The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), historically recognised for their elite postgraduate management programmes, have launched a new chapter by offering standalone undergraduate degrees.

This evolution is driven by dual forces: a bold commitment to multidisciplinary learning under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the financial realities of decreasing government support.

The transition is sparking debate: Are these undergraduate courses a genuine expansion of academic vision or simply a pragmatic response to new financial pressures?

Institutes such as IIMs Bangalore, Sirmaur, Kozhikode, and Sambalpur describe their new four-year UG programmes as an institutional commitment to nurturing critical thinkers and socially conscious leaders from an earlier age.

IIM Sirmaur launched its Bachelor in Management Studies (BMS) in 2024, IIM Bangalore will offer a BSc (Hons) in Economics and Data Science from 2026, IIM Kozhikode is set to begin its BMS (Honours with Research) in 2025, while IIM Sambalpur has introduced two Bachelor of Science degrees in 2025,one in Management & Public Policy and another in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence.

The design reflects NEP’s emphasis on multidisciplinary, practice-driven learning.

It also aligns with the fast-changing job industry thanks to the rise of AI use, and AI agents taking over the work of human employees. This calls for more human oversight who are trained in management skills and can oversee not just humans but AI agents as well.