WAT and GD/PI Experience at IIFT: Topper Harrshit M Kansal

Harrshit M Kansal

IIFT exam 2018 topper Harrshit M Kansal was always sure of his capabilities. Which is why he converted IIFT Interview call in the first list itself. With 99.6 percentile score in the IIFT exam and an excellent academic record, all he had to during the second phase of admission process, ie Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD) and PI (Personal Interview), was to display confidence and knowledge.

Take a look at his academic performance below:

IIFT exam percentile: 99.6

BE (Hons): BITS Pilani (2014-18), CGPA 9

DPS, Indirapuram (2004-2014): Gold Medalist

Class X- CGPA 9.8

Class XII- 90.8%

Shiksha got in touch with Harrshit to know how he handled his WAT, GD and PI which took place on February 20, 2018. He shared with us the entire process in detail. Read on.

Writtern Ability Test

My WAT Topic was “Flipkart and Snapdeal Merger: A new horizon for the Indian E-commerce industry”

We were given about 15-20 minutes to write the essay. I expressed my views about the benefits of consolidation in the Indian E-commerce industry. These include economies of scale and efficiency gains. It eliminates the need for them to compete with each other and effectively take on the growing competition from other global giants including, US based Amazon. Finally, I also wrote about the reasons due to which the merger had not materialized and was even called off last year.

Group Discussion Experience

The topic for the GD was, “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, My Instagram is the fairest of them all”.

There were 12 members in our group. All the 12 members were initially given a minute each to speak about the topic, after which there was an open discussion for another 30 minutes. I talked about narcissism and self-centeredness, which can develop in individuals due to the excessive usage of social media. Also, it leads to a sense of social anxiety among individuals because of worrying too much about how others perceive them. I discussed some of the recent research studies which indicated too much social media anxiety among youth. Finally, the discussion moved on to how baseless competition at social media platforms indicates a loss of the sight of real-life goals for individuals and how a prudent use of social media can be practiced.

Personal Interview Experience

I was the fifth candidate to be interviewed in my panel. There were 3 panel members for my personal interview. I’ll refer to them as P1, P2 and P3. The whole interview lasted for about 20 minutes.

P1: So, Harrshit, you are following the footsteps of your father since he also did a BTech & MBA?

Me: Yes, ma’am. The fact that my father is a management professional, was one of the earliest motivating factors for me to pursue an MBA. Further, I firmly believe that gaining both techno-managerial skills is a very fruitful combination. During my past academic career, I have also got an exposure to management several times- through my internships (PwC and others) and by playing leadership roles, including that of General Secretary, in large teams at BITS, Pilani where I have been quite successful.

P1: Why do you wish to join IIFT?

Me: Not only is IIFT a premier business school, but it’s also the hub of international business in India, having a legacy of more than half a century. International trade shall get more and more prominence in times to come due to rapidly increasing globalisation in today’s world.

P2 (while reading my CV): You have demonstrated interest in Economics and Finance at the Under-Graduate level and have also done courses for the same. So, tell me, what do you understand by share buy-backs?

Me: Sir, a company is said to undertake a buyback when it buys its own outstanding shares by either open market repurchases or fixed price tender offers.

P2: Why do you think would a company buy back its own shares? List 3 reasons.

Me: Sir, a company can buy back its shares to (1) signal information about their under-valuation and thus expect an increase in share prices, (2) to distribute excess capital among its shareholders and (3) to fend off unwanted takeover attempts by increasing its stakes.

P3: What are the nominal and real GDP values of India?

Me: Sir, the nominal GDP of India is around US $2.5 trillion and GDP (PPP) is close to US $9.5 trillion.

P3: What is GDP deflator?

Me: It is the ratio of nominal GDP to real GDP.

P3: Please elaborate.

Me: Sir, the nominal GDP for a year is the one which is calculated at the prices of the current year, while the real GDP is calculated using the prices of a fixed base year.

P3: Which do you think is a better measure of growth?

Me: Real GDP is a better measure of growth since it does not take into account the rise in GDP caused by increase in prices or inflation.

P3: Good! What is the difference between GDP and GNP?

Me: GNP equals the sum of GDP and Net Factor Income from Abroad

P3 asked some more questions about the sectoral composition of Indian economy, share of manufacturing in it. There were a couple of questions about fordism and neo-fordism also. Then, P1 asked some final questions about my future plans.

P1: Did you get a job offer from campus placements?

Me: Ma’am, I completed a full semester internship at PwC. I was awarded a pre-placement offer there.

P1: I see…Then why do you still want to join IIFT?

Me: Ma’am, since I am a final year student right now, I wish to continue my formal education. I currently have a momentum going on for me in academics which I wish to continue at IIFT. I wish to gain a complementary skill-set in management and be fully ready for the corporate world after two years.

Status: Converted IIFT, Delhi in the first list