No RGIIM but IIM Shillong: Meghalaya govt

Shillong, Apr 22 (UNI) The Meghalaya government has decided to ask the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development to drop the prefix of Rajiv Gandhi from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Shillong.

Official source said here today that the seventh IIM, christened the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (RGIIM), Shillong, will get a grant for non-recurring expenditure of Rs 120 crore over a period of five years and Rs 45 crore for recurring expenditure over a period of six years.

''IIM is a brand name and calling it as RGIIM will be diluting the importance of the institute. The suggestion is accepted and the issue will be taken up with the appropriate authorities of the Centre,'' Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr Donkupar Roy told the Assembly yesterday.

Notably, senior Congress Legislator Prestone Tynsong, who raised the matter in the Assembly during the Governor's address, said the students may have the feeling that the RGIIM's importance was diuted as compared to the other six IIMs.

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