastern Region of India to develop managerial skills," it said.
The Bill said that until the first Board of IIM Guwahati is established under this Act, the Central government may designate one or more individuals to exercise and carry out all the rights and duties that could be carried out by or on behalf of such a Board.
Himanta Condemns Congress
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday criticised the Congress for allegedly obstructing the introduction of a bill in Parliament to set up an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Guwahati by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
''Today, the anti-Assam attitude of the Congress has once again been exposed in Parliament. When Hon’ble Union Minister Shri @dpradhanbjp Ji rose to lay the Bill for establishing the first ever Indian Institute of Management in Assam, the entire INDI bloc, led by Cong, attempted to obstruct the process by shouting and creating disruption'', the Chief Minister posted on 'X'.
Sarma praised Pradhan for not caving in to their pressure and vehemently denounced "this anti-Assam stance of Congress."
He went on to say that the bill's laying is a "significant development for Assam."
“My gratitude to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji and Hon'ble Education Minister Shri @dpradhanbjp ji for their leadership in this matter'', he said.
''Look forward to the support from Parliamentarians across the political spectrum for this key endeavour'', he added.
The Union cabinet had approved the setting up of IIM-Guwahati last week.
The second Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in the Northeast and the 22nd in the nation will be IIM-Guwahati.
During a news conference last week, Sarma stated that IIM-Ahmedabad will serve as the institute's mentor and that plans are underway to start classes this year at a temporary facility supplied by the state government.
The permanent campus would be established in the Kamrup district at Palasbari, close to Guwahati.
According to him, Guwahati will have all of its key institutions—IIT, National Law University, AIIMS, and Forensic University—operational with the establishment of the IIM.
In 2007, Shillong became home to the first IIM in the Northeast.
