The Kashmir valley is set to get its first Indian Institute of Management (IIM) off-campus centre soon as the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry on Friday approved an amount of Rs 51 crore for the establishment of a temporary office and its operation.

According to an official, it is expected that the centre, which will be run by IIM Jammu, will be functional this year.

“An amount of Rs 51.80 crore has been approved for the temporary off-campus centre of IIM Jammu in Srinagar. However, the ministry is also keen that the work for the permanent off-centre campus is also taken up expeditiously,” a senior education ministry official said.

The institute is expected to soon start executive courses from its off-campus centre.

According to the official, it was earlier suggested that the institute be located in a 200-acre campus land. But it wasn’t possible to find such a huge plot of land in the congested capital of the state.

It was felt that Srinagar would be a more advantageous location for running management related courses rather than other options like Ganderbal and Pulwama.

It was also decided to settle for a smaller campus, provided it was in a suitable locality and easily accessible.

On July 31, after releasing a new logo and website of IIM Jammu, HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had expressed confidence that the institute will usher in new era of research with primary focus on regional development.

He has expressed his happiness over the starting of off-campus of IIM, Jammu at Srinagar. The minister had given his assurance to the director of IIM Jammu to extend maximum support for the overall development of the premier institution.