India’s B-schools slip on intense global competition

New Delhi: India’s top business schools slipped down the global pecking order, with IIM Bangalore, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta dropping in QS’s 2027 MBA rankings, even as the country’s overall representation continued to expand.

IIM Bangalore, the country’s highest-ranked MBA programme for the fourth consecutive year, fell to 64th from 52nd globally. IIM Ahmedabad dropped to 70th from 58th, while IIM Calcutta saw the sharpest decline among the three, falling to 95th from 64th.

The drop in rankings of IIMs followed global peers improving in areas including entrepreneurship and alumni outcomes, return on investment and diversity, according to QS. IIM Ahmedabad is the only Indian institution to retain its top 100 place on Entrepreneurship & Alumni Outcomes measure, ranking 84th.


IIM Bangalore continued its 29th position globally for employability and ranked second in Asia on the measure. It also improved slightly in thought leadership to 51st globally.

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The ranking however displayed a broader expansion of Indian presence. QS ranked 19 India-based MBA providers in 2027, up from seven in 2022 and five in 2020. Five institutions entered the MBA rankings for the first time, led by O.P. Jindal Global University in the 171-180 band. Jaipuria Institute of Management, CHRIST University’s School of Business and Management, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, and Vikrant University Gwalior entered the 301+ range.

“More Indian business schools are continuing to build their international reputation, with five new entries from the country this year,” said QS President Nunzio Quacquarelli. He, however, pointed out that “global peers are outpacing in key areas such as return on investment and entrepreneurship & alumni outcomes.”

India’s strongest showing beyond the top three came from Woxsen School of Business, which ranked first in Asia and 33rd globally for diversity.

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In the specialised business master’s rankings, 41 Indian programmes featured, up from 37 last year. Five Indian programmes made the global top 100: IIM Bangalore ranked 31st in Management and 60th in Business Analytics; IIM Ahmedabad ranked 46th in Management; and IIM Calcutta ranked 57th in Management and 96th in Business Analytics.

Across Asia, the National University of Singapore remained the top-ranked MBA at 23rd globally. IIM Bangalore ranked eighth in Asia and IIM Ahmedabad ninth.

Globally, MIT Sloan took the top spot, followed by Harvard, Stanford, and Penn Wharton.

QS said its MBA ranking assesses programmes across employability, value for money, alumni outcomes, thought leadership and diversity.