Professor Indira Rajaraman served on the faculty of the Economics & Social Sciences Area, and the Energy and Health sectors at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) from 18 February 1976 to 18 April 1995. Professor Rajaraman played a pioneering role during the formative decades of the Institute. Her teaching portfolio encompassed courses in Economic Analysis, Economics I and II, Indian Economy, Health Economics, Energy System Economics, and Energy Management for Rural Development across the Post Graduate Programme (PGP), Fellow Programme in Management (FPM), executive education programmes, and the Tamil Nadu Faculty Training Programme.

Professor Rajaraman made significant contributions to doctoral education, notably serving as the principal guide and Chairman of the Thesis Committee for S. Chidambara Iyer, the first FPM student to graduate from IIMB. She also served on dissertation advisory committees for other doctoral scholars. Her research, consultancy, and policy engagements spanned rural labour markets, energy economics, health economics, international trade, exchange rate policy, rural electrification, poverty studies, and public planning. Her work appeared in leading journals including the Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Development Studies, Review of Income and Wealth, and Economic and Political Weekly. Her research contributed to public policy at the national level.

Institutionally, she initiated a research seminar series, edited the IIMB Management Review, strengthened library collections in economics and social sciences, and contributed to curriculum and doctoral programme reforms, including advocating student choice in doctoral supervision. In her reflections, she emphasized academic freedom, research excellence, inclusivity in higher education, and the importance of maintaining IIMB’s commitment to social mobility and intellectual independence.