IAS out, CAT’s what’s hot in Bihar

Patna: In Bihar, students have always aimed for government jobs, and the Union Public Service Central (UPSC) exams have been a hot ticket to the Indian Administrative Services (IAS).

But times are changing with the Common Admission Test (CAT) fever for an MBA catching on in the state.

After slogging for over a year, this is student Anil Vansh’s day to try his luck at the CAT exams.He is among a fast-growing breed of youngsters from Bihar seeking a job outside the government.

“The drawback of a government job is that to climb the ladder you need help from someone or the other or you need to keep your boss happy,” says Anil.

“People have woken up to more than just UPSC and BPSC. That is not the trend anymore,” says a student, Shalini.

The Civil Services continue to remain the hot favourite of Bihari students but they are also increasingly striving to do well in the CAT.

“Almost 20-25 per cent of students in IIT are from Bihar. If you add those getting into IIMs, I think the number will be substantially high. Out of 1300 seats, in a conservative guess, almost 120-130 students would be from Bihar,” says the manager of IMS Tutorials, Manish Kumar.

The wind of change is blowing in smaller cities as well with the state witnessing a similar race towards corporate world.

It’s the fat salary packages and better job openings that has made CAT one of the prime targets of Bihari students.

“My aim is the CAT exam,” says another student, Binita. And therefore, it is no wonder that institutes imparting coaching for IIMs are doing brisk business here.