CAT 2008 in India: What You Need to Know?
Common Admission Test (CAT) will take place on 16 November 2008 across 23 cities in India. About 2.5 lakh CAT aspirants (over 2.76 lakh, according to some sources) will sit for this nation-wide exam, hoping to grab one of the alluring 1800 (some say 2000) seats available at the Institutes of Management (IIMs)’s top-B schools. There are over 118 top-B schools across the country and each of the schools has a particular number of seats available for the new batch of students.
Number of Applicants Increased, So does in No. of Seats for CAT 2008
CAT 2008 seems to be more competitive compared the last year as more students are going to appear in the test this year. This year, 3 lakh CAT forms were sold in different states in the country, compared to 2 lakh forms sold for last year’s test.
Timesofindia reported:
However, before the trends, here is what CAT-2008 looks like in numbers in comparison to 2007. In comparison to 2.3 lakh applicants in 2007, 2.85 lakh applicants have been accepted this year. According to Satish Deodhar, member CAT committee, “Close to 3 lakh forms were sold for 2008. While 2 lakh wrote the test last year, it would be 76,000 more this year.”
Seeing larger number of aspiring students for CAT 2008, CAT authority has increased the number of available seats for this year. With number of applicants increased by 25%, CAT authority has increased the number of seats up to 1800 for this year’s exam.
Information about CAT 2008 Exam
I have already mentioned that CAT 2008 exam will be held on 16th November 2008 in different centers across 23 cities in the country. The exam will kick off at 10.30 am. About 2.5 lakh students will compete for about 1800 seats in the exam. That means more than 138 students will vie for each of the seats available in the top-B schools.
So, it would not be an easy task for the students. Last year, questions were very difficult and there is no hope of any alteration this year. There are three sections in the two and half hour long exam. For the last couple of years, there were 75 questions in total and no change of this has been hinted yet for CAT 2008 exam. English section is considered to be the toughest section in the whole test.
As there is only a limited number of seats available, the questions are always very hard in CAT. Experts think, no prediction would work out well for the students as the number of questions has been decreased. Earlier, the test was based on the speed based in which students’ basic knowledge was judged, but now-a-days, the exams are more focused on testing the students’ managerial skills. So, students have to be prepared from every aspects of the subject; rather than only sticking to information and knowledge about the subject matter. Analytical skill will be required to get a seat in the top-B schools.
Number of questions has been steadily decreased since 2002. The 2003 and 2004 exams saw 123 questions, compared to 150 in 2002. In 2005, it was further decreased to 90, and for the last two years (2006 and 2007), the number of questions remained at 75. So, some feel, the number of questions could be further declined this year, even though there is no hint of it as of now.
Business Standard also reported:
CAT 2007 had 75 quest-ions where an analysis by coaching institute Career Launcher showed that stude-nts had found Data Interpretation (DI), with a mix of calculations and logic to be on the easier side.
Data Sufficiency in its old format reappeared in CAT after a span of three years, more so in two different sections. Students say they would not want a repeat of last year where quantitative ability (QA) proved to be difficult. In verbal ability (VA), the number of reading comprehension (RC) passages were more than CAT 2005, though they were not as lengthy.
Students have fear about the negative marking system in which marks will be deducted for each wrong answer. So, no guess-work will work well for the students. Some claim that a student who attempts for 40-45 questions in which 7-10 get wrong could earn a call from a top B school for two-year MBA program.
How to Get the Result of CAT 2008 on 16th November!
Normally, CAT aspirants are to wait up to 4 to 6 weeks to get to know the result of test. The result of CAT 2008 will be officially published on 9 January 2009. However, this year the participating student will be able to know their individual score at 5:30 pm on the same day the test takes place. To know the score, students need to visit TestFunda.com website who offer “The Simulated CAT Percentiler” through which the students will be able to know his or her percentile score. Moreover, the students will also get the answer keys of all the three sections of the test. Experts will also explain each of the sections so that the students will have clear concept about each of the sections.
Testfunda reported:
CAT 2008 Answer Key. Get a dynamically updated answer key for CAT 2008. Live updates every 5 minutes as our experts finalize the answers to questions in the CAT 2008 test paper.
CAT 2008 Interactive Score Card. Punch in your answers and get score updates. Check back in a few minutes to see your updated score according to the latest CAT 2008 Answer Key.
CAT 2008 Percentile Calculator. Get your overall and sectionwise percentile.
CAT 2008 Analysis Report. Get our experts’ analysis on the CAT 2008 test pattern. How did it compare with the previous year’s tests? What kind of cutoff scores will we see?
There is no doubt, you have to have an in-depth knowledge about the subject and a good analytical skill in order to get one of those most-sought-after seats. This is, in fact, one of the toughest public exams in India. So, I think, students should not get nervous, considering the fact that they are competing with some of the best students of the country.
Tata Motors to Receive Rs.95 billion from Gujarat Government for Nano Plant
Tata Motors will receive a loan of Rs.95 billion at an interest rate of 0.1 percent for 20 years from Gujarat government for building up a township and a ‘transport nagar’ in the adjacent region of Tata’s Sanand manufacturing plant. The car maker shifted its manufacturing plant of Nano Project from Singur in West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat last month as Trinamool Congress-led farmers set up huge protests against Tata’s Nano plant.
Gujarat government, on the other hand, has lent its helping hand for the Tata to carry on its Nano Plant in the state and assured Tata of providing different concessions.
Times of India reported:
Tata Motors will get 20 years from the commencement of the project to repay the amount at an interest rate of 0.1 percent. The amount will be repaid by adjusting value added tax dues of the company, the sources said.
Local government officials refused to comment on the deal between the government and the auto maker.
However, Tata Motors officials said the total amount was an aggregate of “various concessions”, including the 100 acres, stamp duty exemptions and concessional power tariff.
Tata Nano is one of the most alluring car projects taken in the domestic car industry in India over the last few years. Tata Nano is touted as the world’s cheapest car which is expected to be priced at Rs. 1 lakh. No doubt, this car has huge room of getting success in the domestic car market of India. Coupled with its export demand, it is expected that Tata Nano will have a huge demand annually. So, Tata Nano plant is expected to be continued for a long time and this plant will create lots of employment and will make infrastructural development in the state. So, it is a win-win situation for both.
Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Sees 11% Hike in Share Price on Friday
Today (Friday), Tata Teleservices Maharashtra’s share rose as high as nearly 11 percent, upon the announcement of the price of joint offer for up to 20 per cent of Tata Teleservices came from Japanese mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo Inc and Tata. Reports have it that NTT DoCoMo Inc has bought Tata Teleservices’ 26% share worth $2.7 billion.
Economictimes reported:
At 10:39 am, Tata Tele Maharashtra was trading nearly 11 per cent higher at Rs 19.96 on BSE. The stock touched a high of Rs 20.70 in early trade.
The open offer has been priced at Rs 24.70 ($0.50) a share, according to an advertisement.
Share of Tata Teleservices Maharashtra went up by 7.6 per cent to Rs 17.99 on Wednesday. This is definitely good news for Tata Teleservices who are the number 6 in India’s fastest growing telecom industry. India has world’s fastest growing mobile phone market with 9 million new users being added to the total number every month. Still, India’s mobile phone market has not been fully unearthed yet as there is lots of opportunities to continue this growth over the next few years. So, India has become a lucrative market for investment for the global telecom companies.
“Mobile Number Portability” scheme is coming to India
Despite opposition from the GSM phone operators in India, the Indian government went ahead with the “Mobile Number Portability” (MNP) scheme, which would allow the mobile users to change their operators without changing their numbers. A. Raja, Minister, Communications and Information Technology, India approved the file related to MNP on November 12, 2008. It will allow users to change their numbers between the country’s CDMA and GSM operators’ networks. Mr. A. Raja also asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to look into matters like government revenue loss and other technical matters. The Hindu reports:
Last year, Mr. Raja had announced plans to implement MNP. Subsequently, in April this year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had sent its recommendations to the DoT for nationwide implementation of MNP, a move that would push operators to provide quality services to retain their subscribers. MNP is likely to be rolled out across India in a phased manner, starting from Delhi and Mumbai circles in mid-2009.
TRAI would chose the “Mobile Number Portability Clearing House Administrator” (MCHA) through bidding. According to its rules, pre-paid mobile users, while switching from one operator to another, will not have credit transfer. TRAI also said that the MCHA will operate as a third party. It will own and operate “MNP clearing house and logically centralized database.” It will not have any equity of the telecom operators. Mr. A. Raja expects that after MNP’s implementation, mobile operators in India will be pressured to give better service to retain their customers.
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Tata Motors Limited shut down plants to adjust demand. Ratan Tata advises top management to clear all loans and stop further acquisition plans.
In the face of lowering sales of automobiles, Tata Motors Limited (BOM:500570), the largest commercial vehicle producer in India, is going to shut down its two manufacturing plants from November 22 to November 27, 2008. On November 7, 2008, Tata Motors Limited announced that in order to avoid inventory build up, the company is going to shut down its plants in Pune and Lucknow for six days. The company is also adopting approaches like working single shift and triple shifts instead of double shifts to keep up with the demand of the vehicles. Times of India reports:
Tata said it was shutting production to avoid inventory build-up. A spokesperson said the Pune plant will be shut from November 21-26, while production will be halted at Lucknow from Nov 10-15. Unavailability of finance coupled with high interest rates was forcing customers to postpone purchases, the company said. “This will call for appropriate action from Tata Motors from time to time, to match production with demand and avoid unnecessary build-up of inventory in the company or with the company’s dealers,” the spokesperson said.
Workers at Tata Motors are given three day forced leave and three day leave on half-payment. They are also told to write and submit an application for leave for the six days. In October, Tata Motors laid off its 400 non-permanent workers at the Jamshedpur plant.
The other companies of Tata Group are also facing similar problems. On November 6, 2008, Ratan Tata, head of the Tata Group, forwarded an email to the top management of its 98 companies. In the email, he ordered the managing directors and CEOs to finalize all pending loans and funding agreements. He also ordered the top officials not to continue with any other acquisition plans. The $6.25 billion business conglomerate is under huge debt which has been caused by the funding of its aggressive acquisition plans. In 2007, Tata acquired UK-based steel producer, Corus Group Limited. This year, the group acquired Jaguar and Land Rover from America’s Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F). In his email, Ratan Tata said that he is not optimistic whether the ongoing economic slowdown would end next year. Ratan Tata ordered the top management of his companies to become proactive and cut down all unnecessary costs.
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Maruti Suzuki’s transition towards environment friendly car production
Famous Indian automaker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (BOM:532500) is going to produce cars according to ‘end of life vehicle’ (ELV) specifications by 2010. In an age, where business organizations around the world are increasingly becoming pro-environment, Maruti Suzuki is also trying to follow the latest trend of producing cars that are recyclable and contains environment friendly materials. From now on, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is going to stop using hazardous materials for producing cars. It will also stop using or producing car components that contain hazardous materials. The company is going to start the new procedure with its ‘compact A-star’ and then it would follow on other models. Times of India reports:
“The idea behind the whole exercise is to see that a minimum of 85% of the car could be recycled after the end of its useful life,” he added. While India does not have ELV norms, they are in force in Europe, spelling out norms for making dismantling and recycling of vehicles more environment friendly. The norms set clear quantified targets for reuse, recycling and recovery of vehicles and their components and pushes producers to manufacture new vehicles also with a view to their recyclability.
Mr. Rao said that his company will change its entire production process and this change will start right from the stage of procuring raw materials for the cars. Maruti is also working with the auto-parts suppliers to make sure that they stop using hazardous materials such as lead, cadmium, and mercury. However, lead can be used in batteries. Mr. Rao also told reporters that his company will stop using “hexavalent chrome” for chrome plating.
Mr. Rao however also said that the biggest challenge is still ahead and that is upgrading the customers. In European countries where the ELV is going to be implemented, there are agencies that dispose off cars and give certificates to owners.
This is a great initiative for Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.. It was the first company to mass produce cars in India. Now, it is going to be the pioneer in producing environment friendly recyclable vehicles. I think, Indian government should also work on developing laws and regulations regarding automobile production and recycling. Growing industrialization has already affected India’s environment and people’s health. Indian government should focus more on developing rules and regulations and setting up strict standards regarding the use of hazardous materials in various industries including the automobile industry.
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Sony Computer Entertainment announced to launch PSP-3000 in India
Famous video game producer, Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (SCEI) has announced to launch its latest version of Play Station Portable (PSP)-3000 in India. The device was launched in Japan in October 2008. Atindriya Bose, Country Manager, SCEI said:
“There is huge scope for Sony Computer Entertainment amongst the Indian audience with the introduction of the newly designed PSP – 3000. It has an advanced LCD viewing, which further improves the very popular, high resolution PSP display along with a built-in microphone, which brings a new dimension of gaming to the overall entertainment experience.”
A month earlier, SCEI’s main competitor, Nintendo Co. Ltd., (TYO:7974), announced the launching of two of its most popular gaming consoles: Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS, the handheld gaming device. Accordingly, Sony also announced to launch a new lineup of gaming devices.
The new PSP-3000 sports better screen and better colors and user friendly design. The device also has anti-glare screen. The PSP-3000 comes with an integrated microphone and it is Wi-Fi compatible. This enables the gamer to use it as a mobile phone. They can also chat with their friends. The device will be launched in the Indian market this weekend and it is going to cost Rs. 9490.
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Oil & Natural Gas Corporation gets necessary clearance from Russian government to make an acquisition offer to Imperial Energy Corporation PLC
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) (BOM:500312), the largest oil producing company in India, obtained necessary approvals to offer a buy-out to Imperial Energy Corporation PLC’s (LON:IEC) shareholders in the next 28 days.
In order to be eligible to make an offer to acquire a company that has business in Russia, the buyer has to fulfill two necessary pre-conditions. First, it has to get the approval of the governmental commission of the Russian Federation. Second, it has to get approval from the anti-monopoly regulations.
On November 10, 2008, the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) gave ONGC Videsh Ltd, (OVL), the foreign arm of ONGC, a green signal to proceed along with the take-over bid. The following day, OVL received the final approval from the Russian government. The deal is worth $2.58 billion. A senior official from ONGC said:
“With this approval , OVL has fulfilled the both pre-conditions for making a formal offer. We have already informed the London Stock Exchange (LSE). We will post the offer (to the Imperial shareholders) within 28 days, from now,”
On September 5, 2008, OVL reported that it sought the two necessary approvals from the Russian government. Imperial Energy, which is a British based company, has operations in Siberia and North Kazakhstan. On August 26, 2008, ONGC decided to buy Imperial Energy for 1250 pence per share. Oil prices at that time were around $120 per barrel which dropped to $60.
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Indian passenger car makers observe the fastest sales drop in October
Indian car market observed the fastest drop in sales in October in the last three years. Analysts are saying that stricter loan terms, high interest rate and high fuel costs are main culprits. According to the data obtained from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, car sales went down by 6.6% to 98,900 cars compared to the 105,877 of October 2007. Previously, the Indian car makers experienced an 11% drop in July 2005. It is also the third consecutive monthly fall. In August, the sales dropped by 4.4% and 1.7% in July. CNN.com reports:
Sales of Maruti, a unit of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp. (7269.TO), fell 6.4% in October to 52,153 cars, while sales of Ford’s India unit more than halved to 1, 515 cars from 3,048 a year earlier. Sales of Honda’s India unit plunged 73% to 1,373 cars. The auto maker will begin delivering its revamped City sedan to customers this month.
The local unit of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. (005380.SE), however, posted a 10% increase in October sales at 20,001 units, helped by demand for the i10 small car. Tata Motors Ltd.’s (TTM) sales increased 1% to 14,100 units on demand for its upgraded Indica hatchback.
In terms of sales volume, the Indian automobile industry is the third largest industry in Asia. In order to keep up the sales figures, the auto makers are now introducing new models and new loan schemes with lower interest rates and easy payback system. Last week, Ford Motor Company introduced its upgraded Ford Ikon. According Dilip Chenoy, Director general, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, passenger car makers should try hard to sustain single-digit growth.
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Larsen & Toubro Limited and Scomi Engineering Berhad are going to build India’s first monorail project
To meet the growing demands of faster communication in Mumbai, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) ordered a monorail system. Famous Indian engineering company, Larsen & Toubro Limited (BOM:500510) along with Scomi Engineering Berhad (KUL:SCOMIEN), received the order worth Rs. 24.6 billion from MMRDA.
A M Naik, CMD, Larsen & Toubro, told reporters that the project will start from December 1, 2008. The consortium is planning to finish the project within 30 months. Mr. Naik said that this is going to be India’s first monorail and it has some great advantages. The monorail can climb 6 degree height, it is maneuverable and it would pass through congested areas without making any noise. That means it is eco-friendly. The Economic Times reports:
The project involves designing, constructing, installation, testing & commissioning and integrated testing including train trail with initial operation & maintenance from Gadge Maharaj Chowk (Jacob Circle) to Wadala (approx. 11 kms) and Wadala to Chembur via Mahul corridor on a Lump Sum Turnkey basis.
The monorail will have 18 stations enroute. The project is to be completed in a tight schedule of 30 months.
Scomi Engineering Berhad is going to integrate and build the cars which would cost around Rs 1.1 billion. On the other hand, the scope of L&T is Rs. 1.4 billion. After the project is finished, it would help to speed up the communication in one of the most congested areas in Mumbai.
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