IIM-C hikes annual fees by Rs 1 lakh

Indian Institute of Management - Calcutta (IIM-C) has decided to hike the annual fees by Rs 1 lakh per student to Rs 3 lakh per year for students taking admission this year.

The fees would be hiked further by another lakh to Rs 4 lakh per year for students taking admission to IIM-C from 2009.

The decison to hike the fees was finalised at the board of governors' meeting and there would be no impact on existing students, Shekhar Chaudhuri, director, IIM-C, said. The institute had increased fees by Rs 25,000 last year.

"Costs have risen and are expected to increase even further once the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations are implemented," Chaudhari said when asked about the reason behind the hike in fees.

The decision was also taken keeping in view the fee increase at other IIMs like IIM-Ahmedabad, IIM-Bangalore and other institutes.

IIM-Bangalore has increased annual fees for first-year students to Rs 3.5 lakh, an IIM-C official said.

IIM-C currently incurs a deficit of Rs 1.5 lakh on every student each year, the official said. "The fee increase will help us meet growing expenditure, while providing students better opportunities and improved facilities," the IIM-C official spokesperson said.

IIM-C has also effected a change in the need-based scholarship scheme. So far, students from households with annual income of up to Rs 2 lakh were eligible for scholarships offered by the institute. From this year, the eligibility margin has been increased to Rs 4 lakh.

"There are at least 25-30 students who benefit from fee waivers every year. The new scheme will encourage more students from financially-weak backgrounds to seek admission," Chaudhuri said.