IIM-A to enforce reservation in PhD from 2025

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) has stated that "Government of India guidelines for reservation are followed during admission" in response to a submission made to the Gujarat High Court last year indicating that it may implement reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes as well as disabled candidates in the doctoral program in the academic year starting 2025.

Following a public interest lawsuit (PIL) filed in 2021 by Anil Wagde, a member of the Global IIM Alumni Network, an association of IIM graduates, seeking the implementation of reservation in IIMA's PhD programs, the clause was included in the online applications for doctoral programs released last weekend.

With regard to the implementation of the reservation, IIM-A was the only one of the 20 IIMs that was left. From September 19 until January 20, online applications are being accepted. We intended to file a petition with the Supreme Court if the IIMA did not specify in its affidavit filed last year the date on which the reservation would take effect, as we did not receive a response to our recent reminder to the director of the IIMA two weeks ago. Even though Anil Wagde stated it verbally, it was not included in the affidavit.

According to the PIL, there was a "gross violation" of the University Grants Commission's regulations, the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, and the constitution when reservations were not offered for the PhD program at IIMA, which started in 1971. According to the report, at least 15 out of the 20 IIMs provide reservations for comparable programs.

Regarding the implementation, Wagde stated, "We will wait for further implementation before attempting to obtain information regarding the number of applicants who were selected for further consideration." IIMA had previously declared under oath in an affidavit that the institute has "voluntarily taken a decision to provide for reservation in the PhD programme also," but it had not given a timeframe for when it would put the decision into effect.