Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Women have once again outnumbered men in the new academic batch at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore, with 349 female students against 285 male students across four flagship programmes. The institute on Monday welcomed a total of 634 participants for the 2026-27 academic session, reaffirming its emphasis on diversity and inclusion.
The new cohort comprises students enrolled in the Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP), Post Graduate Programme in Human Resource Management (PGP-HRM), Integrated Programme in Management – Fourth Year (IPM-IV), and the Doctoral Programme in Management (DPM). In the flagship PGP, women account for 265 of the 487 students, while the PGP-HRM batch has 41 women and only two men.
Overall, the institute has admitted 349 female and 285 male students, continuing the trend of strong female representation in its management programmes.
The new batch was inaugurated by IIM Indore Director Prof. Himanshu Rai in the presence of Chief Guest Lt. Gen. Ajay Chandpuria, Commandant of the Army War College, Mhow.
Addressing the students, Rai urged them to pursue excellence with purpose, integrity and empathy. He encouraged them to remain humble, embrace lifelong learning, adapt to change and become socially responsible leaders who create value for society. "You are not here merely to earn a degree, but to discover yourselves and the difference you can make," he said.
Lt. Gen. Chandpuria called upon students to dream big and prepare themselves for leadership in a rapidly changing world. Drawing lessons from military leadership, he stressed the importance of integrity, adaptability, empathy and moral courage, saying true leaders inspire trust, lead by example and place people before outcomes.
Welcoming the incoming students, PGP Chair Prof. Sayantan Banerjee encouraged them to approach their IIM Indore journey with curiosity, humility and integrity, while emphasizing that management education is as much about ethical leadership and sound judgment as it is about academic excellence.
Programme-wise intake:
PGP: 487 students (222 male, 265 female)
PGP-HRM: 43 students (2 male, 41 female)
IPM-IV: 79 students (49 male, 30 female)
DPM: 25 students (12 male, 13 female)
