IIM-A tops global pay metric for 3rd yr in row

NEW DELHI: Seven of the world's top 10 B-schools in terms of weighted salary (average alumni pay three years post-graduation, adjusted across industries) are from India - up from six last year - with IIM-Ahmedabad ($181,239) leading the pack, followed by IIM-Bangalore ($173,707) and IIMCalcutta ($164,383).

IIM-A has topped the salary metric for the third straight year.However, in overall rankings, Indian B-schools remain far from the benchmark set over a decade ago when multiple IIMs regularly featured in the global top 20 of the Financial Times Masters in Management (FT MiM) list. The number of Indian schools in the top 100 dropped from 14 in 2024 to 11 in the latest 2025 edition. IIM-Bangalore, at 28th and tied with the University of Mannheim, Germany, re-entered the top 30 for the first time since 2021.The 2025 tally of 11 institutions matches 2023 and is the second best in the past decade, after 2024's 14. Yet the showing remains below par compared with earlier highs. The best overall ranks for Indian B-schools came in 2016 when IIM-Ahmedabad (16th) and IIM-Bangalore (19th) both made to the top 20, while IIM-Calcutta was placed 23rd. IIM-A's best performance was seventh in 2011, followed by 10th in 2012 - the last time any IIM cracked the top 10.

This year, apart from IIM-Bangalore, the only Indian schools in the top 40 are IIM-A (34th) and SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (35th). IIM-Calcutta, which ranked as high as 17th in 2019, has slipped to 41st.On a specific parameter, SPJIMR is India's best performer - ranked third globally in career services, which measures alumni advancement in seniority and organisation size. IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Calcutta are sixth and ninth, respectively.Placement is a standout: all 11 Indian schools in the top 100 reported 100% employment or job offers within three months of graduation, a record unmatched even by the top four schools (University of St Gallen, Switzerland; HEC, Paris; INSEAD, France; and Nova School of Business and Economics, Portugal). Indian schools also outperformed on faculty doctorates, with seven reporting 100% and the others at 95%.