The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) conducts a test for admissions to its various MBA programs in December every year. Traditionally, the GK section in IIFT has been of higher level of difficulty as compared to SNAP, CMAT, MAT, etc. Due to this, a large number of applicants fail to clear the sectional cut-off of the GK section.
In this article, we will help you understand the type of questions from this section that can be expected in the IIFT test. Further, we will give you a methodical strategy to prepare for this section.
Even though the weightage for GK is less, however, each and every mark counts in this exam. Thus, it is advisable that you do not take this section lightly.
GK section holds importance not just in terms of sectional cut off, but also impacts the overall score. Having a good grip on GK will help you with the following:
Better accuracy: GK-based questions give you the opportunity to increase your accuracy. This is because, if you know the answer to a GK question, there is no scope for confusion!
Time efficiency: Further, the GK section is highly helpful in time management as there is no calculation-work and analysis involved. You can use this to your advantage by allocating more time to other sections of the examination.
Good back up: GK section in the IIFT exam can also act as a good back up for you, especially if you feel you are weak in any of the traditional sections like Quant, Verbal, DI, Reasoning, etc.
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Static | 16 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
| Current | 9 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 11 |
| Total | 25 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 |
Table 1 gives you an analysis of the IIFT GK sections. As you can see, there is no discernible pattern that emerges from the table above. Thus, your best bet is to spend appropriate time and energy on both, static and current GK. As you can see, where the IIFT GK 2016 section was more balanced in terms of Static and Current GK questions, IIFT GK 2017 was dominated by Static GK questions. In 2018 IIFT GK, there were mixtures of topics checking general awareness of the candidate across the all areas. In 2019 and 2020, nearly similar weightage was given to static and current GK, including questions from business, geography, international economy etc. However, 2021 paper was mainly dominated by current GK. In a nutshell, there is no standard practice followed in GK section.
As mentioned earlier, the GK section of IIFT Test is relatively more difficult. This is reflected (Table 2) in the low sectional cutoffs for the GK section in the past few years.
Thus, you have to be careful in picking up questions and focus on clearing the cutoffs.
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 & 2021 | |
| GK Sectional Cutoff* | 1.5 (out of 12.5 marks) | 0.75-1 (out of 9 marks) | 0.83-1 (out of 9 marks) | 3.5-4.5 (out of 30 marks) | 5+ (out of 30 marks) |
| *figures are indicative as IIFT does not release official cutoff marks | |||||
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Question No.
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Answer Key
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1
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A
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2
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A
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3
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A
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4
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C
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5
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D
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6
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B
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7
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B
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As the name suggests, Static GK consists of areas that do not change over time. You may expect questions from the following sub-topics in Static GK:
While the syllabus for the Static GK section seems to be very vast, it can be completed effectively if you choose authentic and reliable sources to study from. Refer to NCERT books for further understanding of GK topics.
In Current GK, you may expect questions from these broad areas:
Questions from Current GK will focus on the important national and international events in the past 12 months in the areas mentioned above.
Current affairs are the most dynamic part of the syllabus and you can prepare them from our Hitbullseye Gk Web portal which we is constantly updated. Along with the question bank and for articles, check our 'Special Report' and 'Topic of the week' column. We strongly recommend you to read newspaper, preferably 'The Hindu' on a daily basis.
Ideally, you should not spend more than 10 minutes on the IIFT GK section. This will allow you to allocate more time to other time-consuming sections. Further, we advise you to follow a 2-cycle method of attempting this section:
Cycle 1In the second cycle, mark the answers of maximum possible questions that you have identified in Step (2) of Cycle 1 through intelligent guessing using option elimination. For instance, if you are confidently able to eliminate 2 options out of 4, we suggest that you go ahead and attempt the question.
Lastly, make sure that you are well-versed with the latest news events of last 6-8 months.
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