Vivekanand Education Society's Business School, Mumbai

Overview

Vivekanand Education Society's Business School (VBS), Mumbai, is one of the top MBA colleges in Maharashtra. Its flagship PGDM program offers six specializations, including popular courses drawn from Marketing, Finance, and Human Resource Management. It is affiliated with and certified by national and international quality bodies like the NBA, AIU, and AICTE, ensuring that it has a credible management program with a constant commitment to improvement. Both the Times of India and Outlook Magazine have ranked VBS among the top 8 Business Schools in Mumbai.

With more than 350 recruiting partnerships in India and abroad, Vivekanand Business School has a 93% placement rate. The salaries offered are equally impressive, with the highest salary offered in the 2023 placement season exceeding INR 21 LPA, with a highest domestic CTC of INR 12 LPA. Blue chip companies such as CRISIL, Adani Electricity, Daikin, Cipla, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, and Godrej participate in internship and final recruiting, with a total pool of more than 300 reputed companies making offers. The average CTC of all the placed PGDM students is much higher than in most other MBA colleges in India, at INR 8 LPA. 

The 5 acre campus of VBS Mumbai has some of the best infrastructure of any Business School in the city, with an Innovation Lab, a Board Room, Computer Labs, and a Lounge for indoor sports and recreation activities. There is also an outdoor turf where cricket and football can be played, ensuring that students prioritize healthy activities.

Highlights

Fees

The total academic fee payable by PGDM students of VBS Mumbai is INR 8.8 Lakh for the whole two year program. It has the following components:

• Tuition fee: INR 8.16 Lakh (INR 4.25 Lakh in the first year, INR 3.91 Lakh in the second year).
• Examination fee: INR 12,000 (INR 3,000 per semester).
• Library fee: INR 32,000.
• Innovation fee: INR 9,000 (payable only in the second year).
• Alumni fee: INR 7,000 (only payable in the second year).
• Refundable security deposit: INR 5,000 (payable in two installments in the first two semesters; will be refunded if there is no harm caused to the School’s property).

The living cost has two main components: hostel fee and mess charges:

• The annual mess charges are INR 80,000, for 10 months of the year when classes are conducted.
• The hostel fee varies from INR 1 LPA to INR 1.5 LPA, depending on the type of accommodation. Some indicative charges are:
  • Non-AC, 2 or 3 students per room: INR 1 LPA.
  • AC, 2 or 3 students per room: INR 1.3 LPA.
  • AC, single occupancy: INR 1.5 LPA.
• The hostel security deposit, which is one time and refundable, is INR 5,000.

Therefore, the total fee, including both academic and living charges, ranges from INR 12.4 Lakh to INR 13.4 Lakh.

Admissions

The eligibility criteria for admission to Vivekanand Business School, Mumbai, are as follows:

• The applicant must hold an undergraduate degree of minimum three years' duration from any recognized University. 
• The candidate must have an aggregate above 50% during his/her Bachelor's degree.
• The applicant must have a valid scorecard from any of these seven MBA aptitude tests: CAT, XAT, Maharashtra CET, CMAT, ATMA, MAT, or GMAT.
• Students in the final year of their UG degree, and students who are yet to appear for their entrance tests, may also apply, subject to completion of these requirements before the PGDM program start date.

The admission and application procedure has the following steps:

• Filling up the application form.
• Attaching attested copies of the following documents with the application form: one recent passport sized photograph, certificates and transcripts of Standard X, XII, and UG studies, entrance examination score card, identity proof, address proof, nationality proof, work experience letter (if relevant), and caste certificate (if applicable).
• Original copies of all these documents must be presented for verification at the time of admission.
• Students who pass all the entry requirements will be shortlisted and invited for the Group Discussion and Personal Interview rounds.
• All aspects of the application have their own importance, and the final merit list is prepared based on the scheme below:
  • Entrance Examination percentile: 40% weightage.
  • GD and PI round performance: 30%.
  • Academic History (including Board Examinations and UG studies): 25%.
  • Extracurricular activities, sports achievements, and work experience (not compulsory): 5%.

Placements

As one of the top MBA colleges in India, the placement highlights  of VBS Mumbai are as follows: 

• The highest CTC offered for an international placement was INR 21.42 LPA.
• The highest domestic CTC was INR 12 LPA.
• The average CTC for the whole graduating PGDM batch was INR 8 LPA, which was 67% of the highest domestic CTC.
• 93% of the 134 students who participated in the interview process were successfully placed.
• 145 new recruiters participated in the internship and placement process.
• The average CTC of the top 10% of students was INR 11.62 LPA, and that of the top 50% was INR 8.22 LPA.
• The top sectors represented in the recruiting statistics were Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (27%), Consulting (14%), Engineering (11%), and FMCG (8%).
• The most prominent MNCs out of the 300+ recruiting partners were Tech Mahindra, CRISIL, Adani Electricity, Daikin, Cipla, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Mumbai Metro, Reliance Retail, Future Group, Pine Labs, Amazon, Swiggy, Godrej, Lodha, Citibank, and IDFC First Bank.
• Training and Placement activities are overseen by the Placement Cell, which takes care of corporate relations and logistics related to placement tests and interviews.

Cut-Offs

The universal cut-off for all applicants to the PGDM program at VBS Mumbai is an aggregate of 50% averaged over all undergraduate semester exams. The final overall cut-off is determined only after all rounds of GD and PI are complete. The entrance exam cut-offs are as follows:

• CAT: 75 percentile.
• XAT: 70 percentile.
• CMAT: 75 percentile.
• MAT, ATMA, and Maharashtra CET: 85 percentile.

Faculty & Alumni

VBS Mumbai is home to 18 full time Faculty members. 11 are Heads of Department, Deans, and Associate Deans, along with 1 Associate Professor and 6 Assistant Professors. Their efforts are supplemented by guest lectures conducted by 6 distinguished Visiting Faculty members, who have up to 35 years of experience in industry, and one Adjunct Faculty member. Each Professor has one or two areas of specialization, and the Faculty members work to endow students with a strong theoretical base as well as extensive practical training (through the Capstone Project).

Alumni of Vivekanand Business School are encouraged to retain strong ties with their alma mater for professional networking and student mentorship purposes. The School maintains a webpage on which alumni testimonials are collated. It can also be used to view distinguished alumni who are in senior positions in various companies - for example, in DCB Bank, Deloitte, P&G, General Mills, AU Small Finance Bank, and SAS India.

Scholarships

As in other top MBA colleges in India, there are multiple financial aid options available to students of VBS Mumbai. There are four main scholarship schemes offered by the School:

1. Karmayogi Shri Hashu Advani Merit Scholarship: This is awarded based on academic merit in the qualifying examination and entrance test. A total of 11 students in each batch are awarded this scholarship, in five tiers: 100% of the first installment of the tuition fee (1 student), 75% and 50% first installment tuition fee scholarship (1 student each), 25% (3 students), and 20% scholarships (5 students).

2. VES Trust Samarthan Financial Assistance Scheme: The Vivekanand Education Society helps needy students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds apply for tuition fee scholarships; the amount will be decided by the School’s Management based on the individual need of the student.

3. Special Encouragement Scholarships: Female students who perform exceptionally well during the course of PGDM studies will receive one time merit scholarship amounts of INR 25,000 each. Differently abled students are also eligible for similar scholarships.

4. Minority Scholarships: This is awarded to students from religious minorities based on their academic excellence; students from minority communities may apply for this financial aid option at the time of admission. The scholarship amount is INR 25,000.

Preparation & FAQs

Applicants to the PGDM and MBA programs at Vivekanand Business School, Mumbai, may submit any one of seven Aptitude Test scores: CAT, XAT, CMAT, ATMA, MAT, GMAT, and Maharashtra CET. Each of these requires careful preparation through a full time classroom coaching program or a virtual online course. Depending on the exam chosen, students should also attempt at least 10 mock tests in online or offline mode before the date of the test.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. Which is the best Business School in Mumbai?

VBS Mumbai is one of the best MBA colleges in India, and is a contender for best Business School in Mumbai. It is ranked #79 among all Private Business Schools in India, according to the IIRF 2024 ranking list.

Q. Which specializations does Vivekanand Business School offer to its PGDM students?

PGDM students of VBS Mumbai can choose from among 6 specializations, including Banking & Finance, Marketing, Operations & Supply Chain Management, Business Analytics, Human Resource Management, and Entrepreneurship.

Q. How does VBS Mumbai ensure practical training in the PGDM academic curriculum?

Vivekanand Business School has a unique Capstone Project program that all PGDM students must complete. Students must use their academic learning to work on a practical real world project. This ensures that they are industry ready before their final placements.

Q. What international education opportunities are available to PGDM students of VBS Mumbai?

PGDM students of VBS Mumbai can apply for the Student Exchange Program, through which they can study abroad at one of the international campuses of Universities which have MoUs with Vivekanand Education Society. Examples of such Universities are the University of Cartagena (Spain) and the University of Economics (Katowice, Poland).