Minister of State for Human Resource Development Mahendra Nath Pandey, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, said 13 of the 20 Indian Institutes of Management were functioning without directors, The Times of India reported on Tuesday. Pandey said the IIMs at Bengaluru, Kozhikode, Rohtak, Ranchi, Raipur, Udaipur, Tiruchirappalli, Amritsar, Sirmaur, Bodh Gaya, Sambalpur, Nagpur and Visakhapatnam had no administrative heads.

The English daily report said the ministry was yet to finalise a candidate for 10 of the 13 institutes, despite having a shortlist provided by the search-cum-selection committees six months ago. Officials reportedly said HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has not taken a decision yet.

The ministry claimed that the delay has not really affected the functioning of the institutes, which are being guided by the directors from mentor IIMs in the case of the six new institutes-IIM Amritsar, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Sambalpur, IIM Nagpur and IIM Visakhapatnam. In the case of the other institutes awaiting directors, the tenures of the incumbent heads have been extended or the senior-most professor is serving as an adhoc director.