Top 5 Management Exams in India

Management and Business Administration is one of the most sought career options amongst the students these days. The decent growth and career options in this industry attract students from all over the country to opt management courses. Once the decision to pursue a career in MBA has been taken, the students often ponder upon which management exams in India to be taken? If one sincerely targets 3-4 management exams in India, at least one-two will be cleared, and the student can make the decision accordingly. This will even lessen the academic burden. Not putting all your eggs in one basket is always the right choice. Isn’t it? Some popular exams are: CAT, NMAT, XAT, IIFT, SNAP, MICAT, MAH-CET, MAT, ATMA. Here we have presented facts on top 5 critical management exams in India.

CAT

CAT exam comes on the top, as it is one of the most popular management exams in India, with over two lakh candidates appearing for the exam. It is conducted under the administration of IIM Indore in November every year. The CAT exam opens the gate for top-notch 20 IIM’s (Indian Institutes of Management) like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Bangalore which excels in management courses.

CAT is accepted at 100 of other B-schools also accept admissions based on the percentile achieved in the CAT exam. Top non-IIM colleges which accept CAT score are Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) Delhi, Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai, etc.

1. Frequency of the exam – Once a year
2. Eligibility – The Candidate must have a bachelor’s degree / equivalent qualification with at least the following aggregate or equivalent CGPA:
3. General category, EWS (Economically Weaker Section), Non-OBC: 50%
4. Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Persons with Disability (PwD): 45%
5. Exam Pattern CAT–

There are three sections:

• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
• Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
• Quantitative Ability

The paper is of total 300 marks, 100 questions, where each correct answer is rewarded with 3 marks. And, negative marking of 1 mark is also there, though no deduction is made for questions left unanswered.

XAT

XAT is among the toughest management exams in India which all the candidates aspire to clear. It is conducted by Xavier School of Management (XLRI) every year in January. Apart from XLRI, there are over 100 colleges that admit students for various MBA / PGDM courses based on their XAT score. For example, Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (XIMB), Xavier Institute of Social Service, SPJIMR, and hundreds of others. Frequency of the exam is  Once a year.

1. Eligibility – The candidate should have a three- year Bachelor’s course degree or equivalent from a recognised university in any discipline.
2. Exam Pattern – The coverage of the topic in the XAT exam is similar to the CAT exam. But the difficulty level is higher in XAT, making it one of the most robust management exams in India. There are four sections, with a total of 100 marks:
3. Verbal and Logical Ability
4. Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation
5. Decision Making
6. General Awareness

Furthermore, the candidates are called in for Group Discussion and Personal Interview rounds based on the marks scored in the written exam.

SNAP

SNAP is one of the management exams in India conducted by Symbiosis International, which is a private deemed University. Over the years Symbiosis International, headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, has achieved its reputation by offering a range of MBA specialisations to aspirants. The SNAP is a common exam taken to screen students for all the postgraduate Management Programs offered by Symbiosis. 16 symbiosis management colleges are accepting SNAP scores like SIBM Pune, SCMHRD, SIOM and others.

1. Frequency of the exam – Once a year
2. Eligibility – The candidate should have scored at least 50% in a three-year Bachelor’s course degree or equivalent from a recognised university in any discipline.
3. Exam Pattern – It is a 2 hours exam comprising 110 Multiple choice questions. There are broadly four sections:
4. General English
5. Quantitative Aptitude
6. General Awareness
7. Logical & Analytical Reasoning

NMAT

NMAT is one of  the online management exams in India conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council. Apart from NMIMS, there are a total of 29 institutes in India which accept admissions in MBA programs based on NMAT score like ISB, SPJIMR, TAPMI (Manipal), ISB, VIT Vellore, etc.

1. Frequency of the exam – Once a year (75 days window)
2. Eligibility – The candidate should have scored at least 50% in a three-year Bachelor’s course degree or equivalent from a recognised university in any discipline.
3. Exam Pattern NMAT – NMAT is the most student-friendly management exam in India based on the flexibility that the testing agency provides to its students. All the candidates are allowed to appear thrice to maximise their performance. The best of the three attempts will be considered for final assessment. The knowledge of the following areas are tested in the 2 hour examination:
4. Language Skills
5. Quantitative Skills
6. Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency
7. Logical Reasoning

MAH-CET

MAH-CET is one of the management exams in India through which the admissions happen in the State of Maharashtra. If one is from Maharashtra, it gives an added advantage as there are reservations in the CET exam for the students from the home state.

But, even if you live outside Maharashtra, you should still appear for MAH-CET as the quality of education and good Return of Investment (ROI) from the good colleges in Maharashtra. 1/3rd of the seats are filled by non-Maharashtrian candidates which means there is still so much room for targeting the cream Management Institutes in the city of dreams.

1. Frequency of the exam – Once a year
2. Eligibility – The candidate should have scored at least 50% in a three-year Bachelor’s course degree or equivalent from a recognised university in any discipline.
3. Exam Pattern for MAH-CET: There are a total of 200 Multiple choice questions with a duration of 150 minutes. The following are the areas of knowledge in which the students are evaluated:
4. Verbal ability
5. Reading comprehension
6. Quantitative analysis
7. Data interpretation and Data sufficiency
8. Analytical Reasoning

So, first decide on 1-2 exams first and then start preparing well.

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