By Prashant K. Nanda
Lucknow, March 16 (IANS) The Indian Institute of Management-Lucknow (IIM-L) will admit 330 students for its two-year management programmes starting in the new academic year. It has also increased the course fee by Rs.50,000 a year. “We are taking 30 students more this time in the postgraduate programme (PGP),” IIM-Lucknow director Devi Singh told IANS in an interview.

“Of the 330 students, 300 will be for the famous PGP on management and 30 in our agribusiness programme. This is the highest intake by any IIM so far,” he said.

Singh said the student intake had increased from 240 in 2004. “Similarly, the intake in fellow programme in management has increased.”

Speaking about the preparedness to meet the extra intake and accommodate a possible 27 percent quota for other backward class students (if the Supreme Court gives a go ahead), he said the institute had spent Rs.600 million in building new infrastructure.

“The expenditure was done in last four years. IIM-Lucknow currently has about Rs.650 million in liquid investments as corpus, endowment funds and special purpose funds,” the 55-year-old professor said.

India has decided to implement 27 percent quota for OBC students in all government aided institutes of higher learning but the Supreme Court has stayed the government order for the time being.

Following the example of IIM Ahmedabad, IIM-Bangalore and IIM-Kolkata, the 22-year-old top B-School here too has increased its course fee.

“We have increased the course fee by just Rs.50,000. This definitely is much lesser than (the hike by) our three other business schools,” he added.

Fees for the first year for students joining IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Kolkata will be Rs.300,000 from the coming academic year, against Rs.200,000 now.

Similarly, IIM-Bangalore has increased the fee from Rs.250,000 for a year to 400,000.

Currently, India has seven IIMs including the yet to start IIM-Shilong. The new institute will open with the coming academic year.

Singh said the institute had given scholarship to meritorious but needy students. In 2007-08 IIM-Lucknow gave scholarships worth Rs.4.8 million to 86 of its students.