The Indian Institute of Management-Ranchi, the youngest IIM in the country is also its cheapest. It will charge Rs 6 lakh for its flagship two-year post-graduate programme. This is less than half the amount that IIM- Ahmedabad, the most expensive of the country’s eight IIMs, charges. The fees at IIM-Ahmedabad are Rs 13.7 lakh for a two-year post-graduate course.

“Unlike other IIMs, IIM-Ranchi is receiving grants from the Ministry of Human Resource Development to come up with its infrastructure. Hence, the course fee would help IIM-Ranchi to sustain itself in the initial years,” said Dinesh Verma,

Chief Administrative Officer of IIM-Calcutta, which is mentoring IIM-Ranchi. IIM-Calcutta sources pointed out that the fees at the new business school were kept lower mainly to attract talented students who are unable to pay high fees at other IIMs.

Also, with the infrastructure not yet in place and recruitment of faculty members not yet over, many students may not go to IIM-Ranchi unless the fees are low enough to attract them.

However, it has not yet been decided whether scholarships would be offered. “These decisions will be taken by the board of governors of IIM-R. The board is being formed under the leadership R.C. Bhargava (former CMD of Maruti-Suzuki). Once it is formed, scholarships and other details would be decided,” said Verma.

IIM-R plans to admit 56 students this year. Those who have scored 95 percentiles in the Common Admission Test have been called for group discussions and personal interviews. IIM-Calcutta is preparing to recruit faculty members for IIM-R.