There is unprecedented competition in the marketplace today. The need to understand consumer desires and cater to them has become the norm for existence and survival in business. Thus, the necessity for enterprising managers with a global vision arises. Management education has received a great boost in the post-globalisation era. Premier institutes have descended upon the scenario with programmes aimed at carving out well-rounded personalities who can confidently walk through the portals of the corporate world.

Admission to the hallowed precincts of some of these Institutes is based on the Common Admission Test (CAT) jointly conducted by the six Indian Institutes of Management. This test is conducted on a yearly basis for admission to the Postgraduate Programmes (PGP) and the Fellow Programmes in Management (FPM) of the IIMs situated at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Indore, Kozhikode and Lucknow. The examination, generally held in the month of December, is conducted at the following centres: Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Pune, Tiruchirapalli and Vijayawada.

Candidates appearing for the final Bachelor's degree examination can also apply. Such candidates, if selected, will be allowed to provisionally join the programme only if they submit a certificate latest by June of the year of admission from the Principal / Registrar of their College / Institute stating that they have appeared for the examinations (including practicals) in all the subjects required for obtaining the Bachelor's degree. Further, they must produce the mark sheet and certificate of having passed the Bachelor's degree before the registration date of the second term in October of the year of admission. Non-fulfilment of these requirements will automatically result in the cancellation of provisional admission. Candidates with relevant managerial work experience are especially encouraged to apply.

The candidate must have:

 (i) At least a three-year Bachelor's degree or equivalent in any discipline recognised by the AIU / AICTE as eligible for postgraduate studies.

(ii) Secured 50% aggregate in the qualifying Degree and a minimum of 50% aggregate in Standards X or XII.

          - SC/ST candidates, however, are eligible if they have a minimum of 45% in the qualifying Degree and a minimum of 45% in Standards X or XII.

          - For some correspondence courses, the prescribed minimum may be lower.

Students who will appear for their Degree examinations in 2002 can appear for these Entrance Tests during 2001 - 2002 beginning with the Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by the IIMs in December 2001. These students, if selected, will be given provisional admission to the programme if they submit a certificate, by June of the year of admission, from the Principal / Registrar of their College / Institute that they have appeared for the examinations (including practicals) in all the subjects required for obtaining the Bachelor's degree. They will also be expected to produce the mark sheet and a certificate of having passed the Bachelor's degree by the registration date of the second term in October of the year of admission. Non-fulfilment of these requirements will result in the cancellation of the provisional admission.

Notification for various MBA Entrance Examinations are published in the media starting in August / September.
 

 
(i) A Written Test is conducted to fathom the candidate's general intelligence and basic aptitude in the following areas:

• English - Reading Comprehension, Verbal Ability and Vocabulary.

• Problem Solving / Quantitative Ability - Problems involving Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, etc.

• Data Interpretation - Data Sufficiency (Mathematics and Logical), Logical Reasoning and Analytical Reasoning.

• General Knowledge and Business Awareness - This is included in some examinations. However, no regular scheme can be discerned in these tests.

(ii) Group Discussion and Interview follow for those who succeed in the Written Test.

  
The table given below directs candidates to the test centre of their choice:

The Indian Institutes of Management and the following are some institutes that consider the CAT scores:

• Amrita Institute of Management (AIM), Coimbatore

• Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi

• EMPI Business School, New Delhi

• Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), New Delhi

• Fore School of Management (FSM), New Delhi

• Goa Institute of Management, Goa

• Indian Institute of Foreign Management (IIFM), Bhopal

• Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM), Calcutta

• Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad

• Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR), Chennai

• Institute of Enterprise (IPE), Hyderabad

• Institute of Integrated Learning in Management (IILM), New Delhi

• Institute of Management Development & Research (IMDR), Pune

• Institute of Technology and Management, New Mumbai

• Institute of Technology and Science, Ghaziabad

• International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi

• Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow

• Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies (KIAMS), Harihar

• Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai

• Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon

• Mudra Institute of Communications (MICA), Ahmedabad

• Nirma Institute of Management (NIM), Ahmedabad

• Punjab University Business School (UBS), Chandigarh

• S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai

• T.A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal

• University of Roorkee Department of Management Studies (UR-DMS)

Some Institutes that conduct separate entrance examinations:

• Institute of Rural Management (IRMA), Anand

• Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SCMHRD), Pune

• Xavier Institute of Management (XIM), Bhubhaneshwar

• Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur