While much has been made of the "elitist" nature of the Indian Institutes of Management, the average family income of those getting into these institutes is between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000 a month. The parents of students at IIMs are in the main middle to upper middle level executives, in terms of the income they earn.

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Data on the socio-economic background of its students have just been put out by IIM, Kolkata, in a position paper that also discusses the level of subsidies offered by the institute to its graduates.

IIM, Ahmedabad, is expected to bring out a similar paper in the next few days. The socio-economic background of IIM, Ahmedabad, students, is not expected to be dramatically different from those of IIM, Kolkata.

According to IIM, Kolkata, the average family income was Rs 104,000 for the 1991-93 batch, Rs 229,560 for the 1997-99 batch, Rs 536,700 for the 2002-04 batch and Rs 354,160 for the latest 2003-05 batch.

In 1993 prices, the average income grew from Rs 124,800 in 1991-93 to Rs 211,850 in 2003-05, growing by two-thirds as compared with a 50 per cent rise in the country's per capita income during this period.

The pattern of fees in IIM, Kolkata, has not really affected the background of the students it takes. For the 1991-93 batch, for which fees, including hostel charges, used to be Rs 3,000 a year, over half the students had fathers who were senior executives.

Today, the number of students with senior executive fathers is still the highest, at 46 per cent. The number of parents who are either businessmen or self-employed professionals has tripled over the period, from under 12 per cent to 28 per cent.

In the case of IIM, Ahmedabad, data for the past two decades show almost no change in the income levels of parents, with around 18-20 per cent of its students coming from low-income families, around 58-63 from middle-income families and around 20-22 from high-income families.

Since a middle-income family is classified as one that has an annual income of between Rs 150,000 and Rs 500,000, an average income of Rs 400,000 can safely be assumed. In which case, for IIM, Ahmedabad, as well, the average monthly family income of its students is between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000.

According to the IIM, Kolkata, while it cost Rs 94,000 to educate a student in 1993, the fee charged was a mere Rs 14,000. After deducting the income earned by the institute on placements and exams, each student was effectively subsidised to the tune of Rs 72,000.