Just out of curiosity: Whats the difference between MBAs und PGP degrees in India? It seems to me that most schools only offer PGPs?

sir, plz note that pgp is the indian equal to mba offered by the indian institute of management branches all across india like at ahmedabad and bangalore. it is a 2 yr course predominately.

Thanks avrad, so are the pgps at the indian institute better than other (MBA) programs? Could one generally say that an MBA from India is less prestigous than a PGP from India?

Hi. i think so. the indian institutes are some of the highest ranked and most internationally recognized "B-schools" in India. I think its probably safe say they are at least as good if not better than the other indian mbas in terms of reputation and prestige.

Yes, that was also my impression, still strange that they call it PGP instead of MBA but anyway..

don't think it bothers employers over there, tho. perhaps it would take some explaining in "the West" where the name mba is still king.

Definitely! However, I dont think there are too many westerners doing their MBA in India.

Who knows? Maybe thats the next big thing, forget Columbia... ;-)

Definitely! However, I dont think there are too many westerners doing their MBA in India.

Yes, that was also my impression, still strange that they call it PGP instead of MBA but anyway..

Who knows? Maybe thats the next big thing, forget Columbia... ;-)

Finally someone with insight, very interesting indeed! IF this is in fact the explanation for the PGP name then it is certainly a different approach to the whole topic. I agree with you as far as future prospects are concerned. Although I dont think that Indian Bschools will take the place of the big US schools, I am sure that there will be much more cooperation with Indian schools, like there is already between Chinese and US/EU schools, especially for EMBAs.

Finally someone with insight, very interesting indeed! IF this is in fact the explanation for the PGP name then it is certainly a different approach to the whole topic. I agree with you as far as future prospects are concerned. Although I dont think that Indian Bschools will take the place of the big US schools, I am sure that there will be much more cooperation with Indian schools, like there is already between Chinese and US/EU schools, especially for EMBAs.

Good point lifelonglearner, at least for Asia/China you can already see how demand is shifting with many of the western programs offering their MBAS partly over here. Are there any programs like INSEAD in India, which are offered in collaboration with western bschoolz? I could not find any..

Dear Genta,

I think due to some education policies, so far no collaboration has been materialized like INSEAD's singapore campus or joint programs in many Chinese universities.

But IIT and IIM have plans to go beyond the Indian territory in near future.......... I think Singapore is said to be one of the first destinations ..... Otherwise for study in India at a school with global outlook, check for ISB Hyderabad (isb.edu) that has a very impressive faculty and academic alliance with Wharton, Kellogg and LBS.

Interesting, I am going to check out the link. I think this is really a gap in the market that ought to be bridged..

....came across this article while going through updates in emerging markets. .....hope this will give some more idea on what they are looking for in India.........cheers....

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Move over Wharton, IIT is here
appeared in The Times of India of 15 May 2006

Brand IIT may have just got bigger. This year, for the first time, investment firms, which usually hire management graduates from Princeton, Wharton and MIT, were seen knocking on the doors of IIT Delhi to recruit engineering graduates for finance jobs.

The annual pay packages are in the range of $60,000-100,000 . the same amount that a Wharton or MIT graduate for the same position would be offered. Out of the batch of 450, about 25 have got offers from I-banks like Merrill Lynch, PIMCO, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, UBS and Lehman Brothers. Rachit Jain,who has got an offer of $100,000 from Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), is elated.

"I had planned to do an MBA and only then was I expecting to be made such a lucrative offer. Had this not worked out, my career would have charted a different course.' Geetanjai Mittal, an associate with Merrill Lynch, said: "We usually hire students from MIT, Wharton and IIMs, and many of them have an IIT degree too. So this year, we decided that we might as well hire directly from IIT.' Students are essentially being hired for finance jobs . which have traditionally been considered the preserve of MBA students.

"An MBA degree is not mandatory for these jobs.What's actually required are number-crunching skills which are well-possessed by these engineering students," added Mittal.

What this also means is that many of these students have quit the idea of pursuing an MBA since it would be precisely for such jobs that they would want that degree.

Akhilesh Chaudhary, who has got an offer from Merrill Lynch, has dropped plans to go to IIM Bangalore where he had been selected. "I've been offered an annual package of $60,000, plus a $10,000 sign-on bonus and performance-based incentives, and I'll most probably be posted in London or New York. So this just changes my career plans,' he says.

Amit Aggarwal, who has been offered the position of an analyst at Merrill Lynch, says: "If I went into management after this, it would be because that would allow me to shift into finance. I had got a job with Google, Bangalore and after a few years of work experience, would have gone in for an MBA. Now all these plans appear to be pretty much redundant.'

Hey, thats interesting stuff, thanks again! Btw, where are you planning to do your MBA, in India or abroad?

........i would love to be in ISB if they accept me.........but not sure as the competition is pretty tough.............

I see, and going abroad is not an option for you?