India's top B-Schools: Looking beyond IIMs

Careers360 presents the listing of known B-Schools across the country organised in 9 clusters geographically. Take a look at all the 9 Clusters.

Bangalore: Cluster 1

It is said that nothing grows under a banyan tree. But IIM Bangalore is slightly different. This banyan became an incubator for a whole lot of schools. It provided directors, advisors and PhD spaces to many young institutions and faculties. And the result is that this cluster has a range of schools of different hues.

At one extreme are schools like St. Joseph's, RV, Mount Carmel, Christ and the like that are basically colleges of different persuasion, but also began management departments, when the demand for B-Schools grew in the country. Some of management offsprings are more popular than their engineering parents.

The liberal economic ethos that prevail in Bangalore also gave birth to a host of colleges that did not care for regulatory regime. Reasonably well known institutions like Alliance Business Academy, Bangalore Management Academy are colleges which do not offer any recognised programme, but do brisk business on the back of their exceptional placement records.

The cluster extends to whole of Karnataka and good schools like Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies, TA Pai Institute at Manipal and the SDM institute at Mysore.

An interesting aspect is that Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore has a very thriving Management Studies department, but only offers doctoral-level courses. Maybe it is because of it being located at the core of India's new economy, very few B-Schools in Bangalore have research programmes worth mentioning and the number of doctoral students emerging out of the cluster is quite limited. A host of MBA departments, that are offshoots of engineering colleges dot the Karnataka region.

Next: Chennai: Cluster 2

Chennai: Cluster 2

Chennai has one of the largest automobile clusters in the country and is called the Detroit of India. And it also boasts of the second largest number of engineering colleges in the country.

It is no wonder that Chennai and the nearby states have the largest number of B-Schools which have evolved as departments of engineering colleges. One of the best known MBA programmes in the cluster is offered by Department of Management Studies at IIT Madras.

Two old war horses that keep the flag of the region high are National Institute of Technology, Trichi and Bhartidasan Institute of Management, Trichy.

One of latest entrants in the management education scene is the Great Lakes Institute of Management. Set up as a greenfield venture by Prof. Bala Balasubhramanian of Northwestern University, the school in a short span has emerged as a leading centre for management education.

Schools emerging out of their parent department's engineering prowess is also a phenomenon in Chennai. Schools like Sona College of Management, Kumaraguru College of Technology, MEPCO MBA, SSN College of Engineering and SRM School of Management are all departments that gained their credibility based on the reputation of their respective engineering college parentage.

University departments too have a long history  of offering MBA programmes so do affiliated colleges. Some like School of Management Pondicherry University or Department of Management Studies Anna University, are past their  prime, but do survive because of their history and heritage. Autonomous colleges like IFMR, Chennai, SCMS, Cochin, Thiyagarajar School of Management are respected and some like IFMR and LIBA top the rank list too.

ALONG with 2011 B-School ranking, Careers360 presents the listing of known B-Schools across the country organized in 9 clusters geographically. Take a look at the Cluster 3 (Delhi).

Next: Delhi: Cluster 3

Delhi: Cluster 3

Delhi and NCR actually accounts for one of the largest clusters of B-Schools in India. Just the Ghaziabad-Meerut belt has some 124 institutions at the last count. The region also has the largest concentration of autonomous AICTE approved B-Schools.

One of the oldest schools in the country is the Faculty of Management Studies, an autonomous institution under the Delhi University. A university department, FMS, neither has a full-fledged campus nor fancy infrastructure.

It is the venerated faculty (though their research output is suspect) and an exceptionally tough entry requirement that does the trick for the school.

The Management Development Institute, Gurgaon is another star school in the same cluster. A complete B-School, its MDPs and EDP line-up is one of the best in the country. Research too a focus here. NCR also boasts of good Tier-1 schools like BIMTECH, G Noida, LBS Institute of Management and Fore School.

A new range of schools that do not have accredited or approved programmes has come up in the region, but they do offer some value for the students. Institutes like the Times School of Marketing and School of Inspired Leadership are some of these.

The latest kid on the block is the new Jindal Management School, at Sonepat, Haryana. Interestingly, while management schools are beginning to launch specialised MBA programmes, Delhi schools have realised its futility in the job market.

For example: FMS has merged its MBA services with its flagship MBA programme. With a new IIM coming up in Rhotak, NCR is also joining the select group of cities to host a premier national-level management school.

Next: East: Cluster 4

East: Cluster 4

The outlook of the Eastern cluster has seen a welcome change, owing to the rapid surge in the number of good institutions offering management education.
 
Not long ago, MBA aspirants who could not find a seat in either IIM Calcutta or XLRI Jamshedpur had to travel elsewhere and look at other options.

From an IIM in Shillong to the School of Management at IIT Kharagpur; from the  programme offerings with social agenda at XISS Ranchi, XIM Bhubhaneswar and IISWBM Kolkata to management departments in technology institutes like BIT Mesra and ISM Dhanbad, one now has a platter of choices.

With the growth in both manufacturing and services, the setting up of new industrial units in the region holds enough employment opportunities for management students.

We see an interesting mix of both government and private B-Schools, though the quality of teaching and research are concerns for most of them.

Next: Hyderabad: Cluster 5

Hyderabad: Cluster 5

Hyderabad is one of the most dynamic education hubs in the country.

To study management, there are a number of options for students, right from general management to specialised disciplines like foreign trade, operations management and MBA (Biotechnology).

Among several management institutes in the state, we list prominent institutes that have established some credibility, though the degree varies considerably.

Most of the programmes are of two-year duration, however, one of the most sought after management programmes is the one-year Post Graduate Programme in Management offered by Indian School of Business (ISB).

Another institute is the ICFAI Business School, a reputed deemed to be University.

The cluster also has over 100 autonomous and university affiliated departments of varied quality. IPE is another lesser known good institute.

Next: Mumbai: Cluster 6

Mumbai: Cluster 6

Mumbai is a city focused on creating wealth. One would then assume that most colleges in the city would also be priced accordingly.

In an interesting contrast, the city has three of the best colleges in the country for MBA with unbeatable value proposition: NITIE offering industrial management, TISS with its Master's programme in Human Resource Development and JBIMS with its Mumbai Univeristy's MMS programme.

A unique feature of the Mumbai institutions is that most of them offer two programmes from the same premises.

An MMS, affiliated to Mumbai University, wherein majority of the seats are reserved for students of Maharashtra, and a PGDM, which would invariably be autonomous and attract students from all over the country. Mumbai with nearly 67 institutes within a single city also has the highest concentration of B-Schools.

Since most corporations too have their headquarters or major commercial operations in Mumbai, placements are an easier task even for Tier-2 or Tier-3 colleges.

Interestingly, though touted as the financial capital of the country, only NMIMS is considered as the best place to go for finance specialisation.

Though JBIMS and Sydenham are known as better schools, chronic lack of full-time faculty plague both of them. A host of institutions in this cluster offer job-oriented, unapproved short-term programmes that in particular, deal in stocks and shares, investments and insurance advisory domain. But no unapproved industry recognition-led school of repute has emerged a la ISB of Hyderabad. Schools like Welingkar and ITM, Navi Mumbai are now in the process of branching out to other states too.

Next: North: Cluster 7

North: Cluster 7

Covering five plus states, north is a big cluster. It does not include institutes in Delhi NCR region.

With an IIM at Lucknow; an IIT Management department at Kanpur and Roorkee; a School of Management Studies at MNNIT, Allahabad; University Business School, Chandigarh; Lucknow University (LUMBA) and FMS at BHU, Varanasi -- the pedigree of schools is very impressive.

Though IIML is in a league of its own, some like Jaipuria, Lucknow, IMS, Lucknow University and SMS, Varanasi are upcoming B-Schools in the region.

Quite a few B-Schools in the north are departments operating out of engineering colleges, though in cases like SRM at Modinagar, they do have an independent identity. CMD Modinagar and College of Agribusiness Managment at Pantnagar are colleges that had much traction in the last decade. But good schools in private sector are slow to come.

Next: Pune: Cluster 8

Pune: Cluster 8

The second largest city in Maharashtra, Pune is home to thousands of students not only from various parts of India, but also from foreign shores.

While the prominent management institutions in the State admit students through the State Common Entrance Test (CET), there is a sizeable number of good private B-Schools that offer admissions through their own test or CAT and/ or MAT.

A key characteristic of the region is that most of the institutions are part of a larger conglomerate offering education in different disciplines.

This includes Symbiosis International University, which has 19 constituent colleges including seven that offer courses in specialised management disciplines. There are others, for instance the Balaji Society having four AICTE approved management courses, the Indira Group of Institutions, the Suryadatta group and Maer's to name a few.

University of Pune (PUMBA) is one of the most sought after places offering MBA++ with added focus on sectoral specialisation.

The percentile cut-off last year for admission through CET at PUMBA was 95. Another unique B-School, though not approved by the AICTE, is the Sadhana Centre for Management and Leadership Development. This institute offers a Post Graduate Program in Executive Leadership and also an MBA in partnership with IGNOU.

While most of the management institutions are located in close proximity to Mumbai/ Pune, Nagpur is another city in the cluster that has institutes such as the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) and Tripude College of Social Work. Another prominent institute is the Goa Institute of Management that admits students through CAT.

Next: West and Central: Cluster 9

West and Central: Cluster 9

Though, not a very well known region for business schools, barring the venerable Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, this cluster boasts of some of the finest institutions offering education in specialised fields of management.

The new IIM at Indore is creating waves as an upcoming B-School, and new private sector players like Institute of Management, Nirma University, BITS Pilani and Prestige Indore are attempting to break into better leagues respectively.

But what gives this cluster its uniqueness is the presence of two of the finest institutions, Forest Management at IIFM Bhopal and the one for Communications studies at MUDRA Ahmedabad. The Institute for Agricultural Marketing  and Rural Studies at Jaipur too add colour to the cluster, though the Institute for Rural Management Anand is the best school in this cluster.

EDII at Ahmedabad also is a unique school focusing on entrepreneurship and SME.