New Delhi: Traditionally known for their flagship two-year Post Graduate Programme (PGP) in management, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are now venturing into undergraduate (UG) education.
While IIMs have been offering the five-year Integrated Programme in Management (IPM) since 2011, which allowed students the option to exit with a UG degree after three years, they had never launched standalone UG courses before 2024.
Between 2024 and 2025, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Sambalpur, and IIM Kozhikode have launched full-time, residential four-year undergraduate programmes in fields such as management, public policy, and emerging technologies, and IIM Bangalore introduced a three-year online BBA in Digital Business and Entrepreneurship (BBA–DBE). It is also preparing to roll out two residential four-year honours programmes next year — a BSc (Hons) in economics and a BSc (Hons) in data science.
Similarly, IIM Udaipur has announced plans to launch an on-campus BBA programme from next year. The fees of UG courses range from ₹4.5 lakh for IIM Bangalore’s online BBA to nearly ₹28 lakh for Kozhikode’s Bachelor in Management Studies (BMS).
IIM officials said the launch of UG courses reflects the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s push for flexible learning and is guided by academic goals rather than finances. However, government funding has fallen sharply—dropping by nearly 75.5% from ₹1,030 crore in 2017-18 to ₹251.89 crore in 2025-26—after the IIM Act, 2017 made the institutes more autonomous. Except IIM Kozhikode, all IIMs offering undergraduate courses have taken Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) loans of ₹250– ₹400 crore, where the institutes repay the principal while the government bears the interest.
Students view the high fees as an investment that gives them access to the IIM ecosystem — top faculty, peer networks, and brand value. But experts caution that the move could dilute the IIMs’ specialised focus, turning them into general universities as they face pressure to generate their own revenue.
{{/usCountry}}Students view the high fees as an investment that gives them access to the IIM ecosystem — top faculty, peer networks, and brand value. But experts caution that the move could dilute the IIMs’ specialised focus, turning them into general universities as they face pressure to generate their own revenue.
{{/usCountry}}IIM UG programmes
In September 2024, IIM Sirmaur became the first IIM to launch an undergraduate programme — the BMS.
Explaining the move, IIM Sirmaur director Dr. Prafulla Agnihotri said, “Most UG management programmes in existing universities are too theoretical. We thought management education must enhance decision-making and offer practical application of theory to its students and launched the BMS programme last year.”
He admitted the transition was initially tough for faculty, who had never taught undergraduates before, but added, “After a year, our faculty have adjusted to the challenges of the BMS.”
IIM Sirmaur’s BMS programme drew 2,373 applications for just 120 seats this year, with the four-year course priced at ₹22.73 lakh. The admission is based on scores achieved by students in the written exam Integrated Program in Management Aptitude Test (IPMAT) conducted by IIM Indore and personal interview.
IIM Sambalpur director Prof. Mahadeo Jaiswal said with the ongoing NEP 2020 implementation, there has been a big push for increasing quality management education at the undergraduate level.
“India is seeing increasing demand for undergraduate courses that not only deliver intellectual knowledge but also create managerial and leadership capabilities from the very beginning. Addressing this requirement, IIM Sambalpur launched two UG programmes aiming to groom young talent immediately after school, preparing them with critical thinking, problem-solving, and entrepreneurial skills from the outset of their academic careers,” he said.
Launched in 2025, IIM Sambalpur’s two Bachelor of Science (B.S.) programmes — data science and AI (admission via JEE Main) and management and public policy (admission via CUET-UG) — received 327 applications for 90 seats.
IIM Kozhikode director Prof. Debashis Chatterjee said the response to the new BMS course has been “extremely encouraging” with over 8,000 applications for 120 seats. He described it as “not a conventional commerce degree” but a research-driven, interdisciplinary programme combining management with humanities, technology, and emerging fields to create “industry-ready and socially conscious leaders.”
“Management education can no longer be confined to the postgraduate level… The NEP 2020 encourages flexible, interdisciplinary pathways, making this the right time for IIM Kozhikode to enter the UG space,” he added.
Vedasamhita Makireddi, a BMS student at IIM Kozhikode, said the course is helping her build a foundation to pursue a career in luxury brand management. “I see the ₹28 lakh fee as value, not just cost… we are paying for an environment that pushes us to think differently, collaborate with diverse peers, and build lifelong connections,” she said.
Taruna Bhawani Khanna, co-founder of Possible Education in Lucknow, said students are now preparing for IIM admissions from Class 11 itself.
“A total of 7 IIMs – Indore, Ranchi, Shillong, Amritsar, Bodh Gaya, Jammu and Rohtak are offering IPM courses and four IIMs – Bangalore, Kozhikode, Sirmaur and Sambalpur have started standalone UG courses – making a total of 11 IIMs out of a total of 21 functioning IIMs, are now admitting students right after Class 12, showing that management education is gaining the same aspirational value as medicine, engineering, and law,” she said.
Shantanu Rooj, founder and CEO of TeamLease Edtech, said UG programmes at IIMs are worth pursuing as they blend academic rigour with industry-driven skills, ensuring graduates are “job-ready and adaptable to future workplace demands.”
IIM funding and HEFA loans
Through IIM Act, 2017, the central government granted the IIMs full academic and financial autonomy, empowering their boards to take key decisions on courses, fees, and governance without government interference.
Government funding for IIMs has dropped by 75.5% since 2017-18, falling from ₹1,030 crore in 2017-18 to just ₹212.12 crore in 2024-25, with a slight recovery to ₹251.89 crore budgeted for 2025-26. After peaking at ₹653.92 crore in 2022-23, allocations have steadily declined, pushing IIMs toward greater financial self-reliance.
Though IIM officials said that the primary driver behind the launch of UG courses is academic vision, not financial compulsion, experts question the timing and term the move as “a debt-driven expansion model.”
“The BMS course is mission-driven to nurture management leaders, not funding-driven, and positions IIM Kozhikode as a pioneer in creating new models of undergraduate management education, which is the need of the hour,” said Prof Chatterjee.
IIM Sambalpur and IIM Sirmaur each took HEFA loans of around ₹400 crore in 2019 to build their permanent campuses. Both institutes maintain that their new UG programmes are driven by vision and alignment with NEP 2020, not financial pressures. “The BMS programme at IIM Sirmaur fits into our strategic growth plan, not just financial needs,” said director Prafulla Agnihotri. Prof Jaiswal of IIM Sambalpur added the UG push is “not merely about money but about vision and opportunity.”
Anurag Shukla, an education expert who teaches across universities and IIMs said UG courses are being started at IIMs due to demand but risk “turning into general universities without the same depth of expertise.” “The timing is telling. Government support to IIMs has declined while institutions are pushed to raise their own resources. UG courses, with high fees and HEFA loans, are a way to generate revenue. But this shifts the burden onto students and families, creating equity concerns and a debt-driven expansion model,” he added.