Master of Business Administration, commonly called MBA, is one of the most coveted and prestigious educational qualifications in India. Earlier, most MBA degree holders in India were qualified from American universities.
However, the scenario has changed over the last seven decades. Nowadays, MBA courses in India are available, including in remote parts of the country, thanks to online MBA courses and distance education.
Current scenario
Several state-run, private and foreign universities offer different courses in MBA. You can opt for classroom studies, online MBA courses or through distance MBA in India.
Thanks to the boom in the Indian economy, ‘Make in India’ drive by the Indian government and entry of several newer sectors in this country, business schools and universities here now offer MBA courses in many specialized fields.
Hence, there are various types of MBA courses in India.
Best business schools for MBA
The country’s most prestigious business school, Indian Institute of Management, offers various types of MBA courses in India.
Other reputed business schools of India, include Symbiosis Institute, Pune, the Mumbai-based Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), SP Jain Institute of Management Research (SPJIMR).
In recent years, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has also begun offering MBA courses.
List of Various types of MBA Courses
The best types of MBA courses in India are available from all the top B-Schools we mention above.
Here, we provide MBA course details of each specialization. The first 10 courses are offered by the foremost B-School, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM).
Here are the top MBA courses list and the name of colleges are also given.
Decision Sciences
MBA subjects in Decision Sciences will help you to make critical decisions for your company to solve anticipated and unexpected problems that arise in companies.
You will learn different models and techniques used for decision making and troubleshooting.
Additionally, you will also gain knowledge about various theories and best practices that go into making critical decisions at corporate levels, in various industries across the world.
An MBA in Decision Sciences is available at IIM.
Economics & Social Sciences
With an MBA in Economics and Social Sciences from IIM, you will learn MBA subjects including macroeconomics with a focus on trade, International Finance, International Monetary Economics, Monetary Policy, Economic Growth and related fields.
You will also work on issues related to development economics like Agriculture, Education, Labor, Environmental Economics, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and Gender, among others.
Entrepreneurship
As a student of IIM MBA in Entrepreneurship, your courses will cover research that spans a wide range of theoretical perspectives in entrepreneurship, research methods and tools, and specific MBA subjects covering different contexts in which the entrepreneurship phenomenon is observed and practiced.
Coursework includes courses from allied disciplines like economics, strategy and organizational theory.
Finance & Accounting
Key fields of study for the MBA in Finance & Accounting at IIM includes: Corporate Finance, Tax Havens and Illicit Funds, Financial Management of Non-Corporate Sector, Asset Pricing, Capital Markets, Corporate Governance, Derivatives, Financial Accounting, Financial Institutions and Services, Banking, Insurance and Pension, Market Microstructure, Risk Management, Cost Management and Valuation, among others.
Information Systems
Subjects in MBA for Information Systems at IIM include: Impact of information systems in managerial decision-making and examination of the future role of Information Technology in different business segments, IT and Impact on Business Models & Organizations.
It also includes studies and research in IT Strategies for Business Process, Re-engineering, Managing Globally Distributed Services, Global IT Outsourcing, ICT enabled Relocation of Jobs, E-Governance and ICT for Development, among others.
Marketing
IIM’s MBA Marketing specializes in: Business to Business Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Product Management/Brand Management, Marketing Decision Models, Competitive Marketing Strategy, Services Marketing, Relationship Marketing, Sales and Distribution Management and Retailing, among others.
Organizational Behavior & Human Resources Management
Topics covered in IIM’s MBA in Organizational Behavior and HR Management include: Personal Growth, Achieving Competitive Edge through People, Human Resources Management in High-tech Organizations and SMEs, Leadership and Organizational Change, Human Dimensions of Corporate Restructuring, Cross-Cultural Issues in People Management, Judgment and Decision Making, Personal Values and Attitudes, Social Entrepreneurship, Organizational Structure and Processes, Knowledge Management, Work-Life Integration, Organizational issues in Health Care Management and Organizational Diversity Issues.
Specialized courses are also offered in Organizational Theory, Philosophy of Science, Organizational Behavior, Positive Psychology, Behavioral Decision Making and Human Resources Management.
Production & Operations Management
Subjects in MBA for this course IIM MBA in Production and Operations Management include: Sustainable Operations, Cellular Manufacturing, IT Services and Electronic Commerce, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), JIT Operations, Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing & Service Strategy, Health Care and Services, Manufacturing Planning and Control, Quality Management, Technology Strategy, Sourcing & Procurement and Logistics Management.
Further courses are available in Optimization Theory & Mathematical Programming, Stochastic Models, Advanced Production Planning and Management, Revenue Management, Empirical Models in OM, Advanced Operations & Supply Chain Management and Strategic Sourcing.
Public Policy
Agriculture and Rural Development, Democracy and Decentralization, Environment/Ecological Economics, Health Policy, Industrial Policy, Infrastructure, Institutional Structure and Effective Governance, Policy Modeling, Public Finance, Public Management, Public Service Delivery, Regulations, Urban Governance, Public-Private Partnership, Political Economy, Gender and Development are the main topics you will study for IIM’s MBA in Public Policy.
Strategy
According to the IIM website, students for its MBA in Strategy will study topics including strategic management, international business, strategic alliances, developing new products, management of technology and innovation, and corporate governance.
Hospitality & Tourism Management
The MBA Hospitality & Tourism Management is a generally a two-year MBA course offered in India by private and top B-Schools.
It will help you enter India’s booming hospitality and tourism industry, which is the largest in the world. This MBA will enable you to develop skills including analysis and impact of global issues facing hospitality industry.
Effect of operating environments for hospitality and tourism services providers, sensitivity towards different cultures, global issues and news, opportunities for business growth, strategic planning and coordination with other service providers in the sector.
Logistics & Supply Chain Management
With India lagging behind in logistics and supply chains, there is an urgent need for MBAs in this field.
The MBA in Logistics and Supply Chain Management is a two-year course. You will learn the importance of effective logistics and supply chain management.
Study topics include basics of logistics and supply chains, cold chains, e-commerce, air, sea, land and rail freight management, needs of E-commerce, FMCG, manufacturing, retail and agricultural sectors, logistical needs of airlines, freight companies, hospitality industry, healthcare sector and others.
Food & Agriculture Business Management
The Post Graduate Program in Food and Agriculture Business Management offered by India’s leading B-School, IIM Ahmedabad, ranks as the best MBA in the world of its kind since several consecutive years.
It aims at developing young women and men “into competent professional managers for the agriculture, food, agri-business, rural and allied sectors,” says the IIM Ahmedabad website.
The program caters to the needs of enterprises serving these sectors, both domestic and international. The program equips participants with knowledge, skills, and attitudes for decision making and implementation in agribusiness.
It encourages entrepreneurial capabilities in participants to make them effective change agents in agri-business and helps develop participants' capabilities to become leaders and nurture in them a commitment for integrity, ethics, and social purpose, it adds.
General Management
MBA in General Management is the most common. The course is offered by almost every university and B-School offering MBA programs.
Indubitably, the best MBA in General Management is offered by India’s most prestigious and best B-School, IIM Ahmedabad.
You will learn various techniques for managing various departments in small and large companies, troubleshooting skills and practically everything you need to launch a successful career in management.
However, admission to IIM Ahmedabad’s General Management MBA is rather tough.
Law
An MBA in Law may sound rather strange. However, one of the topnotch B-Schools of India, NMIMS, Mumbai, is offering this two-year course.
“MBA (Law) Program will prepare students with necessary knowledge and skills of business administration along with enhanced knowledge of business laws both from domestic and global perspectives.
It will also provide application orientations to all young lawyers aspiring to excel in the corporate and consulting world, with specific skill sets for business administration and major relevant laws,” states the NMIMS website.
As India witnesses a change in corporate and company policies and with an increasing number of foreign companies/ multinationals entering the Indian market, an MBA Law will launch you on a great career.
This is one of the best MBA courses in India.
Pharmaceutical Management
Another great course offered by NMIMS, Mumbai is MBA in Pharmaceutical Management.
As the medicines sector of India is flourishing and grows into one of the most advanced of its kind in the world, doing an MBA in Pharmaceutical Management will help you launch a superb career.
“The objective of MBA Pharmaceuticals Management course is to develop students, over the period of two years, by rigorous fieldwork and academics, for managerial positions in the Pharmaceutical Industry,” says the NMIMS website.
Social Entrepreneurship
Thanks to stimulus given to start-ups in India, a large number of individuals are now eyeing entrepreneurship.
Once again, Mumbai-based NMIMS emerges as the pioneer in a new stream of courses, the MBA in Social Entrepreneurship.
“This is a comprehensive program for development sector professionals who aspire to excel in an increasingly complex and competitive scenario. The program endeavors to develop strategic orientation and motivation for success with a social conscience.
The Part-Time MBA courses in Social Entrepreneurship prepares students for innovatively approaching public needs with a combination of entrepreneurial practices and social purposes through the for-profit, nonprofit, and governmental sectors,” the institute says.
Entrepreneurship & Family Business
Yet another brain-child of NMIMS, the MBA in Entrepreneurship and Family Business program was launched in 1999.
The aims of this rigorous, accelerated and application-oriented course are to: Develop skills in successfully initiating, expanding, diversifying and managing a business enterprise with a focus on understanding real-life business situations and business practices.
Inculcate among students, entrepreneurial competencies including self-confidence, goal setting, planning, information seeking, problem-solving, and planned risk-taking.
Provide intensive personal counseling to develop a competent entrepreneur and a successful business executive of tomorrow.
Airline & Airport Management
Courses for MBA in Airline & Airport Management are very rare in India. One of the best MBA courses in India is Kasturi Institute of Management’s MBA in Airline & Airport Management, conducted in collaboration with the Bharathiyar University of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
This MBA is a two program that can help you bag jobs at management levels in airlines and airport handling companies.
The part time MBA courses available too. We term this as best MBA course in India since the country’s aviation sector is growing at a dizzying pace almost every month.
Hence, India will witness more air carriers entering the market while newer civilian airports will also open across the country.
The syllabus includes Airport Operations Management, Airport Support Services and Facilities, Airport Financial Management, Air Traffic Management and Control Systems, International Airports, Airlines and Carrier Operations Management.
Real Estate Construction & Management
With an aim to create competent civil engineering professionals and employable individuals who have sound technical and management credentials to participate in state-of-the-art infrastructural development with global ensign for the benefit of the society, NMIMS, Mumbai offers an MBA in Real Estate Construction & Management.
NMIMS offers only 30 seats every year for this high-demand MBA program, which aims at enhancing skills of civil engineers in technology and management.
The program also focuses on research, development and entrepreneurial skills of students. Real estate majors of India support it.
Upcoming types of MBA courses in India
As the Indian economy grows, so does the number of specializations of MBA courses. During the last three years, newer models of courses in MBA have emerged.
Main among these are:
Hospital & Healthcare Management
Coming from one of the leading universities – Pune-based Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences (SIH) is one of the best MBA programs in India.
It is one of the rare internationally acclaimed MBA in Hospital & Healthcare Management in India.
This two-year full-time MBA program is ideal, should you be eyeing a career in healthcare IT, health insurance, hospital management and IT, clinical research and management or healthcare related Non-Government Organizations, wellness industry, medical consultancies and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Telecom
India ranks as the second largest telecom and IT market of the world. India’s mobile service industry will account for some US$400 billion to the national GDP by the year 2020.
The industry will generate some 4.1 million new jobs by 2020, according to the Global System for Mobile Association (GSMA).
You can be part of this flourishing industry by taking one of the best MBA courses in India, in Telecom & IT. This high demand course is offered by the reputed, Pune-based MIT School of Technology.
The MIT-SOT’s MBA in Telecom ranks among the 100 best B-Schools of India in 2017.
The two-year full-time MBA course aims at developing skills that are scarce in India but urgently needed to cater to the growing telecom and IT sectors.
Digital & Social Media Marketing
An MBA in Digital and Social Media Marketing is rather newcomer to India.
Courses offering this MBA program are extremely rare. India’s most venerable B-School, IIM offers MBA in Digital & Social Media Marketing Strategy from its Kolkata campus.
This program is excellent for you want to enter the world of digital and social media, which are already popular worldwide and have immense growth potential.
Course in media and mass communication in India is especially useful for your career since India has many companies that are not part of the digital economy.
Events Management
Events management is a sector that is growing in India.
While there are hundreds of event management companies in this country, there is a severe dearth of educational institutes that provide training in this field.
A few private educational institutes, however, are now offering MBA in Event Management on full-time and part-time study basis.
Should you be interested in entering the entertainment, exhibitions and similar industries, you may consider this MBA program.
Corporate Communication & Public Relations.
You can put your interpersonal and public speaking skills to great use for a profitable career with an MBA in Corporate Communications and Public Relations.
Pune-based Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communications (SIMC) offers a two-year program, the MBA in Communication Management. SIMC ranks as the second topmost college for mass communications in 2017 according to a survey by the media group, Outlook.
This MBA program has been created taking into account the requirements of the media and communication industry, regarding knowledge, skills, and attitude, at the entry level as well as during the initial progression within agencies or a media houses, says SIMC.
Other types of MBAs in India
The advent of private universities has seen the launch of several MBA programs in India.
However, these appear to be an offshoot of specialized branches such as finance and economy, hospitality and tourism and others.
While courses such as MBA in Petroleum or the more esoteric, MBA in Perfume sounds tantalizing, you will have to determine credentials of educational institutes offering such courses.
Some such courses on offer may be bogus or as we mentioned earlier, an offshoot of some specialized branch.
Sometimes, such MBAs are nothing but General Management courses meant for engineers and specialists in the field.
Facts & Figures
Before opting for MBA Courses, we present some facts to assist you in making the right career decision.
- Nearly 6,000 educational institutes MBA studies in India. These include government-run, private and foreign universities.
- Educational institutes in India offer MBA courses of two to four-year duration.
- You can do an MBA by home studies: online or distance education, or conventional classroom courses from most of these universities.
- An MBA course can cost anything between Rs.150,000 to Rs. 1 million, depending upon the educational institute.
- MBA courses from the 20 plus top ranking business schools of India witness the greatest demand from students.
- An estimated 500,000 students across India enroll for MBA courses of all types every year.
- About 350,000 students graduate as MBAs from various universities every year.
Employment for MBAs
Considering the above facts, it is evident that India churns out the highest number of MBA degree holders annually.
Unfortunately, a report compiled by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in 2017 reveals some rather disappointing facts.
Highlights of this report include:
- Less than 10 percent of MBA holders in India get employment.
- Among those MBAs who find work, the average salary is just about Rs. 10,000 per month.
- Quality of training for MBA courses in India, especially at private universities and online MBA courses is rather poor. Hence, graduates are generally ill-qualified for jobs traditionally held by MBA degree holders.
- Employment opportunities are bright only for MBA degree holders who graduate from prestigious business schools or state-run universities of India.
Future prospects
According to a report compiled early 2017 by the All India Council for Technical Education, the country will witness a huge demand for MBA analysts in coming years.
This demand will be fueled by the Make In India, Skills India and opening up of more sectors in this country for Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Institutional Investment.
The report encouragingly states, between 35,000 and 40,000 MBA graduates will be needed at junior and middle-level managerial positions for the Indian private and public sectors every year.
In conclusion
Regardless, to embark on a successful career, you will have to enroll for an MBA course in some specialized field, for different MBA courses offered by topnotch business schools and state-run universities.
Understandably, selecting the best MBA course in India can prove cumbersome.
However, with adequate research, you can find a topnotch business school which offers globally acceptable qualifications. Remember about MBA courses are relatively expensive.
Hence, completing a course without acquiring proper and practical skills will only waste your precious time, effort and money.
Getting into IIMs, IITs, Symbiosis, NMIMS, SPJIMR and other reputed B-Schools requires extra effort.
However, such additional efforts are worthwhile while considering your prospects in any industry.
