AICTE in order to reduce the burden of students attending to multiple examinations launches the first National level Common Management Admission Test (CMAT)-2012 and facilitate institutions to select suitable students for admission to all management programs approved by AICTE for year 2012-13. This initiative has been taken to address the issue of physical, mental and financial stress being imposed on the students through number of entrance examinations conducted by the institutions for admission to Management Programs in AICTE approved institutions based on relevant judgments in the Hon’ble Supreme Court. 

The Common Management Admission Test (CMAT)-2012 will be conducted online in 61 cities from 20^th February to 28^th February, 2012 and scores awarded will be used for admission in the post graduate management programs both at Degree & Diploma level, all over India for year 2012-13.

The respective Secretaries of the state dealing with technical education and Vice chancellors of the universities have been requested to advise the competent authority for admissions in their respective States & jurisdiction to use the merit list of CMAT-2012 for allotment of students in the AICTE approved management institutions for academic year 2012-13. The institutions and State governments are required to register online free of charge for opting to CMAT-2012 scores for admissions for academic year 2012-13. The minority institutions shall effect admissions as per the provision available for such categories.

New Pattern for CAT 2011 Announce by IIMS

Here is news for those who want to crack the Common Admission Test (CAT) and get into prestigious institutes of management. As the students gear up to give it their best shot in CAT 2011, the IIMs on Monday announced a changed module for the exam.

CAT 2011 will now have only two sections and not three as earlier and the examination time has been extended to 140 minutes.
IIMs and their partner in conducting the online CAT test -Parametric -- said that the two sections would be: Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation and Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning. In the new method the IIMs have clubbed the sections which were divided into three parts in the older method. As per that method the three sections included Verbal Ability, Quantitative Ability and Analytical Reasoning and Data Interpretation.

The candidates will also be provided 15 minutes tutorials before the examination starts. Including the tutorials timing, examination will be of two hours and 35 minutes- (140 minutes of exam and 15 minutes of tutorials).

Common Admission Test (CAT) could go two-tier in the future. The IIMs, that conduct the prestigious B-school entrance, might introduce a preliminary screening to the examination. This would mean that CAT would soon have a screening test like UPSC to weed out poor candidates.

The information was revealed in a reply to an RTI query filed by Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu, an RTI activist from the city in 2009 when CAT was ridden with several technical glitches. The IIMs, however, not specified the year in which the two-tier system will be introduced.

IIM-A 11th & ISB 13th in top 100 B-schools in the world

IM-Ahmedabad's Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives and the Indian School of Business's Post-Graduate Programme in Management has been ranked at 11 and 13 respectively in a list of 100 top B-schools in the world, says a business school ranking from the Financial Times of London.

Aiming to bring greater accuracy and international standards to the Common Admission Test (CAT), the agency organising the examination has planned to introduce different sets of question papers from this year.

B-School Reform: Better Late Than Never

Five years ago we were in near despair over the deteriorating state of graduate business education. Increasingly, we had grown concerned by the fact that too many MBA programs—often those at prestigious research universities—were failing to (a) impart useful skills; (b) develop leaders; (c) instill high ethical norms; and (d) prepare mangers to deal with complex, cross-disciplinary, nonquantifiable issues. So we did what professors invariably do when they have bees in their bonnets: We put pen to paper. The article we wrote, "How Business Schools Lost Their Way," was published in the Harvard Business Review, and, while we wish it had been otherwise, the professoriate's initial reaction was overwhelmingly negative.

Our call for reform of the MBA curriculum didn't fall on deaf ears as we had anticipated it would; instead, it became the shot heard 'round the B-school world. Among the faculty at many B-schools, our critique generated considerable anger and vituperation: They responded as if we were "flat earthers," greeting our proposal for change with as much welcome as the proverbial foreign object in a punch bowl. At the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School (Wharton Full-Time MBA Profile), the dean at the time reportedly ripped our article to shreds at a new student orientation. How's that for a warm Wharton welcome?

Recently, Joel M. Podolny, who in his five years as dean of Yale's School of Management (Yale Full-Time MBA Profile) successfully led that institution to the forefront of innovation, captured the manner in which the article was received: "Based on my interactions with colleagues from academia over the past several years," he said, "… there is a large number in the academy who have reacted strongly to this article, though invariably in a negative fashion and, of course, invariably without reading the article."

Over 60% Employees Ready to Quit or Switch their Jobs

If you thought a job is something people are dying to hold on to when the going in the market is tough, you couldn't be more wrong as a survey has found that more than half are ready to quit work, switch professions or take a break.

"62 per cent of the respondents were ready to consider quitting, taking a career break or shifting to a firm with flexi-work options in order to handle familial responsibilities better," said a survey conducted by Outlook Business and Avtar Career Creators.

The survey was conducted on 745 private sector employees between November and December 2009. The survey found that high competition at work place lead employees towards extreme job conditions, but they are gradually realising the need for family life.

ISB Achieved Hat-trick in top 100 B-Schools of the World

Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad achieved 12th rank among top 100 business schools of the world.

Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, achieved a hat-trick of sorts after making it to the Financial Times (FT) Global MBA ranking of the top 100 B-schools around the world for the third consecutive year. ISB has been the only Indian B-school on the list for the last three years.

The management institution has bettered its own erformance at the FT Rankings, and is now 12th on the list of top B-schools around the world. The ISB ranked 20th in 2008 and 15th in 2009. This year, ISB has beaten the likes of New York University: Stern, Yale School of Management, University of Oxford's Said Business School and University of Cambridge's Judge Business School.

11000 MBA Aspirants to appear online CAT retest

Nearly 11,000 MBA aspirants, who could not take the online Common Admission Test (CAT) due to technical glitches last year, will take the examination over Saturday and Sunday.

The second phase of the exam to select students for the country's top B-schools, will be conducted in around 40 centres across the nation, including nine in Delhi.

CAT 2009 results in February

CAT 2010 | Second Phase Exam to be conduted on Jan 30 and 31

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have announced the second phase of Common Admission Test (CAT) would be conducted on January 30 and 31. The CAT exam results, could be declared by the third week of February. Reports the Business Standard

The IIMs have analysed the calls and e-mails received from the candidates, site reports filed by the site managers, computer logs, and gathered information from websites and blogs to arrive at a list of candidates for the second phase of the examination.

Candidates who would qualify to appear for test in the second phase include those who could not take the test due to planned or unplanned closure of their test labs and were not rescheduled later in the first phase; those who were rescheduled but could not appear for the test because of notice period of less than 48 hours. It also included those who were rescheduled but could not appear for the test as they were rescheduled in a city different from their original choice and those who pressed the End/Quit button within the first 120 minutes during the first three days of the testing window and have not been rescheduled yet.

IIM Bangalore | PGPM Admission Process 2010 based on Cumulative Data on The CAT Applicants

Notwithstanding the tech glitches which plagued CAT, the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) announced the admission process to the Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) for the 2010 batch.

This process is based on cumulative data on the CAT applicants which includes past academic performance, CAT score, performance in the interview and work experience. The selection criteria and weightage given to various parameters are based on data from previous admissions as well as inputs from IIM-B faculty body and other stakeholders. The admission committee fixes these criteria and weightage at the beginning of each admission cycle before looking at candidates’ information to avoid any bias.

IIM extended a day for online CAT exam

The online Common Admission Test (CAT) has been extended by a day to Tuesday but all those students who could not still take it will be provided another chance in a fortnight, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) said on Monday.

"The last date for conducting online CAT has already been extended by a day to December 8, 2009. This additional day would allow most candidates, who could not take the test in their scheduled slots, to take the test," the CAT committee of the IIMs said.
"There are still some candidates who could not take the test due to genuine reasons and the test has not been rescheduled for them. A new test date will be announced in about a fortnight to provide an opportunity to all such candidates to write the test," they added.

Servers crash on first day of online CAT

As the Common Admission Test or CAT went online for the first time on Saturday, servers
crashed across the country at several centres.

Hundreds of students in Chennai, Bangalore, Lucknow and Chandigarh have not been able to take their exams and there is uncertainty as to when they will be able to sit for them again.

The computerised test is spread over 10 days, from November 28-December 7 for entrance into the prestigious Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs).

The IIMs for the first time have entrusted the task of conducting the CAT to Prometric, an American firm, which is organising the computer-based test.

12 percent dip in registered students this year due to online CAT

This year, 2.42 lakh students registered for CAT, which registered a dip in applications of over 12% since last year’s 2.76 lakh applications.

The fall in numbers could be attributed to the test becoming computer-based starting this year. Not everyone is sure of the outcome and many have decided to watch from the sidelines.

Expert Views:

• The online test is also a first for the CAT management. Much is at stake and the situation may be tricky at first, but later on, probably everybody will get used to it.
• The test will be conducted in 32 cities through 105 secure computer-based testing centres, specially prepared for the CAT.
• Just like in the earlier format of CAT, students should keep in mind to attempt questions that they know first and as well as they can.
• Experts also advised students to get used to reading comprehension online – one of the biggest changes that will be felt in the new format.

IIM Kokata | Placement rises 33 percent from last year

The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) conducted its summer placements for the batch of 2009-11 from November 4 to November 9, 2009. The process, which lasted for six days (including a Sunday), ended with all 407 students of the batch landing with an offer.

With the new Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) stipulations, IIM-C had a larger intake than any other IIM. This gave rise to a batch, which was bigger than any other seen in any IIM's history, recording a 33% increase from last year.

The batch had its highly diverse background, with students who held offers from colleges such as NYU Stern, Cornell, University of Bocconi (Italy), London School of Economics and HEC Paris among others. Many had worked in firms such as Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, McKinsey and Merrill Lynch before coming to IIM-C.

The 2009-11 batch boasted of diversity generally unseen in Indian B-schools.

IIM lucknow | 25 Increase in Summer Placement 2009

Summer Placements at IIM Lucknow began in the last week of October 2009. The Placement Process so far has seen a distinct revival in the financial sector, with several major banks and financial firms hiring in good numbers.

Slot zero at IIM Lucknow saw the participation of prestigious consulting firms including McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, investment banks including Deutsche Bank International (GMC), BNP Paribas, and private equity firms including Baring Private Equity Partners.

4 New IIMs offer 560 more seats for CAT 2009 Applicants

Students appearing for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2009 have a reason to cheer as their probability of getting a seat in the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) now stands a brighter chance. With new four new IIMs coming up across the nation, CAT this year will offer 560 extra IIM seats to the aspiring management candidates.

According to the sources from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), the CAT committee was asked to include these additional seats from this year. Currently there are seven IIMs across the nation and the cabinet now has cleared to set four more in the country in August. Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and Rohtak (Haryana) are the proposed additions to the family of IIMs.

The admission limit of all the new IIMs is set to be 140 seats, which is objected by the directors of some of the existing IIMs, claiming it to be on a higher side for a new institute to manage. According to a government official, “As soon as the new institutes get their directors appointed, the old IIMs will step in to help the new to decide upon the content of the academic courses.”

CAT is here, brace up

If you are planning to bell the online CAT this year on November 18, here are some tips that could help you max the test.

The common admission test or CAT as it is popularly called, is finally giving in to the cyber revolution and taking its format online. This has only led to heightened anticipation about the most coveted entrance exams. What needs to be kept in mind really is that, only the format of the exam is changing. There are no shortcuts to preparing for the same. You need to be focussed, time yourself for every mock exam you take and ensure you are fast and accurate.

To begin with, book your exams slots early to get your preferred time and be prepared for long sittings before the computer.

CAT online registration process deadline extended to October 11

The Common Admission Test (CAT) for entry into the IIMs and 150 other BSchools has witnessed 27% drop in applicants this
year. As per IIMs, the number of candidates registered for CAT has been around 2 lakh mark, even as online registration process that was earlier scheduled to close on October 1 has been extended to October 11.

Last year the number of CAT applicants was 2.76 lakh. While the number of CAT applicants has been rising 10% every year, the last three years saw a 20-25 % increase in number of candidates appearing for the exam.

Online registration process for CAT admission began on September 9 and was scheduled to end on October 1. However, the CAT committee has now extended the date to compensate for bank holidays that halted the process, which it feels may have resulted in lesser number of candidates registering for the test.

Experts feel bleak placements scenario across tier 2 and 3 B-schools may have dissuaded a large chunk of candidates with work experience from pursuing MBA. Apprehensions about computer-based test among candidates coming from smaller towns may also be a reason, they said.

CAT's online registration faced teething troubles , which were later taken care of by IIMs and Prometric, the testing and assessment services provider for computer-based CAT this year.

The first couple of days created panic among students who were unable to edit any wrong information put by them in the online form. For instance, the 'edit' feature itself was introduced only on September 18.

“As of now, the number of candidates registered for CAT has crossed 2 lakh. To provide exact figure at this point is difficult but this may be due to bank holidays because of which candidates could not purchase vouchers required for registration. Also, it is hard to guess if the number of candidates appearing for CAT this year will be above last year,” said CAT convener and IIM-A faculty, Satish Deodhar.

CAT website glitches to be rectified by September 18

MBA aspirants are slowly getting accustomed to the practicality of the Common Admission Test (CAT) going online this year. Many who had
registered online for the 2009 edition of the exam conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) were agitated last week after they could not call back the form when a mistake crept in and were asked to buy another form by shelling out Rs 1,400.

Following a TOI report last week pointing out the glitches in the online system, authorities are now adding features to the CAT registration and scheduling website to make it more user-friendly. Candidates will be able to make changes or correct errors in the forms from the evening of September18.

CAT chairman Sathish Deodhar said: "From September 18, students who have made mistakes while filling up the form can call back their forms any number of times and make necessary corrections."

Press Release : Establishment of seven New Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)

The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal for setting up of seven new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in Tami Nadu, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.

Background:
The XI Five Year Plan endorsed by the National Development Council (NDC) in December 2007, envisaged, inter-alia, establishment of seven new IIMs in the country, out of which one IIM namely Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (RGIIM), Shillong has already been established in Shillong (Meghalaya) commencing its first academic session from 2008-2009 and the remaining six IIMs will be set up in the Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Chhattishgarh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand. In addition, an IIM is also to be set up in the State of Rajasthan in view of the Finance Minister’s Budget announcement on 25.2.2009.

News : CAT goes online

News : CAT is going to be online from November 2009

CAT will now be a frenzied blur of clicks. Ending weeks of speculation, the Indian Institute of Management has come out and declared its
intention to conduct the Common Admission Test (CAT) online from November 2009.

News : IGNOU launches certificate course in Water harvesting & Management

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has launched a new certificate programme in Water Harvesting and Management to impart necessary skill among student to understand the water harvesting techniques.

News : ISB ranked 15th top business school in the world

The Indian School of Business (ISB) has been ranked 15th in the global business school rankings by the Financial Times, London.