What has really changed is not the value of IIMs, but the context around them. Earlier, an IIM degree was seen as the safest default route to a good career. Today, it is one of several viable routes. Whether it makes sense depends on where you are in your career, your financial position, and what you expect the MBA to fix or accelerate.

So in my view, an IIM is neither a guarantee nor irrelevant. It is a tool. And like any tool, it works best when it is used for the right reason, at the right time, by the right person.