| B-SCHOOL |
| RANKINGS |
The PaGaLGuY.com regional rankings allow one to analyse how respondents across regions rank India's B-schools. This gives a clear picture of exactly how and whether people in different parts of the country think differently about the nation's business schools. This is evident by the fact that apart from IIM Ahmedabad, no other Indian B-school in the top 50 has been given the same rank across all of India's regions. While there were marginal differences in the ranks across regions for the top ten B-schools, notable fluctuations are present in the region wise rankings of lower ranked MBA colleges.
In the top five institutes, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta at two in the East has been ranked higher than IIM Bangalore for that region while Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad has been preferred to IIM Calcutta in the West. As compared to last year's PaGaLGuY rankings, IIM Lucknow gains across all regions, displaces Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur and is a new entrant in the top five.
Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi is the first MBA college in the rankings to display a significant skew in its regional rankings. This school is ranked seven in the overall rankings but respondents from west India consider it to be outside the top ten of India's B-schools and have ranked it eleventh there. This may be because of the small class size at FMS in contrast with the large number of b-schools in west India. IIM Indore at eight is another mover in this year's rankings and has gained across all regional rankings on comparison with last year's PaGaLGuY B-school Rankings. Interestingly enough, IIM Shillong came in at 27 in our survey last year (when it was not even in operation) and has only moved up three places to be ranked 24. It is clear that people are waiting for the school to live up to the IIM brand before ranking it alongside the other IIMs.
Analysis of the rankings results clearly indicates that people of a particular region do not necessarily favour the MBA colleges that are based in that region. IIM Kozhikode has lost two positions in the rankings according to south Indians and a premier college such as Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon has dropped two places in the north as compared its last year's ranking of eight. Mumbai institutes such SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) have been ranked below their overall rankings by respondents from west India. Also, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) which last year opened a branch in Kolkata has lost two positions in east India as compared to last year's ranking. This and IIM Shillong's ranking imply that aspirants are more careful that ever before and do not flock to a B-school purely because of the strength of the brand behind it.
The Symbiosis schools have been in general, poorly ranked by people from east India. They have been ranked similar to their overall rankings across other regions of the country. However, it would be hasty to conclude that geographical distance is a chief factor behind as this as Mumbai based schools such as Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Shailesh J Mehta School of Management (SJM SoM), IIT Bombay have in the east rankings been ranked better than what they have been in their overall rankings. Department of Management Studies (DoMS), IIT Delhi and Industrial and Management Engineering (IME), IIT Kanpur are two colleges which have significantly jumped in the PaGaLGuY B-school Rankings and have displayed strong performances across all regions.
On comparison with last year, certain other institutes outside the top 20 have shown notable shifts in the perceptions that people across regions have about them. KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research (KJSIMSR) - Mumbai has gained seven places in the north but has lost four ranks in east India. Symbiosis Institute of International Business (SIIB), Pune has climbed significantly in the rankings for west India but gained marginally across the north and south and lost heavily in the east. Goa Institute of Management (GIM), Goa is ranked similarly across regions in this year's rankings but has lost a staggering 14 places in the west. These facts point to the issue of how B-schools should position themselves so that they can attract talent from across the nation.
As is natural, location does appear to be an important factor for MBA aspirants. TA Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal has been ranked better than its overall ranking of 28 across all regions apart from the north. On the other hand, International Management Institute (IMI) - Delhi clearly scores with people in north India and has been ranked 25 there as compared to its overall ranking of 31. Similarly, as one goes lower down the rankings it becomes clear that some institutes enjoy a geographical bias. FORE School of Management, Delhi and Bharathidasan Institute of Management (BIM) - Trichy are two B-schools which are clearly preferred in their respective regions of north and south. In fact, after the top forty ranked institutes there are large fluctuations in rankings across regions. This may imply that students are willing to relocate from their regions for an MBA but only if they're getting a b-school below the top 20-30.