Suchana Bhavan on Kanke road from where IIM, Ranchi, will temporarily function. File picture

Ranchi/Jamshedpur, Jan. 31: All you wannabe MBAs buckle up. IIM, Jharkhand, is all set to take off this summer.

The state HRD department has forwarded a list of candidates for the post of officer on special duty (OSD) to IIM, Joka — the mentor institute for the upcoming management cradle in Ranchi — which, in all probability, will make the appointment in the first week of February.

Director of higher education Anjani Srivastava, who visited the steel city today, said that though all other appointments — faculty members and administrative officials — would be made by the HRD ministry, the state would help appoint the OSD to catalyse efforts to begin the session by March-April.

“The officer will be appointed in the first week of February. The common admission test (CAT) this year has included the state IIM (60 seats) and the job (of starting classes) we have at hand is urgent,” Srivastava said.

IIM, Joka, will interview prospective candidates in Ranchi.

The OSD’s role will be of a liaison officer for IIM, Ranchi. He or she will co-ordinate with the mentor institute, the HRD ministry and state HRD department.

Classes will temporarily start at Suchana Bhavan on Kanke road, near Raj Bhavan. The over 200-acre plot that will house the permanent IIM building in Ranchi is yet to be handed over.

Besides expediting the process of beginning classes at IIM, Ranchi, the HRD department has also finished hunt for acres to house the permanent building of Central University of Jharkhand, formed last year.

The varsity currently functions from a panchayati raj building in Brambe.

“The permanent address of Central University of Jharkhand will be Sukurhutu in Kanke. The total area required is 500 acres and a part of it is inhabited. We need to chalk out a rehabilitation plan. We are also waiting for the central site selection team to come for final approval,” Srivastava said.

While the IIM and varsity projects are on track, 12 proposed colleges under UGC may take some more time. The UGC, under the 11th five-year plan, proposed 374 colleges in backward districts of the country.

But, according to the higher education director, building infrastructure would be a problem in the state.