Careers360 Logo
ask-icon
share
    IIM Fees Rise, MBA Salaries Stagnate: The Real Cost of an MBA Degree
    • Articles
    • IIM Fees Rise, MBA Salaries Stagnate: The Real Cost of an MBA Degree

    IIM Fees Rise, MBA Salaries Stagnate: The Real Cost of an MBA Degree

    #MBA
    Maheshwer PeriUpdated on 21 Aug 2026, 06:47 PM IST

    It is well known that MBA, as a qualification is coming under scrutiny for its failure to keep pace with Return on Investment. For more than a decade, MBA fees in India climbed steadily upward while placement outcomes have moved in the opposite direction. And when it happens at even the IIM’s, India’s premier institutions for management education, it paints a sorry picture.

    IIM Fees Rise, MBA Salaries Stagnate: The Real Cost of an MBA Degree
    IIM Fees Rise

    Careers360 analysed all the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), the autonomous though publicly funded management institutions. We looked at the data of IIMs, because the rest of the sector tend to follow what IIMs do. However, while they manage to move the cost downwards, the student outcomes, more often than not, do not move in sync with the IIMs.

    IIM Placement Data: A Slow Slide

    Across the 20 IIMs, roughly 7,320 students were admitted in 2022–23, and about 99% of eligible graduates were eventually placed. The overall IIM median salary that year stood at Rs. 21.34 lakh.

    But the trend since then has been on a downward path. In 2023-24, the Median salary fell to Rs. 20.61 lakhs and in 2024-25, it was Rs. 21.02 lakh. The IIM median salary over two years actually declined by about 1.5%, even as inflation rose an estimated 17.6%. In real terms, that means IIM graduates' purchasing power has eroded, salaries fell while the fees increased.

    Manav Rachna-MBA Admissions 2026

    Recognized as Category-1 Deemed to be University by UGC | 41,000 + Alumni Imprints Globally | Students from over 20+ countries

    Mahindra University | Admissions 2026

    4000+ Placements to date | 6000+ Students | Advanced applied research, patents, and partnerships

    IIM Fee Increases: Outpacing Inflation

    While placement outcomes have stagnated or slipped, IIM fees have moved sharply upward. Over just a two-year period, individual IIMs raised fees anywhere from 6% to over 40%.

    Zooming out to a roughly ten-year window (2015–17 through 2024–26), the increases are even starker:

    Institute

    Salary 22-23

    Salary 23-24

    Salary 24-25

    Salary Chg

    Fees 22-24

    Fees 24-26

    Fees Chg

    IIM Amritsar

    15.94L

    15.60L

    12.29L

    -3.65L (-22.90%)

    15.20L

    18.10L

    +19.08%

    IIM Bodh Gaya

    15.50L

    13.00L

    12.12L

    -3.38L (-21.81%)

    -

    15.42L

    -

    IIM Kashipur

    17.20L

    15.03L

    14.46L

    -2.74L (-15.93%)

    15.42L

    17.21L

    +11.61%

    IIM Raipur

    20.00L

    17.50L

    18.40L

    -1.60L (-8.00%)

    -

    16.74L

    -

    IIM Udaipur

    18.53L

    18.00L

    17.10L

    -1.43L (-7.74%)

    17.30L

    19.26L

    +11.33%

    IIM Shillong

    26.09L

    25.67L

    25.00L

    -1.09L (-4.18%)

    -

    26.18L

    -

    IIM Vizag

    16.00L

    15.50L

    15.00L

    -1.00L (-6.25%)

    15.04L

    17.82L

    +18.48%

    IIM Sambalpur

    16.00L

    13.15L

    15.03L

    -0.97L (-6.08%)

    10.50L

    15.05L

    +43.33%

    IIM Tiruchirappalli

    18.60L

    18.10L

    18.00L

    -0.60L (-3.23%)

    16.50L

    19.50L

    +18.18%

    IIM Bangalore

    33.00L

    32.50L

    32.61L

    -0.39L (-1.18%)

    24.50L

    26.00L

    +6.12%

    Top UGC Approved Colleges for Online MBA
    Download this ebook and get all details related to the top UGC approved colleges for Online MBA.
    Download List Here


    These IIMs are public institutions, originally built and subsidized with taxpayer money. Even accounting for inflation, fee growth at this scale suggests something beyond simple cost-of-living adjustments - and because IIMs are seen as sector leaders, their fee hikes effectively give "permission" for every other B-school to raise prices too.

    The MBA EMI Reality

    Case A:

    To understand what this means for an individual student, consider a representative scenario:

    Total cost of education (fees plus accrued interest on an education loan) of around Rs.30 lakh,

    Starting salary of Rs. 15 lakh which is roughly the median for many mid-tier IIMs.

    Take-home pay on a Rs. 15 lakh CTC works out to roughly Rs. 90,000/month

    A prudent EMI shouldn't exceed about 33% of take-home pay of around Rs. 30,000/month.

    EMI increasing by 10% each year, based on the earning potential

    Year

    EMI / Month (Rs.)

    Total Paid in Year (Rs)

    Interest Paid (Rs.)

    Principal Paid (Rs.)

    Balance at Year-End (Rs.)

    1

    30,000

    3,60,000

    2,97,172

    62,828

    29,37,172

    2

    33,000

    3,96,000

    2,88,897

    1,07,103

    28,30,069

    3

    36,300

    4,35,600

    2,75,815

    1,59,785

    26,70,284

    4

    39,930

    4,79,160

    2,57,030

    2,22,130

    24,48,154

    5

    43,923

    5,27,076

    2,31,512

    2,95,564

    21,52,591

    6

    48,315

    5,79,784

    1,98,079

    3,81,705

    17,70,886

    7

    53,147

    6,37,762

    1,55,377

    4,82,385

    12,88,500

    8

    58,462

    7,01,538

    1,01,859

    5,99,679

    6,88,821

    9

    64,308

    7,24,579

    35,758

    6,88,821

    0

    TOTAL

    -

    48,41,499

    18,41,499

    30,00,000

    -

    University of Southampton Delhi Masters Admissions 2026

    Applications fee waiver for all prgrammes | MSc Finance and MSc International Management Admissions 2026 Now Open | Ranked Among the Top 100 Universities in the World by QS World University Rankings 2025

    Integral University MBA Admissions 2026

    NAAC A+ Accredited | Highest CTC 45 LPA | Scholarships Available


    Read More: IIM Fees soar, salaries don’t, studnets in debt
    Case B:

    Total cost of education of Rs. 30 lakh,

    Starting salary of Rs. 15 lakh

    Take-home pay of roughly Rs. 90,000/month

    EMI of 33% of take-home pay of around Rs. 30,000/month.

    EMI at a flat 30,000 PM

    Year

    EMI / Month (Rs. )

    Total Paid in Year (Rs. )

    Interest Paid (Rs.)

    Principal Paid (Rs.)

    Balance at Year-End (Rs.)

    1

    30,000

    3,60,000

    2,97,172

    62,828

    29,37,172

    2

    30,000

    3,60,000

    2,90,593

    69,407

    28,67,765

    3

    30,000

    3,60,000

    2,83,325

    76,675

    27,91,091

    4

    30,000

    3,60,000

    2,75,297

    84,703

    27,06,388

    5

    30,000

    3,60,000

    2,66,427

    93,573

    26,12,815

    6

    30,000

    3,60,000

    2,56,629

    1,03,371

    25,09,443

    7

    30,000

    3,60,000

    2,45,804

    1,14,196

    23,95,248

    8

    30,000

    3,60,000

    2,33,847

    1,26,153

    22,69,095

    9

    30,000

    3,60,000

    2,20,637

    1,39,363

    21,29,731

    10

    30,000

    3,60,000

    2,06,044

    1,53,956

    19,75,775

    11

    30,000

    3,60,000

    1,89,922

    1,70,078

    18,05,698

    12

    30,000

    3,60,000

    1,72,113

    1,87,887

    16,17,811

    13

    30,000

    3,60,000

    1,52,439

    2,07,561

    14,10,249

    14

    30,000

    3,60,000

    1,30,705

    2,29,295

    11,80,954

    15

    30,000

    3,60,000

    1,06,694

    2,53,306

    9,27,648

    16

    30,000

    3,60,000

    80,170

    2,79,830

    6,47,818

    17

    30,000

    3,60,000

    50,868

    3,09,132

    3,38,686

    18

    30,000

    3,57,184

    18,498

    3,38,686

    ₹0

    TOTAL

    -

    64,77,184

    34,77,184

    30,00,000

    -

    At a 10% interest rate, a Rs. 30,000 EMI would take 18 years to clear a Rs. 30 lakh loan

    And this is the scenario for students placed at the median salary of Rs.15 Lacs. In the bottom half of IIMs, graduates placed below the median and even at Rs. 6-8 lakh who cannot even service the EMI at all, and may carry the debt indefinitely.

    At IIM Calcutta, for instance, RTI data reportedly shows a placement range from a high of Rs. 1.45 crore down to a low of just Rs. 6 lakh, with an average/median around Rs. 32-33 lakh. If even a top-ranked, publicly funded IIM shows this much dispersion, the picture is likely worse across the broader B-school landscape.

    Data on India's Top 100 best B Schools as ranked by NIRF, about 35 of them at the bottom averaged a median salary of 7.93 lacs - with many graduates placed at as less as Rs. 3-4 lakh. For these graduates, the take-home pay is too low to meaningfully service any education loan, let alone cover living costs in a different city.

    Read More: MBA Placement Realities: IIM vs Top 10 MBA Colleges Median Salary


    MBA Salary : 35 MBA Institutes Between 5L - 10L Median Salary among Top 100 NIRF Ranked Institutions


    Field

    2022-23

    2023-24

    2024-25

    Intake

    10884

    11929

    13105

    Admitted (1st Year)

    10341

    11676

    12868

    Graduated

    9799

    11187

    12409

    Placed

    7542

    8689

    11234

    Higher Studies

    324

    360

    379

    Placement %

    79.60%

    80.25%

    93.38%

    Placement % Against Graduated

    76.97%

    77.67%

    90.53%

    Placement % Against Admitted

    72.93%

    74.42%

    87.30%

    Median Salary

    Rs. 7,49,407

    Rs. 7,60,485

    Rs. 7,93,292

    The Core Question: Because IIMs are publicly funded and carry outsized influence over the sector, the pattern of raising fees faster than placement outcomes raises a broader question: should institutions built on public investment be leading fee increases, or should they be leading efforts to keep management education affordable and outcomes strong enough that students can realistically repay what they borrow? This would also ensure that other institutions are careful in fees increases. Is there a larger responsibility on public institutions?

    For now, a growing share of MBA graduates, even if they are from India's most prestigious institutes, face a decade or more of loan repayment before the degree pays for itself.

    Certifications By Top Providers
    Online MBA
    Via Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar
    Corporate Tax Planning
    Via Netaji Subhash Open University, Kolkata
    Strategic Management
    Via Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
    Online MBA Business Analytics
    Via Centre for Distance and Online Education, Anna University, Chennai
    Digital Marketing
    Via Panjab University, Chandigarh
    Online MBA
    Via Centre for Distance and Online Education, Anna University, Chennai
    Explore Top Universities Across Globe
    University of Essex, Colchester
    Wivenhoe Park Colchester CO4 3SQ
    Northumbria University, Newcastle City Campus
    Sutherland Building, Northumberland Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 8ST
    Oxford Brookes University, Oxford
    Headington Campus Oxford OX3 0BP UK
    Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff
    Llandaff Campus, Western Avenue, Cardiff, CF5 2YB
    University of Reading, Reading
    Whiteknights PO Box 217 Reading Berkshire RG6 6AH
    Bournemouth University, Bournemouth
    Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB, United Kingdom

    Questions related to MBA

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to MBA ?

    Hello Student,

    XAT is worth considering if you plan to pursue an MBA / PGDM from XLRI or other XAT-accepting B-schools. However, you cannot appear for XAT while you are in Class 10. Candidates must have a recognised bachelor’s degree of at least three years, while final-year graduation students can

    Hey there,

    If you mean free online MBA-level courses with certificates in India, the best legitimate option is SWAYAM, especially courses offered by IIM Bangalore. SWAYAM courses are free to learn; you generally pay only if you want the proctored certificate.

    Good options for 2026

    • IIM Bangalore (IIMBx): Marketing, Finance,

    Hello, some good institutes for MBA in Agribusiness Management include IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Lucknow, BHU Varanasi, MANAGE Hyderabad and College of Agribusiness Management, Pantnagar. The best choice depends on your entrance exam, budget, eligibility and preferred location.

    You can check the top MBA Agribusiness Management colleges and fee details here:

    Your academic profile is not bad, especially with 89.8% in Class 10 and 81% in B.Com . The 64.14% in Class 12 may affect eligibility for some companies, but it will not automatically prevent you from getting good placements.

    The important point is that different companies have different shortlisting criteria.