Despite the Indian Institutes of Management expanding their operations, non-Plan grants to the institutes have come down around 50 per cent over the last two years. The paucity of funds has mainly hit the three big IIMs -- at Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Kolkata.

This belies the human resources development ministry's recent assurances that it will meet any shortfall of funds to the IIMs. The funds squeeze has hit IIM-Bangalore the most.

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Both IIM-Calcutta and IIM-Ahmedabad have received lesser non-Plan grants since 2000-01. Moreover, these institutes are still in the dark over the allocations for the current fiscal.

While the non-Plan grant for the three big IIMs was Rs 33 crore (Rs 330 million) in 2000-01, it was hiked to Rs 33.06 crore (Rs 330.6 million) in 2001-02. However, in the last fiscal, it was drastically slashed to Rs 18 crore (Rs 180 million). Non-Plan grants are the main resources of the IIMs, and are used to finance recurring annual expenditures.

IIM-Bangalore received a non-Plan grant of Rs 9.36 crore (Rs 93.6 million) during 2000-01, which was raised by Rs 400,000 to Rs 9.4 crore (Rs 94 million) next year. However, the ministry slashed the grant by 50 per cent to Rs 4.57 crore (Rs 45.7 million) in the last fiscal.

IIM-Bangalore is planning to increase its faculty and provide them with more facilities for intensive research. The drastic reduction of grants will certainly hit its plans. The institute is still awaiting this year's allocation and has reasons to believe that it will be slashed further.

IIM-Calcutta, which received Rs 11.82 crore (Rs 118.2 million) in 2000-01, was given just Rs 100,000 more in the next year. In the last fiscal, the institute got only Rs 5.53 crore (Rs 55.3 million).

Like IIM-Bangalore, IIM-Calcutta is yet to get its current year's grant. Even the Plan grant, which covers expenses for buying computers and maintaining library facilities among others, came down in the last fiscal to Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 15 million), against Rs 2.46 crore (Rs 24.6 million) in 2001-02.

IIM-Bangalore was luckier as its Plan grant was increased by Rs 70 lakh (Rs 7 million) to Rs 2.7 crore (Rs 27 million) in the last fiscal. IIM-Ahmedabad received a non-Plan grant of Rs 11.82 crore (Rs 118.2 million) in 2000-01, which went up to Rs 11.83 crore (Rs 118.3 million) in the next fiscal. However, it came down to Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) in the last fiscal.

"This year the grant may even be scrapped," an institute source said. IIM-Ahmedabad's Plan grant, however, was increased by Rs 1.13 crore (Rs 11.3 million) in the last fiscal to Rs 2.7 crore (Rs 27 million), against Rs 1.57 crore (Rs 15.7 million) in 2001-02.