A write-up titled “IIPM: The B-School with a Human Face,” was published in the Delhi edition of The Hindu on September 2, 2012 as part of what was clearly marked as an “Advertisers’ Feature” on the Delhi Book Fair. The material was supplied to our Advertisement Department by representatives of the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM). It was published with the clear understanding on the part of all concerned that it was paid-for advertisement material and not editorial matter.

Given these facts and circumstances, it was illegal and unethical for IIPM to include a line in an advertisement it recently placed in certain newspapers that “IIPM has been called the B-School with a ‘Human Face’ by The Hindu,” implying an endorsement of its credentials by this newspaper. The Hindu was in fact approached by IIPM’s representatives last week seeking to publish the same advertisement, but we insisted that the inaccurate claim about The Hindu having described it as a “B-School with a human face” be deleted from it. IIPM refused to do this and went ahead and placed the advertisement in several newspapers.

The Hindu hereby would like to make it clear to current and prospective students of IIPM that it has not made any such editorial endorsement of the institution. We have now formally written to IIPM asking it to refrain from repeating the claim, and putting it on notice of our intent to proceed suitably against it if it persists in doing so.

— Siddharth Varadarajan,

Editor, The Hindu