Indian B-schools have shown major improvement in the latest Financial Times Masters in Management (MiM) 2026 rankings with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore’s Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) rising seven places to rank #21 globally.

The institute has also retained its top position in India while also breaking into the global top 25 list this year. The rankings show that the number of Indian management schools in the global top 50 has risen to five from four in 2025 while three more institutes (NMIMS Mumbai, IMT Ghaziabad and TAPMI) have entered the rankings this year, taking the total Indian count to 14.

The 22nd edition of the FT MiM rankings, released on Monday, also saw almost all Indian management institutes improving their positions this year with only one of the 11 institutes ranked last year slipping this year.

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The latest rankings highlight momentum across Indian b-schools driven by robust graduate career outcomes, salary growth, and strong alumni networks. S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) made a jump of nine spots to reach #26, closely followed by IIM Ahmedabad, which surged seven spots to #27. XLRI – Xavier School of Management recorded one of the biggest jumps, rising 25 places from #58 in 2025 to #33 globally.

The FT methodology evaluates institutions across 19 criteria with 56% of the total weight derived from alumni feedback and 44% from school-reported data. A major highlight for Indian schools was graduate earning power. Alumni from domestic institutions recorded the highest purchasing-power-adjusted weighted salaries three years post-completion with IIM Ahmedabad leading globally at an average weighted salary of $199,706.

As per the rankings, IIM Bangalore made gains across several career-related parameters. Its “career progress” rank improved sharply to #69, from #90 in 2025 while the “careers service” rank moved up to #8 from #11.

“We benchmark our curriculum, methods and outcomes against the best in the world to ensure that students are equipped to navigate unprecedented business complexities with curiosity as well as with judgment. The strong gains in career outcomes reaffirm the value of this approach,” said U. Dinesh Kumar, director-in-charge at IIM Bangalore.

However, international diversity remains a weak spot for Indian management schools. FT’s 2026 ranking noted that Indian schools had the lowest levels of international student representation which is in sharp contrast with several leading European institutions. While strong employer reputation, career progression and value for money are helping Indian schools improve their rankings, their low international diversity continues to weigh on their overall scores.

Globally, Switzerland’s University of St Gallen retained the top position followed by Nova School of Business and Economics (Portugal) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Antai. Top European schools, including INSEAD and HEC Paris, continued to dominate the top ranks with seven out of the top 10 institutions coming from Europe. A total of 132 MiM programmes took part in the ranking process in 2026, FT said.