The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are introducing stand-alone UG programmes with a diminishing flow of government money as a response to NEP 2020 and under fire for revenue-based motivations.

In parallel, IIM Udaipur will launch an on-campus BBA course from next year. The fees for UG courses vary from ₹4.5 lakh for IIM Bangalore's online BBA to almost ₹28 lakh for Kozhikode's Bachelor in Management Studies (BMS).

The expansion of the UG courses is attributed by IIM officials to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 push for flexible learning and driven by academic requirements and not by finances. Despite this, government investment has fallen significantly—dropping by up to 75.5% from ₹1,030 crore in 2017-18 to ₹251.89 crore in 2025-26—after the IIM Act, 2017 gave autonomy to the institutions. All IIMs offering undergrad courses except IIM Kozhikode have taken Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) loans of ₹250– ₹400 crore, where the institutes repay the amount while the government reimburses the interest.

Students view the high fees as an investment that provides exposure to the IIM environment — best faculty, peer pool, and brand equity. Experts warn, however, that the shift can water down the IIMs' focused attention, turning them into mass universities as they would come under pressure to raise their own revenues.

IIM UG programmes

IIM Sirmaur launched the BMS course, the first UG course of an IIM, in September 2024.

Justifying the shift, IIM Sirmaur director Dr. Prafulla Agnihotri added, "Most UG management courses in contemporary universities are too theoretical in nature. We believed that management education should sharpen decision-making and offer greater practical application of theory to its students and launched the BMS course last year.".

He acknowledged the transition was hard on staff initially, who had no past experience teaching undergrads, but added, "After a year, our faculty have settled into the challenges of the BMS."

IIM Sirmaur's BMS course received 2,373 applications for only 120 seats this year, for which the four-year program would cost ₹22.73 lakh. Admission is given based on marks secured by students in the written test Integrated Program in Management Aptitude Test (IPMAT) organized by IIM Indore and personal interview.

Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was unanimously approved by the Lok Sabha with a view to setting up a new Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Guwahati, Assam. The move is a leap in a giant stride towards providing the world-class management education to India's North-East region, an age-old regional aspiration.

What the Bill Proposes

The Bill also amends the Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017, to specifically include IIM Guwahati in the list of national management institutes. The institution will be given a central grant of ₹550 crore to fund its establishment, infrastructure, and operational facility.

Implication of IIM Guhawati

Having an IIM located there will ensure level playing fields for access to quality management education.

The institute would serve as a growth catalyst for the area, drawing in capital and talent.

The project not only bears pedagogical importance but also adds to the realization of the national growth dream by taking everyone along, which will open doors to include the Northeast within the higher echelons of education in India.

IIMs: A Brand on the Rise

There are 21 functional IIMs in the country today. They were a global brand of managerial education quality from the very beginning, and more and more foreigners are eager to join them.

The interesting thing is that even the government is setting up an IIM campus in Dubai this month, indicating India emerging as a global power in higher education and internationalizing Indian higher education institutions.

Parliamentary Context

Notwithstanding the enactment of the Bill, it was passed without debate in Lok Sabha in the face of SIR issue opposition unrest. Notwithstanding unrest, the law was enacted, an indication of bipartisan good will towards educational advancement in the face of political unrest.

Strategic and Educational Impact

The IIM Guwahati will likely to,

Enhance infrastructure for management education in Northeast India.

Promote entry of boys and girls from backward and tribal areas in professional education.

Promote employment, research, and innovation at the levels of Assam and other states.

Promote entrepreneurship and indigenous enterprise via management capacity.

Taking a major step towards creating the future of management and technology education, Masai, India's largest outcome-based EdTech company, partnered with the Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli (IIM Trichy) to launch two game-changing certificate courses — Digital Marketing with Applied AI and Product Management for the Agentic AI Era.

Six-month programs, up for enrollment, aim to help professionals stay abreast of an increasingly evolving business scenario. While the international digital marketing industry is anticipated to grow to USD 786 billion in 2026 and AI-powered product strategies enable organizations to reduce time-to-market by up to 35 percent, the programs aim to put the ability to thrive under the age of intelligent automation in learners' hands.

The Digital Marketing course with AI explores campaign planning, prompt engineering, AI tools, and measurement, featuring over 20 hands-on projects to build a solid portfolio. The Product Management program explores how Agentic AI is changing product lifecycles, with emphasis on strategy, design, and execution. The programs feature real-world case studies, faculty mentoring at IIM Trichy along with industry mentors, as well as career counseling.

Stressing the alliance, Masai Co-founder & CEO Prateek Shukla indicated that the alliance brings together academic rigour with industry relevance to train the students for roles of leadership. Seconding the opinion, Prof. Saravanan P, Dean (Corporate Relations & Faculty Affairs), IIM Trichy, emphasized again that the focus is on applied learning so that industry-ready students are sent out for graduation.

Masai further announced that it is developing an AI-powered Fintech program, further enriching its pipeline of future-ready offerings. The newly launched programs are now open for applying on the Masai School platform.

 A recent conference was organized by Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) on the implication and application of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in management education. 

Among the dominant themes was preparing students with sets of competencies that would place them to thrive in a digitalization era. Conference presenters highlighted accepting technological developments through curriculum creation, experimentation, and career counseling of learners. Technology integration and collaborations with business partners were discovered to be crucial to today and relevant management education.Academic leaders, industry professionals, and policy administrators attended the conference and shared their views on how NEP 2020 can transform management studies in India.

It talked about how NEP 2020 encourages the students' choice with the opening up of management education to inter-disciplinary programmes such as hospitality management, business economics, and data science. It encouraged specialists in favour of a student-centric model, which entails the development of employment skills through internships and practice training and making the graduates employable for 21st-century workplace needs.

Panellists discussed issues for schools, such as infrastructure and building modernisation, investment in teacher training, and greater flexibility among students. The ultimate objective is to make the innovation, inclusiveness, and domestic as well as global reputation of management education in India more robust.

The conference concluded on a positive note with recommendations for continuous improvement, industry-academia interface, and commitment towards making the students career-proof and lifelong learners

Vivekananda Global University (VGU), Faculty of International Trade & Commerce, Jaipur, has become one of the most popular commercial education centres that combines both academia and industry demands across the globe. Led by its vision to be the next-generation in commerce and trade leader, the faculty has been known to have a wholesome curriculum, innovative instruction and good interface with the industry. It is ranked number 7 amongst the top commerce colleges in Rajasthan by India Today 2025, and it is a light that cannot be ignored when it comes to offering quality commerce education in India.

Dean’s Vision and Leadership

According to the Dean of the Global Centre for Entrepreneurship and Commerce (GCEC), the faculty uses a holistic approach in which they train the students not just in theory but in both practical skills and international exposure as well. VGU, having 12 years of history, the Faculty of International Trade & Commerce has more than 17,861 alumni in the whole world and 18,684 students today, which is an indicator of its vast presence and increasing popularity as a business educational institution.

Scholastic Achievement and Coursework

The faculty has different programs that match international standards and the demands of the Indian industry, such as:

  • Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) (Hons.), with ACCA and CMA benefits.
  • Master of Commerce (M.Com)- majors tailored to modern commerce areas.
  • Curricula are built into industries based on feedback from the trade and business leaders.
  • Extra-curricular clubs and forums enable interaction with the real world and engagement.

Practical Learning and Industry Connect.

The focus of the faculty on education meets execution, turning students into industry-prepared graduates. Students can acquire practical exposure through internships, live projects, and entrepreneurial incubation, which are directly related to employment and business ecosystem trends. The faculty has strong placement support due to close contacts with more than 1000 companies involved; thus, the faculty is a favourite with students and recruiters as well. 

Infrastructure and Student Life

The student at the faculty enjoys an enviable campus of more than 35 acres that has high-quality classrooms, well-stocked libraries, computer labs, and colourful co-curricular activities. The faculty also hosts frequent cultural events, entrepreneurship seminars, and workshops with industry experts, hence, holistic development outside academics.

The Importance of this Faculty to Academic Leaders

To professors, deans and education policymakers, the Faculty of International Trade and Commerce at VCU provides an example of combining academic excellence and practical applicability. It is exemplary in its adaptability to the industry needs and emphasis on entrepreneurship, which was achieved through the continuous introduction of changes to the curriculum. The faculty successfully develops moral, creative leaders, which underscores a forward-thinking roadmap in the study of commerce that may stimulate institutions nationwide.

The National Institutional Ranking Framework India Rankings 2025 list of the Ministry of Education gives the name of the top higher education institutions in the nation in different categories. As part of the formal launch of the NIRF system, Union Minister of Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan highlighted the genuineness of the NIRF system and how the latter has been wedded with the strength of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The Minister of State for Education and North Eastern Region Development, Dr Sukanta Majumdar, also elaborated on the point that more than 14,000 institutions in India participated this time.

In management, Gujarat beat some of India's best business schools to learn school of communications mastery at the world-renowned Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. 

The institutes were benchmarked against Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RPC), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI), and Perception. IIM Ahmedabad placed 1st position for consecutive second year in NIRF 2025 management ranking with overall score of 83.29. Performance of institute is marked at all time high marks under Graduation Outcomes (98.72), Teaching, Learning and Resources (91.84), and Perception (93.26).

In 1961, IIM Ahmedabad was founded. It is India's top-ranked school of management with intellectual weight and global exposure. Its global alumni network, case-teaching format, and research in thought leadership make IIM Ahmedabad India's finest business school.

Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), well-deserved School of Ideas, NIRF rank 33 in 2025 with a score of 59.22. It was very high in Graduation Outcomes (84.20) and Teaching, Learning and Resources (73.21).

MICA is strongly established by virtue of the successful confluence of management studies and innovativeness. It is even the first choice among students willing to settle for brand management, digital marketing, media, and adverting careers.

53rd NIRF 2025 management ranking with overall score of 53.48. Pillars underpinning were Teaching, Learning and Resources (74.34) and Graduation Outcomes (79.76).

Nirma University Institute of Management has successfully built up consistently the quality brand in management education since 2003. 

Set up by the "Father of the White Revolution," Dr. Verghese Kurien, in 1979, IRMA has been the pioneer in rural management education. Rank: 54 with overall score of 53.34. It led in Graduation Outcomes (88.49) and Outreach and Inclusivity (69.83).

Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU) or earlier Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) had 89 NIRF 2025 rankings in management with all-India rank of 46.81. Its highest scores were for Teaching, Learning and Resources (63.29) and Graduation Outcomes (70.00).

Its emphasis on partnership with industry and innovation is stronger, and as such it's a commitment to applicants seeking region-based business intelligence

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI) and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Jammu signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently.  The agreement is a major accomplishment to enhance excellence in management studies, research, training, and professional development, according to a statement given to the media. "The MoU signing ceremony was witnessed by Prof. B.S. Sahay, Director, IIM Jammu; CMA Navneet Kumar Jain, Council Member, ICMAI; and CMA Dr. Debaprosanna Nandy, Secretary (Officiating), ICMAI, Rajesh Talwar, Director Finance, Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Govt. of Jammu and Kashmir."

"Cmdr. Kesavan Baskkaran (R), Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) IIM Jammu, and CMA Dr. Debaprosanna Nandy, Officiating Secretary, ICMAI, signed the MoU in a formal ceremony today in the presence of high-level IIM Jammu and ICMAI officials," it added. Members of senior faculty of IIM Jammu were also present. "The MoU creates a framework of collaboration between the two flagships to enable them to work together to develop and deliver Management Development Programmes (MDPs), Specialized Training Programmes, Executive Education, and Faculty Development Programmes."

"It also provides opportunities for sharing knowledge in the form of collaborative research, co-sponsored seminars, conferences, workshops, curriculum development, and sharing of facilities for academic purposes," the release added further. Prof. B.S. Sahay, Director, IIM Jammu, reiterated that the MoU with Institute of Cost Accountants of India marks IIM Jammu's bigger vision of building an ecosystem of academic excellence, research-based innovation, and effective executive education.

He said that the collaboration would not only strengthen the research and study relationship between the two institutions but also give the space to train professionals and leaders with the right knowledge, values, and abilities to meet the new requirements of an evolving economy. "He also stated that operations under this MoU will bear long-term fruits for students, industry professionals, and society in general.". CMA Navneet Kumar Jain, ICMAI Council Member, said that the MoU is a strategic step towards professional education and future-proof talent development in cost and management accounting," the release added.

He also mentioned that through sharing of educational material, research outcomes, and specialized training processes, the tie-up would facilitate bridging crucial skill gaps in the profession. He also emphasized that the alliance would make professionals competitive in the face of a dynamic business environment, improve productivity and innovation in industrial practice, and confirm a culture of learning and growth across industries. Prof. Jabir Ali, Dean, Faculty and Research, IIM Jammu, noted that the alliance would improve the research culture of the Institute, improve curriculum designing, and explore new areas of innovation.

He emphasized that they play a significant role in ensuring academic learning is congruent with practice in industry and thereby graduating students well prepared to function effectively in society and organizations. The MoU shall facilitate collaborative efforts in areas of mutual interest, including research initiatives, faculty exchange, and sharing of common academic infrastructure. "This partnership is an expression of the vision of IIM Jammu as an international-level management school and ICMAI as the statutory organization tasked with developing and governing the cost accountancy profession in India," the release added.

More Articles ...