Ahmedabad: The Common Admission Test (CAT), rated as one of the world's most demanding entrance examinations for any graduate institute, may soon be conducted online by the premier Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

The CAT committee is in consultation with a leading global online test company, Prometric, in chalking out plans for the annual examination.

Prometric is a US-based company which helps deliver tests like Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) etc. The company has been recently acquired by education testing company ETS and would be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ETS.

"It is difficult to conduct and manage the test at different centres across the country. Availability of the latest technology will enable us to make an easy shift to the online system. So, we are talking to a few players and examining the feasibility of the same," said a member of the CAT committee.

The CAT being conducted online will reap benefits for both aspirants and institutes conducting the test. For the IIMs, it would mean larger revenues as the cost of application forms are likely to go up.

MBA aspirants may also be allowed to appear for the examination three times in a year.

The CAT committee is now preparing a question bank that will be used for the online test.

The committee is also considering different issues including online test procedure, timing, question data bank, test centres and ways to go about the online exam.

However, plans are now being finalized and an early decision is expected by the year end.

CAT 2006, which was conducted on November 19th, was a 2.5 hour exam instead of the traditional 2 hour exam. This year the test will be conducted on November 18th.

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