IIM Ahmedabad introduces quotas for admissions into PhD programme, here’s what the 2025 advertisement reads

In a first-of-its-kind move, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad has introduced quotas for admissions into its PhD programmes. The latest move is aimed at enabling reserved category candidates comprising of Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes, Other Backwards Classes, and persons with disabilities, to apply for the Doctoral Programme in Management (or Fellow Programme in Management) offered by the top B-School in the country.

While no details have so far been shared by IIM Ahmedabad on how the quota system will be implemented, the online announcement informed that “Govt of India guidelines for reservation are followed during admissions.”

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Also, as per the advertisement, candidates from the reserved categories will be allowed a relaxation of 5 percentage points to the minimum degree marks requirement for eligibility. It reads, “If a candidate belongs to the following reserved categories – Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Persons with Disabilities (PwD)/Non-creamy Other Backward Classes (NC-OBC)/Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), the minimum degree marks requirement for eligibility as part of the basic eligibility criteria given above will be relaxed by 5 percentage points.”

Notably, the decision to introduce quota comes in the backdrop of a 2021 plea filed in the Gujarat High Court which sought the implementation of reservation for the SC, ST, and OBC candidates in IIM Ahmedabad’s PhD programme.

The Global IIM Alumni Network, an alumni association of the IIM, filed the PIL stating that although IIM Ahmedabad was governed and funded by the Union education ministry, it was violating the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 while carrying out the admission process for the PhD programme.

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The IIM Ahmedabad had countered in an affidavit that implementing reservations in the PhD course may have unintended consequences and potentially lead to inequities for other deserving and meritorious students. “It is in the broader interest not to introduce reservation policies,” the B-School stated.

In October 2023, the premier institute told the Gujarat High Court that it was willing to implement reservations for SC, ST, and OBC candidates in its PhD program in due course.

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It may be mentioned here that the doctoral programme offered by IIM Ahmedabad, which commenced in 1971, had no admission quotas for reserved categories earlier.