Established in the year 1963 by the government of India along with the assistance of UNDP and the ILO, The National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, achieved a significant milestone on 12 July 2023. The Union Cabinet approved an amendment to the IIM Act, making NITIE Mumbai as the 21st IIM and renaming it IIM Mumbai, coinciding with the institute's Diamond Jubilee Year celebration.
IIM Mumbai is the second IIM in Maharashtra alongside IIM Nagpur. NITIE as an institution used to only offer diplomas to the candidates but with the IIM designation, they will be providing Graduation courses as well.
With the IIM designation, significant changes and reforms are now underway at the institution. In an exclusive interview with FPJ, Director Mr. Manoj Tiwari shared the journey and initiation of making NITIE an IIM in Mumbai.
He mentioned that the process was initially initiated by Anand Mahindra, an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, who wrote a letter to the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2008.
"This institute was primarily known for industrial engineering. Anand Mahindra wrote a letter in 2008 to the Prime Minister to make NITIE an IIM, but there was no significant progress at that time," he explained.
Despite several attempts over the years, progress remained elusive. However, a turning point came when the new Chairman, Mr. Shashi Kiran Shetty, joined the institution, reigniting discussions on this issue. "We came to a conclusion to align with this process," Mr. Tiwari stated.
Following this decision by the Chairman and other board members, a proposal was presented to the Ministry Of Education (India) as another attempt. Fortunately, this time, the Ministry Of Education showed its support and acknowledgement.
"We received a lot of support, with the government secretary and the chairman accompanying us to the Ministry Of Education for the proposal. We also had support from various social organizations and well-wishers who had connections with the government. So all this help was provided" Mr. Tiwari added.
Despite facing many hurdles, the NITIE board and the Ministry Of Education persevered in their efforts. Subsequently, a committee was formed under the leadership of Mr. Ashish Chauhan, the current managing director and chief executive officer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
"The committee had five members, including the directors of IIT Bombay, IIT BHU, and IITG, along with industrialist Mr. Pradeep Goel," Mr. Tiwari continued.
According to him, this committee formally engaged with stakeholders and other IIM directors on three different occasions and received support from all quarters.
After that, the report was accepted by the government of India and then the cabinet was formed and all the formalities were carried out accordingly.
Mr. Tiwari also revealed, "This takes a lot of time because ultimately it goes to the parliament and there is a procedure. So several iterations have been made actually but I can say one thing, we got full support from the ministry."
"Our chairman board of the governor is highly committed to this purpose and that made the process very very simple.", he concluded.
The IIM Mumbai is all set to welcome eligible candidates for the academic year 2024-25. A lot of infrastructural development like making new hostels and FinTech labs is underway at the institution.
Candidates can check out their official website for the application forms.
