New Delhi, Feb 15: Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIM-A, N R Narayanamurthy, and Hindustan Lever Chief M S Banga met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee here yesterday and reportedly sought his intervention to rollback the decision to slash IIM fees, an issue on which the Supreme Court has decided to advance hearing of a PIL by a week. The two were understood to have urged the Prime Minister to reconsider the government's decision on the ground that at a time when subsidies were being eliminated, the reduction of fees would harm the reforms process as it would amount to paying for elite education.

Narayanamurthy, also Infosys Chief Mentor, and Banga were accompanied by K V Kamath, CEO OF ICICI and a member of the Board of Governors.
The fees reduction may also impinge on the autonomy of the IIMs as they may have to depend on the government for increased grants, they were believed to have told the Prime Minister.

Banga told newspersons from Mumbai that the half-an-hour meeting with the Prime Minister was "very satisfactory".

He declined to divulge any details.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on its own decided to advance by a week the hearing of a PIL challenging HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi's decision to slash IIM fees by 80 per cent in the face of widespread public criticism. Bureau Report