The Graduate Management Admission Council, which conducts the popular GMAT exams worldwide, plans to reach out to semi-urban and rural corners of India, partnering local coaching institutes. The global chief and the top brass of GMAC are on a trip to India, and they would be back again in a few months to shape the plans.

David Wilson, CEO, GMAC, told FE that his team would return with a clear agenda of reaching out to promising candidates in the semi-urban and far-flung rural areas by tapping popular MBA coaching institutes, like Career Launcher and Career Forum. These institutes directly interact with students in the hinterland through their branches.

?The second visit this year would be to engage with owners and trainers of test preparatory institutes to disseminate information and educate students in tier-II, tier-III and smaller centres about GMAT. Since these institutes have direct access to such students, they would be the right channels to create awareness about GMAT and its role,? Wilson said.

Considering that the average Indian GMAT score is 23 points higher than the global average, it would not like to lose out on potential future managers, Wilson said. On the Foreign Education Institution Bill that seeks to ease the entry of overseas educational institutions, Wilson said the basic framework of the proposed legislation looks promising. He, however, added that much would depend on what is finally approved in Parliament.

?It is sure to intensify exchange programmes and twinning arrangements between foreign universities and Indian educational institutions,? he said. Although the GMAT scores are used by almost 2,000 business schools and over 4,700 programmes in the world, an average candidate aspiring for an MBA degree in a small centre of India that has an annual per capita income of Rs 38,000 would find even the cost of taking the test, over Rs 11,000, prohibitive. In line with its strategy to include the alienated sections, GMAC would waive the fees of 500 students worldwide annually. GMAC, which has 17 centres in India out of 500, the second largest testing location, will increase the number to 25 over the next three-four years. The admission council also aims to double the number of B-schools based in India that use GMAT scores to 100 from 50.