IIM Bangalore is India's No. 1 in FT Masters in Management Ranking 2026; SPJIMR Beats IIMA & IIMC

India's Verdict: IIM Bangalore Tops, SPJIMR Springs the Surprise
India's best performer in the FT Masters in Management Ranking 2026 is IIM Bangalore, placed 21st in the world and up seven places from 28th last year. It is the only Indian school to break into the global top 25, and it sits ahead of every other Indian institute, including the older IIM flagships at Ahmedabad and Calcutta.

The headline surprise is SPJIMR Mumbai. The Mumbai school has climbed nine places to 26th, making it India's second-ranked institute and lifting it above IIM Ahmedabad (27th) and IIM Calcutta (39th). India's top three in the FT MiM table this year are therefore IIM Bangalore, SPJIMR and IIM Ahmedabad, in that order. It should be noted here that the FT MiM Ranking ranks management programs that do not mandate work experience. Hence the 2 year full PGP programs by IIMs are ranked alongwith PGDM programs offered by AICTE approved B-schools. Since ISB one year PGP requires work experience, it is not ranked in FT MIM Rankings, but in FT MBA Rankings. 

FT Masters in Management Ranking 2026: All 14 Indian B-Schools at a Glance
Fourteen India-based business schools feature in the Financial Times' published table of 100 programmes: seven IIMs and seven non-IIMs. Every one of the 14 reported 100 per cent of its most recent class employed within three months of graduation. The figures below are drawn directly from the FT MiM 2026 data.

SPJIMR Beats IIMA and IIMC 
SPJIMR's rise is the story of the year for Indian management education. At 26th, it finishes exactly one place ahead of IIM Ahmedabad (27th) and a clear 13 places ahead of IIM Calcutta (39th). SPJIMR has jumped 9 places from its last year’s ranking (35th). 

One reason for sharp ascend of SPJIMR is its career service quality. SPJIMR is ranked second in the world on the FT's careers service measure, the best of any Indian school and among the very best globally.

Biggest Movers: XLRI Jumps 25 Places, IIM Indore 23
Several Indian schools posted large gains. XLRI Jamshedpur recorded the sharpest rise of any Indian institute, climbing 25 places from 58th to 33rd. IIM Indore was close behind, up 23 places to 62nd, while IIM Kozhikode and IIM Udaipur each advanced 15 places, to 54th and 83rd respectively. IMI Delhi has also advanced by 9 ranks – from 99th to 90th.

• XLRI Jamshedpur: 58 → 33 (up 25)
• IIM Indore: 85 → 62 (up 23)
• IIM Kozhikode: 69 → 54 (up 15)
• IIM Udaipur: 98 → 83 (up 15)
• IMI Delhi: 99 → 90 (up 9) 

NMIMS SBM has also made significant improvement from its rank in 2024. The School has moved up 21 places from 94th in the FT Masters in Management Ranking 2024 to 73rd in 2026. Commenting on the achievement, Prof. Sougata Ray, Vice Chancellor, SVKM’s NMIMS University, said, “NMIMS’s legacy of over four and a half decades in management education is built on academic excellence, industry relevance and a commitment to preparing future-ready leaders. The School’s progress in the 2026 ranking is a testament to its sustained focus on academic rigour, career outcomes and global relevance.” 

Three New Indian Entrants
Three Indian schools appear in the FT Masters in Management Ranking 2026 and were not ranked last year: NMIMS Mumbai's School of Business Management (73rd), the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad (86th), and TA Pai Management Institute (98th). Their debut widens India's footprint on the global list.

Against the broadly upward trend, IIM Lucknow was the only Indian school to slip, falling 15 places from 57th to 72nd.

Indian Schools Dominate on Salary: 7 of the Top 8 Weighted Salaries
The most striking India-centric data point is on salaries. Seven of the eight highest weighted salaries in the entire FT MiM 2026 table belong to Indian schools. IIM Ahmedabad tops the global salary chart at US$199,706, ahead of IIM Bangalore (US$189,428), XLRI (US$183,994), IIM Calcutta (US$179,953), SPJIMR (US$166,372), IIM Lucknow (US$158,215) and MDI Gurgaon (US$151,603).

It should be noted that these salary figures are converted to US dollars using purchasing-power-parity rates, which lifts salaries earned in lower-cost economies such as India. The numbers reflect strong local buying power rather than headline dollar pay, but they still underline the value Indian MBA graduates command in their home market and the significant ROI offered by top MBA colleges in India.

Global Picture: St Gallen No. 1; No Indian School in the Top 20
At the top of the world table, the University of St Gallen (Switzerland) holds first place, followed by Nova School of Business and Economics (Portugal) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University: Antai (China). Europe continues to dominate the upper reaches of the Masters in Management Ranking 2026. 

No Indian school features in the global top 20, which makes IIM Bangalore's 21st place India's high benchmark for the year and a clear target to beat in future editions. 

How the FT Masters in Management Ranking 2026 Was Compiled
This is the 22nd edition of the Financial Times' Masters in Management (MiM) ranking, and 132 programmes took part in 2026. To be eligible, a programme must be full-time, cohort-based and accredited by AACSB or EFMD Equis, and it must be a generalist course in general management aimed at students with little or no prior work experience. The FT ranks these programmes using two surveys: one completed by the business schools and one by alumni who finished their MiM in 2023. About 9,489 alumni responded this year, a response rate of roughly 30 per cent.

The table is built on 19 criteria. Eight come from the alumni survey and carry 56 per cent of the total weight; the remaining 11 are drawn from school data and account for 44 per cent. The single most important criterion is alumni weighted salary, at 15 per cent, followed by salary increase at 9 per cent. Salaries are converted to US dollars using purchasing-power-parity rates supplied by the IMF. 

FT MiM Rankings 2026: 19 ranking criteria and their weights

Source and methodology as published by the Financial Times. 

In summary, the FT Masters in Management Ranking 2026 puts 14 Indian business schools on the global map, with IIM Bangalore as India's No. 1 at 21st, SPJIMR climbing to 26th ahead of IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta, XLRI surging 25 places, and Indian institutes claiming seven of the world's top eight weighted salaries. Three schools, NMIMS Mumbai, IMT Ghaziabad and TAPMI, made their debut in FT MiM Rankings. 

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