Top 20 PGDM Colleges in India: Courses, Fees, Admissions, Average Package
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India has more than 5000 institutes offering PG management courses, such as PGDM. Find the list of top PGDM institutes of India with salary and tuition fee.
Top PGDM Colleges in India
Top PGDM Colleges in India: 5000+ colleges offer PG management courses in India. The full form of PGDM is Post Graduate Diploma in Management. PGDM is very similar to an MBA degree; however, the PGDM is a diploma while the MBA is a degree. A degree can only be awarded by a university that is approved by the University Grants Commission, while awarding a PGDM does not require any accreditation from the University Grants Commission. Another difference between the MBA and PGDM is that the MBA syllabus and PGDM syllbus can be slightly different to each other depending on the colleges.
Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, the S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, and the Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur are some of the best PGDM colleges in India. This article is specifically designed for individuals planning to pursue an MBA this year; they can learn about MBA admissions at the top PGDM schools in India through this article.
- Top 20 PGDM Colleges in India (Based on NIRF Ranking)
- Top IIMs offering PGDM Courses
- Top Non-IIMs offering PGDM Courses
- Top PGDM Institute in India based on Placements
- Top PGDM Institute in India based on Fees
- Best Cities for PGDM in India
- Best PGDM Colleges Admission Process
- Difference between MBA and PGDM
Top 20 PGDM Colleges in India (Based on NIRF Ranking)
Every year, NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) releases rank-wise PGDM colleges along with the best colleges across streams. The rank of PGDM colleges is determined based on numerous factors, including
- Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR)
- Research and Professional Practice (RP)
- Outreach and Inclusivity (OI)
- Graduation Outcomes (GO)
- Perception (PR)
The rank of each PGDM institute varies from year to year based on how well a college or university performed across different parameters. Top 10 PGDM colleges in India and their NIRF 2025 rank of PGDM institutes are tabulated below:
(NIRF 2026 ranking is yet to be announced; therefore, for now, the data is provided as per NIRF 2025 data)
| Sr. No. | PGDM Colleges |
NIRF 2025 Rank of PGDM Institutes
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IIM Kozhikode | 3 |
| 3 | IIM Lucknow | 5 |
| 2 | IIM Mumbai | 6 |
| 5 | MDI, Gurgaon | 9 |
| 4 | XLRI Jamshedpur | 10 |
| 9 | IIT, Kharagpur | 12 |
| 7 | IIM Raipur | 15 |
| 8 | IIFT | 17 |
| 6 | IIM Rohtak | 19 |
| 10 | SPJIMR | 20 |
| 16 | IMT, Ghaziabad | 30 |
| 14 | MICA, Ahmedabad | 33 |
| 15 | Great Lakes Institute of Management | 37 |
| 11 | IIM Shillong | 38 |
| 18 | IMI, Delhi | 40 |
| 17 | Goa Institute of Management | 43 |
| 20 | Institute of Rural Management Anand | 54 |
| 12 | IIM, Tiruchirappalli | 57 |
| 19 | IIM, Amritsar | 64 |
| 13 | IIM, Nagpur | 99 |
Commonly asked questions
Ideally, one would say that 99 to100 percentile is good for MBA Admission. However, it is not possible for all candidates to score so high. So, what shall be considered a good score in CMAT. A good CMAT score is basically a score that will get you a seat in your desired college. So, if you desire a Tier 1 college, a good score in CMAT will be 85 percentile and above. If you desire a Tier 2 college, a good score in CMAT will be 70 to 85 percentile and for a Tier 3 college, less than 70 percentile in CMAT will be good. Now, if you want to understand CMAT. Score in terms of percentile, so that while giving the exam you know how much raw score is needed to get the required percentile for the desired college, you need to know how much CMAT score is equal to percentile. About 340 to 350 score is equal to 100 percentile in CMAT About 281to 340 score is equal to 90 to 99.99 percentile in CMAT About 201 to 280 score is equal to 81 to 89 percentile in CMAT About 171 to 200 score is equal to 71to 80 percentile in CMAT About 140 to 171 score is equal to 61 to 70 percentile in CMAT About 116 to 140 score is equal to 51 to 60 percentile in CMAT.
IMs and top business schools use CAT percentiles and sectional cutoffs to shortlist candidates for selection rounds. For final selection, they assign a 25 per cent to 65 per cent weightage to the CAT score, combining it with academics, work experience, and interviews.
some factors that determine NMAT cutoff are as follows:
- NMAT exam scores
- Total applications
- Total seats available
- NMAT cutoff trends
- Reservation criteria
- Exam difficulty
Top IIMs offering PGDM Courses
Not all IIMs offer a PGDM course; some IIMs, including Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Calcutta, brand their management course as PGP; however, awards an MBA degree after course completion. The list of IIMs offering the PGDM programme is mentioned below:
| PGDM Colleges |
NIRF Rank of PGDM Institutes
|
|---|---|
| IIM Kozhikode | 3 |
| IIM Lucknow | 5 |
| IIM Mumbai | 6 |
| IIM Raipur | 15 |
| IIM Rohtak | 19 |
| IIM Shillong | 38 |
| IIM, Tiruchirappalli | 57 |
| IIM, Amritsar | 64 |
| IIM, Nagpur | 99 |
Top Non-IIMs offering PGDM Courses
The table below mentions the list of best PGDM institutes in India that are not IIMs:
| PGDM Colleges |
NIRF Rank of PGDM Institutes
|
|---|---|
| MDI, Gurgaon | 9 |
| XLRI Jamshedpur | 10 |
| IIT, Kharagpur | 12 |
| IIFT | 17 |
| SPJIMR | 20 |
| IMT, Ghaziabad | 30 |
| MICA, Ahmedabad | 33 |
| Great Lakes Institute of Management | 37 |
| IMI, Delhi | 40 |
| Goa Institute of Management | 43 |
| Institute of Rural Management Anand | 54 |
Also Read: Top 20 MBA colleges apart from IIMs
Commonly asked questions
NMAT participating institutes decide the cutoff scores for admission and to shortlist candidates for admission rounds. Several factors, including the previous year's cutoff scores, total applicants, total seats, candidate's performance, among other factors helps in deciding the cutoff scores.
Typically, the participating institute shall decide the NMAT cutoff marks based on the number of seats, total applicants, and previous year's cutoff scores. The cutoff score may change based on demand-supply principle. More number of applications will lead to higher cutoff score. Whereas, decrease in the number of applications can lead to a lower cutoff score.
PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, is among the top MBA colleges accepting TANCET scores for admission. As per the TANCET cutoff from 2021 and 2020 session, candidates who had secured more than 99 percentile were admitted to the college for MBA Admission. The cutoff score for each year varies and the reservation quota also has an impact on PSGCT admission. Generally if a candidate is ranked within top 130 test takers, he she has a higher chance of getting into PSG College of Technology. Candidates can get the TANCET rank list and TANCET cutoff scores/ranks from the previous session available on the Tamil Nadu MBA Admission website.
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Top PGDM Institute in India based on Placements
The space below mentions the average package of top 10 PGDM colleges in India:
| Sr. No. | PGDM Best Colleges | Average Package (in INR) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
IIM Kozhikode |
31.02 LPA |
| 2 |
IIM Lucknow |
32.20 LPA |
| 3 |
IIM Mumbai |
25.27 LPA |
| 4 |
XLRI Jamshedpur |
32.7 LPA |
| 5 |
IIM Raipur |
21.04 LPA |
| 6 |
IIM Rohtak |
18.73 LPA |
| 7 |
MDI, Gurgaon |
27.26 LPA |
| 8 |
IIT, Kharagpur |
TBA |
| 9 |
SPJIMR |
33.02 LPA |
| 10 |
IIM, Tiruchirappalli |
20.55 LPA |
Also Read: IIM Placements
Top PGDM Institute in India based on Fees
The space below mentions the PGDM course fee of the best colleges in India:
| Sr. No. | PGDM Best Colleges | PGDM Fees (in INR) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IIM, Kozhikode | 20.5 L |
| 2 | IIM, Lucknow | 12.6 L |
| 3 | IIM, Mumbai | 8.5 L |
| 4 | XLRI, Jamshedpur | 2.9 L |
| 5 | IIM, Raipur | 14.2 L |
| 6 | MDI, Gurgaon | 18.1 L |
| 7 | IIT, Kharagpur | 25 L |
| 8 | SPJIMR | 20.4 L |
| 9 | IIM Trichy | 19.5 L |
| 10 | IIM Shillong | 14.6 L |
| 11 | IIFT | 4.85 L |
| 12 | Great Lakes Institute of Management | 9 L |
| 13 | Goa Institute of Management | 18.3 L |
| 14 | IMI, Delhi | 18.2 L |
| 15 | MICA, Ahmedabad | 21 L |
| 16 | IMT, Ghaziabad | 18.8 L |
| 17 | IIM, Amritsar | 12.5 L |
| 18 | Institute of Rural Management Anand | 12.6 L |
| 19 | IIM Nagpur | 17.7 L |
| 20 | IIM Rohtak | 8.9 L |
Best Cities for PGDM in India
With over 4000 cities and towns in India, PGDM colleges are situated in every part of the country. PGDM course is known to deliver practical knowledge of the business world. Therefore, candidates prefer to pursue a PGDM course from a tier-1 city with flourishing businesses. Some of these cities in India include Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Bangalore. Find the top PGDM colleges in India across Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, and Bangalore below:
Top Colleges for PGDM in Delhi
Check the space below to know the best PGDM colleges in Delhi based on popularity on Shiksha:
- Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi
- Jamia Millia Islamia
- IIM Rohtak
- MDI, Gurgaon
- Amity University, Noida
Top Pune PGDM Colleges
Check the space below to know the best Pune PGDM colleges based on popularity on Shiksha:
- Symbiosis Institute of Business Management
- National Institute of Bank Management
- Pune Institute of Business Management
- National Insurance Academy
- Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development
Top Bangalore PGDM Colleges
Below are top Bangalore PGDM colleges based on popularity on Shiksha:
- Christ University
- Alliance School of Business
- Jain University
- Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship
- Welingkar Bangalore
Best PGDM Colleges in Hyderabad
Check the space below for the best PGDM colleges in Hyderabad based on popularity on Shiksha:
- Institute of Management Technology
- University of Hyderabad
- National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management
- NMIMS, Hyderabad
- KL University
Best PGDM Colleges Admission Process
The admission process for the PGDM course is identical to MBA admissions. Candidates will have to appear for national-level/state-level entrance exams for PGDM admissions.
Top exams for PGDM Admissions
Below are the names of PGDM exams conducted at national or state levels:
Explore more MBA exams with upcoming dates
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26 Sep '26
20 Aug '26 - 10 Oct '26
14 Oct '26 - 17 Oct '26
30 Sep '26 - 20 Nov '26
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12 Dec '26
10 Oct '26 - 11 Jan '27
Difference between MBA and PGDM
The primary difference between a PGDM and an MBA is that a PGDM is a diploma programme, while an MBA is a degree programme. A diploma course is offered by an autonomous institute, while an MBA degree is offered by a university or college affiliated to a university. A b-school may offer both MBA as well as PGDM courses. A b-school may market the PGDM or MBA course with different names, such as PGP. The award at the time of course completion will be either a PGDM or MBA degree.
The difference between PGDM and MBA is tabulated below:
| Feature |
PGDM |
MBA |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of course |
Diploma |
Degree |
| Awarding body |
Autonomous institute (typically holds AICTE approval or standalone institutes) |
University (typically regulated by UGC) |
| Knowledge imparted |
Industry-oriented |
Theoretical |
| Curriculum flexibility |
Can change every year with advancing industry standards |
Can change in the long term |
Which programme among PGDM and MBA is right depends on the individual needs as well as goals. Candidates looking for a course that imparts practical skills can choose a PGDM. However, candidates looking for a program that provides a broader understanding of business concepts and principles must go for an MBA degree course. Before choosing a degree or a diploma course, aspirants must have an understanding of MBA accreditation.
Irrespective of what course is chosen by the candidate, employers regard both MBA and PGDM at equal levels.
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Abhishek Dhawan is a content writer and editor with 7+ years of experience in education journalism. He holds a BA degree from the University of Delhi. At Shiksha, Abhishek primarily covers MBA and BBA entrance
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