Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT), the national MBA entrance test conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur, has seen a sharp increase of 25 per cent in its 2023 registration numbers.

After the registration ended on December 11, XAT 2023 registration number has gone up to 98,242 applicants this year.

Convener of XAT and XLRI admission chair, Jamshedpur, Vishwa Ballabh, said: “This year there has been unprecedented registration for XAT 2023 — which is around 98,242 and the increase is 25 per cent from last year.”

“Following an 11 per cent increase in CAT 2022 registration number, this strong growth in XAT 2023 numbers is good news for management education that has seen almost no growth in CAT and XAT registrations for the last 10 years,” said Ballabh.

“A major reason for this growth in XAT numbers is the growth in non-engineer applicants, which has grown enormously.

“XAT 2023 registration process closed on December 11 after getting an extension from November 30. XAT would be conducted on January 8, 2023, as a computer-based test in a single session of 3 hours 10 minutes across the country,” added Ballabh.

According to an XLRI spokesperson, nearly 63.78 per cent are male participants while 36.21 per cent are women. XAT is the mandatory entrance exam for admission to XLRI Jamshedpur and Delhi NCR campuses.

Some top B-schools of India like Loyola Institute of Business Management, Chennai, St. Joseph’s Institute of Management, IMT Ghaziabad, GIM Goa, Sri Balaji University, TAPMI Manipal, XIMB Bhubaneswar and FORE School of Management, New Delhi, use XAT scores for admission.

The programmes offered by XLRI include business management (BM), human resource management (HRM), general management programme (GMP), fellow programme in management (FPM) and XLRI-Rutgers Double Masters Programme.

“The XAT exams will be almost like the previous years with tests on verbal ability; logical reasoning, decision making, quantitative aptitude; data interpretation and general knowledge,” the spokesperson informed.