People call it the unfair way to a brand name or a back door entry to India's most prestigious B-schools. In all fair sense they are wrong, equally wrong are the people who think ABM (or FABM as it is known in IIMA) and PGPM are equal.

Agri Business Management, now in its 13th Batch is one of the most misunderstood fields of specialisations available to a management student. While most of the students do join because of somewhat at par placements with PGPM, there are a few roses in the garden full of bushes.

IIMA started with its PGP FABM program, and IIM Lucknow soon followed it, but it's more than a mere specialisation. PGPABM comes with its pros and cons; you can get into the program with a relatively lower CAT percentile and still make the most out of the brand IIM. On the darker side, not all opportunities are available to the students of the not-so-sought-after program. Students are often found complaining about the bias by recruiters and the lack to pursue PGP electives beyond a certain set limit. Most of the real facts are not available on either Quora or the 'gyaan' libraries of admission guidance websites. Even the CAT coaching gurus lack the appropriate knowledge of what should and should not be expected from PGPABM.

The case of information asymmetry runs to the core where people without relevant backgrounds join the course only to curse it later. I know a few who are genuinely interested in pursuing it. To those who are still unaware of what's to take from this, ABM offers you a chance to study almost all subjects from all specialisations, only with a slight tweak that these are customised for application in Agri-Business. From consumer behaviour to external markets and international trade to social media marketing, ABM offers it all.

I think of it as a chance to redeem your past mistakes which happened when you were taking CAT. A low percentile and high on ambitions, a hard working student can still make the most of it. The placements are common for both PGPM and PGPABM, at least here at IIM Lucknow. Some might even consider it at par, but for an insider, this statement is always taken with a pinch of salt. Terms and conditions apply.

Mohit Thawani

ABM Story: The MBA That Never Was