New Delhi: The Shunglu Committee, which went into the financial needs of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), is understood to have backed the drastic fee reduction mooted by Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi.

The three IIMs at Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Kolkata could do without charging any fee at all, the one-man committee appointed by Joshi and headed by V K Shunglu, former comptroller and auditor general (CAG), is understood to have said in its report to the Government, Ministry sources said.

The committee was set up in the wake of the sharp reduction of fees from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 30,000, which has stirred the hornet's nest and the issue landing up in the Supreme Court.

The report is believed to have said that these IIMs could do very well with the grant provided by the Government alone. Observing that these IIMs have been built up over the years, the report said they have enough resources to sustain themselves.

The committee found it "intriguing" that despite enjoying this financial position, these IIMs were raising the "bogey of interference" in their autonomy and shortfall in funds.

A copy of the report was likely to be given to Joshi on Thursday (May 6, 2004).

The committee was appointed in February this year to look into the financial structure, funding and fee structure of the six IIMs in the country.