IIM Nagpur MBA Batch Profile 2026-28: Women Outnumber Men, Non-Engineers Lead as 341 Students Join from 23 States

IIM Nagpur MBA Batch Profile 2026-28 at a Glance
IIM Nagpur admitted 341 students to its flagship two-year full-time MBA programme for the 2026-28 batch, its 12th cohort since the institute began operations. The table below captures the headline numbers of the IIM Nagpur batch profile for 2026-28 before the section-wise break-up that follows.

Women Outnumber Men in the IIM Nagpur MBA Batch Profile 2026-28
The most striking feature of the 2026-28 batch is its gender balance. Women outnumber men in the batch, with 177 women (52%) and 164 men (48%) among the 341 students. This tilt towards women marks a sharp change from recent years and places IIM Nagpur among the more gender-balanced management campuses in the country.

Guest of Honour Mr. Manoj Kolhatkar, Managing Director and CEO of TATA AutoComp Systems Ltd, singled out this shift, noting that many industries still struggle to reach 25% women representation while this batch stands at 52%. The IIM Nagpur gender diversity trend extends to the doctoral programme as well: six of the seven newly admitted PhD scholars are women. In short, IIM Nagpur women students now form the majority across both the flagship MBA and the PhD intake. This strong IIM Nagpur gender diversity is among the headline takeaways of the batch.

Non-Engineers Outnumber Engineers in the New Batch
A second defining feature of the batch is its academic diversity. For the 2026-28 cohort, students from non-engineering backgrounds have outnumbered engineers. This is a change of the traditional engineer-heavy profile seen at most IIMs. 

IIM Nagpur has attributed this to a growing preference for management education among candidates from commerce, economics, humanities, science and allied disciplines.

Geographic Diversity: 341 Students from 23 States
The 2026-28 batch represents 23 states across India, underlining IIM Nagpur's pan-India appeal. Located at what the institute calls the "Zero Mile Centre of India," IIM Nagpur draws students from the north, south, east, west and the North-East. Maharashtra contributes the largest share, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The state-wise representation reported by the institute is below.

Age and Work Experience Profile of the 2026-28 Batch
The average age of the incoming MBA students is 23 years. On work experience, nearly 40 percent of the batch brings prior professional exposure, while the remainder are freshers — pointing to a younger, fresher-heavy classroom this year. Admission to the IIM Nagpur MBA is through CAT. Aspirants can track the latest exam updates on the CAT 2026 page on MBAUniverse.com.

IIM Nagpur PhD Batch 2026-30: Six of Seven Scholars Are Women
Alongside the flagship MBA, IIM Nagpur welcomed its IIM Nagpur PhD batch 2026-30. The doctoral intake comprises seven scholars, of whom six are women. This mirrors the gender shift seen in the MBA cohort and strengthening the institute's research pipeline across disciplines.

IIM Nagpur MBA Batch 2026-28 Inauguration Ceremony
The 12th MBA batch and 6th PhD batch were formally welcomed at a grand inauguration ceremony on Sunday, July 12, 2026, attended by newly admitted MBA and PhD students, their parents, faculty, officers, staff and invited guests. Ms. Gautami Tadimalla, actor, television host and public speaker, was the Chief Guest, while Mr. Manoj Kolhatkar, MD and CEO of TATA AutoComp Systems Ltd, was the Guest of Honour.

Addressing the students, Ms. Gautami Tadimalla urged them to see themselves as future leaders while never losing their humanity, adding that success becomes meaningful only when it improves the lives of others. Mr. Manoj Kolhatkar described admission to IIM Nagpur as a privilege earned by a select few, praised the 52% women representation, and linked the batch to India's ambition of becoming a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047. Director Dr. Bhimaraya Metri told the incoming students they had chosen the right institution at the right time, observing that "this century belongs to India."

Prof. Prakash Awasthy (Chairperson, MBA) welcomed the gathering; Prof. Rakesh Gupta (Chairperson, Admissions) presented the admission report; Prof. Prashant Gupta (Dean, Faculty & Academics) outlined the academic framework; Prof. Sujeet Kumar Sharma (Dean, Research and PhD Programmes) introduced the research ecosystem; and Prof. Alok Kumar Singh (Dean, Executive Education) highlighted the growth of executive education. Prof. Ranjitha G P (Chairperson, Student Affairs) proposed the vote of thanks. 

IIM Nagpur MBA Batch Profile: 2025-27 vs 2026-28 Comparison
How does the new cohort compare with last year's? The 2026-28 batch is larger, younger and markedly more gender-balanced than the 2025-27 batch. The clearest change is on gender: women have risen from 31% to 52% of the batch in a single year. The academic mix has also changed — from an engineering-dominated batch (63% engineers in 2025-27) to one where non-engineers are in the majority. The share of students with work experience has come down, indicating a fresher-heavy intake this year. Seen together, the IIM Nagpur batch profile has shifted on almost every parameter. The table below sets out the key year-on-year differences.

Established in 2015, IIM Nagpur is among India's fast-growing IIMs. The institute moved to its permanent 132-acre campus in the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) in November 2021, and the campus was formally inaugurated by former President of India Ram Nath Kovind in May 2022. IIM Nagpur was ranked 31 among management institutes in India in the NIRF Ranking 2024, and 26 among B-schools in the MBAUniverse.com Ranking 2025. These credentials, combined with the diversity of the 2026-28 batch, reinforce the institute's standing among the top MBA colleges in India. Aspirants targeting other MBA entrance exams such as XAT 2027, NMAT 2026 and SNAP 2026 will find dedicated preparation and exam pages on MBAUniverse.com, India's No. 1 MBA Portal.