Bangalore: The government is in favor of granting full autonomy to the boards of the state-run Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to select their respective chairman and director, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday.

"We want the IIM boards to select their respective chairman and director so that we (the government) distance ourselves from the (selection) process. The board can set up a search committee and give us the names to be appointed," Sibal told reporters here.

Reiterating that the boards of B-schools should function cohesively and effectively, Sibal said the managements would given the kind of autonomy they need to function in an environment in which they can provide solutions to the government.

"The governance structures of the B-schools must also change. Their boards must be effective, cohesive and efficient. We want all stakeholders to be represented on the board," Sibal said on the margins of the IIM-Bangalore 36th annual convocation.

Noting that the board must have a leadership of its choice to lead the institution, Sibal said the IIM-B was blessed with a leader (Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries Ltd) as its chairman, who has shown the global community how in the most difficult of circumstances, Indian companies could be global players.

"For him (Ambani) to chair for a second term and take the kind of interest is something I feel grateful for. It shows how our business community has realized that without excellence in education and investment in education, not in terms of just money but time, the country cannot move forward," Sibal said. IANS