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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Common test for UG admissions

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. IIM Sambalpur and IIM Sirmaur use IPMAT; IIM Kozhikode conducts its own BMS Aptitude Test; IIM Bangalore uses the IIMB Undergraduate Admissions Test; and IIM Udaipur admits students to its BBA without an entrance examination.

“Our UG program requires students with a strong mathematical background. We admit students through JEE Advanced because it aligns with the academic requirements of the programme,” IIM Lucknow director MP Gupta said, adding that programmes with different academic objectives may need different admission pathways.

IIM Indore director Himanshu Rai said the “broader consensus idea was to avoid creating new entrance tests and instead leverage credible examinations that already exist.”

Then higher education secretary Vineet Joshi, in the meeting, said such a “significant decision” could not be finalized in a single meeting and required analysis of students’ test-taking patterns and socio-economic backgrounds.

Common MBA counselling

The forum also discussed a common counselling mechanism for MBA admissions. The minutes noted that candidates often pay non-refundable seat-booking amounts at multiple IIMs before choosing one, causing financial losses and blocking seats.

Members discussed a common digital platform modelled on the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) system for IITs, allowing candidates to freeze, slide or float choices. IIM Mumbai was tasked with developing a prototype.

“We had sent the prototype of a common digital platform to the education ministry by the end of July. The ministry might be reviewing the platform and will update us accordingly. The final decision is yet to be taken. The platform will ensure smooth and timely counselling in IIMs,” said a senior IIM Mumbai official, requesting anonymity.

The Union education ministry did not respond to HT’s queries.

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While IIM Lucknow’s Gupta called it “a good” idea, IIM Indore’s Rai said: “Unlike engineering institutions, IIMs have different missions, pedagogies and admission processes. The concern raised by newer IIMs was that seats sometimes stay vacant when students leave after receiving offers from older IIMs. One of the suggestions was that older IIMs could stop admissions after a defined date and share information with newer IIMs so they can better manage waitlists and admissions. The objective is to improve coordination across the system and minimise vacancies.”

Fee refund policy

The forum also discussed complaints over non-refund of fees after withdrawals before classes began, “citing potential shortfalls in batch size and consequent financial loss”, or after migration to another institute.

While most IIMs follow a standardised refund policy modelled on UGC guidelines under which students withdrawing before classes commence would receive a refund of the admission confirmation amount with only ₹1,000 deducted.

The forum called for framing a “standardised policy” modelled on UGC guidelines, to be implemented from the academic year 2026–27.

However, several IIMs continue to follow different refund rules. For instance, IIM Udaipur allowed withdrawals after classes began with a ₹30,000 deduction, IIM Visakhapatnam barred refunds after the start of Term-I, IIM Mumbai prescribed forfeiture of the admission amount in certain cases, while IIM Calcutta’s policy for some programmes stated that “fees paid are not refundable under any circumstances”.

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According to the minutes of the meeting, the chairman of IIM’s coordination forum “directed the formation of a sub-committee to deliberate on these [fee refund and centralised counselling] issues and to develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for inter-IIM student migration, with the objective of keeping minimum financial implication for the students.”