With the ongoing IIM Shortlist process, 17 out of the 20 IIMs have already started the selection procedure which comprises the WAT and PI. WAT in CAT carries a total of 10% weightage, whereas PI accounts for nearly 30% weightage towards final selection. Read More on WAT in IIMs. 

• The 3 remaining IIMs i.e IIM Amritsar, IIM Bodh Gaya, and IIM Nagpur will start their selection procedure during the last week of March 2021. 
• Many of the IIMs have replaced the Group Discussion round by WAT in the final selection round.

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IIM Ahmedabad GD WAT PI Experiences

IIM Ahmedabad WAT topic is generally a designed Case Study. Some of the previously asked case studies are given below: 

1. The case study on whether tourism should be limited to only a small part of year coz it is resulting in disintegration, aping of western culture, the spread of drug use, and breaking of families (critical reasoning questions based on the case study)
2. A Danish toy manufacturer suffers a 25% revenue fall due to investment in some merchandise. Family business owners fired the CEO and argued that this would not be the case if he would have stuck to their traditional business. Analyze the line of reasoning of the family. What evidence did they refer to? What are the assumptions in the argument? Weaken it with examples. Strengthen it.

IIM Ahmedabad Personal Interview Questions

This is the experience of one of the candidates:

• The interview Panel consisted of 2 men, one seemed to be a professor and the other an alumni. Both were pretty chilled out.
• First question, How well have you done in your professional course.
• Moved to Work-ex-related questions - major learning, variance analysis, forecasting, cash flow budget, etc.
• Then the discussion on WAT: My take on the case study.
• Then the discussion on, Why people flock to Kedarnath where space in base camp is limited, will you put quantitative restrictions? If not, why?
• About religious sentiments of people.
• Why do people flock to Kedarnath or Kumbh Mela even at the cost of their life?
• Can you verify the existence of God? The concept of God?
• The above discussion continued for almost 10-15 minutes. (References to Mount. Kailash, Kedarnath, Rishikesh, Kumbh Mela, etc.) After the discussion, one of the panelists said that we are running out of time. But the other continued-
• So if someone says you are a jerk, is it a verifiable statement?
• Why do people care so much about what other people say?
• What are your hobbies? I told them about volunteering for social causes. So he asked me why volunteering is considered to be cool nowadays? In our days we were ridiculed but you are appreciated. Are people really driven or it’s just peer pressure or a cool thing to do?
• Why are school-going children also talking about the environment, peace etc? Do schools also put pressure on them to engage in such activities? The fun element in school is lost.

Check IIM Ahmedabad Selection Criteria

IIM Ahmedabad PGP FABM Experience

GD Topic: It was a case study on the lines of Maggi controversy. Candidates were told that their product has been found to have some poisonous component in it and they had to discuss the future course of action.

The panel asked the candidate following questions in the Personal Interview:

• Tell me about yourself?
• Why ABM and not normal PGP? (Candidate had mentioned about civil service preparation and sociology so panellists asked him a lot of questions about rural economy)
• What is microcredit?
• What is the SHG bank linkage model?
• What are the agricultural extension services? How can you improve them as an engineer?
• What is the controversy regarding GM crops?

He was also asked to write a press release during the interview itself, declaring the recall of the product which came up during the GD.

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IIM Bangalore GD WAT PI Experiences

Candidates’ Profile:

Class X - 95.00

Class XII - 89.6

Graduation - 81.6%, Electrical and electronics (BIT Mesra)

Work ex. - 30 months (Automotive R&D)

Date of WAT/PI: March 12, 2016

Venue: Delhi

WAT Topic: Comment on the decision of TRAI to ban Free Basics

IIM Bangalore Personal Interview Questions

The panel asked the candidate following questions:

• Tell us about the production facilities of Maruti
• What was the issue in the Gujarat plant?
• What is a wiring harness?
• What do you design?
• Which is safer, a heavy car Or lighter car?
• Which is a more stable, short height or low height man?
• Volkswagen diesel scandal - Candidate went too much into detail.
• Opinion on Sharapova drug abuse case
• Discussion about had Serena Williams had done the same thing
• Discussion on Tiger Woods and Shane Warne Affairs

Check IIM Bangalore Cutoff and Admission Criteria Through CAT

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IIM Calcutta GD WAT PI Experiences

The candidate is from West Bengal and had work experience in Bajaj Auto Ltd.

WAT Topic: Doping should be banned completely in sports and strict actions should be taken against all offenders

The panel asked the candidate following questions in the Personal Interview:

• Tell us about yourself?
• Tell us anything special you did apart from your work in Bajaj Auto?
• What is a better technique than ABC analysis? Why is FSN better?
• Tell us which Bengali movie you have seen recently and describe its plot.
• Tell us some Bengali books which you have read?
• Can you sing a Bengali song?
• You don’t sound like a Bengali when you speak? Why is it so?
• Why is JNU in the headlines? What movements were underway when you were in college? Why?

Check IIM Calcutta Cutoff and Admission Criteria Through CAT

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IIM Lucknow GD WAT PI Experiences

WAT Topic: Public values are deteriorating in India, and the media is to be blamed.

The panel asked the candidate the following questions in the Personal Interview:

• Tell me about yourself?
• Meaning of your Name
• Academics question
• About your father and his work
• Modi government performance
• Arvind Kejriwal government performance
• How do you cope with failures?
• Do you think everyone should fail once in life?

Then they moved to economy based questions.

• Do you think India will grow at a rapid pace in the future and why?
• What do you think about “Make in India”?
• Which areas need to be improved in the Indian economy?
• Who is your favourite king in Indian history and why?
• Who did Asoka defeat in the battle of Kalinga?
• Candidate with 39 months work experience at IIM Lucknow WAT/PI

WAT Topic: E-commerce is the next big thing to happen.

The panel asked the candidate following questions in the Personal Interview:

• Tell us something about yourself.
• What did you do in your office?
• What is the software you worked on?
• Your parents are in the bank. Do you want to go into finance? No, then what you want to do?
• What do you want to do after MBA?
• Tell me some social issues in Kerala. (Since the candidate was from Cochin)
• If you can tell us what Keralites do differently from others.

Check IIM Lucknow Cutoff and Admission Criteria Through CAT

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IIM Indore GD WAT PI Experiences

Candidates’ Profile:

CAT - 97.48 (QA/VA/DI: 91.1/99.9/81.5)

Category - General

Academics: Class X: 94.1% (All Subjects); Class XII: 93.8% (All Subjects); B.Tech: 9.41/86.6% (ECE)

Work Ex: T** (16 months during the interview, but 9 months till July 2015)

WAT/PI Date: February 20, 2016, at Mumbai

WAT Topic: How will the growing migrant crisis affect the domestic and foreign policies of the countries in the long run?

Candidates’ WAT went fairly well as he could state a few points on both domestic and foreign policies. He had to rush the conclusion as he was running out of time.

IIM Indore Personal Interview Questions

The panel consisted of three Males (M1: Serious, M2: Very Serious and M3: Jovial and Sarcastic). They had the following conversation with the candidate in the Personal Interview:

M1: You have a very interesting score. (To others) He has a 99.91 in VA and only 91 in QA.

M3: Are you an engineer? You are a shame to all engineers. Engineers usually score badly in VA and great in QA. You have reversed the trend. Are you working?

M3(To others): Again same profile. First Engineering and then working in an IT firm. (To the candidate) You are a shame to T** too. How can you be in T** and be this good in VA? I have never met anyone from T** who has a good score in VA and such a bad score in QA.

M2: But you can give an explanation for this anomaly, Can you?

M1: Are you saying this call is a fluke?

M3:(Checking my CGPA) Which University is this? That is why you have such an inflated GPA.

M1: Don't worry, We like your profile. It is a good score.

M2: Tell us about your work in T**. What is the team structure in your project?

M3: (To others) So basically, he does the same thing as everyone else in IT. Same databases and stuff all day.

M2: Who are the other major players in this domain? So you had to go through the placement process to get a job in T**?

M1: Are you nervous?

M3(to the candidate): You are laughing and enjoying yourself! You have decided to not let us grill you! You are from Bengal. There is an election in Bengal soon. What do you think of the present government?

M3: (To M1) He is saying nice things about them!

M2: CPM was in power for such a long time in Bengal. How can a government be in the power for so long and still do so little for the development of the state?

M3: CPM and Congress are teaming up now for the elections. What are their chances?

M1: What do you do apart from work?

Okay. Who is the Chief Minister of Jharkhand? Who is the Chief Minister of Maharashtra?

Jawaharlal Nehru gave a certain moniker to Pune. Do you know what that is?

M2: Pune has many automobile plants. Do you know which ones are there?

M1: Name some of the things Pune is famous for? What is the historical significance of Pune? Do you know whose seat of power was Pune?

M3: You did not watch Bajirao Mastani? You should. You will learn a lot about Pune's history.

M1: We are done. You can leave.

M2: (When I am about to open the door) And keep laughing like that always.

Check IIM Indore Cutoff and Admission Criteria Through CAT

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IIM Kozhikode GD WAT PI Experience

GD PI date: 18/2/16

Location: Mumbai.

GD and WAT Topic: Terrorism being a subject of monetary aspects and not of religion.

The panel asked the candidate following questions in the Personal Interview:

• Introduce yourself?
• How many other calls?
• Why no Lucknow call?
• What is NPA?
• What is it on your forehead? (I have a tilak on my forehead.)
• What is the difference between spirituality and religion?
• How would have non-religious/non-spiritual person taken the rejection of Lucknow call
• If you draw a straight line from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, what all states will it cross?
• How many rivers are there in India?
• Which river is the odd one out?
• Where does that river originate from?
• Which are the South Indian states?
• What all Seas surround India?

Example: Ramraj Nagar - IIM Kozhikode; CAT Percentile: 98.44

WAT Topic: History has taught us enough. Now we must learn our own modern day lessons.

15 Mins for writing and can write on only one side of the A4 page.

Wrote about the vehicular pollution and electrical vehicle adoption timeline and plan. Mentioned the Emission Standard movement time period and wrote about the crop residue burning problem and solution for it. Mentioned the recent frauds and solution for the frauds

Check IIM Kozhikode Cutoff and Admission Criteria Through CAT

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IIM Shillong GD WAT PI Experience

Location - Bangalore

Date - 12/02/16

Candidates’ have B.Tech. degree - Pulp and Paper Engineering and his CAT Score is 97.42%ile

WAT Topic: It is better to fall down from the window than falling from a roof.

IIM Shillong Interview Panel - One Lady (L) and one Sir(S), the panel asked the candidate following questions in the personal Interview:

Sir: What is the meaning of your name?

Lady: Why did your parents give you this name?

Questions about raw materials in the pulp industry (Bamboo, etc.). Where else can bamboo be used were asked

The candidate was asked some more engineering related questions like.

• Why from Pulp and Paper to IT? (I am working for past 6 months)
• Name some paper mills in Assam (as I am from Guwahati)
• Are you open to working in the Pulp and Paper industry even after MBA?
• What are the unique features of North East India and Meghalaya?
• What are the natural resources Meghalaya is famous for?
• What are the countries neighbouring the North-East region?
• Where do you see yourself in 10 years down the line?

Sir: What other calls do you have?

What makes you happy?

What makes you sad?

Lady: Questions about hobbies.

Panel: Thank you and All the best.

Panel asked the candidate to take candies. He took one, thanked them again and left.

Overall a nice panel, no cross-questioning and no stress at all.

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New IIMs GD WAT PI Experience

WAT Topic: Thanks to advancement in medical sciences, people are living longer. But the new problem is arising: the care of old age. Do you agree? Share your views.

Duration: 30 minutes

Limit: 300 words

Interview Experience of a Candidate

Interview approximate duration: 15-20 minutes

There were three panelists: 1 guy in fifties, 1 guy in thirties, 1 lady in thirties. All were very chilled, trying to make candidates comfortable

The panel asked the candidate following questions in the personal Interview:

• Where are you from?
• When was Bombay renamed to Mumbai?
• Then tell me about yourself
• About candidates’ previous college, its founder and establishment year? Any famous alumni?
• Where do you see yourself after 10 years?
• It is said that India will lose IT outsourcing to either the Philippines or China. Do you agree?
• Which is the better quality to have? Leadership or being a team player? Which of these qualities do you have? Support with examples
• Questions on hobbies. I have mentioned trekking. So any relation between trekking and management?
• Extracurricular activities I had mentioned about playing kabaddi. What is your opinion about the pro kabaddi league? How is kabaddi different from other sports?