An interesting bit of information came to light during our conversation with the IIFT Registrar yesterday. The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), which has its campuses at New Delhi and Kolkata too would have made its entrance test computer-based had it not been for the collapse of the system during the controversial CAT 2009.

Speaking to PaGaLGuY.com, IIFT Registrar Dr LD Mago said, “Yes we are thinking of going online in the near future. After there were reports of glitches in the conduct of the CAT, we deferred the process. If this year the CAT gets conducted well, we might go for it in the near future.”

The institute had also begun talks with service providers for conducting the exam in a computer-based avatar.

“We were in talks with four agencies who conduct online tests. But we will decide about going online only after we see a glitch-free CAT,” Dr Mago explained.

“We have to keep moving with technology as it progresses. IIFT as a top-class business school has to be right up there with the standards,” he added, explaining the reason for IIFT to upgrade its entrance test.

Asked if the success of Narsee Monjee’s NMAT, Gujarat CET, BITS Pilani’s BITSAT or the MAT exams in a computer-based format mattered in IIFT’s following that path, Dr Mago said, “The students we are targeting are among those who also appear for the CAT. So if CAT gets conducted without any problems, we might think of going online.”