history of M.B.A in India

There are 1600 business schools in India offering two year MBA programs. The students are a mix of fresh graduates without any work experience and people with good work experience. Among those schools, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) are the oldest institutions for management education in India. Admission to any of the IIM schools requires passing Common Admission Test (CAT), however other business schools requires passing either CAT, XAT, GMAT, XAT, JMET, MAT or others each of which qualifies candidates for entrance into any management institutions in India, apart from these entrance tests there are few business schools which conducts aptitude test individually which qualifies candidates for that particular business school. The IIM and other autonomous business schools offer a post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM) or Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) which is recognized in India as similar to an MBA degree. Government accreditation bodies such as AICTE established that autonomous business schools can offer only the PGDM or PGPM, whereas a post-graduate degree can be awarded by a university-affiliated colleges, in two-year full-time program. The curriculum of the PGDM or PGPM and MBA degrees are equivalent, although the MBA degree is examination oriented and concentrates on theoretical aspects of management whereas the PGDM or PGPM is industry-oriented and mainly focuses on building soft skills. However, a PGDM or PGPM holder cannot pursue Ph.D. since it is not recognized. Non-government accredited, one-year fast-track programs have proliferated in India, especially for candidates with work experience. Such programs are commonly known as Post Graduate Programme (PGP) in Business Management. See List of business schools in India.