The Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) is an advanced research institute that was established by the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai to promote research on developmental issues from a multidisciplinary perspective.

The institute was registered as an autonomous society in 1986 and was subsequently recognised as a Deemed University.

From being purely research oriented, it quickly evolved into a full-fledged teaching-cum-research organisation when it launched a PhD programme in the field of development studies in 1990. The objective of the doctoral programme is to produce analysts from diverse disciplinary backgrounds who can address issues on economics, energy and environment policies. In 1995, an MPhil programme in the same field was also started.

The application form and prospectus can be obtained from the office by sending a demand draft of Rs 200 drawn in favour of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research and payable at Mumbai.

One can also download the application form from the website of the institute (www.igidr.ac.in). The last date for receiving completed application forms is in the middle of March.

Eligibility

Students seeking admission to MSc in economics, should have a BA or BSc in economics, a BCom or BStat or BSc in physics or maths or a BTech or BE degree with at least a second division in economics and a first division in other disciplines. The candidate should also have studied mathematics at the higher secondary level.

Entrance exam

The entrance test is usually held at the end of April in various centres across the country.

Pattern of exam

The written test emphasises on one’s analytical, verbal and mathematical ability. There are two papers with multiple-choice questions — the first has questions on comprehension, reasoning and analytical ability while the second has questions on mathematics.

How to prepare

Candidates can prepare for the English section by practising comprehension and verbal ability from Objective English and Comprehension by S. Chand. The candidate could also go through English Grammar by Wren and Martin and revise the fundamentals from A.S. Hornby’s Guide to Patterns and Usage in English. The candidate could also leaf through books like General English by A.N. Kapoor and Objective General English by R.S. Agarwal. For comprehension, the GMAT guides by Barron and Princeton will be useful.

To prepare for the mathematics section, candidates could practise a variety of problems relating to basic arithmetic, algebra and geometry. Some of the books which will come in handy are Maths by R.S. Agarwal and M.S.L.C. Arithmetic by Tejram and Ravi Chopra.

To crack the questions in the reasoning section, one could go through the Test of Reasoning by R.S. Agarwal, How to Prepare for GMAT by Tata McGraw Hill publishers, and other reasoning books by Edgar Thorpe. It is essential that candidates start preparing well in advance for all the above sections. The best way would be to solve papers of previous years within the time limit.

sample test paper

English

The sentence has four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Select one which is not correct. Engines used (A) in space shuttles are much larger (B) and more strong (C) than the ones used (D) in jet planes.

a) A b) B

c) C d) D

Plant: Parasite :: ?

a) transient: permanent b) wild: prey c) flora: fauna d) sailor: pirate

Maths

lIf the length of the diagonal of a square and that of the side of another square are both 10 cm, the ratio of the area of the first square to that of the second is:

a) 1: 2 b) 1: 3

c) 1: 4 d) 2: 3

Reasoning

lAnil, introducing a girl at a party, said, “She is the wife of the grandson of my mother”. How is Anil related to the girl?

a) father

b) grandfather

c) husband

d) father-in-law

In a certain code “certain” is coded as XVIGZRM. How is “mundane” coded?

a) NFMWZMV

b) VMZWMFN

c) NFMWZMX

d) NFMXZMV