Home College Insider Scholar-o-pedia: Financial Aids & MBA Scholarships In 2024 From IIMs And Other Top B-Schools

Scholar-o-pedia: Financial Aids & MBA Scholarships In 2024 From IIMs And Other Top B-Schools

There are a wide range of MBA scholarships available in India. Find the eligibility criteria and details for all major MBA scholarships in India in this detailed guide.

Srishti Magan

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Scholar-o-pedia: Financial Aids & MBA Scholarships In 2024 From IIMs And Other Top B-Schools

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Table of content:

Types of Scholarships
MBA Scholarships in India
Corporate-Sponsored Scholarships For MBA in India
College-Sponsored Scholarships for MBA in India

Getting a Master in Business Administration (MBA) is a dream for many young students and even working professionals. Across the globe, millions of students apply for an MBA program. However, the cost of an MBA program is significantly high, in India and outside of it. For this very reason, numerous students who do not have adequate financial resources may give up on their dream of pursuing an MBA.

But, if you're looking to pursue an MBA without burning a hole in your pockets or taking a massive loan, then a scholarship is the way to go. There are several scholarships available for Indian students applying for an MBA in India. A discount on your tuition fees means getting financial assistance to spend less on MBA. But have you ever wondered why MBA colleges offer these scholarships?

To make it easier for deserving candidates to join the MBA program in their B-School.
To compete with other B-Schools to attract the best candidates.

For those of you who wish to pursue an MBA program from top B-Schools in India, this article will give you a glimpse of the scholarships that colleges, banks and governments offer full-time MBA students in India.

Types of Scholarships

A postgraduate program in management in India usually lasts for two years. There are a variety of scholarship schemes for an MBA course in India for deserving students. Not every scholarship has the same pool of eligible candidates. Thus, it's always ideal to research the scholarships in detail and find one that best suits your needs and offers you the highest chance of securing them.

Before we dive further into these scholarship schemes, let's first understand the range of scholarships

i) Need-Based: A need-based scholarship scheme is offered to individuals who have limited financial resources. The criteria for awarding a need-based scholarship differs with each scheme. However, broadly, such scholarships enable students from low-income households to avail educational opportunities they may not be able to afford otherwise. These can be government-sponsored or privately sponsored.

ii) Merit-Based: This scholarship scheme looks beyond students' financial backgrounds and focuses on their academic merit, athletic skills, or artistic abilities. This can also be given on the basis of marks scored in a particular exam (like an entrance exam). The purpose of the scholarship is to identify and reward talented individuals. These can be government-sponsored or privately sponsored.

iii) Identity-Based: This type of scholarship is offered to individuals belonging to an underrepresented community in society. The minority representations differ between countries, but broadly these include scholarships for members from religious minorities in the country or gender minorities. For example, scholarships for female candidates and/or single girl child (in India, especially). Or scholarships for members of the LGBTQ+ community. These can be government-sponsored or privately sponsored.

iv) Employer-Sponsored: This is also a common form of sponsorship, especially for courses like MBA. Here, employers sponsor the education of select employees under certain conditions. The employer may choose to support a course that helps employees advance further in the organization. For example, the ISB EY program for graduates is offered by the financial advisory firm Ernst & Young to their employees. These employees are graduates who wish to pursue a postgraduate degree in business management from the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad.

MBA Scholarships in India

MBA scholarships in India

Here are the four types or range of scholarships for MBAs in India:

i) Government sponsored: These are scholarships offered by the state and/or central government to various individuals. They can be merit-based, need-based, or identity-based. For example, the Merit cum Means Scholarship for Professional and Technical Courses is offered to deserving students from a minority community in India. The University Grant Commission (UGC) also awards post-graduate merit scholarships to university-rank holders.

Interested applicants can visit the National Scholarship Portal to find information about relevant, government-sponsored national scholarships. The portal provides information about the eligibility criteria and disbursal amount of different national scholarships. Candidates can fill out the application form and apply for various government scholarships directly on the platform.

ii) Bank sponsored: Specific academic scholarships are offered by banks to students in India. Like the IDFC First Bank MBA scholarship. This is a need-based scholarship of INR 2 lakh offered to deserving students with a family income of less than INR 6 lakhs per annum. A total of 350 scholarships are available under this scholarship scheme.

iii) Institution sponsored: MBA institutions also offer scholarships to students. Eligible candidates can apply for these at the time of admission and often have to meet certain criteria (like maintaining a minimum GPA or percentage) during the course. For example, the BML Munjal University MBA Scholarship is provided on academic merit.

iv) Corporate sponsored: Various corporate organizations also offer scholarships for MBA in India. These can, again, be merit-based and/or need-based. For example, the Aditya Birla Scholarship for MBA or the ONGC Scholarship. The ONGC scholarship is offered to both, students from the General category and SC, ST and OBC categories on a merit basis.

Not all scholarships are offered at the time of admission. Some may even be offered in the second year, on the basis of students' performance in the first year. Colleges also award scholarships at the end of the course, to reward meritorious students. Additionally, in many cases, the beneficiary student has to maintain a certain minimum grade to continue availing of the scholarship.

Corporate-Sponsored Scholarships For MBA in India

MBA Scholarships in India

Here are the top MBA scholarships in India offered by banks and private institutions:

Corporate-Sponsored Scholarships:

Name of the Scholarship	Eligibility Criteria & Details
Aditya Birla Scholarship	Aditya Birla Group offers meritorious students financial aid worth INR 1.75 lakh per year. The selection of candidates is done by the organization (and not the colleges). Students of IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore, IIM Shillong and XLRI Jamshedpur are eligible to apply for the Aditya Birla Scholarship.
OP Jindal Engineering and Management Scholarship (OPJEMS)	The OP Jindal group offers a scholarship worth INR 1.5 lakh per year to selected students. Students are selected on the basis of their academic performance, an online test, and personal interview. This merit-based scholarship is given to PGP students in their second year.
HUL/T. Thomas	Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) awards a scholarship of INR 1 lakh per year to second-year students on merit-cum-means basis.
IDFC First Bank MBA Scholarship	Candidates with a gross annual family income of less than or equal to INR 6 lakh per annum enrolled in an MBA program can apply for this scholarship worth INR 2 lakh (INR 1 lakh p.a.). 118 colleges are included in this scholarship scheme.
ONGC Scholarship to Meritorious Students	Scholarship of INR 48,000 per annum provided to deserving candidates i.e. candidates with a family income of less than INR 2 lakh per annum. For SC/ST candidates, the family income should be less than INR 4.5 lakh per annum. 50% of the scholarships are reserved for women applicants. In order to be eligible for the scholarship, candidates should have secured a minimum of 60% in graduation. They also need to maintain a minimum of 60% in each year’s semester examination to ensure the continuation of the scholarship.
Yes Future Ready Scholarship	Yes Bank provides financial relief of INR 2 lakh to 30 students from select business and engineering campuses. Candidates shortlisted on the basis of their academic profile, experience, and achievements take an online test, submit a personal essay and undergo an interview round. Here's the list of eligible colleges.
Mirae Asset Foundation	Mirae Asset Foundation (MAF) offers a scholarship to the meritorious and needy students of the first year and second year of PGP. The MAF scholarship is worth INR 5 lakh. It's offered to individuals with a family income of less than INR 8 lakh. It's awarded on the basis of interviews conducted by MAF for shortlisted candidates. Students from IIM K, XLRI Jamshedpur, SPJIMR Mumbai, etc. are eligible to apply for this scholarship.

College-Sponsored Scholarships for MBA in India

Read ahead to find more details about specific scholarships for students offered by the leading MBA colleges in India:

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM A)

IIM Ahmedabad is globally recognized for its excellence in management education. A premiere educational institution, getting into is nothing less of a dream come true for MBA aspirants. For the highly expensive cost programs, it offers the following scholarship options to eligible candidates, such as:

IIMA Special Need-Based Scholarships	The scholarship amount under need-based scholarship is decided on the basis of several criteria such as annual gross family income, ownership of assets, and the number of dependents in the family. All students admitted to the post-graduate programs (PGP & PGP-FABM), whose gross annual family income is below INR 15,00,000 are eligible to apply for this scholarship.
IIM A Exit Scholarships	IIM A offers the following Exit Scholarships: For Entrepreneurship: The Institute has decided to initiate a scheme of providing a monthly stipend of INR 30,000 for at most three consecutive years to two students who opt for entrepreneurship from every batch. Students applying for this scholarship need For Not-for-Profit Organizations: The students who opt for jobs in Not-for-Profit organizations are given financial relief of up to INR 4 lakh for three years to pay the outstanding MBA loan. For Doctoral Studies: The IIM A graduate students who pursue doctoral studies from India or abroad are provided financial aid of up to INR 4 lakhs for three years.
Scholarships by Alumni	IIM-A offers four alumni-based academic scholarships, namely: i) PGP Alumni Endowment Funds: Financial support up to INR 3 lakh is offered to students from economically and socially challenged backgrounds. ii) Peri Viswanath Scholarship: Scholarship of INR 4 lakh over 2 years (INR 2 lakh per year) awarded on Merit-cum-Means to students with annual family income below INR15 lakh. It's awarded at the beginning of the second year. iii) Shri GC Mital Entrepreneurship Aid: This is given to one student, on the day of convocation. A scholarship grant of INR 2 lakh is awarded to an individual who intends to start his/her own venture and thus, opts out of the placement process. In order to qualify for the aid, applicants should have an educational loan of a minimum of INR 1 lakh, and a combined family income lower than INR 8 lakh per annum. iv) Smt. J Nagamma Memorial Award: A merit scholarship of INR 15,000, based on academic performance. It's awarded at the end of the first year.
Scholarships by Corporates	Apart from the aforementioned corporate-sponsored scholarships, IIM A also lists the Dunia Scholarships for scholastic excellence. The Dubai-based Dunia Finance LLC offers a scholarship worth INR 1 lakh to eligible candidates.

Another category of scholarship offered by IIM A is SC/ST scholarship. Under this scholarship, all SC/ST category of students in the postgraduate program are awarded a monthly scholarship amount of INR 150 for a period of 10 months.

Note: As per the IIM A Admission Process, students can accept more than one scholarship/financial aid in an academic year, provided there is no objection from the sponsors. The combined amount of such scholarships/financial aid put together should not exceed the actual yearly expenses payable to IIMA during the same academic year.

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM B)

IIM Bangalore is known for fostering excellence in management, innovation, and entrepreneurship. It's one of the leading Indian universities, consistently ranking among the top 5 in NIRF rankings.

The institute comes with a wide range of need-based and merit-based scholarships to extend financial assistance to eligible candidates:

Need-based scholarship	All PGP students with annual household incomes below INR 8 lakh are eligible to apply for financial aid. Other students with severe financial difficulties arising from sudden unforeseen circumstances are also considered.
Siddhartha Padam Award	This scholarship is awarded to a PGP student who is on the Director’s Merit List and gets the highest CGPA in the Economics, Finance & Accounting core courses in the first year. It carries a cash prize of INR 50,000, a medallion, and a certificate.
Societe Generale Global Solution Centre India Scholarship	It covers the entire second year's tuition costs of first-year needy students after subsequent interviews by Societe Generale.
IIM B PGP Alumni First Batch (1976) Scholarship	The scholarship is for female candidates. It aims to assist a differently-abled female student (or a differently-abled male student, if there is no eligible female student). The scholarship carries a purse of INR 75000, a medallion, and a certificate.
Runwal Education Trust	The aid of INR 1 lakh is given to a PGP student based on a combination of academic performance in the 1st year and the student’s financial need.
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Department of Persons with Disabilities (PwD)	A scholarship amount of INR 2,55,000 per year is awarded to students having no less than 40% disability.
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Scholarship	The government provides full-tuition fees to meritorious first-year students belonging to the scheduled caste category.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs Scholarship	The government provides full-tuition fees to meritorious first-year students belonging to scheduled tribes.
Employment in Social Sector Scholarship	This is a reimbursement scholarship of one-third of tuition fees after three years of work in the social sector.

Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM C)

IIM Calcutta ranked fourth among educational institutions for management on NIRF 2024 rankings. It offers the following scholarships for MBA students:

Corporate Sponsored Scholarships

Some of the corporate-sponsored scholarships available for IIM C MBA students are:

Aditya Birla Scholarship for MBA
OPJEMS
Yes Future Ready Scholarship
IDFC First Bank
HUL/T. Thomas Scholarship

Apart from these, IIM C also offers the following rewards and prizes in the form of scholarships:

B.P. Poddar Scholarship
Aditya Kashyap Memorial Scholarship
T.T. Krishnamachari Prize
BPL Prize
DVC Award
Central Bank of India Prize

Indian Institute of Management Lucknow (IIM L)

Here's a look at the scholarships for students offered by IIM L:

Need-based Scholarships	The need-based IIML scholarship for students is based on family income. However, the eligibility criteria is announced post admissions. The scholarship is for a period of one year (and no auto-renewal is applicable).
Industry Sponsored Scholarships	There are several industry-sponsored scholarships from Hindustan Lever Ltd., Aditya Birla, and others.
The Government of India Merit-cum-Means Scholarships	The scholarships worth INR 2200 per annum are available to a maximum of 25% of the students satisfying the stipulated means and merit criteria.
Bharti Scholarship	Bharti Scholarship of INR 50,000 per annum has been instituted by Bharti Enterprises for meritorious and needy students (annual income not exceeding INR 1.08 lakhs). The scholarship continues for both years of the PGP.
SC/ST Scholarships	Scholarships worth INR 1500 per annum are available to all SC/ST students admitted to the program. Deserving candidates are also eligible for scholarships, from their respective State Governments, covering the non-refundable components of the fees and maintenance charges, depending upon family income.

Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM K)

Eligible candidates can apply for the following scholarship schemes offered by IIM K:

Merit Scholarship	First and second-year students are eligible for a merit scholarship (amount not specified) on the basis of their performance/CGPA. The number of scholarships awarded is in the ratio of one scholarship for every 20 students in the first and second years.
Need-Based Financial Assistance (NBFA)	Students with an annual family income of less than INR 8 lakh, who have availed of an education loan from a bank, are eligible for NBFA. The amount of the scholarship depends on the financial score of the applicant.

Indian Institute of Management Indore (IIM Indore)

IIM Indore offers the following scholarships for MBA in India:

Need-based scholarship

The students admitted to postgraduate programs with annual family income below INR 9 lakh are eligible for the appropriate financial assistance after a complete evaluation by the NBFA committee.

Faculty of Management Studies Delhi (FMS Delhi)

FMS accepts government-sponsored and private-sponsored scholarships. Some of the privately sponsored scholarships for MBA in India accepted by FMS are:

Corporate Scholarships for FMS MBA students

OPJEMS
Aditya Birla Scholarship
Yes Future Ready Scholarship
IDFC First Bank

Apart from these, FMS also accepts government-sponsored scholarships for MBA in India.

Management Development Institute, Gurgaon (MDI Gurgaon)

MDI Gurgaon focuses on 360-degree development through a rigorous academic curriculum and extracurricular activities for its students. Along with this, it provides adequate financial relief for students in the form of industry-backed and international scholarships.

Merit Scholarship	At the end of the second year of the post-graduate management program, MDI awards a merit scholarship of INR 10, 000/- each to the top students in the different PGP programs - PGDM: Top 5 students receive the scholarship PGDM-HRM: Top 2 students receive the scholarship PGDM-Business Analytics: 1 student receives the scholarship
Merit-Cum-Means Scholarship Scheme II	MDI offers merit-cum-means scholarship scheme for meritorious students belonging to economically weaker Sections (EWS). A 50% waiver of tuition fees is provided to 10 students belonging to households with an annual income of less than INR 8 Lakh. This includes three post-graduate management courses offered by MDI - PGDM, PGDM-HRM, and PGDM-Business Analytics. 2 of the total 10 seats are reserved for women.
Poonam Gyanchandani Memorial Scholarship	The RSPL Welfare Fund awards financial aid worth INR 5 lakh on the basis of Merit-cum-Means.
Corporate Scholarships	Some of the privately sponsored scholarships for MBA in India accepted by MDI are: OPJEMS Yes Future Ready Scholarship IDFC First Bank
International scholarship	It is awarded to students who go on the exchange program to MDI’s partner Universities/Business Schools such as Sciences Po Lille, Lille, University of Maribor, NUCB Business School, Japan, etc.

Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur (XLRI Jamshedpur)

XLRI Jamshedpur is the oldest management institute that offers various scholarships based on merit and the need for an economically weaker section of students. The list of scholarships offered by XLRI are:

Corporate Scholarships	Some of the privately sponsored scholarships for MBA in India accepted by XLRI are: Aditya Birla Scholarship OPJEMS T Thomas IDFC First Bank Yes Future Ready
Alumni Scholarship	A merit-cum-need relief of INR 1,50,000 is granted to HRM, BM, and GMP students.
XLRI Diamond Jubilee (Juniors)	First-year students are granted an aid of tuition fees up to INR 2,55,000.
XLRI Diamond Jubilee (Seniors)	Second-year students are granted an aid of tuition fees up to INR 2,85,000.
Vasantha Sankaran Scholarship	An aid of INR 1,00,000 is granted to second-year students as per the stipulated criteria by the donor.
Kalyan Ganguly XEF Scholarship	A merit-cum-need financial aid of INR 1,00,000 is granted to second-year students.
Joseph M Sciortino (for ST Students)	An aid of INR 25,000 is granted to the second-year ST category students.
Pirojsha Godrej	An aid of INR 25,000 is granted on a merit-cum-need basis to first-year students.
Geeta Saxena Memorial	An aid of INR 20,000 is granted to second-year students as per the stipulated criteria by the donor.
Naveen Jain & Distinguished Alumni Award	An aid of INR 20,000 is granted to second-year students as per the stipulated criteria by the donor.
1988 Batch Scholarship	An aid of INR 2 lakh is granted on a merit-cum-need basis to first-year students.

S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai

SPJIMR Mumbai stands out for its unique and distinctive path in management education. It offers a wide variety of programs and also supports its meritorious and deserving students by awarding them financial assistance.

Merit-cum-Means Based Financial Assistance	Financial assistance is provided to needy participants in the first year and second years. Assistance reimbursement of the selected candidate's tuition fee. Candidates are shortlisted after an assessment of need, academic performance, extra-curricular activities, and conduct.
Merit scholarship	Second-year students are eligible for a merit-based Scholarship. The scholarship will depend on the applicant's performance in the first year and the financial need of the participant.
Merit scholarship for the international exchange program	Participants selected for International Exchange will be eligible for a scholarship of INR 2 lakh, in the form of reimbursement for travel expenses (from India to the international B-School), visa and insurance fees, and lodging during the course work.

Some of the other notable colleges that offer a scholarship for an MBA in India are:

IMT Ghaziabad
IIFT Delhi
NMIMS Mumbai

Scholarships can be a boon for students, giving them a chance to study at premiere institutes. However, simply knowing about the scholarships offered by these top premier MBA colleges is not enough to finance your MBA. The competition to avail of these scholarships is equally intense. So buckle up your shoes to increase your chances of getting a scholarship among thousands of applications.