IIM Ahmedabad to introduce reservation policy in PhD admissions starting 2025

Until now, the elite B-school had resisted applying reservations for SCs, STs, OBCs, and EWS in its research program.

IIM Ahmedabad has announced the implementation of the government-mandated reservation policy in its PhD admissions, a significant shift for the institution that has not historically reserved seats for underrepresented communities in its Fellow Programme in Management since its establishment in 1971.

The online announcement for the PhD program states, “Govt of India guidelines for reservation are followed during admissions.” This landmark decision comes after sustained advocacy from SC/ST activists and a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Global IIM Alumni Network in the Gujarat High Court in 2021, which aimed to enforce reservation provisions at IIM Ahmedabad, noting that 10 other IIMs had already adopted similar quotas for their doctoral programs.

In response to the PIL, IIM Ahmedabad had submitted an affidavit in October 2023, confirming its intention to implement the reservation policy for the 2025 intake. Until now, the elite B-school had resisted applying reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in its research program.

According to the Central Educational Institution (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, central government institutions must reserve 15 percent of seats for SCs, 7.5 percent for STs, and 27 percent for OBCs. The government has also instituted a 10 percent quota for EWS in admissions and jobs in central educational institutions through separate legislation.

The latest advertisement for IIM Ahmedabad’s PhD admissions specifies that “candidates will be shortlisted based on their performance in the CAT or a standard test in lieu of the CAT, academic background, experience, etc. IIMA may conduct online or face-to-face interviews, depending on health advisories at that time. The admission interviews are expected to occur in March-April 2025.”

Anil Wagde, a founding member of the Global IIM Alumni Network, noted that IIM Ahmedabad was the last IIM to implement reservations in its PhD program. He criticised the previous lack of action, stating that it was unjustified and emphasised that the fight would continue until IIM Ahmedabad also implements reservation in faculty recruitment.