How India’s best B-Schools are grooming future leaders

Change, as the saying goes, is the only constant. And so it is with India’s management education landscape, where sweeping changes are being witnessed in keeping with the rapidly evolving business ecosystem. Reflecting this transformation is the much-awaited Business Today-MDRA annual ranking of India’s Best B-schools—the definitive compendium of the best business schools in the country. Over the past few years, particularly during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the management education space has seen the emergence of a variety of options. B-schools now offer flexibility in course delivery, and the emergence of edtech companies offering management courses (where they have tie-ups with business schools) has also come as a welcome alternative. 

While online management courses cannot match the immersive experience of an on-campus programme, edtech firms offer a convenient option for those interested in upskilling themselves. Consequently, this year, we have decided to broad-base our ranking to include not just two-year courses, but also three new categories—one-year MBA, executive education programmes, and the best edtech firms that offer management courses. We believe these additional categories reflect the changes that management education in India is witnessing. 
As Vidya S., who helmed this project, writes in her opening essay: “With Covid-19 awakening B-schools to the benefits of flexibility in course delivery, and edtech firms joining the management bandwagon, the already diverse universe of management courses and formats has further expanded.” The courses are being delivered in a variety of formats—on-campus, hybrid and online. This year’s two-year MBA ranking sees no change from 2022 among the Top 5—IIM Calcutta, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Lucknow and S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research retain their slots. 

Among the new categories, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad tops the one-year MBA ranking, with IIMA at No. 1 in executive programmes, and upGrad at the top spot among edtech firms. However, despite all the vibrancy in the management education space, India still has a long way to go if we look at the world stage. Only four Indian institutes—IIMA, IIMB, IIMC and ISB (Hyderabad and Mohali)—rank in the Top 100 in the list of top B-schools compiled by QS World University Rankings–Full Time MBA: Global 2023, with the top one, IIMA, ranked 44. 
Besides, Indian B-schools face roadblocks in securing global accreditation and fall short on their diversity quotient. I would urge you to read the column by Namita Thapar, Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, where she explains what a global B-school taught her. Elsewhere in the issue, serial investor and entrepreneur Meena Ganesh bats for greater gender equality in Indian B-schools. Do also read Arnab Dutta’s story on IIM Bodh Gaya, and how this new entrant to the IIM family—that debuts in our ranking this year and straightaway enters the Top 50—is rapidly marching on to greater heights. That’s a ray of hope for sure.