New Delhi: The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have confirmed that the Common Admission Test (CAT) will not be conducted online this year, as was thought earlier.

Subrata Mitra, admission chairperson at IIM Calcutta said, "Though we are in talks with several agencies for conducting the test online, it will be a pencil-paper test this year."

Common Admission Test (CAT)

The official CAT-IIM website says, "An article appeared in Business Standard dated February 4, 2008 which gives an impression that a decision has been taken that the IIMs will introduce online CAT from CAT 2009. This is totally incorrect. In view of increasing number of candidates, the IIMs are considering various alternatives for modifying the process of conducting CAT, if necessary. Online testing is one of those alternatives. The proposals are at a preliminary stage of discussion."

The decision of conducting the test online will impact thousands of students, who, each year appear for the highly competitive entrance exam at centers across the country, with the ambition of making it to the hallowed corridors of IIMs.

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