From our research
What this interview looks like
After the CAT, XAT, IIFT, SNAP, NMAT or IPMAT shortlist, most B-schools call candidates for a written ability test or group discussion followed by a personal interview. The real PI is taken by two or three panelists, usually faculty members with an alumnus or industry member, and runs fifteen to thirty minutes. It opens from the candidate's form rather than a self-introduction: the panel asks about Class 12 and graduation marks, picks a concept from the candidate's own degree and asks them to explain it, and probes work experience or internships for genuine ownership. It then tests why MBA, why now and goals for consistency with the profile, moves to current affairs and business awareness linked to the candidate's background and often argues the opposite side, and frequently ends with one stress or ethics question. The weight of the PI in the final composite varies by institute and year; at most IIMs it is the single largest component after the entrance score, combined with WAT, academics, work experience and diversity per the institute's admission policy. The ExamPilot mock compresses this into fifteen minutes with a three-member panel: a finance professor as chairperson, an alumna industry member and an economics professor, graded on academic depth, clarity of goals, awareness, communication and composure.
How it is weighted
In the CAP, the WAT and PI are conducted once and the scores shared; each participating IIM then builds its own composite from the CAT score, WAT, PI, academics, work experience and gender or academic diversity, per the institute's admission policy. The PI is usually the heaviest of the non-CAT components. IIMs outside the CAP, such as Indore, Kozhikode or Shillong, publish their own weights.
Who this is for
Bachelor's degree with at least 50 percent (45 percent for reserved categories), or final year, with a CAT shortlist from one or more of the newer IIMs. Several of the IIMs set up after 2008 run a Common Admission Process coordinated by one of them each year: one WAT and one PI whose scores each participating IIM then weighs under its own policy. Some newer IIMs run their own process instead; check the institute's notification.
The panel focuses on
- Graduation concepts and the final-year project, since CAP panels lean heavily on academics
- Your home town and state: economy, a local issue, what you would change
- Why MBA and why you would join a newer IIM, answered honestly about placements and location
- Work experience or internships, with your own measurable contribution
- Current affairs and business awareness, with your view and the other side
- Composure when the panel is brisk or sceptical
Step 1
Pick your subject
The expert on the panel probes these areas at the level of this post. Optional here; you can choose during setup.
Step 2
Choose how you want to be interviewed
1:1 interview
One interviewer runs every round and adapts the focus as you go. Lower pressure; ideal for a first attempt.
Prof. Raghunath Krishnamurthy
Chairperson
Panel interview · 3 members
Most realisticEach member leads their own round and hands over to the next. They hear each other, so a weak answer will be revisited.
Prof. Raghunath Krishnamurthy
Chairperson
Ms. Aparna Venkataraman
Hiring manager
Prof. Debashis Sengupta
External member
What to expect
5 rounds · 15 minutes
A three-member faculty and alumni panel of the kind IIMs and leading B-schools run after the WAT or GD. The chairperson opens from the candidate's form and tests academic depth with a concept from their graduation, an industry member probes work experience, the why-MBA story and goal consistency, an economics professor tests current affairs and business awareness and argues the other side, the chairperson poses one stress or ethics question, and the panel closes. The panel grades depth and honesty, not polish.
- Round 1
Academics & profile
· 4:00Open the interview the way an IIM chairperson does: from the candidate's form, not from a rehearsed self-introduction. Establish academic depth by having them explain a concept from their graduation or Class 12 and go one level deeper, and form a first view of honesty and composure.
Prof. Raghunath Krishnamurthy2–3 questionsup to 2 follow-ups each - Round 2
Work experience, why MBA & goals
· 4:00Probe the candidate's work experience or internships for genuine learning and ownership, and test whether the why-MBA, why-now and goals story is specific, consistent with the profile and realistic about what an MBA can and cannot do.
Ms. Aparna Venkataraman3–4 questionsup to 2 follow-ups each - Round 3
Current affairs & business awareness
· 4:00Test awareness of the economy, business and the candidate's own industry or academic field, and whether they can take a view, support it with a mechanism or example, and respond to the strongest counter-argument.
Prof. Debashis Sengupta2–3 questionsup to 2 follow-ups each - Round 4
Stress or ethics question
· 2:00Pose one stress or ethics situation and see whether the candidate stays calm, reasons honestly about the trade-off, and holds or concedes a position gracefully rather than getting defensive or evasive.
Prof. Raghunath Krishnamurthy1–1 questionsup to 1 follow-up each - Round 5
Closing
· 1:00Close courteously and neutrally, as an IIM panel does, without feedback or any hint about the outcome.
Prof. Raghunath Krishnamurthy1–1 questions
Sample questions
IIM PI New IIMs CAP interview questions
Questions panels commonly ask in the IIM PI New IIMs CAP interview, with what a strong answer covers. Practise them aloud with the AI panel.
- Home state
Which district do you come from, and what is the single biggest economic problem there, and what would you change there in one year as District Collector?
What a strong answer covers
A concrete local issue such as farm distress, migration or a closed factory, with the cause, the stakeholders and one realistic intervention using an existing scheme. Avoid national-level generalities and answers that show you have never looked closely at your own district.
- Final-year project
Your final-year project was on solar-powered irrigation pumps. Walk us through how you sized the panel, and what would happen to the farmer's economics if the subsidy were withdrawn.
What a strong answer covers
The load calculation in simple terms, the assumptions on sunlight hours and pump rating, the payback period with and without subsidy, and what the candidate personally did on the project. Avoid technical jargon that hides a weak understanding of the numbers.
- Why this institute
Be honest with us. If you converted a call from an older IIM next week, would you still join a newer IIM?
What a strong answer covers
A truthful answer that does not insult either institute, followed by genuine reasons the newer IIM appeals, such as a smaller batch, a particular programme or the region. Avoid claiming the newer IIM is your dream if you have nothing specific to support it.
- Graduation subject
You studied commerce. Explain the difference between profit and cash flow using the example of a small medical store that sells on credit to regular customers.
What a strong answer covers
Shows that sales booked on credit raise profit but not cash, that stock purchases consume cash before any profit is recognised, and that a profitable store can still run out of cash. Avoid a textbook definition with no link to the medical-store example.
- Internship
At your internship you said you built a dashboard. Who used it after you left, and how do you know?
What a strong answer covers
An honest account of adoption, naming the team or manager who used it, what decision it supported and any follow-up evidence. If it was not used, saying so and explaining what you learned is stronger than inventing impact.
- Business awareness
Quick commerce companies promise groceries in ten minutes. Is this a sustainable business in a tier-two city, or will it remain a metro phenomenon?
What a strong answer covers
Discusses order density, dark-store costs, average order value and delivery worker economics, with a reasoned view on tier-two adoption and the counter-argument. Avoid unverified figures and avoid taking a side without stating what evidence would change your mind.
- Stress question
You have no work experience. Why should we admit you over a candidate with three years in industry?
What a strong answer covers
Calm acknowledgement of the gap, then specific strengths such as internships, projects, leadership in college and readiness to learn from peers, plus a realistic view of how freshers contribute in class. Avoid defensiveness or belittling candidates with experience.
- Opinion and counterview
Your WAT essay argued that India should prioritise manufacturing over services. Defend that in two minutes, then give us the best argument against your own position.
What a strong answer covers
A structured case on employment, exports and value chains, followed by a fair counter-case on services productivity, skill gaps and automation. Avoid changing your stance the moment the panel looks unconvinced.
- Career goals
You wrote that you want to work in agribusiness. Name one Indian company in that space and describe how it makes money.
What a strong answer covers
A real company with its business model explained simply, such as procurement, processing, distribution or inputs, and why it interests the candidate. Avoid naming a company you know only by its logo or a single news story.
Reading is not rehearsing. Answer these out loud to an AI IIM PI New IIMs CAP panel that follows up like the real one.
Practise these questionsMeet the panel
Your AI interviewers
Distinct personas, voices and questioning styles, briefed on this post.
Prof. Raghunath Krishnamurthy
ChairChairperson
Professor of Finance and Admissions Chairperson, Indian Institute of Management
Courteous, precise, allergic to recitation.
Male voice · 3 languages
Ms. Aparna Venkataraman
Hiring manager
IIM alumna; Vice President, Strategy at a consumer-goods company; alumni panel member
Warm, practical, tests substance behind the story.
Female voice · 3 languages
Prof. Debashis Sengupta
External member
Professor of Economics, Indian Institute of Management; external panel member
Sharp, argumentative in a friendly way, wants mechanisms not headlines.
Male voice · 3 languages
Languages
Answer in the language you think in
The panel asks in your chosen language. Switch mid-answer if you like.
- English
- हिंदीHindi
- Hinglish (Hindi + English)Hinglish
How scoring works
A report you can act on
Every round is scored on the rubric
Each interviewer scores only the criteria their round covers. Weights add up to your overall score out of 100.
Only what you actually said counts
Feedback quotes your own answers. Rounds you skip show as “Not assessed” rather than a zero.
Communication is always measured
Fluency, clarity, confidence and structure are tracked across the whole interview, in any language.
Pass mark, then a plan
You see the pass mark for this interview, your gaps, and the courses that close them fastest.
Scored on
- Academic depth25%
Can explain a core concept from their own graduation or Class 12 clearly and correctly, go one level deeper on a follow-up, connect it to a real use, and admit the edge of their knowledge instead of bluffing.
- Clarity of goals & profile consistency25%
Why MBA, why now and why this institute hang together with the candidate's academics, work and interests; short-term and long-term goals are specific and realistic; work-experience learnings are concrete, with numbers and ownership rather than a job description.
- Current affairs & business awareness20%
Knows what is happening in the economy, business and the candidate's own industry or state; can take a view, support it with a mechanism or example, and respond to the strongest counter-argument without collapsing or becoming rigid.
- Communication20%
Answers the question asked, in one to three crisp sentences before elaborating; structured, listens, does not ramble or recite; language is clear whether English or mixed.
- Composure under pressure10%
Stays calm and honest when challenged or stressed, holds a reasoned position or concedes gracefully, does not get defensive, argumentative or evasive on the ethics question.
Pass mark 60 / 100 · B-school personal interview — IIM-style faculty panel
Keep exploring
More IIM PI interviews
- IIM PI IIM A/B/C/L interviewGraduates and final-year students, CAT shortlist
- IIM PI FMS / XLRI / SPJIMR / MDI interviewGraduates and final-year students, CAT or XAT shortlist
- IIM PI IIFT / JBIMS / NMIMS interviewGraduates and final-year students, IIFT, CET, NMAT or CAT shortlist
- IIM PI IIM IPM interviewClass 12 pass or appearing, generally 20 years or under
- IIM PI Symbiosis GE-PI-WAT interviewGraduates and final-year students, SNAP shortlist
- IIM PI ISB / one-year MBA interviewWorking professionals, typically 2 to 12 years of experience