While IIM-B is ready to go global, the other key IIMs would rather concentrate on establishments back home. Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Calcutta (IIM-C) and Lucknow (IIM-L) are not considering operations beyond the Indian shores as yet. In Singapore, IIM-B will be positioned against international B-schools like the French school, insead. Currently operating in a protected market, the IIMs nestle safely on the top. This raises the question whether IIM-B is adequately armed to take on the global challenge because failure to meet foreign competition head-on might tarnish its brand equity.

"If Government opens up, Harvard and Stanford can easily out-do the IIMs." M.G. PARAMESWARAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FCB-ULKA "Instead of spreading everywhere, IIMs should beef up and be the best in India." RASHMI BANSAL, EDITOR, JAM

The country's premier knowledge factories are also not high on resources-faculty and funds. Though paucity of quality faculty is said to be a global problem, the IIMs, in particular, need to augment their pool of professors and hold on to them by increasing remuneration in keeping with the times. "Even if you think of going out, where are the quality teachers?" says C.D. Bhattacharya, dean of Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi. With the possible advent of foreign universities in India, putting the home front in order does seem to be an obvious priority. "If the Government opens up, Harvard and Stanford can easily put in $20 million, fly in their faculty and out-do the IIMs," says M.G. Parameswaran, executive director, Foote Cone & Belding (FCB)-Ulka, and also an IIM-C alumna.

Dearth of quality faculty stems from the fact that not many PhDs and fellowship programmes are being conducted by the Indian B-schools to bridge the gap between demand and supply. With monthly salaries as low as Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 for fellowship programmes, it is no surprise that the institutes fail to attract potential professors (see box). "It is a vicious circle. There are not enough professors and since remunerations are low, not many are attracted to the profession," says Devi Singh, director of IIM-L. "You can't say that you are the best and sit on that. We need to take notice of the fact that we don't have quality faculty and PhD programmes."

Last year, about 1.55 lakh students took the central admission test (cat), designed to sift the best from many. The number of applicants was reported to have gone up by 12 per cent as compared to 2004. The aspirants vied for about 1,200 seats-among all six IIMs-for the post-graduate programme in management (PGP). The disparity between the number of seats and the count of aspirants simply highlights the need for these B-schools to hike capacity and cater to the ever-growing number of Indian students. Calcutta, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Indore (IIM-I) and Kozhikode (IIM-K) have already decided to increase their capacity (see box).

IIM-L now has a 20-acre campus in Noida, while IIM-C is planning to increase its number of seats for the PGP from 275 to 300 along with additional hostel facilities. IIM-L will also be increasing its PGP capacity from 300 to 360 seats. Both IIM-L and IIM-K have expansion plans as well but are yet to chalk out the details. "The bigger threat is that foreign universities are coming to India. Instead of spreading everywhere, it is ideal to beef up and be the best in India," says Rashmi Bansal, an alumnae of IIM-A and editor of JAM magazine.

Another school of thought strongly believes this is not a case of either-or. The IIMs need to address issues such as lack of funds and faculty at home, but their move into the global arena need not be stifled. An alumna of IIM-C and the managing director of Rotork Controls India, Ajay Jayaram, argues both points of view. On one hand, he agrees that while the IIMs rule the roost within the country, they have a long way to go even in terms of Asian rankings, more so, global rankings. On the other hand, if their global forays generate surplus revenue that at least partially addresses domestic needs, it is a possible option. "Succeeding in your backyard against mediocre opposition is simply not good enough," says Jayaram.

If these B-schools want to retain their glory in India and make a dent in the foreign market, they need to tackle the key issues plaguing them. Venturing into a foreign territory might guarantee additional revenue, global exposure and, perhaps, more visibility in that region.

However, the cons seem to eclipse the pros of this move. Global exposure can be acquired by short-term courses, student and faculty exchange programmes, international level researches and consultancy projects. If the possible onslaught of foreign universities has to be met at home, the IIMs need to strengthen their pool of quality faculty and work towards creating world-class infrastructure.

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