For the sixth consecutive year, IIM Ahmedabad came out on top of the NIRF business school ranking. Released on September 4th, IIM Ahmedabad again beat out IIM Bangalore, which has also finished 2nd for six straight years.

Consistency is a theme in the NIRF rankings – at least in the top half. The 2025 ranking represents the third year in a row where IIM Kozhikode rounds out the Top 3. It is also the second year where IIM Delhi ranked 4th, with IIM Lucknow moving up two spots from the previous year to rank 5th.

Among last year’s top 10, IIM Mumbai, IIM Calcutta, IIM Indore, and XL RI Xavier School of Management continued to rank in the Top 10. However, the Management Development Institute of Gurugram knocked IIT Bombay out of the Top 10.

NIRF – the National Institutional Ranking Framework – is an annual ranking produced by the Government of India’s Ministry of Education. Along with scoring business schools, NIRF evaluates Indian post-secondary institutions as a whole, with IIM Madras, Indian Institute of Science, and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay leading the pack. It also provides separate college, university, and research institution rankings, along with discipline-specific rankings in areas ranging from engineering to law to agriculture.

To rank Indian institutions – including business schools – NIRF applies weight across five parameters:

Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR) – 30%
Research and Professional Practice (RP) – 30%
Graduation Outcome (GO) – 20%
Outreach and Inclusivity (OI) – 10%
Perception (PR) – 10%

To see the 2025 NIRF Management Ranking, click here.

To learn more about the ranking parameters, click here.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AHMEDABAD MBA CLASS OF 2025

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Kellogg Marketing Guru Shares His 10 Favorite Cases

StrongBrands with Tim Calkins: “My post last week about Cracker Barrel received quite a bit of attention. I’m surprised to report that not everyone agreed with me. Cracker Barrel is following some of my recommendations and pulled back from the logo change. There is hope.

Today, I’m focusing on a less controversial topic: great business school case studies.

A Great Case

What makes for a great business school case discussion? First, it has to be a situation most students won’t know about. This makes some topics inappropriate for a case discussion. Can Tesla successfully enter the auto-industry? This is not a great topic because Tesla pulled it off (at least so far!). Should Goldman Sachs enter consumer banking? This is another poor topic because they tried and failed in a spectacular fashion. What is the outlook for Contrave, a new drug from Orexigen? This might work, since I suspect few people have heard of the drug or the company.

Second, there has to be something interesting. Maybe there is a great debate, and students can argue the different sides. Perhaps there is a twist or something unexpected. A discussion that is just pros and cons won’t last. Remember, a case study discussion usually lasts 90 minutes, so there has to be something to keep it engaging.

Third, the case has to lead to broader lessons. Learning that the quality of packaging is important in industrial fertilizers isn’t going to be important for most students. Understanding why executives so often misjudge competitors is more broadly relevant.”

To see Professor Calkins’ 10 favorite cases, click here.

DON’T MISS: TOUCHDOWNS & TAKEAWAYS: INSIDE KELLOGG’S 21ST SUPER BOWL AD REVIEW

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Virginia Darden Adds 100 Scholarships

Darden School: “The University of Virginia Darden School of Business announced a major expansion of scholarship support across its MBA programs, following the successful close of its Powered by Purpose campaign, which generated $632 million in total impact.

The campaign led to the creation of more than 100 new scholarships — bringing the School’s total number of scholarships to the highest in its history — and advancing the School’s commitment to increase access to its top-ranked business education.

A significant number of Darden MBA students now receive a scholarship, and total scholarship resources at Darden have increased 33 percent compared to the previous year.

“Scholarships are key to ensuring that a Darden education is within reach for exceptional students,” said Darden Dean Scott Beardsley. “We are focused on attracting high-potential individuals who will lead with purpose, and on reducing financial barriers to help them pursue that journey.”

To read more, click here.

DON’T MISS: MEET VIRGINIA DARDEN’S MBA CLASS OF 2026

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MBA Startups to Watch at MIT Sloan

Sloan School of Management: “Innovating is always a challenge. Inventing high-impact solutions amid uncertainty, even more so.

Last week, 22 fledgling companies debuted their ideas at MIT’s 2025 delta v Demo Day startup showcase, the finale of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship’s delta v accelerator.

The delta v name comes from the measure of a change in velocity, an analogy that’s particularly apt this year, said Trust Center managing director Bill Aulet.

“Turn on a screen. Look anywhere around you. There are so many issues to be addressed right now,” said Aulet. “We built a whole entrepreneurial ecosystem not to keep [startups] here but to send them out into the world to have tremendous impact.”

To read capsules of 22 innovative startups at Sloan, click here.

DON’T MISS: MOST DISRUPTIVE MBA STARTUPS OF 2024

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ADDITIONAL STORIES

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ROCK CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP ANNOUNCES 2025-2026 ENTREPRENEURS-IN-RESIDENCE, VENTURE CAPITAL ADVISORS, AND LEGAL SPECIALISTS

GEORGETOWN MCDONOUGH EXPANDS TOP-RANKED MSBA PROGRAM WITH FULL-TIME, ON-CAMPUS OPTION

SEVIN YELTEKIN TAKES THE HELM AT GW BUSINESS WITH VISION FOR COLLABORATION AND IMPACT

UNDERGRAD AND GRAD SCHOOLS NOW FORMALLY THE PITT SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

MIT PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION LAUNCHES NEW COURSE ON APPLIED AGENTIC AI FOR ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION

FROM PREP TO ADMISSION: PRODIGY FINANCE’S GMAT TIPS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

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