Kumar Bahukhandi
Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS) has marked another significant milestone in its growing global academic footprint, with its School of Leadership & Management (SLM) making its debut in the QS Global MBA Rankings 2027.
SLM-MRIIRS has been placed in the 301+ global band, making it one of only five Indian institutions to enter the QS Global MBA Rankings for the first time this year. The School has also been placed 51st in Asia and 9th in India, while securing the 2nd position in India for Diversity.
A total of 19 Indian business schools feature in the QS Global MBA Rankings 2027. The five new Indian entrants this year include O.P. Jindal Global University, Jaipuria Institute of Management, School of Business and Management at CHRIST (Deemed to be University), School of Leadership & Management at MRIIRS, and Vikrant University Gwalior.
In the 301+ global band, SLM-MRIIRS features alongside several long-established names in Indian management education, including IIM Udaipur, IIFT Delhi, Management Development Institute Gurgaon, XLRI – Xavier School of Management, IMT Ghaziabad and K J Somaiya Institute of Management, among others.
The latest Global MBA ranking represents a further expansion of Manav Rachna’s presence across QS benchmarks—from international trade and online management education to the flagship global full-time MBA rankings. It’s Online MBA had gained global recognition through the QS Online MBA Rankings 2026, entering the 76–100 global band, securing the 9th position in the Asia-Pacific region, and being ranked 1st globally for Class Experience.
Dr. Prashant Bhalla, President, Manav Rachna Educational Institutions, said, “Our entry into the QS Global MBA Rankings is an important recognition of the direction in which management education at Manav Rachna has evolved. We have consistently worked towards creating a learning environment that brings together academic rigour, industry engagement, global exposure, research, entrepreneurship and diversity. This recognition encourages us to further strengthen an ecosystem that prepares our students for meaningful leadership in an increasingly interconnected world.”
Dr. Amit Bhalla, Vice President, Manav Rachna Educational Institutions, said, “Management education today must remain closely connected with the realities of industry and the changing nature of business. At Manav Rachna, we have consciously built mechanisms that bring practitioners, corporate leaders and academic experts into continuous dialogue with our students and faculty. The QS recognition is an encouraging validation of this approach.”
A distinctive pillar of this industry-integrated approach is the Strategic Mentoring Board of Manav Rachna, founded and first chaired by the late Padma Shri Dr. Pritam Singh, one of India’s foremost management thinkers and former Director of MDI Gurgaon and IIM Lucknow. The Board was conceived to deepen the interface between academia and industry and to ensure that management education remains continuously informed by changing business realities. Over the years, it has brought senior leaders and practitioners into academic deliberations, mentorship, curriculum inputs and industry engagement at Manav Rachna.
The Strategic Mentoring Board continues to serve as a critical bridge between academic direction and industry practice at the School of Leadership & Management. Its contemporary agenda includes deeper faculty-industry immersion, strengthening Professors of Practice and mentorship-led learning, building thought leadership, workforce readiness, knowledge partnerships and sustained institutional collaboration.
Prof. (Dr.) Sanjay Srivastava, Vice Chancellor, MRIIRS, said, “Global rankings benchmark institutions not only on academic outcomes, but on their ability to create measurable impact across employability, research, entrepreneurship, international engagement and diversity. SLM’s debut in the QS Global MBA Rankings reflects years of sustained institution-building and an academic model that deliberately brings together scholarship and practice. We see this recognition as an impetus to raise these benchmarks further.”
The School of Leadership & Management follows an industry-integrated and globally oriented approach to management education. Its portfolio includes MBA programmes with specialisations and industry-linked learning, along with global pathways including the MBA Global dual-degree programmes with KEDGE Business School, France, and Queen Mary University of London. The School also offers programmes incorporating specialised academic and industry collaborations in areas such as business analytics, finance and emerging business domains.
The QS Global MBA Rankings assess programmes across key dimensions including Employability, Return on Investment, Entrepreneurship & Alumni Outcomes, Thought Leadership and Diversity. The strong performance of SLM-MRIIRS on Diversity, where it stands 2nd among Indian institutions, reflects the School’s emphasis on varied perspectives and an inclusive management-learning environment. The 2027 ranking comes at a time when India’s presence in global management education is expanding substantially. Nineteen Indian institutions now feature in the QS Global MBA Rankings 2027, pointing to the increasing international visibility of Indian business education.
For MRIIRS, the achievement also forms part of a wider global-ranking trajectory. The University made its debut in the QS World University Rankings 2026 and is also ranked in the QS Asia University Rankings, further strengthening its international academic presence.
