The global economy has, unfortunately though, shrunk significantly. Nonetheless, on the bright side of it all, the global economic recovery is likely to start ascension in the next six to nine months and probably head back to the pre­COVID levels not later than the second half of 2022. This means that when the Class of 2021­23 graduates in the summer of 2023, the economic environment will be strong and growing, thus creating great employment opportunities for MBA graduates. Having considerably reduced manpower during the current economic downturn, the HR planners at all large corporates would be looking to recruit top b-school management graduates in a big way to support their growth forecasts.

Considering this background, this year's b-school categorization attains great importance in terms of its utility to you. You must make sure that you pick the right b-school to give the right push to your budding career. With several thousand b-schools in India, the MBA scene is pretty crowded, a situation which can both be rewarding and confusing. On one side, studying at any of India's top b-schools can give you big returns on your investment of both time and money. On the other side, a wrong choice of b-school could potentially damage a bright career. With several thousand schools around, you may face considerable difficulty in evaluating, applying, and eventually joining one of them. Also, it does not help that these schools make wildly varied and conflicting claims, some genuine and some exaggerated.

Choosing your institution should be treated like you're choosing your future. A good institution can make or break your career. So its best, you put everything at rest for now, settle down on your study with a cup of coffee, and tread lightly though this edition to get the closest analysis of the B Schools that are not IIMs, but have the qualities to paint your future just as colourful as you had imagined.

Do let us know what you think!