Bangalore: Former Space Commission Chairman U R Rao today (Feb 7, 2004) described as a "bogey" fears expressed by Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) that the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry would snatch away their autonomy by increasing its grants.

"It is a bogey. The HRD Ministry would increase the grants, what they have lost in the fees. Till five years ago, the fees were very low and the autonomy was maintained," Rao, a former Director of IIT-Madras, who was also a member of the governing council of IIM-Bangalore and other IITs, said.

He was reacting to the Government decision to drastically slash the fees of IIM students, a decision criticised by the Institutes as an attempt to erode their autonomy.

He said the recommendations made by a committee headed by him on quality of technical education in the country did not cover the IITs and the IIMs.

"The report does not deal with seven IITs and the six IIMs, but (with) other 924 management institutes and over 1,200 engineering colleges," Rao said.

He said that Union HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi might have slashed the fees in IIMs based on the principles of the report, which was co-authored by former IIT director P V Indiresan, former Special Secretary in the Union HRD Ministry Ashok Chandra and former secretary of Rural Development, Kiran Agarwal.

Rao said the faculty should be encouraged to undertake assignments from the industry, which the recommendatory report for the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has suggested.