Group Discussion (GD) Topics & PI Experience by Shivangi Mishra, BHU

In a recent conversation with Shiksha, Shivangi Mishra talks about her experience of GD & PI process for admission at Institute of Management Studies-Banaras Hindu University. She talks about questions asked by the panelists and also has a few tips for aspiring students.

There were numerous topics that were asked and they majorly belonged to current happenings in the economy, politics, policies launched by the government and recent development in the field of science and technology. Few of them were:

1. Is RTI boon or a bane?

2. Smart laws of smart cities

3. Digitalization

While preparing for GD I focused more on the news related to the Indian economy, major changes, its drawback and kept myself updated with current affairs and read blogs on the major social-economic issues happened in the last 18 months.

I had a habit of reading newspaper daily which really helped me at the time of preparation but only reading the newspaper isn't enough. I followed the news channels religiously and followed their prime time news show regularly as well. I also used to read through various magazines like Frontline, Outlook, etc.

I was a student of TIME Allahabad centre so I’d practice classes for GD 3 days a week and it was really helpful when it came to improving my confidence level while speaking. TIME guided me to choose the right material and ways in order to ace in this fierce competition.

There were 3 panelists and 10 participants in my GD group.

In my PI there were 2 professors who used to teach me and rest 3 panelists were either alumnus of our college or professors from other faculties while in GD there were 3 members whom I didn't recognize. During my PI, I was honest throughout my interview and neither bluffed nor hesitated in accepting that I don’t know a particular answer. While in GD, being confident about my points helped me to sail through it.

Questions faced by me at the time of PI were:

• Tell me about yourself?
• Subjets in graduation & marks scored in 10th, 12^th & graduation
• Some question related to abstract algebra, quantum mechanics & organic chemistry were asked
• Why MBA?
• What do you expect after MBA? How having an MBA will help you?
• Difference between a leader and a manager?
• What are your hobbies?
• Why not M.Sc after B.Sc?
• The motive of PM’s recent in Varanasi
• What does NITI Aayog do and who is chairman of NITI Aayog

My coaching has helped me most while preparing for PI. I’d  sit for as many mock PI as much I could, worked on my CV, practiced answer to questions that could be possibly asked during PI and worked on gaining knowledge about my hobbies.

There are several ways to prepare for  GD & PI and it’s not even necessary that everyone should follow that strategy. A few of them that works for all are:

Read a good newspaper regularly

Go through various blogs and try to develop your own opinion on each topic

Magazines suggested are: Frontline/Outlook/Yojna/Yearbook

Newspaper: The Hindu/Indian Express/Business Standard/Economist

When my PI started I was really nervous such that I started fidgeting while answering the questions in starting few minutes. Then one of the panelists who was my professor made me calm down and after that, I performed well in my PI.

After qualifying CAT, when I got the call letter for GD-PI from IM-BHU, I felt exuberant as well as pressure vying over me to convert this call and I think that those days of hardships while preparing for GD-PI paid off very well.

GD-PI is not just about giving perfect ready-made answers, it’s all about knowing yourself and for me, this experience acted as a mirror in order to make changes in personality and opinions that we behold.

Know about yourself, do a SWOT analysis

Don’t neglect the importance of reading a newspaper

Read blogs on various topic, this will open your mind

Work on communication skills

Have faith in yourself

Even if you prepare very well for the topic or you are very accurate while specifying a point but at last, the only thing that matters is how well did you perform as a team member.

About the Author:

Hi! I am Shivangi Mishra, I am public relations member of FMC club Institute of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University, a naïve writer, finance enthusiast and interested in business analytics currently. Currently, I am pursuing MBA(IB) from IM-BHU class of 18-20.