Admission - MBA FABM
Overview
The Post-graduate Programme in Food and Agri-business Management (PGP-FABM) is specifically designed to develop effective managers, leaders, and entrepreneurs in an increasingly competitive and globalizing food and agri-business sector. What makes this sector-specific programme special compared to many other agri-business programmes is that the programme curriculum has a leading-edge managerial foundation firmly rooted in IIMA's "management" culture and proficiency with a focus on food and agri-business. The programme is a leader in agri-business management education and has been Ranked Number 1 Agribusiness/Food Industry Management programme in the World by Eduniversal, Paris a global ranking and rating agency specializing in higher education.
Eligibility Criteria
1. Candidates must satisfy requirements as given in either section 1.1 or 1.2 below for PGP-FABM 2025-27 Batch:
1.1: The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in agricultural sciences or agriculture-related disciplines, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [in case of the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category, this is relaxed to 45%], from any of the Universities incorporated by an act of the central or state legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under section 3 of UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India. The Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent qualification obtained by the candidate must entail a minimum of three years of education after completing higher secondary schooling (10+2) or equivalent.
OR
1.2: The candidate must hold at least a Bachelor’s/Master’s degree or equivalent qualification in any non-agricultural discipline, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [in case of candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category, this is relaxed to 45%] from a University or Institution as defined in the above paragraph and have a strong interest in agriculture, food, rural and allied sectors. Such candidates are required to submit a special form as described in section 2.1 under admission procedure. Failure to submit the form will disqualify the candidate from being considered further for admission to the programme. The Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent qualification obtained by the candidates must entail a minimum of three years of education after completing higher secondary schooling (10+2) or equivalent.
The percentage obtained by the candidate in the bachelor’s degree would be based on the practice followed by the university/institution from where the candidate has obtained the degree. In case of the candidates being awarded grades/CGPA instead of marks, the equivalence would be based on the equivalence certified by the university/institution from where they have obtained bachelor's degree. In case the university/ institution does not have any scheme for converting CGPA into equivalent marks, the equivalence would be established by IIM Ahmedabad by dividing obtained CGPA with the maximum possible CGPA and multiplying the resultant with 100.
Candidates appearing for the final year bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirement and are awaiting results can also apply. Such candidates must produce a certificate from the Principal/Head of the Department/Registrar/Director of the University/ Institution certifying that the candidate is currently in the final year/is awaiting final results and has obtained at least 50% marks or equivalent (45% in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST/PwD category) based on latest available grades/marks. Such candidates, if selected, will be allowed to join the programme provisionally only if they submit a certificate latest by June 30, 2025 from the Principal/ Head of the Department/Registrar/Director of the University/ Institution (issued on or before June 30, 2025) stating that they have completed all the requirements (the results may, however, be awaited) for obtaining the bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification on the date of issue of the certificate. Their admission will be confirmed only when the candidate submits the mark sheet and a certificate of having passed the bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification referred to in the certificate issued by the Principal/ Head of the Department/Registrar/Director of the University/ Institution with at least 50% marks (45% in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST/PwD category). It is mandatory for the final year students, who are provisionally admitted, to submit the marksheet and degree certificate of the final year bachelor’s degree examination held on or before June 30, 2025 (including supplementaries, if any), to be eligible for admission to the Post-graduate Programme in Food and Agri-business Management (PGP-FABM) 2025-27 Batch. The deadline for submission of the marksheet and the certificate is December 31, 2025. Non-fulfillment of this condition will automatically result in the cancellation of the provisional admission. IIMA would not allow any candidate to join its PGP-FABM in case the candidate is unable to complete all the requirements for a bachelor degree on or before June 30, 2025.
2. Admission/Selection Procedure and Criteria[1]
The selection of candidates for admission to the 2025-27 Batch of PGP-FABM at IIM Ahmedabad is a two-step process.
In the first step, candidates will be shortlisted for Analytical Writing Test (AWT) and Personal Interviews (PI) from among candidates who have a valid CAT 2024 score, have applied for the programme and satisfy the eligibility criteria for the programme described as below.
Important Note: Foreign nationals (foreign passport holders) with food and agriculture background, staying in India must have taken the test-centre administered GMAT Focus Edition OR GMAT in the previous format, and should apply through Supernumerary Quota category. For details, please contact the Admissions Office (Email: admission@iima.ac.in)
Shortlisting and Selection Criteria for PGP-FABM 2025-27 Batch
2.1 Shortlisting Criteria
For shortlisting the candidates for PGP-FABM admissions, 65% weightage will be given to the scores of CAT and 35% weightage to the Application Rating Score. Since the programme is sector-specific and prefers candidates with relevant educational background, the candidates with bachelor’s or master’s degree in agricultural sciences or agriculture-related disciplines will be preferred while shortlisting for Analytical Writing Test and Personal Interview.
Shortlisting of candidates with bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification in any non-agricultural discipline (candidates eligible under section 1.2 of eligibility criteria) will be provisional, subject to their submission of the specified form describing their nature of interest in the programme. The form will have to be submitted online by the deadline specified on the link showing CAT results for the programme (the deadline would typically be within 5 days of declaration of the shortlisting results by IIMA), failing which, the candidature of the shortlisted candidate will be cancelled and the candidate will not be considered further for admission to the programme. It would be the sole responsibility of the candidate to track announcement of results by IIMA and ensure compliance with the submission deadline.
The Application Rating score is based on Class 10th, Class 12th, and Bachelor’s Exams and Work Experience scores (see Table 2 for details).
Notes about the marks obtained:
- Percentages of marks of an applicant who is yet to complete the bachelor’s degree will be computed based on their available marks. At any stage of the admission process, the candidates need to provide the latest available marksheets for all completed semesters/years. Typically, at least marksheets till the previous academic year should be available. In case the marksheets for any particular semester(s)/year(s) are not submitted, IIMA may require proof from the institution/university to certify that the marksheets have not been issued. Withholding of available marksheets for any semester/year may lead to disqualification of the candidate.
- For a candidate who has indicated in the CAT form as having completed CA/ICWA/CMA/CS; (Inter Marks (%) + Final Marks (%))/2 as entered in the CAT form will be used to obtain Rating Score C while computing the AR score under the AC-3 category. For a candidate who has indicated in the CAT form as having completed Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI) the aggregate marks (%) as entered in the CAT form will be used to obtain Rating Score C for computing the AR score under the AC-3 category.
- For computing the AR score of an applicant, scores in all subjects that appear in their marksheet of 10th and 12th Std. examinations will be considered irrespective of whether the board considers them for calculating the percentage.
- For the bachelor’s degree, the percentage of marks awarded by the candidate’s institution/university will be treated as final. If the institution/university does not award the percentage of marks, it will be calculated on the basis of the marks obtained in all the subjects listed in the marksheet.
- For the bachelor’s degree, if the percentage of marks awarded by the candidate’s institution/university does not take into account marks obtained in all the subjects as mentioned in the marksheet(s) for all the years, the candidates must produce a certificate from the principal/head of the department/registrar/director of the institution/university certifying details of the practice at the institution/university at the time of the interview, if shortlisted for the same.
- If any board/institution/university awards only letter grades without providing an equivalent percentage of marks on the grade-sheet, the candidate should obtain a certificate from the board/institution/university specifying the equivalent marks which should be used for filling the online CAT application form. The original equivalence certificate needs to be submitted at the time of interview, if shortlisted for the same.
- For candidates undergoing/completed an integrated Master’s degree or dual degree directly after their 12th/HSC, the percentage of marks obtained as per their institute/university norms which is considered as equivalent to bachelor’s degree will be considered. If the institute/university does not provide the Bachelor’s degree percentage, then the aggregate percentage of the latest available marksheets for all completed semesters/years will be considered.
However, on point 7 above, for the final admission to PGP-FABM programme, 5-year integrated Master’s degree candidate must complete the 5-year course, unless a terminal bachelor's degree is awarded to the candidate by the academic institution prior to completing the integrated 5-year Master’s course.
Composite Score:
Composite Score = 0.35 * ARS (Application Rating Score) + 0.65 * NCS (Normalized CAT Score)
(For definition of Normalized CAT Score see Table 1 and for calculation of Application Rating Score see Table 2)
Table 1: Normalized CAT Score (NCS)
NCS: Normalized CAT Score of an individual = (NQAS + NDILRS + NVARCS) / 3
NQAS = QAS / (Average of top 50 QAS)
NDILRS = DILRS / (Average of top 50 DILRS)
NVARCS = VARCS / (Average of top 50 VARCS)
NCS: Normalised CAT Score
NQAS: Normalised Quantitative Ability Scaled Score
NDILRS: Normalised Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Scaled Score
NVARCS: Normalised Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Scaled Score
Table 2: Application Rating Score (ARS)
ARS of a candidate = [Rating Score A + Rating Score B + Rating Score C + Rating Score D] / 35
Rating Scores “A”, “B” and “C” are computed based on the percentage of marks obtained in the 10th Standard, 12th Standard (depending on the stream viz. Science, Commerce and Arts) and the Bachelor’s/Master’s degree programme (depending on the disciplines) respectively. Rating Score of “D” is computed based on the calculations given in Table 6
You may refer to Table 3, Table 4, Table 5 and Table 6 for Rating Score definitions for each of the Ratings Scores “A”, “B”, “C” and “D” respectively. You may also refer to Table 7 for Category definitions for the Bachelor/Master Disciplines.
For example, if a candidate from Science stream in 12th/HSC and AC-1 category scores 65 percent in 10th/SSC, 77 percent in 12th/HSC and 67 percent in Bachelor exam and have 36 months’ work experience, his/her
ARS=[3+5+4+5]/35=0.49
Table 3: Rating Scores for the 10th Standard Examination (Rating Score A)
| Percent score | Rating Score A |
| <= 55 | 1 |
| > 55 and <= 60 | 2 |
| > 60 and <= 70 | 3 |
| > 70 and <= 80 | 5 |
| > 80 and <= 90 | 8 |
| > 90 | 10 |
Table 4: Rating Scores for the 12th Standard Examination (Rating Score B)
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Table 5: Rating Scores for the Bachelor's/Master's Degree Examination (Rating Score C)
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Table 6: Rating Scores for Work Experience (Rating Score D)
| Work Experience in Month (as filled in the CAT Application Form) | Rating Score D |
| < 12 months | 0 |
| >= 12 and <= 36 months | MF * (number of months of work experience – 11) |
| > 36 months | 5 |
| Work-experience Multiplication Factor (MF) = 0.20 | |
Table 7: Academic Categories for Bachelor’s degree/ Master’s degree (as per CAT Application)
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AGRICULTURE (AC-1)
ALLIED AGRICULTURE (AC-2)
LIFE SCIENCES, COMMERCE AND RELATED DISCIPLINES (AC-3)
ENGINEERING (AC-4)
OTHERS (AC-5)
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Note: Final discretion on the academic category that an academic program will be classified into rests with the Admissions Committee of IIM Ahmedabad.
2.2 Selection Criteria
In the second step, after the completion of Analytical Writing Test and Personal Interviews (AWT & PIs) of all candidates shortlisted in the first step, candidates for admission to the 2025-27 Batch of the PGP-FABM at IIM Ahmedabad will be selected from among the candidates who have attended the AWT & PI.
For final selection of candidates for the programme, 10% weightage would be given to AWT, 40% weightage would be given to PI Score and 50% weightage would be given to the Composite Score to arrive at the Final Composite Score. The Personal Interview Score will be based on performance in the personal interview, verifiable awards and recognitions, academic performance, exceptional achievements, extra-curricular activities, post-degree relevant work experience, post-graduation education etc. The AWT and PI scores of a candidate are normalized by dividing with the corresponding maximum possible score that could be obtained.
The following information is about the admission process followed by IIMA for its PGP-FABM subsequent to CAT. It is therefore, important for the candidates to read them carefully.
- Performance in CAT is an important input in the admission process. Candidates should note that it is important to perform well in each section of the test. In addition to the performance in CAT, IIMA uses academic background for shortlisting for AWT & PI.
- Please note that IIMA shortlists candidates for PGP-FABM AWT & PI independent of other IIMs and PGP IIM Ahmedabad. Hence it is possible to observe variations in the lists of candidates shortlisted by different IIMs and programmes.
- Details of candidates shortlisted will be made available on IIMA website (www.iima.ac.in) tentatively in the second week of January 2025 after the CAT results are published. Shortlisted candidates would also be sent AWT & PI call letters by IIMA. No communication would be sent to applicants who are not shortlisted for Analytical Writing Test and Personal Interview.
- After the AWT & PI round, admission offers are made by IIMA to successful candidates. The ranking and final selection is based on a diverse set of attributes which include performance in CAT, performance in AWT & PI, academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular achievements, work experience etc. All selected candidates for the IIMA two-year PGP-FABM programme must be 19 years of age as on June 30, 2025 (i.e. must be born on or before June 30, 2006).
- Disclosure of information about the admission process is driven by concerns which at times conflict with each other. IIMA would like the admission process to be transparent. At the same time, IIMA would wish to protect the privacy of individual candidates and confidentiality of the process to prevent abuse. Based on these considerations, the details of the performance of an individual is not made available to any other person. Similarly, the details of the performance of candidates in AWT & PI, including assessment of attributes mentioned under paragraph 4 above is not disclosed to anyone to prevent exercise of undue pressure on the panelists participating in the admission/selection process. IIMA exercises its own discretion in disclosing weights assigned to diverse sets of attributes mentioned under paragraph 4 above. To ensure that the perceived lack of transparency does not in any way affect the candidates negatively, adequate care is taken in formation of the interview panels, development of objective criteria for assessment, random allocation of candidates to interview panel and other such measures.
- Candidates, who appear in AWT & PI will be able to view whether they have been offered admission by IIMA tentatively during the second week of April, 2025 by visiting the IIMA website. Admission offer letter would be sent to all successful candidates. Candidates, who are offered admission, need to confirm their acceptance by completing all the required formalities by first/second week of May, 2025. Some candidates may also be placed on the waiting list initially during second week of April, 2025. Offers to candidates on the waiting list would depend upon the number of successful candidates accepting the offer made by IIMA.
NOTE:
In the event of specific guidelines being issued by Government of India, IIMA reserves the right to, depending on the nature of the guidelines, continue with its AWT & PI as stated above OR use an alternative selection procedure which may include calling for additional information from shortlisted candidates, a supplementary test or any other suitable process/mechanism. Care will be taken to ensure that candidates are not put to undue inconvenience.
[1] IIM Ahmedabad reserves the right to make changes in the Shortlisting and Selection Criteria, if considered necessary at any point.
3. IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please note that IIM Ahmedabad will conduct its Analytical Writing Test and Personal Interviews (AWT & PIs) for PGP-FABM in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. Candidates shortlisted for AWT & PI will be intimated by email tentatively in the second week of January 2025.
The CAT takers applying to IIMA’s Post-graduate Programme in Food and Agri-business Management (PGP-FABM) can also check out if they have been shortlisted for AWT & PI by visiting the IIMA website (www.iima.ac.in) tentatively in the second week of January 2025. No individual regret letters shall be sent to candidates not shortlisted for AWT & PI.
4. Reservation
As per Government of India requirement, 27% of the seats are reserved for NC-OBC, 15% for SC, 7.5% for ST candidates, 5% for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD), and up to 10% for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). Candidates also need to mark carefully the category to which they belong in the CAT application form.
As defined in The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act 2016), “person with benchmark disability” means a person with not less than forty percent (40%) of a specified disability where specified disability has not been defined in measurable terms and includes a person with disability where specified disability has been defined in measurable terms, as certified by the certifying authority.
“Specified Disability” means the disabilities as specified in the Schedule of the RPwD Act 2016. The categories of disability are:
(a) blindness and low vision,
(b) deaf and hard of hearing,
(c) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy,
(d) autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness,
(e) multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d), and
(f) other ‘specified disabilities’ mentioned in 'The Schedule' of the RPwD Act 2016.
For the purpose of being considered for reservations, the applicable Central Government list as on the last date of CAT registration shall be binding. No subsequent changes will be effective for CAT-2024 and any subsequent selection process of IIMA.
The candidates belonging to categories for which seats are reserved need to note and read carefully the eligibility requirements before applying. It should be noted that while it is the endeavour of IIMA that the candidates belonging to NC-OBC/SC/ST/PwD/EWS categories join the programme in proportions mandated by the law, they have to meet the eligibility criteria and a certain minimum level of performance in CAT and AWT & PI.
Expenses
The programme fee is INR 26,50,000/- for the PGP-FABM 2024-26 Batch (inclusive of tuition fees of INR 19,35,000/-). The programme fee does not cover personal expenses on boarding, laptop computer, travel, clothes, stationery, laundry, etc. All students are required to have a personal computer. The Institute can also arrange to buy this locally.
The programme fee for future batches will be announced later.
Financial Assistance/Scholarships
IIMA aspires to give the opportunity to pursue its programmes (PGP & PGP-FABM) to all eligible applicants, who are in need of financial assistance. Keeping this in mind, IIMA has instituted a Need-Based Scholarship Scheme to complement the various scholarships provided by the industry and government. Every year many students are provided financial support under the scheme. The scholarship amount is decided on the basis of several criteria such as annual gross family income, ownership of assets, and the number of dependents in the family. The applications for these scholarships are invited every year in the month of July/August. Many commercial banks and financial institutions provide educational loans to students. For details, candidates may contact branch offices of such banks.
Preparatory Programme
Those candidates who are selected for the programme will have to attend the Preparatory Programme on Campus which will start in June 2025. The preparatory programme provides special inputs in mathematics, communication and Agriculture and is designed to enable the students to prepare themselves for the first year of the PGP-FABM programme. (Students who are in the final year of their bachelor’s degree education and need to go back to complete their examination formalities during June will be granted special leave from the preparatory programme).
Curriculum
The programme curriculum has a solid managerial foundation, a focus on food and agribusiness marketplace, and is designed to build and enhance a global perspective among participants. The course comprises three components: the core management courses, compulsory food and agribusiness related courses and electives courses. The core programme consists of 34 core management courses encompassing 23.3 credits in the first year and is common with the PGP to enhance learning due to multiple perspectives and competitiveness. The first year is spread over three terms, each of which is often to twelve weeks’ duration. The compulsory package in the programme is designed to:
- provide basic conceptual and analytical knowledge and inculcate attitudes and skills necessary for managerial effectiveness in different functional areas of agri-business management.
- develop an integrated view of organizational and managerial functioning and an understanding of the interdependencies of subsystems; and
- create awareness and understanding of environmental forces impinging on managerial behaviour.
Following the first year programme, students undergo Rural Immersion in two phases for a period of about four weeks and summer internship for a period of eight weeks with the institute’s corporate partners, which provide students field and organizational experience.
The second year of the programme consists of compulsory as well as elective courses and is designed to impart specialized multi-functional knowledge and skills required by food and agri-business sector managers for excellence in planning, decision-making, organization and implementation in different sub-sectors and activities in the sector including agriculture, food, and agribusiness, rural and allied sectors. The elective courses allow students to exercise complete freedom in the selection of courses and help the students in developing an integrated understanding and approach on agri-business management issues and problems. In the second year, students can do project course that involves research in the practice of management in particular organizations or sectors. The project course helps students in gaining first-hand experience in current management practices and philosophy.
Degree
The PGP-FABM graduates will be awarded the degree of ‘Master of Business Administration (Food and Agri-business Management)'.'
For further details, please contact:
Admissions Office (PGP & PGP-FABM)
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380 015
Phone: +91-79-7152 4630/ 31/ 32/ 33/ 34
Email: admission@iima.ac.in
For further details, please contact:
Admissions Office (PGP & PGP-FABM)
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380 015
Email: admission@iima.ac.in
Phone: 079-7152 4630/ 31/ 32/ 33/ 34
Admission Process for Overseas Indian and Foreign National Candidates:
Those overseas Indian candidates (Indian passport holders) and foreign nationals (foreign passport holders) with food and agriculture background can apply for the programme with GMAT score of the current version of the GMAT Exam (NOT GMAT Exam - Focus Edition) administered in the test centre instead of CAT scores. Such candidates may contact the Admissions Office (PGP & PGP-FABM) for further details.
Admissions Office (PGP & PGP-FABM)
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380 015
Email: admission@iima.ac.in
Phone: 079-7152 4630/ 31/ 32/ 33/ 34
