Pune: Revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday said state govt had approved a proposal to allocate 70 acres of gairan land (reserved for grazing) at Moshi in Pimpri Chinchwad to set up a branch of the Indian Institute of Management-Nagpur. The process to complete the plot’s transfer to the institute would be over soon, he said in a press statement.Confirming the development, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai: “It is expected that institutes like IIM expand their presence across the country. We received a proposal from IIM-Nagpur to establish a campus in Pimpri Chinchwad. Step by step, all related processes are being completed, and very soon, we will see an IIM campus in Pune,” he said.Bhimaraya Metri, director of IIM-Nagpur, told TOI that the Pune campus would roll out a flagship programme in data science and management, the first-of-its-kind offering by an IIM from an extension campus. “No other IIM in the country has launched its flagship programme outside its main campus,” he said.Pune was chosen as the location since it was among the country’s top five IT hubs, Metri said. “The Pune campus will be on the lines of our 132-acre Nagpur campus, with facilities such as an incubation centre, part-time and weekend courses for industry professionals, etc,” he said.The proposal to set up IIM-Nagpur’s branch in Pune was first mooted in 2023. While seven to eight sites were considered, Moshi was finalised due to its proximity to industrial hubs such as Chakan, Talegaon, Ranjangaon MIDCs, and Hinjewadi IT Park, officials said.Known as the Oxford of the East, Pune has a strong presence of academic institutes but lacks an IIT or IIM. “The time has come for institutions to go to industries, instead of industries coming to institutions. Since Pune is one of the major industrial hubs in the country, it was the most suitable destination for our new campus,” Metri said.The director also said that the Pune campus would be IIM-Nagpur’s first branch, with plans to expand further to Goa, Hyderabad, and even Singapore in the coming years. Bhosari BJP MLA Mahesh Landge, who was following up the demand with state govt, said, “Pimpri Chinchwad is an industrial city where people from all corners of the country reside. Considering its Mumbai-Pune connectivity, industrial growth, and academic environment, the establishment of an institute like IIM is a matter of pride for the city.”
