ANAND, GUJARAT – The Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), founded by the architect of India’s “Operation Flood” and long a specialized training ground for cooperative managers, is undergoing a sweeping change into a broader university, despite a history of success focused on rural development. An Act of Parliament has integrated IRMA into Tribhuvan Sahkari University, a move that alumni and faculty say risks diluting its unique legacy.
For decades,IRMA deliberately cultivated a niche distinct from larger management schools,producing professionals for cooperative societies,NGOs,and dairy unions – not customary consulting or banking roles. However, the new university structure, sanctioned with a Rs 500 crore seed fund, will incorporate three new colleges: the School of Agribusiness Management, the School of Cooperative Banking & Finance, and the School of Cooperative Management.
The plan, as outlined by former IRMA Director Umakant Dash in April, aims to affiliate approximately 300 small and medium institutions nationwide, creating a national cooperative education system centered around IRMA. This expansion will impact students through shared placement seasons and rebrand the institute’s identity for alumni.
“IRMA could have stayed a rural management institute, with ’cooperative’ as one among many tools,” said Pankaj Ballabh, an IRMA alumnus and veteran of the CSR and NGO sectors in Rajasthan. “But that’s not the vision anymore.”
