Indian Institutes of Management mull over common UG entrance test, MBA counselling amid other changes

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are considering major changes to admissions and student mobility, including a common entrance test for undergraduate (UG) management programmes, a centralised counselling platform for MBA admissions, a uniform fee-refund policy, and inter-IIM transfers, according to official documents accessed by HT.

Directors and representatives across the IIM system, including IIM Ahmedabad director Bharat Bhaskar, who is also mentor director of the newly established IIM Guwahati, the 22nd IIM , discussed “critical issues”, including aligning UG entrance examinations with the “futuristic requirement of the country”, developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for MBA admissions, and policies on inter-IIM student migration and fee refunds, according to minutes of the Coordination Forum of IIMs meeting chaired by then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Ahmedabad on May 14, 2026. The education ministry circulated the minutes to IIMs on June 17, and HT obtained them through a Right to Information (RTI) application on September 15.

Under the Indian Institute of Management Act, 2017, the forum is an “advisory body”, unlike the IIT Council, whose decisions are binding on IITs. The forum held its first meeting in eight years in September 2025.

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During a discussion on the “advantages and disadvantages” of having more than 10 entrance examinations for UG and Integrated Programme in Management (IPM) courses and whether these could be merged to “reduce students’ stress”, Pradhan said multiple UG entrance tests should be “avoided”. “He clarified that this should not be perceived as government interference, but rather as a reflection of the government’s role as a stakeholder in the process,” the minutes said.

The IIMs, however, were divided. IIM Indore, which launched the first IPM in 2011, said multiple tests provide “multiple opportunities” and accommodate different programme requirements, while acknowledging the financial burden of multiple application and admission processes. It proposed that IIMs planning to offer IPM join the existing IPMAT framework, backed by IIM Rohtak.

IIM Bodh Gaya, Jammu, Amritsar and Ranchi supported a “common entrance test”, with Jammu and Bodh Gaya favouring one conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

IIM Kozhikode favoured “minimal regulation” and flexibility for individual IIMs, while IIM Udaipur suggested using existing JEE, CUET and CLAT scores instead of another test.

To be sure, the IIMs themselves conduct a common entrance test, CAT for post graduate programmes.

Currently, 13 of the 22 IIMs offer UG programmes. Seven — Indore, Rohtak, Ranchi, Jammu, Bodh Gaya, Amritsar and Shillong — offer five-year IPMs, but use three admission mechanisms: IPMAT, JIPMAT and IIM Rohtak’s own aptitude test.

Newer four-year programmes have further diversified admission routes. IIM Lucknow’s BS in Artificial Intelligence & Business Analytics uses JEE Advanced, while IIM Mumbai’s BS in Digital Science and Business Management uses JEE Main.