There's more to IIM entry than just CAT

Don't pin all your hopes on the CAT exam. That's because your admission to a B-school does not just depend on your CAT score. For instance, if you've scored well in your Class 10 and 12 board exams, it could well be the make or break factor in getting into IIM-Bangalore.

That's because the institute gave 80 per cent weightage to previous academic records and work experience in the admission process of 2006 and 2007. Cat scores were given only about 20 per cent weightage.

"While it will take some pressure off students who have had good marks in their 10th/12th and graduation levels — for others, who do not have a good record, it will mean extra pressure. I would say, you can't change your past academic record — what you can do is maximise your CAT score and, going forward, prepare well for your group discussion and interview which account for 40 per cent weightage," Gautam Puri, Vice-Chairman of Career Launcher, points out.

Of course, each IIM has its own unique selection criteria. To a petition filed by CNBC TV18 under the Right to Information Act, IIM-Ahmedabad stated that it does not consider Class 10 and 12 scores while selecting students for the group discussion.

Although the institute revealed that work experience accounted significantly in the personal interview. The institute, however, refrained from stating exactly how much weightage does it carry.

Why India Hasn’t Built Its GPT Moment (Yet)

India has the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, a thriving developer base, and a mobile-first population larger than the US and Europe combined. Yet, no GPT-4. No DeepMind. No Amazon-style platform. Why? Innovation Isn’t Accidental—It’s Engineered The Zerodha Daily Brief recently asked why India hasn’t built a global product company like Apple. The key argument: India isn’t building for the world. It’s solving for local constraints, scale, and affordability—but global scale requires deep IP, design, and tech differentiation. It’s not just about software, it’s about systems thinking. More importantly, it answers the question: Why do countries innovate? The answer isn’t just genius or ambition—it’s incentives and ecosystems. The U.S. Defense Department, for example, accounted for nearly 70% of federal R&D funding during the Cold War. China has pumped billions into semiconductors and AI with long-term national alignment. These aren’t short-term bets—they are strategic, delibe...

From Stubborn to Smart: How I Learned to Use AI as a PM

Listen to the article in podcast format on PM-AI Diaries channel on Spotify! Ever since I published "The Death of the Stubborn PM" back in February, my inbox has been buzzing with one big question: “Okay, I get that AI is the future for product managers—but how do I actually use it?” It’s a fair ask. In that piece, I argued that PMs who resist AI are doomed to fade away, like dinosaurs refusing to evolve. As I wrote, “The stubborn PM who clings to old ways will die out, replaced by those who harness AI’s power while leaning into what makes us human.” Now, people want the playbook. So, let’s walk through it with a story—my own journey of figuring this out, backed by some sharp insights from MIT Sloan’s "When Humans and AI Work Best Together—and When Each Is Better Alone" . The Wake-Up Call Picture me a few months back: a PM buried in work, juggling a dozen tasks, and feeling like there weren’t enough hours in the day. Writing user stories, sketching ideas, track...

8 Product Management lessons from the movie 'Gold'

The movie 'Gold' starring Akshay Kumar, is an inspirational story of how passion, determination and persistence can help one achieve the Impossible. The character of Tapan Das, who was the Team Manager of Indian Hockey Team, is a fine example of an ideal Product Manager . Listing few of the core responsibilities/skillset of an ideal PM with examples from the movie (Spoiler Alert! ): Vision: The foremost responsibility of a PM is to set the vision for the team. During 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Tapan clearly set the vision for Gold medal as free India as a Goal and Vision. Hustle: As a PM, you need to hustle to get things done. Tapan, hustled to meet Mr Wadia to get things done over and over again through out the movie. Stakeholder Management: Aligning different stakeholders to your vision and progress is critical. Tapan did a brilliant job of doing that with Mr Wadia, Imtiaz, Samrat and other members of the team. Be it a royal blood like Raj Pratap Singh or a ...

CenSorE

Search This Blog