MBA in India compared to MBA Abroad

Of the post-graduation options pursued in India, none has attracted as much attention as an MBA degree. Partly responsible for this is the fact that the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), established along the lines of IITs, have set extremely high standards for Management education in India. Of course, this has led to the other institutes putting in equal effort, and the result is that we have almost a dozen institutes in the country whose quality of education is impeccable by any standard.

As a result of this, multi-national corporations operating in India have never had the need to look for talent elsewhere. They have been regular visitors to the campuses of the top B-schools, and have offered managerial designations coupled with sky rocketing pay packets to the graduates of these B-schools. The average salary offered at the top 10 B-schools last year for Indian postings was Rs. 9 lacs per annum.

Moreover, some of the best international international companies (particularly Consulting and Banking firms) have now been recruiting from Indian campuses for placements abroad!! Needless to add, they offer dollar pay packets for these jobs, with postings in USA, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong etc. The average dollar salary at the top 10 B-schools last year was $80,000 per annum (around Rs. 35 lacs/year).

Yet another factor responsible for the MBA craze in India is the low cost of education. While an MBA from a good foreign university (say, a private US B-school) costs between Rs. 30-40 lacs, an MBA from a top B-school in India, like an IIM or XLRI or Bajaj, costs just about Rs. 2.5-3 lacs. Moreover, there is easy availability of student loans and scholarships here in India as compared to the availability of the same abroad. One should also note that applying to a foreign university involves very high initial expenses (e.g. the GMAT costs around Rs. 11000, the cost of the application form of each college is around Rs. 6000 ($125 each)). So if you apply even to 10 good colleges, you end up spending around Rs. 75000 (courier, counseling etc.). Hence, students looking for good quality affordable management education have preferred doing their MBA in India. Those who have the resources have preferred studying at top international management institutes abroad.