The number of Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2024 candidates has increased from 96,438 last year to 1.35 million this year. During the pandemic, the number of applicants for the entrance test dropped to 79,843 in 2021 but has increased since last year. The entrance exam will be held at XLRI Jamshedpur and XLRI Delhi NCR.

According to exam organizer Dr Rahul Shukla, the increase in registrations is due to strong outreach and promotion of diversity. “Through the campaign, supported by our partner business schools, candidates were well informed about the benefits and value of sitting for the XAT exam. The inclusive design of XAT has encouraged the participation of a wide range of candidates," he said.

Also, in XAT 2024, 34% of registered candidates are engineers, and 37% are female candidates. XAT 2024 exam date is January 7.

Meanwhile, the registrations for the Common Admission Test (CAT) have gone up too. As per IIM Lucknow, there is an increase in registration to 30 per cent from last year. Last year, there was an increase of 11 percent in registrations.