INDIAN B-SCHOOLS' RACE TO BE GLOBAL BEST

International accreditations help B-Schools join global rankings. The flipside: Over 89% are unable to meet the benchmarks.

- Ajita Shashidhar

IN THE QS World University Rankings, IIM-A, IIM-B and IIM-C are in the 22nd, 32nd and 50th positions, respectively (the toppers of the QS list are Harvard University, INSEAD and London Business School). The 2024 edition of the Financial Times Masters in Management global rankings, meanwhile, has 14 Indian business schools in top 100, three of them in top 50 (SPJIMR at 35, IIM Ahmedabad at 39 and IIM Bangalore at 41). These schools have made it to the FT list by virtue of their AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a U.S. accreditation body) and EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) accreditations.

India being among the world's largest economies, business schools are also vying fpr a place among the top globally with aggressive efforts to meet international accreditation standards such as curriculums that offer the right balance of knowledge and skill acquisition, a strong emphasis on research, an environment which appeals to international students and faculty, and a strong focus on purpose and impact.

While IIM Calcutta, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode and Indian School of Business (ISB) have Triple Crown international accreditations with AACSB, AMBA (Association of MBAs) and EQUIS, the likes of IMI Kolkata and Delhi, SPJIMR and XIM University have two international accreditations each. Mumbai-based NMIMS (Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies) recently got accredited by EQUIS.

"It's high time Indian B-Schools internationalise themselves. The first step should be to make the curriculum global. We have to start programmes that are geared for the global market," says Bharat Bhasker, director, IIM-A.