Gain an understanding of the MBA

An MBA or master's degree in management is earned three years after graduation. Several highly esteemed and well-known universities in India including Banaras Hindu University and Jamia Millia Islamia Delhi, as well as 21 IIMs, a small number of IITs and numerous private sector institutions like XLRI Jamshedpur and NCR, SPJIMR Mumbai, SIBM Pune, MDI Gurugram and Murshidabad, ISB Hyderabad and Mohali, NMIMS Mumbai and XIM Bhubaneswar offer MBA programmes. Common subjects are taught in the first year of a two-year regular MBA programme and in the final year, students can select from electives such as marketing, finance, human resources management, operations, supply chain management, information technology and consulting among others.

Students must pass highly competitive national, state or institute-level exams like CAT, XAT, SNAP, NMAT and GMAT to get into the best MBA programmes in India. Students who score in the qualifying percentile on these tests must attend group discussions and personal interviews held by various institutions.

In order to operate an MBA programme in the country, colleges must obtain approval from the AICTE or UGC. To increase their credibility, they must also obtain accreditation from national organisations like the NBA and NAAC as well as international organisations like the AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS.

MBA-like Programmes

Many programs such as a postgraduate diploma in management (PGDM), postgraduate program (PGP), master's in management (MIM) and master's in management studies (MMS), are very similar to an MBA but have different names. PGDM is provided  by independent institutes like XLRI, MDI, SPJIMR etc which do not have the university status. MBA degrees are offered by universities or colleges affiliated to the university such as Christ University, JMI and BHU. Previously, all IIMs and IITs offered PGP/PGDM programmes but they now have the authority to offer MBA degrees after receiving the MoE, Government of India's designation as institutes of national importance. 

Different MBA types

Apart from the two-year classroom MBA, details of which have been mentioned above, there are some other MBA programs:

The Fees and Average Packages of Top MBA Colleges in NIRF Ranking

An MBA education is expensive in our country because doing an MBA from a mediocre to a leading college costs 20 lac to 50 lac and no other degree except doing medical from a private college/university is more expensive than this. Surprisingly the cost of a four-year B.Tech from an IIT is significantly less than that of a two-year IIM  despite the fact that both IITs and IIMs are autonomous institutes under the Ministry of HRD, government of India.

The answer to this question varies depending on the individual and these individuals can be classified into three groups.

Pursuing/ Completed Graduation:

Doing an MBA is a very good option for those who are still in school or have graduated as the majority of first-generation successful businessmen and key executives in key corporates received their MBAs from top colleges. One must choose between pursuing an MBA immediately after graduation or after working for 1-2 years. In both cases, admission to a prestigious college must be their top priority. 

In our country 25-35% of MBA students lack work experience, while the remainder want to pursue an MBA after gaining some work experience or failing to get into a good college in previous attempts.

Even if one does not have a strong financial background, education loans are widely available today. However after completing the MBA, one must ensure that they have sufficient funds to pay the instalments.

Doing a decent job:

In this situation, the answer is not so simple because many factors must be considered such as job satisfaction, current package and average package of the MBA college you are attending as well as how long it will take to recover the financial losses incurred during the two years of MBA.

Aside from that, one should keep in mind that after completing an MBA, one will be a stronger and more capable person as well as have good contacts which will be extremely useful if one ever decides to start one's own business.

Self-employed / running their own business

In such a situation, many factors must be considered, the most important of which are the type of support system in place in the business, how it will perform in the absence of the key person, the amount of difference it makes and how much time it will be compensated for after completing an MBA.

Many colleges and institutes provide an MBA in entrepreneurship and family-run businesses. This can be extremely beneficial for this group of people and they can move their businesses forward with new energy and new ideas after completing the aforementioned specialised MBAs.

Other advantages of pursuing an MBA include increased discipline, better time management, improved communication skills, increased resilience and adaptability, increased confidence and better decision-making abilities.

Conclusion:

An MBA is unquestionably beneficial and financially viable for those interested in this field of study but each individual must make their own decision based on their financial situation, job satisfaction and a variety of other factors.