The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Delhi has applied to the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for a 2-acre plot of land in the Ghitorni area on the outskirts of New Delhi. The purpose is threefold a residential structure for executives enrolling under the Management Development Program (MDP), residential quarters for faculty and a student hostel.

The idea of adding to the existing infrastructure has been in the offing for several years at IIFT but kept taking a back seat for some reason or the other. However, after the OBC (Other Backward caste) quota came into existence two years ago, the idea was given a formal push. Informed IIFT’s Registrar Dr LD Mago, Our expansion plan has been in discussion for about seven years but we actually got to implementing it only after we saw a surge in demand, post the implementation of the OBC quota.

The Registrar added that the present facilities were not sufficient to hold the desired number of MDP summits. In its current form, we have to curtail the number of MDP summits simply because we do not have enough residential space to house the executives. Lack of residential space drives us to look for alternate accommodation (like hotel rooms) which costs us twice as much.

Presently, IIFT hosts some 30 annual MDP summits, a number it wants to increase drastically.

Faculty residential quarters have also been a concern at IIFT for a while. Admits Dr Mago, We have faced problems due to the lack of faculty quarters. Many times, faculty we wish to hire refuse to join because there are no built-in quarters. IIFT is looking at expanding its faculty base from 30 to 50 and this also can be done only after the new quarters come up.

Finally, the institute is also looking to expand its student cohort after the proposed expansion plan gets underway. Our current student base is 150, which is very small compared to many major b-schools. After the expansion, we will raise the number of seats in the regular courses to around 300.

A hostel for the students is also part of the new plan. While all regular classes will continue to take place at the current IIFT campus, a couple of classrooms exclusively earmarked for the executive program may find a place in the new campus.

The proposed Ghitorni land site is about 8 kms from Qutab Institutional Area where IIFT is presently located. Travelling between both the sites will not be difficult for the students as special buses will be kept for the purpose, said Dr Mago.

IIFT is currently also building a new hostel for its incoming 2012 batch. The hostel is a four-storey building set in a 600 sq m plot near IIFT’s present campus. It will have 35 twin sharing rooms, which will accommodate the first year male students of the MBA International Business program. Construction for the same began in September 2011 and besides other regular facilities, it will offer regular facilities such as Wi-fi Internet, mess, recreation centre and study centre.