India’s B-Schools have long been celebrated for producing sharp strategists, efficient managers, and boardroom-ready professionals. But as we step deeper into a startup-led economy, the time has come to evolve this narrative. The question is no longer, “Where will our MBAs be placed?” but “What will they build?”
With India now boasting over 100 unicorns and a swelling pipeline of innovative startups, the entrepreneurial mindset is no longer an optional elective — it’s a core requirement. Yet, many B-Schools, particularly outside the IIMs, still operate within outdated models focused primarily on placements, package numbers, and classroom-bound pedagogy.
To stay relevant, B-Schools must shift gears — from being finishing schools for corporate jobs to launchpads for founders, innovators, and risk-takers.
This evolution requires more than token startup cells or guest lectures by founders. It calls for an ecosystem that incubates ideas, supports early experimentation, and normalizes failure as part of the learning process. Access to seed funding, cross-disciplinary collaboration (think tech + management + design), and mentorship from real-world entrepreneurs must become structural offerings, not mere add-ons.
Curriculum, too, must reflect this shift. Courses on valuation, digital marketing, or VC pitching should be taught with the same rigor as operations and finance. More importantly, students should be given the space to question models, challenge markets, and design ventures — even if they never take off.
The best B-Schools of the future will not be ranked just by their average salary packages, but by the ventures they birth, the jobs they create, and the markets they disrupt.
Some non-IIM B-Schools are already beginning to rise to this challenge — embedding entrepreneurship deeply into their DNA. These institutions are recognizing that in a world where disruption is the only constant, nurturing intrapreneurs and founders is no longer a niche goal; it’s a national imperative.
As we present our Top 50 Non-IIM B-Schools of 2025, we urge every institute to ask not just “How employable are our students?” but also “How entrepreneurial is our campus?”
Because the B-School of tomorrow is not just a place where futures are placed — it’s where they are created.