Nagpur
Meeting people at IIM Nagpur
IIM Nagpur is a 2015 IIM that started in borrowed rooms at VNIT and now has a 132-acre campus inside MIHAN, Nagpur's cargo and airport hub, with a young, club-driven culture where students build most traditions themselves.
IIM Nagpur is the only IIM built inside the MIHAN cargo-and-airport hub rather than a traditional university district, and it began operations under mentorship from IIM Ahmedabad with a temporary campus at VNIT before its own MIHAN campus was formally inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind in May 2022.
The story of IIM Nagpur
IIM Nagpur was set up in 2015 under the mentorship of IIM Ahmedabad, the first of that year's new-generation IIMs to start classes. The first batch of 55 students began on 23 July 2015 at a temporary campus inside Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur.
The institute moved to its permanent 132-acre campus at MIHAN in November 2021, and President Ram Nath Kovind dedicated it on 8 May 2022. Ashish Nanda and L.S. Murty led the early years, and Bhimaraya Metri has been director since 2020.
The next chapter is a second campus: the Maharashtra government allotted 70 acres at Moshi in Pune district, where the institute plans programmes focused on manufacturing, Industry 4.0, AI and IT management, including integrated BBA-MBA and BTech-MBA options. In November 2025 it also set up a Case Research Centre.
What the campus is like socially
Because the campus is so new, students are still writing the rulebook. The batch is small enough that most people know each other, and club leadership roles carry real weight, both socially and in recruiter conversations. Life revolves around the academic clubs, the cultural fest and the steady flow of case competitions.
The city leans into the campus identity too. Nagpur is known as the Orange City and is home to the Zero Mile Stone, the 1907 Great Trigonometrical Survey monument that marks the city's place near the centre of India, which is why the cultural fest is called Zero Mile Fest.
Traditions every IIM Nagpur student knows
- Zero Mile Fest: IIM Nagpur's cultural fest, named after the city's Zero Mile Stone.
- Kutumbh: The annual alumni meet, Hindi for family. Kutumbh 3.0 ran over two days in January 2025.
- INVICTA: A national-level marketing fest run by MarX, the marketing club.
- Aanvikshiki: A national case competition run by Eques, the strategy and consulting club.
- Slum Soccer orientation: Incoming batches have played football and games with Slum Soccer, the Nagpur NGO working with homeless and underprivileged youth, during orientation.
Campus lore and insider spots
- The VNIT years: The first six batches studied on a borrowed engineering campus before the move to MIHAN.
- The centre of India: Students like to point out that their city holds the Zero Mile Stone, built in 1907.
- A campus next to the runway: IIM Nagpur is the only IIM built inside a cargo and airport hub.
- Orange City: Nagpur's famous oranges show up in campus merch, fest names and plenty of jokes.
How to find your people here
At IIM Nagpur, a club or committee is the fastest way to build a real social circle, since the two-year program moves fast and most lasting friendships come out of a shared case comp or event team.
Fests and societies at IIM Nagpur
Signature fests
- Zero Mile Fest
Notable societies
- InFED's Women Startup Programme cohort
Societies worth knowing at IIM Nagpur
- Eques: Strategy and consulting club, behind Aanvikshiki and annual industry reports.
- MarX: Marketing club, running INVICTA, Marketing Crusader and Marché case events.
- OPEX: Operations club, with Opmach, Opquest, OpsBlitz and industry visits.
- FINesse: Finance club, with stock market simulations, FinTalks and case competitions.
- Athena: Economics and public policy club, with research publications and governance consulting projects.
- E-Cell: Runs E-Talks, Innowize, E-gnite and the Entro-Mile conclave, linked to the InFED incubator.
Careers, internships and placements
Consulting, BFSI, FMCG, operations and analytics roles make up much of IIM Nagpur's placement picture. Recent convocations have highlighted fully placed batches with a high share of women graduates.
The club-to-career pipeline is direct: Eques for consulting, FINesse for finance, MarX for marketing and OPEX for supply chain. InFED, the institute's incubation centre, gives founders a route outside placements.
Rivalries and eternal debates
IIM Nagpur is endlessly compared with its 2015 classmates, especially IIM Amritsar and IIM Kashipur, on cutoffs, fees and placements. The bigger debate CAT takers have is whether a newer IIM beats an established private B-school. IIM-N students answer with the campus, the clubs and the Pune plan.
What IIM Nagpur is talking about now
The Pune campus, the new Case Research Centre and an MBA in Energy Management with NPTI are the latest talking points, alongside AI's impact on marketing and analytics roles.
Meeting people at IIM Nagpur by interest
A lot of friendships here form around a shared interest rather than a class or a hostel wing. If you are into startups and builders, finance and investing, debating and mun, running, and reading and book clubs, those pages cover where that scene actually happens in India and how to find people near you who are into the same thing.
Colleges nearby
IIM Nagpur sits close to VNIT and Symbiosis Nagpur, all part of the same Nagpur student scene. Cross-college friendships often start at inter-college fests, hackathons, or shared-interest communities rather than in class.
Similar campuses across India
If you are looking beyond your own campus, students at IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi, IIM Rohtak, and IIM Sambalpur share a similar campus culture, and Zyber works the same way at each: showing you verified people nearby who match on interest, intent, or timing.
Zyber on campus
Zyber is built for meeting people nearby in real time, with verified profiles only. At IIM Nagpur, that means showing you people near you who share your interests or your drive, whether or not you overlap on a class or a society.
New to IIM Nagpur? Start here
If you are just starting out, these freshers guides are written for exactly this moment: first week of college checklist, how to choose societies in college, making friends beyond your branch, and case competitions for freshers.
FAQ: IIM Nagpur
When was IIM Nagpur established?+
IIM Nagpur was established in 2015, mentored by IIM Ahmedabad. Its first classes began on 23 July 2015 at VNIT Nagpur.
Where is IIM Nagpur campus?+
IIM Nagpur's permanent 132-acre campus is at MIHAN, near Nagpur airport. It moved there in November 2021.
Is IIM Nagpur opening a Pune campus?+
Yes. Maharashtra allotted IIM Nagpur 70 acres at Moshi in Pune district for a second campus focused on manufacturing, AI and IT management.
What is the fest of IIM Nagpur?+
Zero Mile Fest is IIM Nagpur's cultural fest. Clubs also run national events like the INVICTA marketing fest and the Aanvikshiki case competition.
Who is the director of IIM Nagpur?+
Dr. Bhimaraya Metri has been director of IIM Nagpur since 2020.
How do I make friends at IIM Nagpur?+
The fastest way to make friends at IIM Nagpur is to join a society or activity group in your first few weeks and keep showing up, since Nagpur's campus culture here rewards consistency over one-off networking.
What societies should I join at IIM Nagpur?+
At IIM Nagpur, the societies and clubs tied to what you actually care about, not the biggest or most popular ones, tend to build the strongest friendships.
What are the main societies and fests at IIM Nagpur?+
IIM Nagpur's social calendar centers on Zero Mile Fest, alongside societies like InFED's Women Startup Programme cohort.
How do I meet people from other colleges nearby?+
In Nagpur, cross-college friendships usually start at inter-college fests, hackathons, or shared interest communities rather than in class. Apps like Zyber help by showing you nearby people at other campuses who share your interests.
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the freshers guide, the Meet People pillar, or read what Zyber is.