ISB stands 27 globally, retains top India spot in FT ranking

The Indian School of Business (ISB) has said that it grabbed the top spot among management schools in India in the Financial Times (FT) Global MBA Ranking 2025, and also improved its global rank to 27 from 31 last year.

“The rankings are…a lagging indicator of the things that we do. The actions we put in place three years ago are playing out now,” said Madan Pillutla, dean and professor of organizational behaviour at ISB, Hyderabad.

“Some of the initiatives that worked for the college includes ‘sustainability’ as a topic beyond a classroom discussion. It includes areas like electricity usage, water conservation, and overall resource management,” Pillutla said.

ISB secured the second rank by increase in salary percentage in the global ranking. Diversity in the batches and the kind of job offers from recruiters are some of the other parameters that are factored in the rankings.

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After a tough season in 2024, placements at top B-schools are looking sunnier this year. This, even as geopolitical shifts are clearly stamping their mark on the placements, with some recruiters even asking global business environment-related questions of candidates.

Placement heads at some of the older IIMs said that while crore-plus salaries have been coming in, the median pay packages are similar to last year’s or have seen marginal uptick. Recruiters from consulting, manufacturing and, in some cases, financial services too have shown higher interest in hiring so far this year. ISB has seen a similar trend.

“From what we’ve observed, this year is marginally better than last year. There has been a small uptick in salaries as well,” said Pillutla. “The mix of recruiting companies has shifted slightly, with big consulting firms hiring more this year compared to last year. Overall, I would describe the market as cautiously optimistic.”

Curriculum revamp

The ISB dean said for the batch of 2025, the college tweaked its curriculum as well.

“We have significantly reduced the number of core courses. This gives students more choice in tailoring their curriculum based on their interests and career goals,” he said. 

It grouped traditional core courses into buckets. For example, one bucket focuses on decision-making models, which includes courses like management accounting, decision modelling, and behavioural decision-making. Students are required to choose two out of the four courses in this bucket, depending on their prior training and future interests.

The college also rolled out topical courses. “These address contemporary issues such as how AI and new technologies are transforming work. While there are specific courses dedicated to these topics, we’ve also infused these themes into existing courses.”