A Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Science / Agricultural Engineering or allied subjects with at least 50% marks (45% in case of SC/ST/PWD category) or equivalent CGPA from any of the Universities incorporated by an act of the Central or State legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India. The Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent qualification obtained by the candidate must entail a minimum of three years of education after completing Higher Secondary schooling (10+2) or equivalent.

OR

The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks (45% in case of SC/ST/PWD category) or equivalent CGPA of any of the Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State legislature in India or other education institutions established by an act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India. The Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification obtained by the candidate must entail a minimum of three years of education after completing Higher Secondary schooling or equivalent with at least two years experience or strong interest in the field of Agriculture or allied sector.

Such candidates (eligible under criteria-b given above) must submit a special form available with the Admission Office, IIM, Luck now. This form can also be downloaded from the IIML website www.iiml.ac.in. This form should be directly submitted to the Admission Office, Indian Institute of Management, Prabandh Nagar, Off Sitapur Road, and Lucknow-226013 by September 19, 2008.

Candidates in their final year Bachelor’s degree programme can also apply. However, if selected, they will be allowed to join the programme only if they complete their examinations, practical, viva voce, and all other requirements for obtaining the degree before 30 June 2009 and produce a certificate to this effect from Principal/Registrar of the college/ Institute at the time of registration. There will be no relaxation on the deadline under any circumstances.

CAT Scorecard
The CAT scorecard will be mailed to the candidates after January 14, 2009. The CAT score will remain valid for admission to PGPs of IIMs only for the year 2009-10, unless specified otherwise. For further details, kindly refer to CAT Bulletin.

Scholarships / Financial Assistance
It is the endeavour of all IIMs that no student be denied opportunity to pursue the Post-Graduate Programme in Management for want of adequate financial resources. Substantial need-based scholarships are available for students belonging to economically disadvantaged families. (Please check for details of each IIM in the CAT Bulletin.)

Reservation
As per the Government of India requirements, 15% of the seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and 7½% for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates. In addition, 27% of seats are reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates belonging to the “Non-Creamy” layer. However, the implementation of this 27% reservation for such OBC candidates will be undertaken by each IIM in a phased manner.
3% seats are reserved for Persons with Disability (PWD). The three categories of disability are: a) low-vision/blindness, b) hearing impairment, and c) locomotors disability/cerebral palsy.
Candidates belonging to SC/ST/PWD categories are required to enclose a photocopy of their caste/category certificate at the time of submission of CAT application form. Candidates belonging to “Non-Creamy” OBC category are required to enclose a photocopy of the certificate to this effect as per the suggested format available in CAT Bulletin.
The candidates belonging to categories for which seats are reserved need to note and read carefully the eligibility requirements before applying. It should be noted that while it is the endeavour of IIMs that the candidates belonging to SC/ST/PWD/Non-Creamy OBC categories join the Programme in proportions mandated by the law, they have to meet the minimum eligibility criteria and a certain minimum level of performance in the admission process. The candidates should read carefully the description of admission process followed by each IIM in CAT Bulletin.

Test-Centres
Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Noida, Patna, Pune and Varanasi

Note
IIMs reserve the right to change or cancel any test centre at their discretion.

Sale of CAT Application Form and Bulletin by IIMs
Under exceptional circumstances [such as (a) the stock of bulletins get exhausted in the nearby branch of the bank, (b) the bank branch is inaccessible to the candidate, and/or (c) the bulletin sale through banks has closed], CAT Application Form and Bulletin can also be obtained directly from any one of the IIMs till August 13, 2008 by sending a crossed demand draft for Rs. 1300/- (Rs. 650/- for SC/ST candidates with a copy of the SC/ST certificate) drawn in favour of the respective IIM. Request for the bulletin should be accompanied by a cloth-lined self addressed unstamped envelope of size 12" x 10".

The completed application form for CAT 2008 with supporting documents should be sent so as to reach the concerned IIM on or before September 5, 2008.

IIMs will not be held responsible for non-delivery or postal delays in case of CAT Application Forms and Bulletins sent by the speed/ registered post/courier and/or non-delivery or postal delays in receipt of completed CAT 2008 application forms.

Sale of CAT Application Form and Bulletin by Banks
The CAT Application Form and Bulletin can be obtained from branches of Axis Bank listed below, between July 14 and August 8, 2008 for Rs. 1300/- (Rs. 650/- for SC/ST candidates). Please note that a candidate needs to buy only one CAT Application Form irrespective of how many IIMs he/she is applying to. Candidates must enclose the 3rd Copy of Bank’s Pay-in Slip along with the CAT Application Form. Note that the name appearing in the pay in slip is that of the CANDIDATE only. SC/ST candidates should submit a copy of SC/ST Certificate to the Bank at the time of obtaining the CAT Application Form. Candidates should ensure they meet the eligibility criteria of the Programme in which they are interested, before procuring the CAT Application Form. CAT Application Forms of ineligible candidates and application forms with incomplete information will be summarily rejected. CAT Application Forms, once sold, will not be taken back and no claims of refund of CAT Application Fee will be entertained.

List of Axis Bank Branches
ANDHRA PRADESH: Chittoor (Prakasam High Road), Hyderabad Main (Begumpet Road), Hyderabad (Kukatpally), Secunderabad (Rashtrapati House), Secunderabad (Tarnaka) Kakinada (Subhash Road), Kurnool (Railway Station Road), Vijayawada (Rajagopalachari Street), Vishakhapatnam (Dwaraka Nagar), Warangal (Station Road); ARUNACHAL PRADESH: Itanagar (Teli Plaza); ASSAM: Guwahati (Dispur), Jorhat (A.T. Road); BIHAR: Bhagalpur (Patal Babu Road), Muzaffarpur (Club Road), Patna (Boring Road), Patna (S.P. Verma Road); CHATTISGARH: Bhilai (Off. GE Road), Bilaspur (Near New Bus Stand), Korba (Power House Road), Raipur (Jeevan Bima Marg); DELHI: Delhi Main (Barakhamba Road), Daryaganj (Netaji Subhash Marg), Defence Colony, Greater Kailash-II, Janakpuri, Karol Bagh (Padam Singh Road), Malviya Nagar, Mayur Vihar (LSC), Paschim Vihar, Rajouri Garden (Vishal Enclave), Sector 7, Rohini (Main Road), Shakti Nagar (G.T. Karnal Road), Swasthya Vihar (Vikas Marg), Vasant Kunj (Nelson Mandela Road); GOA: Panaji (Dr. Atmaram Borkar Marg); GUJARAT: Ahmedabad Main (Ellisbridge), Ahmedabad (Maninagar), Ahmedabad (Vastrapur), Baroda, (Race Course Circle – North), Bhavnagar (Waghawadi Road), Rajkot (Kalawad Road), Surat Main (Ghod Dod Road), Vallabh Vidyanagar (Near HM Patel House); HARYANA: Ambala Cantt. (Jagadri Road), Gurgaon (Sector- 14), Faridabad (NIT), Kurukshetra (Railway Road), Panipat (GT Road), Rohtak (Delhi Road); HIMACHAL PRADESH: Shimla (Kasumpti); JHARKHAND: Dhanbad (Bank More), Jamshedpur Main (Bistupur), Jamshedpur (Sakchi), Ranchi (Main Road); JAMMU & KASHMIR: Jammu (Rail Head Complex); KARNATAKA: Bangalore Main (M.G. Road), Bangalore (J.P. Nagar), Bangalore (Jayanagar), Bangalore (Koramangala), Bangalore (Marathahalli), Bangalore (Malleswaram, Sampige Road), Bangalore (Vijaynagar, West of Chord Road), Bellary (Main Road), Belgaum (Congress Road), Davanagare (PB Road), Gulbarga (Super Market), Hubli (Deshpande Nagar), Karwar (Green Street), Mangalore (Bunts Hostel Circle), Mysore (Temple Road); KERALA: Kochi (Rajaji Road), Kottayam (Near YMCA), Kozhikode (YMCA Cross Road), Thiruvananthapuram (MG Road), Thrissur (City Centre); MADHYA PRADESH: Bhopal (MP Nagar), Gwalior (Madhavrao Scindia Marg), Indore (Main), Indore (Sapna Sangita Road), Jabalpur (Shastri Bridge Chowk), Satna (Rewa Road); MAHARASHTRA: Ahmednagar (Tilak Road), Amaravati (Near Jaistamb Chowk), Aurangabad (Adalat Road), Kolhapur (Station Road), Mumbai (Main Fort), Mumbai (Andheri West), Mumbai (Bandra West), Mumbai (Borivli West), Mumbai (Mulund West), Mumbai, (Powai), Mumbai (Shivaji Park), Navi Mumbai (Nerul), Navi Mumbai (Vashi), Nagpur Main (Sitabuldi), Nashik (Sharanpur Road), Pune Main (J.M.Road), Pune (Camp), Pune (Kothrud), Pune (Pimpri Chinchwad), Pune (Sahakar Nagar), Thane Main (L.B.S. Marg); MANIPUR: Imphal (Thangal Bazaar); MEGHALAYA: Shillong (Jail Road); MIZORAM: Aizwal (Charmari); NAGALAND: Kohima (UT Complex), ORISSA: Angul (Main Road), Balasore (OT Road), Berhampur (Ganjam), Bhubaneswar (Kalpana Square), Bhubaneswar (Satyanagar), Cuttack, (Badambadi) Rourkela (Kachery Road), Sambalpur (VSS Marg); PUNJAB: Amritsar (Court Road), Jalandhar (Mahavir Marg), Ludhiana Main (The Mall), Patiala (Rajwara Road); RAJASTHAN: Ajmer (Kutchery Road), Bikaner (Rani Bazar Road), Jaipur Main (Ashok Marg), Jaipur (Tilak Nagar), Jodhpur (Chopasni Road), Kota (Shopping Centre), Udaipur (Chetak Marg); SIKKIM: Gangtok (MG Road); TAMILNADU: Chennai Main (Mylapore), Chennai (Adyar), Chennai (Annanagar), Chennai (Annasalai), Coimbatore (Avinashi Road), Madurai (Goods Shed Street), Salem (Omalur Main Road), Tiruchirapalli (Salai Road), Tirunelveli (East Car Street); TRIPURA: Agartala (HG Basak Road); UTTARANCHAL: Dehra Dun (Rajpur Road), Roorkee (Civil Lines), Rudrapur (Nainital Road); UTTAR PRADESH: Agra (Sanjay Palace), Aligarh (Ramghat Road), Allahabad (MG Marg), Bareilly (Civil Lines), Gorakhpur (Bank Road), Jhansi (Civil Lines), Kanpur (The Mall), Lucknow Main (Ashok Marg), Lucknow (Hewett Road), Lucknow (Indira Nagar), Meerut (Boundary Road), Noida (Sector 16), Noida (Sector 18), Varanasi (Shastri Nagar); WEST BENGAL: Burdwan (GT Road), Durgapur (City Centre), Kharagpur (Malancha Road), Kolkata Main (Shakespeare Sarani), Kolkata (Behala), Kolkata (Dalhousie Square), Kolkata (Golpark), Kolkata (Lake Town), Kolkata (Salt Lake City), Kolkata (Shyam Bazar), Siliguri (Sevoke Road); CHANDIGARH: Chandigarh (Sector 17B), Chandigarh (Sector 34A); PONDICHERRY: Pondicherry (Bussy Street). JAMMU & KASHMIR: Srinagar (Lal Chowk, Vijaya Bank).

Wherever location of the Axis Bank Branch is not indicated, please approach the Main Branch of Axis Bank in the city.
 

Information about frequently asked questions and queries about submission of CAT 2008 application forms. It also spells out the processes followed by IIMs up to Common Admission Test (CAT) and issue of CAT scorecard. It is, therefore, important for the candidates to read this box carefully.

CAT Application Forms are sold or sent (along with Bulletins) only to the candidates, who are interested in appearing for CAT 2008 and are applying to one of the Programmes of IIMs. The CAT Application Form sold or sent in the name of one person cannot be used by someone else for applying to IIMs. CAT Application Forms and Bulletins, once sold, would not be bought back by the banks or by the IIMs. CAT Bulletin can also be accessed or downloaded from the CAT website (www.catiim.in).

CAT Bulletin has considerable information on how to fill up the form. Please read the bulletin carefully before filling-in the form. The candidates should ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria of the Programme(s), which they have applied for, that the form is complete in all respects and that they have read the checklist in the CAT Bulletin before forwarding the application to the concerned IIM.

The candidate may note that his/her application would be summarily rejected if the application is incomplete in any respect, specifically if documents supporting qualifications and category are not provided, any mandatory field is left blank, the form is not signed, photograph is not attached or the candidate fails to meet the eligibility criteria. No corrections will be permitted after submission of the application form. However, in case a candidate identifies any mistake in the submitted form, he/she may buy and submit a fresh form duly filled-in by September 5, 2008.

A candidate can check the information related to the admission process from CAT website (www.catiim.in) at different stages – (a) whether the application form has been received, (b) Allotted test registration number and the CAT venue where a candidate will appear for CAT 2008. A candidate can also check the CAT website (www.catiim.in) for information related to (c) whether the application form has been accepted/rejected (d) CAT 2008 scores, (e) whether the candidate has been short listed for Group Discussions and Personal Interview of different IIMs, and (f) whether the candidate has been offered admission by different IIMs.

CAT-takers can also access their CAT-2008 scores by using SMS facility of mobile phones. For SMS, candidate can type ‘CAT test registration number date of birth (ddmmyy)’ or ‘CAT test registration number application number” for example: “CAT 5370082 030482” or “CAT 5370082 123456” and SMS to “57333”. IIMs have also made arrangements to deliver results by e-mail. Candidates who wish to get their results by e-mail should register themselves between October 17, 2008 and November 30, 2008 by sending an SMS to 57333 as follows: ‘CAT test registration number date of birth (dd mm yy) email id’ Please note that only one e-mail id will be registered against a test registration number.

While CAT Bulletin and the CAT website would provide most of the information, a candidate may still have queries about filling the application form. In case a candidate needs further assistance, he/she can call up the concerned IIM. An interactive voice response system (IVRS) would help in resolving the queries. The IVRS numbers given in this advertisement would allow the candidate to access this system. Please note that the IVRS provides answers to common queries related to admission process and IIMs are not responsible for any misunderstanding created by the IVRS in the mind of any candidate. IIMs, however, own up the responsibility for written responses to queries raised through e-mail/ letters, for which addresses have been provided in this advertisement.

In case a candidate has any special query which cannot be addressed to by the IVRS or the CAT Bulletin, the candidate can write to the admission office of the concerned IIM quoting the application number before receipt of admit card and test registration number after receipt of admit card. The candidate must retain a photocopy of filled-in application form and the admit card as long as the candidate remains interested in the admission process of the IIMs.

In case the candidate chooses to write to any IIM, he/she may send an e-mail or may use any other mode of written communication. Please note that no IIM official will directly answer queries of the candidates over phone.

Candidates belonging to SC/ST/PWD/Non-Creamy OBC categories are requested to indicate their status while filling-in their form and enclose supporting document(s) as a proof that they belong to the specified category. Please note that no change in category would be allowed after the last date of receipt of application form. In the absence of any supporting document or inappropriate supporting document, the candidates having paid full CAT Application fee would be treated as candidates belonging to the ‘Others’ category. The applications from candidates who had only paid half the fee but who do not submit any supporting document(s) or who submit inappropriate supporting document(s), will be rejected.

Admit cards of eligible candidates, whose applications are complete in all respect, would be dispatched beginning October 13, 2008. Those who do not receive admit cards by October 31, 2008 should immediately write to the concerned IIM quoting their application number.

On the day of the test, candidates should reach the test venue by 9:45 AM. Please note that no candidate would be allowed to enter the venue after 10:00 AM. Please do not carry any valuable articles such as cell phones, calculators, pens etc., as only admit card, HB pencils and erasers are required for the test and all other articles would have to be left outside the test hall at candidate’s own risk.

Any attempt to impersonate or indulge in any other malpractice during the test or while filling up the form would not only lead to immediate and automatic disqualification from the admission process of IIMs but may also lead to prosecution. Please note that detection of such malpractice at any stage including after obtaining admission to any IIM would lead to immediate and automatic disqualification or expulsion.

CAT scores of all valid candidates, appearing in CAT 2008, will be available on the CAT website on 9th January, 2009. Subsequently,

Score Cards would be dispatched to all the candidates. Adequate care is taken to ensure that there are no mistakes in reading the answer sheet. There is no provision for re-evaluation of the answer sheet of any candidate. The candidates should ensure that they have read Section 3 of the CAT Bulletin carefully regarding the precautions to be taken while answering the questions.

Admission Process:
Performance in CAT is an important input in the admission process and is the primary basis for short listing candidates for the second round of admission process, which comprises of group discussion and/or personal interview. Candidates should note that it is important to perform well relative to other candidates in each section of the test as the scores in each section and the overall score are used to short list the candidates for the second round. These scores may also be used for final ranking as well. In addition to the performance in CAT, IIMs may use academic performance, relevant work experience and other similar inputs for ranking and short listing candidates for group discussions and personal interviews.

Please note that each IIM shortlists candidates for Group Discussions (GD) and/or Personal Interviews (PI) independent of other IIMs. Hence it is possible to observe variations in the list of candidates short listed by different IIMs. For more details, candidates are advised to read carefully the admission process related information of each IIM, as given in section 4 of the CAT Bulletin and on the web sites of respective IIMs.

Details of candidates short listed by different IIMs for group discussion and/or interview will be made available on CAT website (www.catiim.in) on January 9, 2009. Short listed candidates would also be sent letters from the respective IIMs. GD/PI is conducted by each IIM separately. (CAT 2008 Results on January 9, 2008)

After the GD/PI round, admission offers are made by IIMs to successful candidates. The ranking and final selection is based on a diverse set of attributes and may include performance in CAT, performance in GD/PI, academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular achievements, work experience etc. The weights given to each of these attributes may vary across IIMs as the admission process of each IIM, subsequent to CAT is independent.

Disclosure of information about the admission process at IIMs is driven by concerns, which at times conflict with each other. The IIMs would like the admission process to be transparent. At the same time, IIMs would wish to protect the privacy of individual candidates and confidentiality of the process to prevent abuse. Based on these considerations, the performance of an individual is not made available to any other person. Similarly, the performance of candidates in GD/PI including assessment of attributes mentioned under paragraph 4 of this box is not disclosed to anyone to prevent exercise of undue pressure on the panelists participating in the admission/selection process. Moreover, each IIM exercises its own discretion in disclosing weights assigned to diverse sets of attributes mentioned under paragraph 4 above. To ensure that the resultant lack of transparency does not in any way affect the candidates negatively, adequate care is taken in formation of panel, development of objective criteria for assessment, random allocation of candidates to a panel and other such measures.

Candidates, who appeared in GD/PI, will be able to view whether they have been offered admission by different IIMs on April 10, 2009 by visiting the websites of respective IIMs. Admission offer letter would be sent to all successful candidates by different IIMs for which the candidates have been selected. Candidates, who are offered admission, need to confirm their acceptance by completing all the required formalities by May 1, 2009. Some candidates may also be placed on the waiting list initially on April 10, 2009. Offers to candidates on the waiting list would depend upon the number of successful candidates accepting the offer made by an IIM.