Hello Pankhuri,

1. The Difference

MBA: Master of Business Administration 

MMS: Master of Management Studies

An MBA is a degree which is provided by the university itself or by the colleges affiliated to the university which follows the educational regulations in India, whereas an MMS is a degree which is provided by the university or the colleges affiliated to the university that follows different state required assessments.

To clarify further I would like to give an example,

FMS is affiliated to Delhi University provides MBA degree and it follows central educational regulations may it be in reservations like, if you are already in state's OBC list of your state, then also your caste needs to be in the central OBC list to secure admission through reserved category at FMS.

further, the institutes associated with the University of Mumbai provides MMS degree. As these institutes follow state regulations. Here you don't need to be in the cental list for securing admission through a reserved quota for MMS program ( keep in mind PGDM is different).

Further, the process of admission is different. For seeking admission to MBA you might have to undergo interviews. for MMS you don't necessarily require work experience and don't need to undergo interviews.

MBA is an expensive affair as compared to MMS. ( Compare Symbiosis and JBIMS).

Though the MMS is less competitive as compared to MBA, MMS from a reputed institute is always better than an MBA from Average institute. By the way, both degrees are recognized by AICTE.

2. Coming to the syllabus, There is no difference in the syllabus as MBA and MMS are same but they are known by different names in India. (MBA popular in India & MMS popular in Maharashtra)

3. I don't think that an MBA is generic and MMS is specialized. In both programs, you need to choose a specialization in your 2nd year.

4. Placements play a major role after completion of your program. Placements solely depend on the quality & reputation of the college. A top college will always fetch you good placements. And as far as I Know for placements MBA or MMS doesn't matter, what matters is 1. Brand of your college 2. your performance in the 2 years. Apart from this profile plays a major role.

Now you might wonder how different is PGDM.

PGDM is offered by the institutes which are autonomous and they are not affiliated to the universities. Being not affiliated helps them in keeping the curriculum in line with the industry standards. As the ones affiliated have to follow university curriculum and it requires bureaucratic procedures to change the syllabus. 

Hence most of the top B schools provide PGDM programs and attract great companies for placements.

Hope your doubt is clear.

Good Luck!