Innholdsfortegnelse for 7 December 2025 i Business Today

IT IS PERHAPS fitting that the two oldest IIMs, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta, have come up tops by claiming first and second ranks, respectively, in the BT-MDRA India’s Best B-Schools Survey in which 270 business schools participated. It was a close call: the difference between the two schools was just 0.6 points. The others in the Top Five are IIM Lucknow, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research and IIM Indore. In fact, there has been just a small reshuffle in the top ten pack. Further, in the top ten, the majority—six—are government-owned IIMs, while the other four are privately-owned and managed. The ostensible lack of action at the top hides the varied undercurrents in India’s B-school landscape captured by the BT-MDRA study. For one, B-school education continues to…

THE MORE THINGS change, the more they remain the same. This adage by the 19th-century French critic, author, and journalist Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr seems apt in the case of Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIMC) when comparing its progress this year in the BT-MDRA Best B-Schools Survey to the previous year. With U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on several countries, including India, and the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) leading to job cuts, business schools were expected to feel the impact on placements, admissions, and recruitment trends. IIMC has been able to hold its ground. “As the global business environment grows increasingly dynamic, IIM Calcutta leads with purpose—fostering innovation, nurturing responsible leadership, and preparing professionals to thrive in an ever-evolving world,” says Professor Alok Kumar Rai, Director, IIMC. The consulting sector…

WITH AI DISRUPTING industries across sectors, what does the future hold for C-suite executives? IIM-Indore is trying to find the answer—by training management graduates to create a synergy between technology and emotional intelligence. “The institute uses case-based pedagogy to train students. We give a business case and ask half the students to do it themselves and the other half to use AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Then we analyse what humans do better and what AI does better. Assuming generative AI delivers better results is not always true, and in some cases, human intervention is needed. Bringing that out in the classroom is important,” says Himanshu Rai, Director of IIM Indore. Blindly trusting ChatGPT to do the right thing can be counterproductive, says Rai. “In a recruitment interview process,…

INDIA’S BUSINESS SCHOOLSare reshaping classrooms. This time, the change is not being driven by new syllabi, case studies, or international tie-ups, but by something more fundamental: the presence of industry leaders themselves. For years, India’s management schools have received accolades for their academic rigour but also faced criticism for being too theoretical. That theoretical-practical divide is now rapidly closing. “Management education needs to be relevant to real-world practices,” says Mukta Kulkarni, Director of Programs at IIM Bangalore. “We proactively invite industry leaders (across renewable energy, biotech, fintech, AI and machine learning, aerospace, EV, cybersecurity, space technology) in our classrooms.” Kulkarni says this creates a more engaging learning environment and a more direct connection between academia and the workplace. Students can learn directly from industry leaders who drive market dynamics. “For students,…

DEEP SAINI, President and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University, one of Canada’s most prestigious institutions, was born and educated in India before pursuing an international academic career; he now leads a globally recognised research university and manages a budget of about $2 billion. In a rapidly changing global environment, where technology, geopolitics and shifting student flows are reshaping higher learning, Saini argues that management education must evolve just as quickly. During a recent visit to India, he spoke with BT about how universities can stay relevant, how leadership models are being rewritten, and why adaptability will define the next generation of managers. Edited excerpts: Indian students face increasing barriers to their aspirations to study overseas. Do you see a permanent shift in how Indian students pursue education and opportunities, including in the US? There…

RISING COST THE AVERAGE COURSE FEE AT TOP 25 B-SCHOOLS HAS CROSSED ₹20 LAKH, RISING NEARLY 23% IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS  SOURCE BT-MDRA INDIA’S BEST B-SCHOOLS SURVEY 2025 SLOW SALARY GROWTH AVERAGE SALARIES OF GRADUATES FROM THE TOP 25 B-SCHOOLS RECORDED THE SLOWEST GROWTH OF 16% IN FIVE YEARS NOTE AVERAGE SALARY (IN ₹ LAKH) SOURCE BT-MDRA INDIA’S BEST B-SCHOOLS SURVEY 2025 1.27 IS THE AVERAGE RETURN ON INVESTMENT AT GOVERNMENT-AIDED INSTITUTES IN 2025 AGAINST 1.22 A YEAR AGO. ROI FOR PRIVATE INSTITUTES STOOD AT 0.88 IN 2025 AGAINST 0.85 LAST YEAR ₹ 17.9 LAKH THE MEAN AVERAGE ANNUAL DOMESTIC SALARY OFFER RECEIVED AT GOVERNMENT B-SCHOOLS RANKED IN THE TOP 100 IN 2025. IT STOOD AT ₹11.6 LAKH AT THEIR PRIVATE COUNTERPARTS LOWER RETURNS THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) OF THE TOP 25…

1 GLOBAL GEOPOLITICAL AND ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTIES Increase in admissions of international students 2 ADVENT OF AI IN COMPANIES Rise in admissions of international students 3 PLACEMENTS Mild dip; Dip in ROI 4 FEES Some schools increase, others maintain it 5 REVENUE MODEL Increase in non-two year MBAs like Advanced Management Programmes and Executive Education 6 COLLABORATIONS WITH FOREIGN SCHOOLS Increase largely in mid- to lower-tier schools 7 SUMMER INTERNSHIPS Fewer companies at even the better schools and lower internship stipends 8 INDUSTRY SPONSORED PROJECTS Steep fall in top-tier schools, mid-tier schools gain moderately 9 CAREER OPTIONS Many MBA graduates opting to found start-ups rather than take up jobs 10 DIVERSITY Schools giving scholarships, even grace marks, to female students to encourage diversity…

ON A WEEKDAY morning at Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, a group of students can be seen running a small canteen on campus, balancing cash books, managing vendors, and learning first-hand what it means to run a business. A scene like this at India’s leading management school in the capital of Uttar Pradesh shows how it is changing the way business education works and perhaps the reason it has been featured at the third place in the BT-MDRA Best B-Schools study. “We have tried to make learning more connected with the world outside the classroom,” says Manmohan Prasad Gupta, Director of IIM Lucknow. “Our direction has been to widen the learning experience through new programmes, industry collaborations, and areas of study that reflect how business and society are changing.” THE…

THE UNCERTAINTIES affecting businesses, right from Covid-19 in 2020 to growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), geopolitical conflicts and now US President Donald Trump’s disruptive tariff regime, have seeded chaos into the global economy. These changes are redefining the flow of global trade and investments and political and economic relationships between countries. The new H1-B visa rules in the US, for instance, have had an immediate impact on India’s global software companies. This, combined with the use of AI, has forced some to drastically downsize their headcount. These disruptions are expected to have a lasting impact on companies, ranging from new leadership competencies required to business model innovation. Then there are factors such as the government’s clarion call for Swadeshi and Viksit Bharat. Besides, corporations will need employees who can…

IF BUSINESSES IN India can surpass the limits they have historically set for themselves and going global, why should B-schools be left behind? After all, with India Inc expanding into other countries at a fast pace, there is a need for managers with a global outlook and relevant skill sets. GOING GLOBAL Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) decided to open a campus in Dubai after looking at opportunities in different parts of the world. Bharat Bhasker, its director, says world education is unifying in a sense. “India is inviting foreign universities, and being one of the top business schools, we wanted to make our presence felt globally,” he says. IIMA zeroed in on Dubai as it is a futuristic city with the potential to become a centre for finance, tourism…

AFTER NAVEEN TEWARIacquired a degree in mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, pursuing a master’s degree in the US was the next logical step. There was also a job offer from the global consulting firm McKinsey. One conversation with his father swung it for the young man. “You will be unhappy in research. You are someone who likes to make things happen,” said the father. Tewari did not question this and said yes to McKinsey. In many ways, it was a life-changing experience—out of the three years spent there, 18 months were dedicated to what was then the Reliance Infocomm project. Remember, one is speaking of the 2001-02 phase, in a very different India, where the digital economy was still at a nascent stage. Armed with work…

FRANCESCA CORNELLI is the Dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management as well as a professor of finance and holds the Donald P. Jacobs Chair of Finance. Since joining Kellogg in 2019, Cornelli has crystalised the school’s mission to shape empathetic leaders who can think globally, unite diverse perspectives, and lead through rapid change and complexity. A global educator, Cornelli has vast international experience and has taught at some of the top schools in the world. In an interview with Business Today, she speaks about how leaders of tomorrow can navigate today’s challenges. Edited excerpts: Today we have at least three major forces of geopolitics, geoeconomics and tariffs, and AI impacting global businesses. Is this a pivotal moment for companies, and if so, how should they respond to these…

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) leads BT-MDRA’s 26th annual ranking of India’s Best B-Schools, reaffirming its status as the country’s premier management institution. For its Director, Bharat Bhasker, the real story is the race to keep management education relevant amid tectonic shifts in technology and global business. Edited excerpts from an interview with BT: Q: How would you describe the state of management education in India? A: Our management education ecosystem is in good shape, but the changes that are happening are quite drastic in nature. Technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, robotics and autonomous systems will significantly impact workplaces. Management education must immediately begin to echo what is happening in the actual workplace, because ultimately, you are creating leaders for the future. A key challenge is how quickly…

THE INDIAN Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), has topped the BT-MDRA India’s Best B-Schools rankings. But it is an unenviable position: even though it became a proud winner, it did so with a slender margin relative to the next on the list, had to face many challenges through the year like economic uncertainty due to global conflicts and growth of artificial intelligence (AI), and is staring at a landscape where management education and the nature of companies will be sharply rewritten. Bharat Bhasker, Director of IIMA, says, “We are in a good shape and trying to keep up with the changing technology, but the pace [of adaptation] has to be enhanced. We have to work doubly hard to catch up and remain relevant to the business environment which is unfolding…

IT HAS BEEN a season of travel for Varun Nagaraj, and he managed to squeeze in time for this interaction. For someone who has spent time studying and working overseas, the last four years as Dean of S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) have been hugely exciting, and he readily admits to that. For most academics, a pressing concern right now would easily be the widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI). There are several nuances to this as the world attempts to grasp what it means. A few weeks ago, Nagaraj was in Toronto for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Deans Conference. There were 700 peers from across the world. “A good part of my discussions with them was around AI,” he says…

The illustrious legacy of the LNCT Group dates back to 1993, when the first self-financed private technical institute, the Lakshmi Narain College of Technology (LNCT) came in to existence under the visionary leadership of its founder Shri Jai Narain Chouksey. Since then the group has expended its offerings by incorporating a number of new educational institutions. With its 12 campuses situated in lndore, Bhopal, Jabalpur and Bilaspur cities, the LNCT Group presently runs 28 Engineering Colleges, 2 Medical Colleges, 2 Dental Colleges and 3Universities viz-LNCT University-Bhopal, JNCT Professional University-Bhopal and LNCT Vidhyapeeth University-lndore. Having flourished for more than three decades, the LNCT Group has become the pinnacle of excellence in academics, exemplary discipline, training and placements and thereby fostering the next wave of leaders in a variety fields. Dr. Anupam…

WHEN HARSH PARDESHIreceived his MBA admission letter from the Auckland University of Technology, excitement was quickly tempered by uncertainty. “The visa process took longer than expected, and securing accommodation before arrival was a major challenge,” Harsh recalls. Like many Indian students, this year, his journey abroad is no longer a simple leap towards the traditional ‘Big 4’ MBA destinations—the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Instead, what lies ahead is a more complex, uncertain path shaped by volatile visa regimes, rising education costs, and shifting geopolitical landscapes. The sketch of Indian students pursuing MBAs overseas is being redrawn, demanding sharper strategies, deeper research, and renewed flexibility. A WIDENING HORIZON “Mobility is not shrinking but diversifying,” says Saurabh Arora, Founder & CEO of University Living, a global student housing marketplace. “The…

THE 13TH EDITION of BT-MDRA ranking of India’s best business schools—the 26th overall—has been completely reimagined and refreshed. New lists have been added to the ranking like the Top Executive Programs, Top Advanced Management Programs, Top Executive Fellow Programs in Management, Top Fellow Programs in Management, Top online MBAs in the country, along with listing of Top global B-Schools. This is the country’s most rigorous and methodical ranking. Methodology: Full-Time MBA/PGDM Ranking A comprehensive list of B-schools offering full-time classroom management programme (PGDM/MBA) and established at least five years ago with a minimum of three passed-out batches was updated. The objective questionnaire was fine-tuned to obtain latest and relevant information based on latest data on as many as 127 attributes. More than 2,000 B-Schools, fulfilling the qualification criteria for participation,…