ISB was started in 1996 by a group of businessmen and academicians. The institute has various management programs with the PGP (Post Graduate Program in Management) as its flagship course. Admission to the coveted management program is rigorous and has the distinction of having one of the most stringent selectivity ratios internationally. ISB has integrated campuses at Mohali, Punjab and Hyderabad, Telangana, and is a non-profit organization.

The Indian School of Business has formed academic alliances with the Kellogg School of Management at North-western University, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the London Business School (LBS), bringing the best of global management practices and thinking into ISB's curriculum. Kellogg, Wharton and the ISB signed a Memorandum of Understanding in November 1997, which provides for a sharing of expertise and academic resources. The program is designed on a schedule that minimises disruption of work and personal pursuits and it's a combination of classroom and Technology aided learning platform. Participants will typically be on campus for a 6 day schedule of classroom learning every alternate month for a span of 12 months, which would ideally be planned to include a weekend. In the month of no classroom connect; the classes will be conducted over a technology aided learning platform.