Registrations for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2016 have increased. The number of applications is highest since 2009 i.e. 2,32,434. The number of registrations in 2009 were 2.4 lakh. Students are showing a keen interest in IIMs and other leading B-schools as well.
The number of registrations as of September 22 (the original deadline) were 2.08 lakh, reported IIM Bangalore , the organizing institute. However, the registration deadline was postponed for another 5 days and the number of applications rose to 2.32 lakh. The number of CAT registrations in 2015 were 2,18,664.
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As per the data displayed by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), there has been a global dip in the registrations for the two-year MBA program but surprisingly the number of CAT applicants have been rising.
Experts state that student’s interest in MBA is rising as a result of the Make in India initiative and liberalization of FDI caps in the leading sectors, further increasing the scope of traditional management careers.
Rohin Kapoor, Director of Deloitte said that students are getting motivated by the fact that India is expected to be the fastest growing economy in the years to come.
Students are realizing the fact that India is one of the most promising markets across the world and they want to prepare themselves for this growth curve by acquiring professional degrees, said Vinayak Kudva, Chief Business Officer, IMS Learning Resources.
Indian students have a different approach towards MBA. Where students all over the world work for a longer duration before pursuing MBA, Indian students start their business education relatively earlier. This is one of the reasons for the rise in popularity of the two-year MBA programs in India while students in other countries prefer one-year programs.
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The signs started showing when leading coaching institute IMS witnessed a 25 to 30% increase in the number of students willing to join coaching classes as compared with the number in 2015. Students thrive to give their best performance as a good percentile in CAT increases their chances of getting admission in one of the prominent B-schools in the country including the IIMs.