XAT 2026 Question Paper
Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.
Vidya, a Bachelor of Commerce graduate, secured admission to one of India’s premier business schools (B schools) called Best-Known School of Management (BKSM). Not long after her joining BKSM, she was struck by the calibre of her experienced peers. This, in turn, made her anxious about her placement. Hence, she reached out to one of her seniors, who had also joined BKSM as a fresher, for advice.
In conversations with the senior, Vidya learned that freshers were often advised to join student committees to strengthen their curriculum vitae (CVs) for placements. Confident of making it to one, she started preparing. Despite her confidence, she could not secure a spot in the prominent committees she aspired to join.
Frustrated and angry, Vidya began believing that committee selections were biased. Since the processes were entirely student-run, with minimal administrative oversight, she felt that she had no avenue to raise her concerns. Anjali, Vidya’s roommate in BKSM, told her about Why MBA, a social media platform where students often voiced their grievances anonymously.
XAT 2026 - Question 41
Impulsively, Vidya secretly recorded her next committee interview. The interview turned out to be particularly harsh. Now, she was even more determined to post the transcript of the interview on Why MBA to teach a lesson to her seniors. However, she contemplated the consequences she might face after posting the transcript.
Which of the following considerations will BEST stop her from sharing the transcript on Why MBA?
XAT 2026 - Question 42
Vidya secretly recorded her next committee interview. The very next day, Vidya was selected for the same committee for which she had recorded the interview. Relieved, she decided not to post anything on Why MBA.
However, a few days later, a post went viral on Why MBA about BKSM, accusing the student committees of unfair practices, claiming that seniors selected juniors based on personal preferences rather than objective criteria. The post created a stir in BKSM, making Vidya anxious.
Vidya’s anxiety stemmed from the fact that Anjali, her confidant, knew about Vidya’s intent to publish her interview transcript on Why MBA. Hence, Vidya feared that Anjali might assume that she was behind the viral post. Worse still, if Anjali shared Vidya’s earlier intent with anyone at BKSM, her reputation and relationships could be damaged.
What BEST can Vidya do in the current situation so that she is NOT negatively impacted by the viral post?
XAT 2026 - Question 43
A few committee secretaries complained to the dean of BKSM about some anonymous posts on Why MBA that they felt were unfairly targeting them. Upon visiting the forums on Why MBA, the dean felt that while most of the posts were innocuous, some indeed crossed the line. Further, she felt that such posts tarnished the image of BKSM. Conversely, she observed that such posts led those targeted to reflect, mend their ways, and become more accountable. She wondered what she could do to save the reputation of BKSM being assailed in public forums through anonymous posts; however, she did not want to do anything disproportionately harsh.
What BEST can the dean do to take a sustainable decision to dissuade students from posting their grievances in public forums, presenting the college in a bad light?
Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.
Business schools’ (B schools) curriculums are filled with group assignments and case competitions. Even when students have just joined the B schools, corporate houses try to catch good talent early by promising them internships based on case competitions. These competitions involve comprehending the problems presented by the organizations, analyzing the challenges they currently face, and presenting solutions in a manner that convinces the organizations’ representatives who visit the B schools to evaluate various teams that present their solutions on such problems.
For students who are just joining a B school, the capability to actually solve such problems is quite limited. Because of that, the corporate houses generally are more focused on the presentations made by groups. Hence, the groups that communicate better, most often, win these competitions.
Abirami joins MBS, a B school. As a fresher, she believes she needs to learn a lot about how organizations work and wants to work with others who have joined MBS and have work experience.
XAT 2026 - Question 44
The first step that Abirami wants to take is to join a group, having members with extensive work experience. Meanwhile, students with prior work experience have come together and formed groups. She reaches out to one such group. However, the group members are not interested since she is a fresher. They are unsure whether she can bring any value to case competitions that involve understanding, recommending and presenting solutions to organizational problems.
Which of the following reasons, IF TRUE, will BEST convince the group members that Abirami will be a valuable member of the group for case competitions?
XAT 2026 - Question 45
Abirami cannot join groups having members with work experience; they reject her for being a fresher. Meanwhile, three of her batchmates, all freshers, are interested in forming a group with her. Abirami likes being with them as two of them are from her undergraduate college; however, Abirami fears that they may all come up with similar ideas during case discussions.
Which of the following reasons, IF TRUE, will BEST persuade Abirami to join them?
XAT 2026 - Question 46
Abirami eventually joins a group, largely comprised of students with work experience. Whenever competition calls are announced, the group meets to discuss the competition. As competitions go by, Abirami observes that her views are hardly heard in meetings, though the other group members make it a point to invite her to every meeting. Since Abirami doesn’t get acknowledged for her ideas in group discussions, she starts reflecting on what she has gained so far by being a part of the group.
Which of the following pieces of information will BEST convince Abirami that being in the group is beneficial to her?
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Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.
Selvam Tutorials offers exclusive face-to-face evening classes from Monday to Friday for students who are preparing for various entrance exams. Selvam Dindigul, the owner, operates from his ancestral house, situated in the middle of the city. There are several instructors, but each teaches only one of the following courses: quantitative ability, verbal ability and decision making. Selvam usually recruits fresh graduates, or those instructors who are working with other tutorials and seeking a job change.
As Selvam Tutorials has been expanding aggressively over the past few years, managing it alone becomes challenging for Selvam. Hence, he recruits Kanmani Gunaa, his niece, who has an online MBA with specializations in Accountancy and HR, as a manager. He asks Kanmani to introduce modern HR practices at Selvam Tutorials while managing cost effectively.
XAT 2026 - Question 47
Soon after Kanmani takes over, she discovers that every instructor is paid differently even though they teach for the same number of hours. Moreover, these instructors have been recruited locally, having similar educational background. As she is introducing modern HR practices, she wants to equalize the salaries of all the instructors.
Which of the following is definitely NOT an option for Kanmani?
XAT 2026 - Question 48
One of the instructors meets Kanmani and urgently requests for a week-long leave because he needs to take care of his ailing father in a nearby village. Kanmani grants him leave. However, on the very next day, she is chastised by Selvam. He tells Kanmani, “while all instructors are legally eligible for leave, we cannot grant leave to instructors, given the tight schedule and continuous classes.” Selvam instructs Kanmani to ensure that, when classes are on, leaves are not granted.
Kanmani wants to allow instructors to avail leaves whenever they need them; however, she understands that there should be contingency arrangements in place so that the deliverables are not compromised.
Kanmani is contemplating the following contingency arrangements for the classes that may not be conducted due to faculty leave.
Which of the following will be the BEST contingency arrangement at the lowest possible cost without compromising on the deliverables?
XAT 2026 - Question 49
Kanmani meets Selvam and requests his permission to recruit three extra instructors, who would be on the regular payroll. They will only chip in whenever the regular instructors go on leave. Selvam, having been running the tutorial for quite some time, believes that this would not be the right way to solve the problem of managing classes when instructors go on leave. He shares the following data with Kanmani to help her understand that this problem cannot be solved by recruiting more people:
a) The number of days that instructors go on leave of absence is usually two days a month on average.
b) Each instructor has a unique style of teaching that cannot be replicated by part-timers.
c) Classes are held for 5 days a week, allowing enough rest for the instructors.
d) Selvam tried with part-time instructors as back-ups previously but they were often unavailable when needed.
e) The extra instructors must be paid a monthly salary, even when they might not be teaching the entire month.
Which of the following combinations of data will BEST convince Kanmani not to recruit extra instructors on the regular payroll?
For the following questions answer them individually
XAT 2026 - Question 50
Read the following sentences carefully.
1. Everybody were late.
2. I will ask you if I need help.
3. Please revert to me at the earliest possible.
4. The report that the committee submitted was well received.
5. She is accustomed to work late.
Which of the following options consists of only grammatically CORRECT sentences?
