The Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-C) has bagged the top position in the 2021 edition of the Business Today-MDRA Best B-school survey.

The survey saw a record 305 institutes participate in an exercise that took over three months.

Last year's top-ranker IIM-Ahmedabad (IIMA) topped three of the five primary parameters this time -- learning experience, living experience and selection process, governance and establishment, while IIM-C topped in the other two -- placement performance and future orientation, according to a statement.

"It was IIM-C's big score in future orientation that finally helped it topple the perennial favourite for the first time. In a close contest, IIM-C pipped IIM-A by a mere 0.1 points," it said.

The third, fourth and fifth rank have been bagged by IIM-Bangalore, IIM-Lucknow and SPJIMR (SP Jain Institute of Management and Research) of Mumbai.

Apart from the main ranking of institutes, the survey mentions the ranks of schools based on each primary parameter, cities, zones, and return on investment. Separate rankings of private and government institutions have also been published.

"The other big trend in business education this year is the distinct imprint of the (COVID-19) pandemic on business school education," the statement said.

"As industries and companies have moved en masse to digital methods of doing business, B-schools have had to course correct and add modules on artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and other digital technologies to their MBA courses, it said.

Marketing and Development Research Associates (MDRA) is a premier marketing research and consulting organisation in India with focus on quantitative and qualitative research.