Suchana Bhavan, the temporary IIM address in Ranchi, on Tuesday. Picture Manik Bose

Ranchi, July 6: The country’s ninth Indian Institute of Management was inaugurated by Governor MOH Farook today in the presence of a host of dignitaries and the first batch of 45 students, but it will have to function out of two temporary campuses before a final decision is taken on its permanent home.

IIM, Ranchi, with its Calcutta counterpart acting as mentor, will be offering a two-year post-graduate programme in management (PGPM) on the temporary campus of Suchana Bhavan, a state building. Facilities at neighbouring Sri Krishna Sinha Institute of Public Administration (SKIPA), where today’s function was held, would be used to house students.

A beaming Saurabh Pratap Singh, one of the 45 students to get admission to the new IIM, said it was heartening to have successfully crossed the admission barrier after a rigorous process that involved a written test, interview and group discussions.

Singh, who is from Balia in eastern Uttar Pradesh, got himself a loan from State Bank of India to fund his studies and stay in Ranchi that would cost him upwards of Rs 6 lakh.

The first batch of Ranchi IIM — the ninth after Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Shillong and the recently inaugurated Rohtak — comprises 44 boys and one girl, Piyusha Baghel from Madhya Pradesh.

Besides Farook, who was the chief guest, the occasion was graced by chairman of the board of governors for IIM, Ranchi R.C. Bhargava, chief secretary A.K. Singh, IIM, Calcutta director Shekhar Choudhury, IIM Calcutta professor and convener for the Ranchi institute B.B. Chakraborty and others from bureaucracy, industry and academic circles.

Interestingly, IIM, Ranchi will be shifting to another temporary facility by the next academic session. Chakraborty mentioned in his speech that the institute would expand by next year and would need to move to the National Games Village in Hotwar.

“Hopefully, the state will be through with the conduct of the National Games by that time,” he said, adding that the institute would offer more seats and courses next year.

As many as 6,294 applications were received for IIM, Ranchi from prospective aspirants with CAT 2009 scores. Out of these, IIM, Calcutta invited 491 students for interview and group discussions. Finally, 45 got admitted while a few other short-listed candidates opted to join elsewhere.

Speaking on the occasion, Farook said IIM, Ranchi could shape its future keeping in mind some key aspects of the state. “Jharkhand is a leading producer of minerals in the country and it is home to some of the major industrial cities such as Jamshedpur, Ranchi and Dhanbad. We have until now failed to leverage our mineral (resources) and natural wealth for the well-being of the people of our state and therein lies the biggest administrative and managerial challenge,” he noted.

Bhargava, who is chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Limited, admitted he was surprised to see that IIM, Ranchi got off the ground. “I must accept that I was apprehensive. But support from the state and IIM, Calcutta ensured that things got going,” he said.

Attracting high-class faculty was a big task, he noted. “And the country still faces a shortage of good managers and IIM, Ranchi will help in achieving a bit of this,” Bhargava hoped.

To begin with, IIM, Calcutta director Choudhury said, students of Ranchi would be taught by renowned faculty members from Joka.

The inauguration ceremony was followed by a classical presentation by Grammy award winning musician Pandit Vishwamohan Bhatt.