IIM Kozhikode Donates ₹1 Crore Worth Books

IIM Kozhikode, India’s top management school, has made a remarkable contribution towards strengthening academic infrastructure in Kerala by donating more than 17,500 books worth ₹1.05 crore to 35 Kerala colleges. This massive educational outreach programme was carried out as part of IIM Kozhikode’s sixth Book Donation Programme, reaffirming the institute’s enduring commitment to community building and social inclusivity.

The recent donation drive, organized under the umbrella of the institute’s Social Impact initiatives and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), seeks to fill the resource deficit in higher education institutions, particularly in tier-two and rural regions of Kerala. 11 districts of colleges were given the contributions, each of which received about 500 handpicked academic books, worth about ₹3 lakh per college.

Emphasis on Academic Excellence

The titles donated by IIM Kozhikode cover a variety of disciplines ranging from management, economics, and commerce to accounting, organisational behaviour, quantitative methods, marketing, business ethics, information technology, human resource management, and literature. The selection of the titles was carried out by the faculty in coordination with the institute’s central library, Nalanda – The Library and Information Centre, so that it conforms to university curricula and current academic requirements.

The majority of these books were also obtained with the kind generosity of students and members of staff, underscoring the spirit of inclusivity in the initiative. The intention is to provide recipient institutions with top-quality learning resources that might otherwise be beyond financial reach, with the aim of fostering a culture of academic excellence and self-determination.

Focus on Social Responsibility

At the official handover ceremony at the IIM Kozhikode campus, IIM Director Professor Debashis Chatterjee emphasized the importance of the initiative. “This initiative is more than just giving away books; it is giving away possibilities and access to information. At IIM Kozhikode, we are not only concerned with academic excellence but also social irrelevance,” he added.

He said that the Book Donation Programme is an expression of the institute’s philosophy to create a ‘social reputation’ by being profoundly responsible to the societies that it works with. “While we equip leaders for business, we want to encourage them to consider nation-building as well. Education is the strongest instrument to achieve balance in society,” said Professor Chatterjee.

The ceremony saw the attendance of more than 200 students and faculty members from beneficiary colleges who travelled to the IIM Kozhikode campus to pick up the books. The ceremony also included interactive sessions and campus tours, providing participants with exposure to the academic atmosphere of a world-class management school.

Long-Term Vision and Outreach

This new edition takes the overall number of books contributed under the initiative since its launch in 2011 to more than 70,000, the overall worth of which is over ₹4.5 crore. Previous editions of the programme have also witnessed mass-level participation, with colleges from across Kerala and other southern states having availed of the resource-sharing initiative.

The Book Donation Programme is only one among the various outreach initiatives by IIM Kozhikode. The institute also offers various educational consciousness, mentorship, and capacity-building initiatives aimed at marginalized groups, such as women entrepreneurs, rural students, and civil service aspirants.

IIM Kozhikode’s Initiative: A Sustainable Model?

IIM Kozhikode’s book donation initiative also raises an important question: Can persistent institutional actions such as these become a replicable model for enhancing educational equity in India? With government funding frequently stretched to the limit, private and independent institutions such as IIMs can have a significant part to play in supporting public education. By gifting relevant, high-quality academic content, these institutions can directly impinge on the quality of education within affiliate colleges, especially in states with ongoing infrastructure and teacher shortages.

Higher education stakeholders have welcomed the initiative. According to Dr. Shalini Nair, Principal of one of the beneficiary colleges in Alappuzha, “This donation by IIM Kozhikode will be of great help in enriching our library materials. It also conveys a very good message to our students that they belong to a wider academic community.”

Students too shared such views. “It’s motivating to get books from one of India’s premier management schools. These books will enable us to study harder for competitive exams and enhance our knowledge in the subject,” said Anoop R, a second-year commerce student from Palakkad.

Strengthening Kerala’s Academic Ecosystem

Kerala has always been renowned for its literacy level and education-friendly attitude. Yet, many institutions, particularly rural institutions, continue to lack access to new textbooks and teaching materials because of financial constraints. IIM Kozhikode‘s initiative is coming as a booster to enhance academic performance as well as research skills across the board.

Educationists feel that more such interdisciplinary collaborative models by top institutions with local colleges could facilitate democratisation of access to superior quality education. “When institutions like IIM Kozhikode come forward to bring others up, it creates a benchmark for academic inclusiveness. It’s not charity—it’s building capacity,” expressed Professor M.P. Ravi, an academic consultant with Kerala Higher Education Council.

Future Plans and Ongoing Commitment

The institute has indicated that it plans to continue and expand the Book Donation Programme in coming years. Discussions are already underway to extend the initiative to colleges outside Kerala, particularly in underserved areas of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.

Additionally, IIM Kozhikode is also looking into digital collaborations with colleges to offer e-books and online learning material access in subsequent editions. These measures are likely to increase the programme’s reach, while responding to students’ evolving learning habits.

As the Indian education system strives to get in line with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020—with its emphasis on equity, inclusion, and digital literacy—efforts such as the IIM Kozhikode‘s Book Donation Programme provide a grass-roots model for effective, scalable action.

With more than ₹1 crore worth of books now enriching college libraries in Kerala, the sixth installment of this program is a testament to IIM Kozhikode‘s sustained passion for knowledge sharing and empowering academics.

IIM Kozhikode Donates ₹1 Crore Worth Books to 35 Kerala Colleges