Preparation Tips for IRMA Entrance Exam (2013-15) on 11 Nov 2012 (With Changed Exam Pattern)

IRMA (Institute of Rural Management, Anand), established in 1979 at Anand, Gujarat to provide management education, training, research and consultancy support to co-operatives and rural development organisations in India - is an institute to look out for! Over the years, IRMA has become a frontrunner in professionalising the development of India’s rural sector. Students across India aspire to get a seat in its flagship course: Postgraduate Programme in Rural Management (PRM).

IRMA conducts its own entrance exam every year for admissions to its popular courses. The IRMA entrance exam is designed to pick the right candidate who'd make enthusiastic managers who can undertake challenging responsibilities in the rural co-operatives and the development organisations. The IRMA entrance test not only tests your quantitative, analytical & verbal aptitude like other management entrance exams, but also tests your awareness on issues of social concern. This aspects sets the IRMA test apart from your usual management entrance exams. 

IRMA’s entrance exam for admissions to the 2013-15 academic batch is on 11th Nov 2012. Preparing for the IRMA entrance exam requires a strategy similar to cracking entrance exams like CAT, XAT etc. along with extra preparation for the "Social Issues" section.

First of all, let’s take a look at the pattern of the exam.The written examination will comprise of objective type questions. This year the exam pattern of IRMA has been changed slightly with more weightage being given to the English & Analytical reasoning sections. The details of the various sections in the new IRMA exam pattern are given below:

All these four tests would be in a composite test booklet. There will be a separate answer sheet for indicating your answers. All these 200 questions would be printed serially form Q. No. 1 to Q. No. 200. You may attempt the questions / test in any order you like. However, in your own interest you are advised not to spend too much time on any one test.

To qualify in the written examination, it is necessary to pass in each one of the objective tests separately. You can download the IRMA sample paper (under the pic) to get familiar with the kind of questions you can expect.

Now let’s look at each of the 4 sections and see how they can be tackled:

1. Analytical Reasoning: This section would be fairly simple if you are good at solving questions on analogies, odd man out, data sufficiency etc. On a daily basis, pick up a few questions of each type & try increasing your speed at solving them.

2. English Comprehension: You would be better off in this section if your reading speed is good enough. Reading Comprehension (RC) passages are almost always asked in IRMA’s exams. So practice at least 1 RC every day till your exam date. Take a look at the sample paper attached to get an idea about the kind of questions asked in this section.

3. Quantitative Aptitude: Revise the usual topics like Time-Speed-Distance, Geometry, Mixtures etc. In fact, the syllabus is not very different from what you would cover for CAT. The section would be moderate in terms of difficulty levels. Questions from higher mathematics are not usually asked. You would usually get some really easy questions. When you have just a week left, the best option would be to revise all your formulae & try to solve one question of each type. If you have joined any test series or coaching centres like IMS, Career Launcher, TIME etc they would have given out IRMA-specific mock tests, which are quite useful. Try & take these tests under simulated conditions, to get a feel of the real exam.

4. Issues of Social Concern: This is the one section that most candidates lose out on. The 1st three sections are pretty easy to crack and most sail through them. This section will test your awareness of current national issues & topics of social relevance in present-day India. Try to get your hands on magazines like “Pratiyogita Darpan” or “Yojana” or IRMA specific hand-outs given out by most coaching centres which cover topics of social concern. In fact any news related to rural India and developments taking place related to it should be known to you. Take a look at the website of the Ministry of Rural Development to know more about different schemes for rural India, budget etc. Some examples of the type of questions you can expect in this section:

• What is meant by ‘Para Banking’
• The "World Environment Day" is celebrated each year on? 
• What is the objective of NABARD in launching Joint Liability Groups
• How can the productivity of land be increased?
• Who has written ‘Towards a Hunger Free World’
• The objectives of Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act

200 questions to be attempted in 2 hours makes IRMA a speed-based test. So the key to cracking this exam is to increase your speed while maintaining your accuracy. And try to not learn anything new the day before the exam. Just chill that day! All the Best!


Nishatha Abraham Bijeesh

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