India’s Finest: IIM Ahmedabad Tops IIRF MBA Ranking

IIM Ahmedabad Campus

For the third consecutive year, IIM Ahmedabad stood above all government and private graduate business programs. However, IIM Ahmedabad’s margin of victory continues to shrink – and a new rival is poised to take their spot.

That was one takeaway from the 2024 IIRF Business School Ranking, which was released on February 4th. The ranking is a partnership between the Indian Institutional Ranking Framework (IIRF) and Education Post. The former is a non-government body that ranks Indian higher education institutions in fields like business, architecture, law, and medicine. In this year’s ranking, IIM Ahmedabad edged out the Faculty of Management Studies at the University of Delhi (FMS Delhi) by 3.5 index points – out of a possible 1,400 points. That said, FMS Delhi improved by 20.69 points over the previous year, enabling it to jump from 5th to 2nd in the 2024 IIRF ranking. In contrast, IIM Ahmedabad gained just 5.09 points from the 2023 IIRF ranking.

IIM Ahmedabad’s score also placed it 32.92 index points ahead of Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) in Jamshedpur, which ranked as India’s top private graduate business school for the second straight year. XLRI sneaked past the Management Development Institute Gurgaon among privates by an even thinner 2.59 index points. That fits a pattern between these private schools, with their gap further diminishing from 5.41 points (2023) and 10.95 points (2022).

METHODOLOGY

The IIRF MBA Ranking analyzes 46 government and 111 private graduate business programs. Like previous years, the ranking was based on seven parameters, each being worth 200 index points. This is what each parameter means according to the IIRF:

Placement Performance (PP): Indicates how good the institute students are getting employment.

Teaching Learning Resources & Pedagogy (TLRP): Explains about faculty, their qualifications, guest lectures, accreditations, etc.

Research (Volume, Income and Reputation: Covers the details about research influence and reputation of institution.

Industry Income and Integration (III): Covers the details about corporate leaders visit, revenue generation from knowledge transfers and tie-ups, internship for students, etc.

Placement Strategies & Support (PSS): Provides the details about support from institute to the students to get job, alumni support for placements, etc.

Future Orientation (FO): Includes the details about Incubation centre availability for start-ups and entrepreneurs, Idea developed by professors and students, etc.

External Perception & International Outlook: Covers the details about clarity of vision and mission, investing in development activities, public views on the institute in various aspects, number of international students and staff, and other collaborations.

According to the ranking methodology, the school and survey data was collected by Maction Consulting. It featured data subsets like average median salary, corporate leadership visits, alumni support, and new courses. Further details, such as weight formulas and data levels, are included in the methodology.

Lakeside in the evening on the IIM Calcutta campus: For the first time ever, there are five IIMs on the Financial Times 2023 MBA ranking

BEHIND THE NUMBERS

How has IIM Ahmedabad maintained a hold on the top spot in the IIRF MBA Ranking (aside from finishing 2nd to IIM Bengaluru in 2021)? Compared against the Top 20 government programs, IIM Ahmedabad was the only government institution to achieve the highest score in two parameters: Placement Performance and Teaching Learning Resources & Pedagogy. It also boasted the second-highest score in External Perception & International Outlook, tied for 2nd in Research, and made it to 5th and 6th for Future Orientation for Placement Strategies and Support respectively. IIM Ahmedabad’s lowest performance? Think Industry Income and Integration at 11th.

Compare that to FMS Delhi. While the school ranked 1st for Research, not to mention 2nd for Teaching Learning Resources & Pedagogy and 3rd for Placement Performance among the Top 20 ranked institutions. At the same time, it finished 11th and 14th respectively in Industry Income and Integration and Future Orientation, albatrosses that ultimately pulled it below IIM Ahmedabad.

At the same time, IIM Calcutta and IIM Bangalore ranked 3rd and 4th overall among government institutions, with the Top 5 rounded out by IIM Kozhikode. All three institutions generated their highest scores in Placement Performance and External Perception & International Outlook. The remaining government graduate business programs notched the highest scores in these respective parameters: UBS Punjab (Industry Income and Integration), IIT Delhi (Placement Strategies & Support), IIM Bangalore (Future Orientation), and IIM Calcutta (External Perception & International Outlook).

RISERS AND FALLERS

Among private programs, XLRI’s score would rank it 7th among government programs. In the private category, XLRI posted the highest score in two parameters: Placement Performance and Research. This feat was matched by the Dr. D.Y. Patil Business School in Pune, who bested all rivals in Future Orientation and External Perception & International Outlook. In addition, these graduate business schools earned the highest marks in these dimensions: MICA Ahmedabad (Teaching Learning Resources & Pedagogy), S.P. Jain (Industry Income and Integration), and the Symbiosis Centre For Management & Human Resource Development Pune (Placement Strategies & Support).

Among this year’s government risers, FMS Delhi rose three spots, thanks to big point gains in Teaching Learning Resources & Pedagogy (+5.57) and Research (+6.57). By the same token, IIM Bangalore slipped from 2nd to 4th overall, courtesy of lower marks in Teaching Learning Resources & Pedagogy (-2.42) and External Perception & International Outlook (-1.71). In contrast, the private school ranking remained more consistent with the previous year, though IMT Ghaziabad tumbled four spots to 10th.

To access the scores of the Top 15 government and Top 10 private graduate business programs, go to the next page.