Dharmendra Pradhan Calls on IIMs to Lead India’s Journey Towards Viksit Bharat 2047

The Education Minister stressed that future-ready management education must combine innovation with ethical and values-driven leadership.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has called on the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to play a transformative role in shaping Viksit Bharat 2047, urging the country's premier management institutions to evolve into globally competitive centres of innovation, leadership, and nation-building.

Pradhan, who also serves as Chairman of the Coordination Forum of IIMs, chaired the high-level Coordination Forum Meeting of Indian Institutes of Management held at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad campus on Thursday.

The meeting was convened by the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education in collaboration with IIM Ahmedabad and brought together:

• Chairpersons of Boards of Governors of IIMs

• Directors of IIMs

• Senior officials from the Department of Higher Education

• Representatives of the Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh governments

The discussions focused on strengthening institutional coordination, enhancing academic excellence, improving student welfare, and positioning India's management education ecosystem for future global challenges.

IIMs Positioned as Drivers of Viksit Bharat 2047

Addressing the gathering, Pradhan said India's IIMs have evolved into powerful catalysts of economic transformation and nation-building while increasingly gaining recognition as global models of excellence in management education.

He emphasised that the institutions now have a larger responsibility in contributing to India's long-term development vision under Viksit Bharat 2047.

According to the Minister, the discussions centred around:

• Academic excellence

• Institutional coordination

• Innovation ecosystems

• Student welfare

• Global competitiveness

• Leadership development

Pradhan said India's top management institutes must now prepare to address emerging global economic, technological, and social challenges while helping strengthen India's position in the global knowledge economy.

Innovation and Values-Driven Education Key Priorities

The Education Minister stressed that future-ready management education must combine innovation with ethical and values-driven leadership.

"By nurturing innovation ecosystems, adapting to emerging global challenges, and fostering values-driven education, IIMs can evolve into national assets that contribute significantly to India's journey towards becoming a developed nation," Pradhan said.

He added that stronger IIMs would also help amplify India's influence in global academic, economic, and policy discussions.

Education experts increasingly view higher education institutions — particularly management and technology institutes — as critical drivers of:

• Economic growth

• Entrepreneurship

• Startup ecosystems

• Policy innovation

• Global competitiveness

Coordination Forum Seen as Strategic Platform

Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, Shri Vineet Joshi, highlighted the importance of the Coordination Forum in strengthening collaboration across the IIM ecosystem.

He said the platform provides an important institutional mechanism for:

• Policy coordination

• Sharing best practices

• Strengthening governance

• Improving operational alignment among IIMs

The meeting reflected growing efforts by the Ministry of Education to ensure greater coordination and strategic planning across India's premier higher education institutions.

Major Reforms and Policy Discussions Held

The Coordination Forum deliberated on several critical policy and institutional matters affecting the future direction of India's management education system.

Focus on Viksit Bharat Goals

One of the central themes was defining how IIMs can directly contribute to India's long-term developmental ambitions under the Viksit Bharat 2047 framework.

Discussions explored how management education can support:

• Economic transformation

• Innovation-led growth

• Public policy development

• Entrepreneurship

• Global competitiveness

UG Entrance Exams May Be Aligned with Future Skill Needs

The meeting also discussed the need to align undergraduate entrance examinations with the evolving future requirements of the country.

Officials examined how admission systems can better reflect emerging priorities such as:

• Technological capability

• Analytical thinking

• Innovation

• Interdisciplinary learning

• Future workforce requirements

The deliberations come amid broader national conversations around reforming India's higher education entrance and evaluation systems to better prepare students for rapidly changing global economic and technological environments.

SOPs for MBA Admissions and Student Migration Discussed

The forum also considered developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for:

• MBA admissions

• Inter-IIM student migration

• Fee refund policies

The move is expected to improve:

• Transparency

• Administrative consistency

• Student mobility

• Institutional coordination

Education analysts say standardised frameworks across IIMs could help create a more student-friendly and harmonised management education ecosystem.

New Faculty Exchange and Secondment Policy Proposed

A significant proposal discussed during the meeting was the development of a secondment policy aimed at strengthening faculty exposure and institutional collaboration.

The proposed framework would enable:

• Young faculty members to gain exposure across different IIMs

• Support for newer IIMs through faculty sharing

• Cross-institutional academic collaboration

• Knowledge exchange between established and emerging campuses

Officials say the policy could help address disparities in academic resources and strengthen the overall quality of teaching and research across the IIM network.

Reservation Policy Implementation Reviewed

The Coordination Forum also discussed implementation of reservation rosters for:

• Faculty positions

• Non-faculty appointments

The issue remains an important aspect of broader efforts to ensure equity, diversity, and inclusiveness in higher education institutions.

IIMs Expanding Global Influence

India's IIMs have increasingly expanded their global presence in recent years through:

• International collaborations

• Research partnerships

• Global rankings

• Executive education programmes

• Startup incubation ecosystems

Several IIMs now rank among Asia's leading business schools and play an increasingly influential role in management research, entrepreneurship development, and public policy discussions.

Analysts say the government's emphasis on aligning IIMs with national development goals reflects a broader strategy to position higher education institutions as central pillars of India's economic transformation and global competitiveness.