Mumbai: One of the most prestigious and toughest management entrance examinations in India, Common Admission Test (CAT) is likely to be conducted internationally from the year 2013. As per sources, from next year, non-resident Indians (NRIs) and people of Indian origin (PIO) will also be able to appear for the CAT. Presently, international students are required to appear for Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT) to get admission into the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).
Sources informed that Prometric, the testing partner for the IIMs, will be taking the IIMs and CAT examination international. Prometric has a five-year contract with the IIMs for conducting the computer-based CAT in India. A senior IIM official said that the institutes were planning to make CAT global this October i.e. in 2012. However, due to some cost issues, the institutes may make it global only next year. He also said that it is strategically important for CAT to go global.
He further explained that the IIMs have signed a new Memorandum of Association (MoA) that provide them the freedom to operate independently, and are waiting for the MoA to get established. Once it is established, the global plans for CAT will take off, he concluded. The IIMs are governed by a MoA approved by the government.
Furthermore, CAT could also be conducted solely for international B-schools. Such institutes in countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka and West Asia want the IIMs to conduct CAT. Presently, most admissions at these B-schools are through GMAT.
