Meet IIM Bangalore’s EPGP Class Of 2026

The Silicon Valley of India. The startup capital of India. The IT capital of India.

Electronic City. Space City. Science City.

Bengaluru goes by nicknames. At their core, these monikers reflect a city celebrated for deep resources and technological innovation, a mix of Fortune 500 might and startup boldness – non-stop and future-focused, an epicenter for opportunity, expertise, transformation, and wealth.

Such advantages are one reason why top professionals flock to the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore for their graduate business education. That includes Amit Sahoo, who was most recently a senior officer in offshore logistics for ONGC. For Sahoo, joining the EPGP Class of 2026 meant more than just a deep dive into “tech, policy, and innovation.”

“Bengaluru offers the best of both worlds, India’s tech and startup nerve centre on one side, and IIMB’s lush, distraction-free campus on the other,” writes Sahoo, nodding to Bengaluru’s Garden City reputation. “The ecosystem here doesn’t just teach you business, it immerses you in it.”

STARTUP CENTRAL

Take entrepreneurship. According to Startup Genome, Bengaluru-area startups received 47% of the $12-billion dollars invested in Indian ventures. In fact, from 2020-2024, venture capitalists channeled $38 billion dollars into area startups – a period when 32 unicorns were spun out of the region. Last year, for example, Swiggy, an online food delivery service achieved a $12-billion-dollar valuation and produced a $1.3-billion IPO. As a whole, Bengaluru houses over 1,500 venture capital firms and 2,200 corporate venture arms (not to mention 17,000 angel investors).

“[Bengaluru] offers unmatched exposure to emerging businesses, investor networks, and entrepreneurial energy,” explains Dhawal Dilip Sail, who plans to move into strategic finance or investment banking after graduating from IIM Bangalore next year. “Coupled with top research institutions and a diverse talent pool, even casual coffee chats often turn into insightful discussions-enriching the MBA journey beyond the classroom.”

Amisha Garg, most recently a marketing manager, points to the Karnataka region’s wealth of startup incubators and accelerators as another advantage for students. Another is the 550 Global Capability Centers – or GCCs – in the area, which account for 40% of India’s total. Once associated with mind-numbing call center work, GCCs have evolved to perform more intricate services for parent companies. These include functions like research and development, information technology management, finance, and human resources. On top of that, the state government has been rolling out a policy to boost the number of GCCs in Karnataka to 1,000 by 2029, with the hope of creating 350,000 jobs. Alongside GCCs, the region has also been investing heavily in innovation clusters like the Bengaluru Science and Technology (BeST) and District I to support innovation activities that turn research into commercial ventures.

It isn’t just scale that makes Bengaluru so formidable, however. It is the areas where startups are being launched: AI, Big Data, Life Sciences, Cybersecurity, FinTech, and CleanTech – all high-potential, growth-oriented spaces. Even more, the region is becoming a leader in SpaceTech, hardly a surprise considering Bengaluru is home to the Indian Space Research Organization, India’s answer to NASA. In other words, Bengaluru has everything a graduate business student could possibly want.

“What truly sets Bengaluru apart is that innovation happens everywhere,” observes Shriram, a Bollywood buff and product manager. “Walk into any chai tapri, coffee shop or coworking space and you’ll find someone building the next big thing. You don’t need to fly anywhere to be at the center of it all. Where else will you find entrepreneurs solving ambulance logistics sitting next to VR gaming developers, both happy to share their insights over evening coffee?”

REGION BOASTS 400 FIRMS IN THE FORTUNE 500

For students who don’t plan to leap into Bengaluru’s startup ecosystem, there is always the region’s corporate backbone. Among the Fortune 500, 400 firms are represented in Bengaluru. IBM maintains one of India’s largest R&D centers here. And the largest non-American centers for Goldman Sachs and General Electric are found in Bengaluru too. Both Microsoft and Amazon house major development centers in Namma Bengaluru, as do Cisco, Samsung, Cargill, and Walmart. At the same time, FlipKart – worth a reported $35-billion – was founded in Bengaluru and is headquartered in Embassy Tech Village.

Make no mistake: the go-go world of Bengaluru filters into the EPGP classes at IIM Bangalore. Kunal, a chemical engineer, points out that IIMB seminars and guest lectures attract nearby industry leaders. As a result, students are exposed to the best practices in India’s commercial center, says Pulkit Dayal, who was most recently a planner for Air India. Even more, IIMB – both in its location and programming – is geared towards networking. In the process, it spurs “thought-provoking conversations, meaningful collaborations, and serendipitous encounters often lead to life-changing opportunities,” in the words of Raksha Hebbar, a veteran of Grant Thornton.

Beyond the network is IIM Bangalore’s coursework. This too is amplified by location. According to Shriram, the mix of programming and location acts as “real-world exposure to every kind of problem- solving happening right outside your classroom door” – a sentiment echoed by one of his classmates.

“Bengaluru is more than just a city: it’s a living, breathing ecosystem of ambition,” adds Baishali Debadarshini, who was last an engineering manager at Maruti Suzuki India. “As India’s undisputed innovation capital, the boundary between the classroom and the industry constantly blurs. You can study a supply chain case in the morning and meet with the startup that’s disrupting that very supply chain in the afternoon. There’s an ambient energy here, you feel it in the coffee shops buzzing with entrepreneurs and in the air of constant creation. For an MBA student focused on the future of technology and mobility, being at the epicentre of the action isn’t just an advantage; it’s an essential part of the learning experience.”

ENGINEER BEATS THE ODDS

Debadarshini herself personifies Bengaluru’s spirit of reinvention, framing her journey as coming from “the rustic streets of Odisha to the corridors of corporate India and now to the iconic stone walls of IIM Bangalore.” Before business school, she earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering, becoming the only woman from her batch to land a job from Maruti Suzuki. Once the door was opened, Debadarshini took full advantage of the opportunity.

“I embraced it, earning three promotions in six years and culminating in my role as Manager. In that time, I filed two patents in vehicle safety and contributed to the design and development of some of the brand’s most successful models, including the Grand Vitara and Celerio. This journey wasn’t just about professional success; it was about proving to myself and others that passion and determination can dismantle any barrier. Looking back, I feel I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

What does Debadarshini plan to do for an encore? With the help of her IIMB degree, she expects to move from implementing the strategy to formulating it.

“After dedicating over six years at Maruti Suzuki to understanding the intricacies of vehicle design and development, my goal is to pivot from building the product to shaping the strategy. The EPGP is the catalyst for this transformation. I aim to take on a leadership role within the mobility sector, where I can leverage my technical foundation and newfound strategic acumen to drive innovation, lead cross-functional teams, and contribute to the long-term vision of how our world moves.”

HIGH-LEVEL EXPERIENCE

Debadarshi isn’t the only high-level executive to join the EPGP Class of 2026 at IIM Bangalore. Amisha Garg has always been ahead of the curve. The youngest person in her IIM Bangalore class, she also served as a senior product marketing manager at Zenoti, one of the first unicorns in the salon and spa software space. At Aditya Birla Group and Reliance Retail, Dhawal Dilip Sail witnessed executive leadership up close, reporting directly to the chief experience officers in both firms – which are worth a combined $243-billion. As a team lead at Air India, Pulkit Dayal oversaw manpower planning during its merger with Vistara.

“[It] was less about titles or outcomes, and more about growth through discomfort,” Dayal explains.  “Navigating two deeply rooted and distinct work cultures, I was constantly tested on my patience, empathy, and ability to influence with authority. What makes it meaningful is not just that the integration succeeded, but that I walked in feeling unsure and walked out knowing I could hold my ground, build trust, and drive change even in the most complex environments.”

Dhivya Venkataramani spent nearly five years at Goldman Sachs, climbing from analyst to associate before moving into engineering consulting. At Goldman Sachs, she built her reputation in Private Wealth Management, where she boosted workflow efficiency in her portfolio by over 150%. In contrast, Kunal held a management position at GAIL, India’s largest state-owned energy company. Here, he was part of a team that established the country’s first green energy hydrogen plant and small-scale LNG plant. By the same token, Shriram partnered with the Haryana government to execute a Ghar Se Padhao program.

“I created bilingual daily lessons for Grades 9-12, shared them with lead teachers, and tracked clicks, homework, and quiz data each week. Clear, weekly reports let officials fix gaps quickly and lifted quiz participation five-fold in three months. The state then rolled the model out to Grades 1-5.”

Varun Rai joins the Class of 2026 after working in defense industry project management. This includes work involving advanced destroyers and submarines for the Indian military. “My passion for working with tangible, high-tech machines and the pride in contributing directly to nation-building made these complex, multifaceted defense projects deeply fulfilling. The combination of technical challenges and meaningful impact shaped my early career perspective.”

EMBRACING ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Since arriving on campus, the EPGP class has stayed plenty busy. Amit Sahoo, for one, has co-organized the program’s Seminar Series, whose speakers have included Richard Rekhy, the current Vice Chair of Grant Thornton Bharat and former CEO of KPMG India. When Kunal wasn’t busy competing in lawn tennis and cricket, he was holding his own against chartered accountants in his finance course. One of those CAs was Raman Garg, who took pride in coaching the engineers who are receiving their first exposure to finance at IIMB.

“I have often found myself helping them understand concepts, clearing their doubts, or guiding them through last-minute revisions. Being able to support my classmates in this way has been immensely fulfilling, as it not only reinforces my own learning but also allows me to give back, in my own small way, to this diverse and inspiring community.”

Among the EPGP class, the Term 1 Entrepreneurship Management course has been a popular rite of passage. Here, student teams turn an idea into a venture. Amisha Garg’s team, for example, developed a children’s financial literacy program, using a process that ranged from research to hypothesis testing. Dhawal Dilip Sail’s team followed similar steps in building their Athelance venture, which they described as “LinkedIn-style MVP for athletes.”

“We began by identifying pain points through primary interviews with national and grassroots athletes, uncovering barriers in visibility, affordability, and access to coaching,” he continues. “Based on these insights, we built verified digital profiles to bridge the opportunity gap. We also tested user interest, trust factors, and feature needs through prototypes and feedback. This hands-on journey from idea to MVP refined my skills in customer discovery, design thinking, and translating unmet needs into a scalable business model.”

Raksha Hebbar is equally smitten with the Entrepreneurship Management course, who describes it as a method of instilling mindset as much as process. Like her classmates, Hebbar found the group project to be the highlight of the course.

“I had the privilege of collaborating with a dynamic team – a fellow Big Four consultant, the COO of sales at a leading food delivery startup, a real estate consultant, and a chartered accountant. From ideation to crafting a business plan and presenting a minimum viable product, the experience was equal parts intense and exhilarating. It not only deepened my understanding of venture creation but also reaffirmed the joy of building something from the ground up.”

CONNECTING OVER MAGGI

In fact, the confidence that comes from starting, overcoming, and growing may have been the biggest takeaway for the Class of 2026, says Pulkit Dayal.

“In a one-year MBA, every day feels like a sprint and yet we are running a marathon. From academics to projects to networking to managing a committee, the sheer volume of tasks can be overwhelming. At first, it felt like I was constantly playing catch-up. Over time, I learned to prioritize, let go of perfection when needed, and focus on what truly mattered. My biggest accomplishment isn’t a single event, but it’s the learning to stay grounded amidst the chaos, manage my energy over my time, and show up consistently, even on the tough days.”

During those tough times, the class had plenty of places to connect: Mykos, Uru Brewpark, Hard Rock Café, Haneena, and Vega City Mall. For the most part, says Baishali Debadarshini, the EPGP students enjoy their favorite spots right on campus.

“They aren’t just places we go to hang out; they’re where our MBA lives actually happen. Whether it’s a brainstorming session over a great cup of coffee at Prabhakar’s, quick snacks at Mitti Café, or a late-night debate over dinner at the night canteen, these spots are our sanctuaries. They are where friendships are forged, ideas are born, and the intense pressure of the MBA is balanced with a strong sense of community.”

Pulkit Dayal points specifically to the Night Canteen as the center of MBA life. “Over plates of Maggi and endless cups of chai, it becomes more than just a food stop. It’s where we pause the MBA race, share experiences from our personal and professional life, laugh over inside jokes, and vent about whatever the day threw at us. It’s our little escape within campus, where conversations drift from placements to playlists, and bonds are quietly built over late-night comfort food.”

Next Page: Q&A with the Admissions Team and Profiles of 12 Members of the Class of 2026

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