Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda IIM Ahmedabad Admission Controversy: Here are all the Facts! Why Indians must promote our own B-schools
Superstar Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad are in a lot of news. After Navya Nanda posted a message on social media on September 1 sharing that she has secured admission to IIM Ahmedabad MBA program, all hell broke loose. Users on social media started questioning if IIMA has “granted” her admission under some “quota”. The debate took another turn when IIMA Professor had to step in to clarify Navya Nanda’s admission. MBAUniverse.com presents all the Facts related to Navya Nanda’s admission to IIMA program, and urges social media users to be responsible, and promote our own Indian B-schools.
Who is Navya Naveli Nanda and what is this controversy?
Navya Naveli Nanda is the granddaughter of Superstar Amitabh Bachchan. Her father Nikhil Nanda is a businessman and mother Shweta Bachchan is the daughter of Amitabh Bachchan. According to her LinkedIn account, Navya Nanda has done Bachelor of Arts - BA, Digital Technology from Fordham University during 2016 – 2020. She has also done internships at several large companies including Facebook, Ogilvy and Godrej Industries. She is currently and entrepreneurs as the Founder of ‘Aara Health’.
Sharing a series of photographs on social media, Navya wrote, "Dreams do come true!!!!!! The next 2 years... with the best people & faculty! Blended Post Graduate Programme (BPGP) Class of 2026". She also thanked her teacher for guiding her to pass the entrance exams.
Social Media questions Navya Nanda and IIMA, Faculty Promila Agarwal Responds Boldly
Soon after her post on social media, many users stated commenting on how she managed to get admission to IIM Ahmedabad, which is considered to be one of the toughest MBA programs to get admission in the world. A user wrote, “is there a celebrity quota in IIMA”.
Another user, asked whether Nanda got "that crazy 99.99 percentile". When one user tagged Prof Promila Agarwal, an associate professor at IIM Ahmedabad, she wrote, "She got solid CV btw. U don't necessarily need CAT… Irrespective, hats off to everyone for being courageous enough to sign up for a rigorous program."
Prof Promila Agarwal has been teaching at IIMA since 2013 in the area of HRM Area and Strategy. Before joining IIMA she worked with Ernst & Young. She is also involved with several disruptive startups in designing business models. She is an active social media user herself.
Which Program Has Navya Nanda got Admission into, and does she really meet Admission Criteria?
In January 2024, IIMA has launched a new Two-Year Degree MBA Programme in Blended Mode. It is designed specifically for working professionals and entrepreneurs with a minimum work experience of 3 years. This MBA program is taught in online synchronous mode through a combination of five distinct on-campus modules.
Here is a quote from the official IIMA statement, received by MBAUniverse.com in January 2024, “IIM Ahmedabad, a premier global management institute, announced the launch of its new two-year Online MBA programme - a degree-granting post-graduate programme designed for working professionals and entrepreneurs who seek to strike a balance between the pressures of their work life and their professional aspirations. IIMA Online MBA programme is a blended (hybrid) programme that combines on-campus, in-person sessions and live interactive online sessions.”
What are the eligibility requirements?
According to IIMA, an applicant is to satisfy the following criteria for applying to this programme:
- Working Professionals and Entrepreneurs with a minimum of 3 years of full-time work experience, after completion of graduation, as on June 30, 2024.
- Minimum Age of 24 years as on June 30, 2024 (i.e. Date of birth on or before June 30, 2000.) There is no upper age limit.
- Holding at least a bachelor’s degree/CA/CS/ICWA or equivalent in any discipline. (Minimum 15 years of study as per the education system in India i.e. 10 + 2 + 3 or 4, as the case may be.), with at least 50 percent marks in aggregate or equivalent CGPA, awarded by any of the recognized universities.
Looking at Navya Nanda’s CV it appears that she meets all these criteria.
What are the Admission Criteria for IIMA Online MBA?
According to IIMA, the Admission Criteria for IIMA Online MBA includes written test scores and performance in a personal interview. Here are details from the official program brochure:
- Online IIMA Admission Test (IAT) designed for Online MBA or,
- A valid CAT score (CAT score of tests taken within the last 5 years from May 01, 2024) or,
- A valid GMAT/GRE score (GMAT/GRE score taken within the last 5 years from May 01, 2024)
- For final selection, shortlisted candidates will be invited for a personal interview
IIMA Online MBA admission were announced in January 2024 and the process was closed in August. Batch started on September 1.
Why Indian’s must promote our own B-schools
Without checking the facts, Social Media has created a controversy around a celebrity’s admission into a prestigious Indian B-schools. There are umpteen media stories written to attract the eyeballs. Unfortunately, few have bothered to look into the facts…
It must be noted here the top B-schools like Harvard Business Schools and other regularly admit celebrities from Sports and Entertainment domains to influence thinking and practices in these important areas.
By creating this controversy on Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda getting admission into IIM Ahmedabad, we are doing a disservice to Indian higher education system by forcing families of celebrities to move out of India for their education.
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on IIM Ahmedabad