Scheduled slot: 14:30
Panel - 7
Interview was advanced by 15 minutes (Informed by call)
Interview went on for 30 minutes
Background: ~5 years of work experience, currently in Investment Banking.

Extempore, again, was the same topic:
Do you think Atma Nirbhar bharat is a political gimmick and chinese imports can't be replaced in near future?

I asked the panel on the exact time period they were referring to with the words "Near future". The profs just asked me to carry on. I pointed out that Atma Nirbhar is not a political gimmick. But, reduced dependency on China might not happen in the next 10 years. They asked me about further steps the government could implement to reduce dependency. (Approximately 5 minutes)

The rest of the interview was a grill on Why an MBA, Why my long term objective, Why not try and achieve my long term objective right away, and one final question on most significant achievement in my latest job.

Hope that helps, guys. Good luck with the process.

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Interviewed by 2 Profs today. Interview was delayed by 1 hour.

Extempore: 10-15 mins (1 minute to gather my thoughts and then had to start)

1. Had to speak for or against: "Business education degree doesn't matter to grow in the corporate ladder". I spoke against it and gave my reasons with caveats.
2. Follow up Qs: Why would an engineer or a coder need business education ever? They can work on an OS or some technical product and grow. Defended it by providing a normal career progression of a tech professional and that I've seem my alumns transitioning eventually. Plus even in one's own tech venture, once the scale of things increases diff aspects related to finance, marketing, coordination with Govt and regulators emerge and one would need knowledge about these aspects and would need to hire people who deal with this stuff and to manage these people and teams, formal education would help.

Rest of the interview: around 15 mins

1. Tell me about yourself: tried to show my personality, my career progression, hobbies, and current role
2. Specific work experience related Qs: what are the factors that you take into consideration to manage and oversee investment of public money, is there a gap between regulators and industry, why insurance penetration/coverage is poor in India - tried to present balanced answers and core reasons along with solutions
3. General Qs: what would you focus on specifically during the studies here - tried linking my goals here
4. Qs for the Profs: Had 2 Qs in mind - what about the International Immersion in COVID times (Profs said its uncertain and asked me to check with PGPX office), and asked about IIM-A's bid to make UP a 1 trillion economy (Profs said they have produced many great managers, and providing consulting is their fundamental right , and the graduates will also help in this venture, more info cannot be provided he said).

Overall feel: Calm, pleasant conversation, not a stress interview, didn't feel "grilled"

Advice: Be confident in whatever you say, try keeping the answers crisp and simple and stop whenever you realize you've been rambling (I was stopped once), and hope for the best!

*Fin*

Any idea after how many days of taking the interviews they announced the results in Round 1?

Non-econ folks don't worry, they will not ask you these.

Sch : 3pm

Started at 4:20(yes, 420)

Nervous? More excited than nervous.
Two males.
P1
P2.

Extempore: should Indian railways be privatized 100%

I batted for yes, they took turns in punching holes but always cool. I countered and stuck with my argument.

They asked me to quote one example where competition lead to betterment. I said telecom.

P1: Except that

Sir, Nirma, they beat surf by doing so so n so.

P2: that telecom is a good example you have quoted, do you know that telecoms were making a great deal of money and railways are structurally different. More capex

Sir, government can subsidise the credit, japan is giving for bullet train.

Then some more railways, leh n all. I agreed there will always be issue but we can always figure it out.

Then again P1: you work in entertainment industry, what is this controversy about ratings...

Explained what I know.

P1. How many meters?

Approx 55k in a state

P1: what is the media advertisement budget.

Sorry sir, I don't know.

P1: you work in media industry!

Yes sir, but my division is more into event management, I am not aware of media budget.

p1: (I think he wanted to kick me out) okay, let's say p&g has a 1k cr budget, would they depend entire budget based on trp?

No sir, they would look at other aspects like target audience of the shows and their own target audience.

P2: what else can they rely on to measure?

Sir, it could be social media impression.

P1: what else?

Sorry sir, not able to think of anything else.

P1: what about dth? They can take it from them?

Yes, that's a good avenue, I did not consider that, I presumed they wouldn't share the data.

P1: ofc, they can share annon data. Don't you think this entire thing has been blown out of proportion?

Sir, I definitely don't think a city commissioner should be involved in it but it is about integrity of the whole system. P&g may have its own research wing but lot of small companies still depend on it.

P1: you said you deal with GST, what are your views on input credit.

Sir, it is indeed cumbersome for small player. It started out as an ingenious idea but too many changes have made it cumbersome.

P1: do you think it's practical?

Yes sir, it is. From view point of revenue to government, it a essential.

P1: (I am not sure why he kept asking random stuff 😐😅) do you read newspaper?

Yes sir, I often read the Hindu.

What interests you? Economy?

Sir, I read it in full, mostly economy, technology.

Then tell me what is accommodative stance in economics? (This is not even grilling now😂)

Rbi policy stance, sir?

Yes, you said you read Hindu and they use it most often.

(Wondering if I dug my grave) sir its when even when inflation and things are up but RBI maintains reserve rates or cuts them to sustain growth.

Oh, okay. We are done. Any questions?

Asked.

Completed by 4:55

don't you think they ended your interview abruptly ? no questions on post mba goals and how you fit in iima ?

Ahmedabad has no set format for interview, I was waiting entire interview for something routine.

There are others who were not asked those questions too. Overall, it's a conversational tone like having a good discussion and very difficult to gauge the mood.

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How does IIMA process applications for reapplicants? Can we apply again in the next round with the same content?

If anyone can put me in touch with someone who got admit after reapplying in subsequent rounds, then that would be super helpful!

You can apply only in the next admission cycle,i.e., next year.
Applying in 2 rounds in the same year is prohibited as per IIMA website

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Can you share the website link for this information?

Yes we can. I applied in R2 again. There was a re-applicant option with R1 Reapplicant in it as well.

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i dont know much, but if you are from finance background, even if you dont read the rbi monetary stance in Hindu... you do know what it means ? total grilling done. The op cdnt even justify one question from his/her background !!!
_________________

I am not sure what you are hinting at mate,
1. The accommodative stance is holding / cutting rates even when the inflation goes up to facilitate liquidity and growth....
2. GST inputs are cumbersome.

Maybe, word your sentences better?

Mail to the adcom to get clarity as there are differing opinions here.

Vikram21

I was sure when I wrote it down. Just wanted your opinion as you have mentioned about their website.

Anyways, screenshot for your reference.

You ran out of time. They target completing interviews in 30mins. Since you'd taken more than that 35mins. He ended it. IMHO you got extra 5mins. Unless he hinted that you were taking too much time. I would say it's a good thing.

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Yup you are allowed to apply twice same year. But you should have good reasons for re-applying. Even I got the same mail (unfortunately)

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What if you don't have any major improvements? I read somewhere(maybe in IIM chat) that people applied with the same content and score got the interview call. I made mistakes during my interview and I think that I could have better presented my capabilities. Hence, I am asking these questions to prepare for future strategy, whether to think about R3 or go next year

I'm in the same boat. And frankly I plan on rolling the dice. What's to lose if you don't try?

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I am not sure they even wanted to ask any other questions on my profile, they appeared to have read it fully.

There are others who were not asked questions on MBA. Just hoping for best.

Guys congrats to those who got selected for R2!!! Drop me a PM and I will add you to the WA group

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