An autonomous institution established to professionalize the country’s foreign trade management, IIFT was set up with the sole aim of increasing exports by developing human resources; generating, analyzing and disseminating data; and conducting research. Located in the close vicinity of the Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, IIFT is the only B-school in the country to offer a course in Masters in Business Administration – International Business (MBA-IB), which is also its flagship programme.

The institute has a campus in New Delhi and Kolkata. It was conferred the status of Deemed University in 2002. The institute also has an international centre in Tanzania (Dar-es-Salaam) in collaboration with a local partner. IIFT has also established a WTO centre with the help of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. IIFT celebrated its Golden Jubilee last year and President Pranab Mukherjee recalled how the institution has been a pillar of support for the government by being at the forefront of research and capacity building in international trade.

The other courses that the institute, catering to the requirements of aspiring International Business executives and mid-career professionals alike, are: Two-year MBA (International Business), New Delhi, Kolkata, and Dar-es-Salaam; Three-year MBA (International Business) (Part-Time), New Delhi and Kolkata; Executive Masters in International Business, New Delhi; Certificate Programme in Export Management, New Delhi. Until 2012, IIFT was a Centre of Excellence in international trade and business. In fact, over the years, the institute has trained senior members of IAS, IPS and other Central government services but also the executives of PSUs including MMTC, STC, etc. besides highly technical members of Indian Air Force. Dr Surajit Mitra is the current director of IIFT.

The IIFT library is one of its kind. With around 84,000 volumes and subscriptions to 800 journals with complete online cataloguing, the IIFT Library is a veritable storehouse of information. The library has an unique collection of publications of FAO, IMF, OECD, UNCTAD, UNCTC, World Bank, and other international agencies.

All the students of the MBA (IB) programme are compulsorily required to undertake a Port Visit (sea port), customs office, EPZs as it helps them to get good hands-on experience and an opportunity to interact with the people at the front line. Students are free to choose the port of their choice to visit. Port visits are usually undertaken at Mumbai, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, Kolkata, Cochin, Singapore or Dubai. Its placement record is great. In 2009, the institute was the first amongst all the major business schools in the country to complete 100 per cent placements in spite of the recessionary situation. The 2010 final placements saw a 53 per cent rise in the average salary levels with 100% placements as usual.