India moves towards becoming a global hub for business education

July 30, 2025

City lights India — Image: © 1xpert | iStock

Geoff Perry, Executive Vice President, Chief Membership Officer, and Managing Director for Asia Pacific at AACSB International, discusses India’s move towards becoming a global hub for business education

Following the introduction of India’s National Education Policy (NEP) in 2020, former Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu urged the country to embrace a new role as “vishwa guru”.

The Sanskrit term translates as “world teacher” in English and reflects India’s complex cultural, spiritual, and philosophical attitudes toward generating knowledge for the benefit of the global community.

This pairing of legislative action and cultural openness, combined with a growing economy and expanding middle class, has helped India become one of the world’s most dynamic emerging markets in the business education space in recent years.

Education in India rooted in local needs

Originally intended to support the country’s industrialisation in the 1950s and 1960s, modern management education in India followed the model set by U.S. business schools, with MBA or MBA-equivalent programmes (Postgraduate Diplomas) that were very similar to those in the U.S. In the 70 years since, Indian institutions have begun to put their own spin on graduate education curricula, influenced by the integration of societal impact initiatives that respond to the specific needs of local communities.

For instance, the School of Management at BML Munjal University implemented a year-long social entrepreneurship project in its Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme. Groups of five to six students were paired with rural female entrepreneurs, with the aim of providing tailored solutions to help them grow their businesses.

This innovative combination of business education and community development was recognised and spotlighted as an AACSB International 2025 Innovations That Inspire honoree.

Such initiatives illustrate how drawing on a youthful population and strong national competencies in the technology and finance sectors places Indian business schools in a prime position to offer the ethical leadership training young professionals need to ascend into managerial roles, enhance their global mobility, and give back to local communities.

The high demand for managerial talent, backed by robust qualifications, is evident in the country’s thriving MBA market. An analysis by U.S. consultancy Allied Market Research valued the market at approximately $7.3 billion in 2023, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 6.1%, indicating that it could reach $12.9 billion over the next seven years. ⁽¹⁾

Indian business schools growing international visibility

As demand grows, so does supply. Many Indian business schools have shown their ability to adapt teaching and curricula to meet the evolving needs of students and the business community. The agility and dedication of Indian institutions to offering high-quality education with a positive societal impact are demonstrated by their consistent presence in global rankings and a rapid rise in international accreditation in the region.

To illustrate the speed of growth, AACSB International has 24 Indian-accredited members, 11 of whom have achieved accreditation in the last five years. That means the number has nearly doubled since 2019. There are currently 41 Indian business schools working towards AACSB accreditation.

Accreditation means Indian schools align with AACSB’s global standards of excellence in teaching, research, and societal impact initiatives, while maintaining and growing their distinctive nature and contribution within that framework. This acts as a quality guarantee for students and potential partner institutions, showing that these Indian schools adhere to a globally recognised benchmark for relevant and impactful business education.

As the sector hones its competitive edge amid a diverse global market, domestic institutions are becoming a more attractive option for those Indian applicants who previously undertook their graduate study, in particular overseas. The Graduate Management Admission Council’s (GMAC) 2024 Application Trends Survey reveals that, while India remains a top supplier of international students to business schools worldwide, an increasing number of candidates in India are considering pursuing graduate management degrees in their home country rather than overseas. ⁽²⁾

Shifting enrollment trends have prompted another signal of the sector’s increasing international visibility: the rising interest in India among Western universities.

A diversifying market to open branch campuses in India

The NEP 2020 includes provisions that allow foreign higher education institutions to open branch campuses in India, and several have already unveiled plans to do so. The University of Southampton (UK) has approved plans to open a campus in Gurgaon, and two Australian universities (Deakin University and the University of Wollongong) have already opened campuses in GIFT City.

Other aspects of the legislation focus on smoothing the process of transferring credits between Indian and foreign institutions, prompting interest in opportunities for student exchanges and joint degree programmes with Indian business schools.

The goal for Western universities and business schools is to tap into the rising demand for business degrees among India’s 40 million–strong student population and create a two-way flow of knowledge and talent into and out of India.

This has been triggered in part by the increasing number of Indian students enrolling in Western universities over the last decade, highlighting the growing appetite for business and management degrees among young Indians.

“In Europe, we have seen a big switch in demographics over the last 15 years, from having a big contingent of students from China to now more students from India,” M.N. Ravishankar, Dean of Queen’s Business School at Queen’s University Belfast, told AACSB. Indeed, QUB also announced plans to open an Indian branch campus in January 2025.

Resilience through immersive learning in India

A diversity of institutions and learning offerings, as well as student exchange opportunities, will be especially beneficial for business education in India, given the sector’s particular emphasis on interdisciplinary and experiential learning.

Immersion in other cultures, economic environments, and business ecosystems enables students to interact with different business models and societal challenges. This applies equally to international students studying in India and Indian students going abroad.

“Exposure to different economic systems, market dynamics, and consumer behaviors often inspires students to think creatively and develop innovative solutions to business challenges,” Himanshu Rai, Director of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore, told The Times of India. ⁽³⁾

Fostering human-centric skills, such as critical thinking, creativity, and ethical leadership, will be crucial for Indian business schools as the market continues to grow and diversify.

AACSB’s 2025 State of Business Education Report finds that geopolitical tensions and demographic changes are reshaping international student mobility. As more Indian students desire to study in their home country, and others seek India as a location to study business, India’s business education sector will need to continue adapting teaching and curricula to maintain relevancy for stakeholders.

As the sector moves toward a more prominent position as a global teacher, it will need to increasingly focus on experiential learning and interdisciplinary programmes that equip Indian students to become responsible leaders in an increasingly complex and unpredictable international marketplace.