2.4 lakh students to vie for 1st paperless CAT

Over 2.4 lakh aspirants will vie for entry to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Managements (IIMs), the Common Admission Test (CAT) for which will be computer-based for the first time this year.

The test, which goes paperless from this year, is scheduled between November 28 and December 7, and will be conducted at 105 centres in 32 cities across the country.

A total of 2,41,582 students will appear for the exam this year, which is a marginal drop as compared to last year when 2,46,000 students appeared for CAT.

To make the students appearing for the exam abreast of the computer-based format, American agency Prometric, which is conducting the test on behalf of the IIMs, has released a practical guide to CAT.

Available for download on www.Catiim.In, the guide serves as a supplement to a YouTube video that gives the students a demonstration of the computer-based test.

While the pattern of the exam -- the questions and the weightage of subjects -- is to remain unchanged in the new format, the test does away with paperwork.

The practical guide provides a detailed tutorial into a range of things from using the mouse to navigating through the test paper and how to mark or unmark questions for review.

"We are positive this will help mitigate any anxiety faced by the candidates and provide them with a clear picture of what will happen on the actual test day," said Ramesh Nava, vice–president and general manager, Asia Pacific, Japan and Africa, Prometric.