Is it possible that one of the most sought-after B-schools among students could not find a place in the top 100 B-schools of the country, as listed by the Government of India’s NIRF ranking? What explains such a yawning gap between student choices and the ranks declared by NIRF?
This Story also Contains
NIRF Ranking Methodology and MBA Colleges
B-schools Ranked By Placements
MBA Graduate Outcomes: Student-centric Parameter
B-School: Multidisciplinary vs. Standalone
NIRF MBA Ranking: What’s Missing From Top?
Do NIRF Rankings Mislead B-school Aspirants?
Faculty of Management Students (FMS) Delhi is a case in point. Even students with scores in the 100th percentile on the Common Admission Test (CAT) pick it, but it’s not on the NIRF. With its misplaced weightages, NIRF may not be the best guide for aspirants looking to find the best institutions.
When students consider whether to pursue an MBA or a PGDM, their priorities are clear. They give a greater weightage to placements at the institutions - participating recruiters, median salaries, roles offered and how many of the batch were placed or the placement rate. Students’ choices are reflected in the cut-offs – the minimum scores in entrance exams, such as CAT, MAT, XAT, CMAT and others – at which admissions open or close. They look for strong returns on investment (RoI).
Yet, in the education ministry-backed National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) for higher education, and especially in the management category, placements receive surprisingly little emphasis with only 20 percent weightage assigned to them. This is in complete contrast to choices made by students.
NIRF Ranking Methodology and MBA Colleges
The B-school rankings have the following weightages assigned:
Teaching and Learning Resources: 30%
Research and Publications: 30%
Graduation Outcomes (Placements): 20%
Outreach & Inclusivity: 10%
Perception: 10%
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This year, the NIRF management category 2025 saw participation from 1,026 institutions. Only 100 were ranked, with another 25 listed alphabetically in a cluster format; they fall within the 101-125 rank brackets. That means that fewer than 15 percent of participating B-schools gained ranking recognition, despite a far broader pool competing for visibility.
B-schools Ranked By Placements
Careers360 tried to create a ranking based only on placements, measured by the placement and salary data of top-ranked institutions. The results created a totally different rank list — particularly when viewed from the students’ perspective and what really matters to an MBA or PGDM aspirant. What was striking is that multidisciplinary institutions with a special emphasis on research score better and are ranked better because of excessive weightage to research and better perception scores.
It is pertinent to mention that B-schools around the globe rely a lot more on case studies to teach in the classrooms. However, universities do a lot more research and publish in Category A journals. However, the NIRF way of giving excessive weightage for research when judging even management education is skewing the ranking in favour of universities offering an MBA program. It is thus unfair to the management institutions like FMS Delhi or SPJIMR. More critically, this ranking is also misleading students in their decision-making.
This table below shows the representation of standalone management institutions and universities offering MBA among the top 100 NIRF 2025 ranks.
B-schools in Top NIRF Ranks – All Parameters
Type of B-school
Top 100
Standalone
53
Multidisciplinary
47
Total
100
However, considering only placements changes the picture radically. When ranked only on placements – the number of standalone institutions in the top ranks increases dramatically.
B-schools in Top NIRF Ranks – Placements Only
Type of B-school
Top 100
Standalone
70
Multidisciplinary
30
Total
100
MBA Graduate Outcomes: Student-centric Parameter
Within the NIRF framework, graduate outcomes carry just 20 percent of the overall weight. This category combines three core elements:
Placement and Higher Studies (GPH): 40 marks
University Examinations (GUE): 20 marks
Median Salary (GMS): 40 marks.
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Careers360 recalibrated the equation. By giving equal weight to placement percentage and median salary — while excluding university exam scores, which lack transparency — we created a placement rank. The differences in the top 25 institutions for placements was eye-opening – 24 were standalone B-schools, with only one multidisciplinary institute making the cut. The one odd is also known for their management program. On the other hand, the official NIRF’s Top 25 includes six multidisciplinary institutes and 19 standalone ones. If you see the top 100 ranked institutions based on just placements, 70 are standalone institutions.
This begs the question: does NIRF need to change the methodology or give more weightage to the GO? If graduate outcomes were weighted more heavily, then our premier management institutions with the best placement records would dominate the top tier.
The NIRF Top 100 features a near-even split: 47 multidisciplinary institutions and 53 standalone management institutions.
Multidisciplinary, including the IITs, shine in research and perception scores, sustained by their reputation in engineering. For instance, IIT Delhi’s Department of Management Studies (DoMS) has the highest score in research and the sixth-highest score in perception among B-schools but slips to the 32nd spot in graduate outcomes. Even with this prestige, nearly 40 percent of seats went unfilled in the previous years.
Standalone B-schools, meanwhile, thrive in areas most relevant to students – placements and industry connections. Institutions such as NMIMS and XIM Bhubaneswar may be household names in management education circles and yet their ranks often slip due to weaker research and perception metrics.
Curiously, several respected B-schools participated in the NIRF but don’t feature at all in the management rankings.
However, when only placement parameters are considered, about 19 B-schools that otherwise were not ranking in the top 100, make the cut.
Listed below are B-schools that students widely trust but are missing from the top ranks on the NIRF. Some of them may have opted out; others didn’t fit NIRF’s evaluation framework. Regardless, their absence underscores a limitation in the current methodology.
FMS Delhi – The institute doesn’t participate in the NIRF rankings. Based on the latest-available placement reports on their websites, the institute secured 100% placements with an average CTC for the top 50 percent at Rs 43.03 lakh per annum for the batch 2021-23.
DBE Delhi: The Department of Business Economics (DBE), University of Delhi, offers a specialised MBA in Business Economics. Although it has not participated in the NIRF rankings, the institute reports a 100% placement record with a median salary of Rs 14.97 lakh, as per its website.
Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) – Popularly known as the “CEO factory”, JBIMS too hasn’t participated in NIRF. As per latest records, it has 100% placement with a median salary of Rs 26 lakh.
IIFM Bhopal: The Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) Bhopal is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. It specialises in offering management programs focused on forestry and sustainability. Although it did not secure a position in the recent NIRF rankings, the institute successfully placed 100% of its students, with a median salary of Rs 8.88 lakh for 2023-24.
IFMR GSB – KREA University – It doesn’t feature in the list of participants for the 2025 edition of the NIRF but as per data shared for the 2024 rankings, it had 100% placement with a median salary of Rs 13.10 lakh.
SCMHRD Pune – SCMHRD Pune did not participate in the NIRF 2025 rankings but secured a 100% placement record. As per the latest-available placement report, the median salary for MBA (HR) graduates is Rs 21.63 lakh.
SIOM Pune – Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management is also missing from the list of participants. It offers specialised programs in operation management and secured 100% placement with median salary of Rs 13 lakh.
Jagdish Sheth School of Management (JAGSoM) – Earlier named IFIM Business School, JAGSoM was among the first six Indian B-schools to earn AACSB accreditation. Although a participant, it wasn’t ranked. Based on the NIRF 2025 placement data, 83% of its students were placed with Rs 8 lakh as median salary.
XIME Bangalore – It participated in NIRF rankings but wasn’t ranked. However, judged only on GO data, XIME Bangalore finds a place in the top 75. It has a placement rate of 97.40% with a median salary of Rs 9.34 lakh.
VMNICM Pune - The Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management is a grant-in-aid institution under the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India. A niche institute which offers a PG diploma, it has participated in the NIRF rankings but doesn’t feature in the top 100. It has a 100% placement rate and a median salary of Rs 8 lakh.
SDMIMD Mysore – It participated but wasn’t ranked in the NIRF. Ranking only on the basis of GO scores places it in the 129th position. It placed 88.64% students with a median salary of Rs 9.60 lakh.
Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education, Mumbai – Popularly known as SIMSREE, it fetches students a high RoI but isn’t ranked. On placements, it’s at the 38th spot. The institute has a 97.18% placement rate with Rs 14.95 lakh median salary.
National Insurance Academy, Pune – A niche institute focused only on the insurance sector, is placed at the 51st rank with placements only parameter. It has a 100% placement record with Rs 11.70 lakh median salary. It doesn’t feature in the NIRF management rankings.
FOSTIIMA Business School, Delhi – At the 53th position when judged only on placements – with 100% placement at a Rs 11.50 lakh median salary – FOSTIMA Business School, Delhi , too, is neglected by NIRF.
Placement Rank (Participated in NIRF but not in top 100)
Placement Rank
Institute
28
Institute of Engineering and Management, Kolkata
38
Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education, Mumbai
51
National Insurance Academy, Pune
53
FOSTIIMA Business School, Delhi
59
Indus Business School, Pune
72
Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan College of Engineering, Coimbatore
72
Institute of Management Studies, Ghaziabad
75
Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Bangalore
79
Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management, Pune
83
Chandigarh School of Business, Jhanjeri
87
Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Gandhinagar
89
Chandragupt Institute of Management, Patna
89
IES's Management College and Research Centre, Mumbai
91
Matoshri College of Management and Research Centre, Eklahare
93
Asian Business School, Noida
95
IILM Institute for Business and Management, Gurgaon
96
Prin LN Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Bangalore
97
Army Institute of Management and Technology, Greater Noida
99
Chetana's Ramprasad Khandelwal Institute of Management and Research, Bandra
Both Bengal Institute of Business Studies (BIBS) and United World School of Business (UWSB) have strong placement records in Kolkata. with specific data suggesting BIBS has a slightly higher potential higher salary package. While the UWSB provides a higher placement rate.
With an NMAT score of 205, you have decent chances in good mid-tier MBA colleges.
You may get calls from NMIMS Hyderabad or Indore, but the Mumbai core is usually slightly higher.
Colleges like SDA Bocconi Asia Centre, BML Munjal, and IBS Hyderabad are realistic options.
Some reputed private B-schools may also consider you if sectional cutoffs are clear. Overall, 205 is a fair score that can lead to a solid MBA college with good planning.
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CAT does not restrict eligibility based on stream. Candidates from commerce, arts, science, engineering or any other background can appear for CAT and apply to MBA programmes offered by IIMs and other top B-schools.
The basic eligibility criteria for CAT are:
You must hold a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university with at least 50 percent marks (45 percent for SC, ST and PwD categories). Final-year graduation students are also eligible to apply.
Being a commerce graduate can actually be an advantage in areas such as accounting, finance, economics and business studies, especially during MBA coursework in finance, marketing and operations.
After qualifying CAT, admission depends on multiple factors including CAT percentile, academic background, work experience (if any), performance in GD, WAT and personal interview rounds. Many IIMs and B-schools follow a diverse academic background policy, which means non-engineering candidates, including commerce graduates, often receive additional weightage.
Apart from IIMs, several reputed institutes such as FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, IMT Ghaziabad, and many state and private universities also accept CAT scores for MBA admissions.
So, as a commerce graduate, you are fully eligible to appear for CAT and pursue an MBA, provided you meet the minimum academic requirements and perform well in the selection process.
If you want, I can also help you with realistic CAT percentile targets based on your academic profile or suggest suitable MBA colleges.
First-year MBA fees in India vary greatly, ranging from less than rupees one lakh for government/distance programs to rupees ten to twenty-five lakhs or more for elite private B-schools (such as ISB, IIMs, and XLRI). The majority of elite private institutions charge between rupees eight and twenty-five lakh for the entire two-year program, indicating that first-year expenses are substantial.
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Transferring mid-stream from an online MBA to an offline MBA is generally very difficult and rare, requiring a fresh application and usually withdrawal from your current program. You can apply for a new offline MBA after completing your online MBA or even while pursuing it (with caution), provided your current university is recognized.
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