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The Xavier Scholar Entrance Test (XSET) will be held on Sunday, 20 December 2026. The XSET is for applicants to the doctoral programmes (FPM / EFPM) in XLRI. All applicants to FPM / EFPM, who meet the basic admissions eligibility criteria, are eligible to take the XSET. The XSET is an online remote proctored test conducted on the Mercer | Mettl platform, so candidates can take it from the comfort and safety of their homes.
Exam Schedule
Date:Sunday, 20 December 2026
Time:9:00 am to 10:30 am
Duration:1.5 hours (90 minutes)
Mode:Online remote proctored - take the test from home
Platform:Mercer | Mettl
XSET Test Format
| Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Number of Parts | 2 |
| Part A | Research Methodology |
| Part B | Management |
| Exam Type | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) |
| Negative Marking | No |
| Mode of Examination | Online remote proctored (from home) |
| Platform | Mercer | Mettl |
XSET Syllabus
In accordance with the UGC guidelines, the XSET has two parts, A and B. XSET's Part A pertains to Research Methodology, while Part B pertains to the subject "Management". The syllabi for these parts are similar to the respective UGC-NET syllabi for Parts A and B, and are as follows:
- Research: meaning, types, characteristics; positivism, post-positivism
- Methods of research: experimental, descriptive, historical, qualitative & quantitative
- Steps of research
- Thesis and article writing: formats, styles, referencing
- Application of ICT in research
- Research ethics (including plagiarism, misconduct)
- Hypothesis, sampling, variables etc.
- Numerical ability: fractions, percentages, ratios & proportions, averages, time & work, time & distance, profit & loss, interest etc.
- Mathematical reasoning
- Series, sequences, codes, relations
- Basic algebra, number systems, basic functions etc.
- Structure of arguments, argument forms
- Deductive & inductive reasoning
- Analogies
- Venn diagrams
- Syllogism, inference
- Formal / informal fallacies
- Indian logic (pramanas etc.) as applicable
- Uses of language: connotation & denotation, etc.
- Sources and acquisition of data
- Quantitative & qualitative data
- Classification, tabulation
- Graphical representation: bar chart, histogram, pie chart, line chart, table etc.
- Interpretation, inference from data
- Data and governance, trends, averages etc.
- A reading passage will be given; questions will test your understanding, inference, interpretation, vocabulary, etc.
Part A of XSET is titled "Research Methodology" and the syllabus comprises five broad topics as follows:
Research Aptitude
Mathematical Reasoning & Aptitude
Logical Reasoning
Data Interpretation
Reading Comprehension
- Management – Concept, Process, Theories and Approaches, Management Roles and Skills
- Functions – Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Coordinating and Controlling.
- Communication – Types, Process and Barriers.
- Decision Making – Concept, Process, Techniques and Tools
- Organisation Structure and Design – Types, Authority, Responsibility, Centralisation, Decentralisation and Span of Control
- Managerial Economics – Concept & Importance
- Demand analysis – Utility Analysis, Indifference Curve, Elasticity & Forecasting
- Market Structures – Market Classification & Price Determination
- National Income – Concept, Types and Measurement
- Inflation – Concept, Types and Measurement
- Business Ethics & CSR
- Ethical Issues & Dilemma
- Corporate Governance
- Value Based Organisation
- Organisational Behaviour – Significance & Theories
- Individual Behaviour – Personality, Perception, Values, Attitude, Learning and Motivation
- Group Behaviour – Team Building, Leadership, Group Dynamics
- Interpersonal Behaviour & Transactional Analysis
- Organizational Culture & Climate
- Work Force Diversity & Cross Culture Organisational Behaviour
- Emotions and Stress Management
- Organisational Justice and Whistle Blowing
- Human Resource Management – Concept, Perspectives, Influences and Recent Trends
- Human Resource Planning, Recruitment and Selection, Induction, Training and Development
- Job Analysis, Job Evaluation and Compensation Management
- Strategic Role of Human Resource Management
- Competency Mapping & Balanced Scoreboard
- Career Planning and Development
- Performance Management and Appraisal
- Organization Development, Change & OD Interventions
- Talent Management & Skill Development
- Employee Engagement & Work Life Balance
- Industrial Relations: Disputes & Grievance Management, Labour Welfare and Social Security
- Trade Union & Collective Bargaining
- International Human Resource Management – HR Challenge of International Business
- Green HRM
- Accounting Principles and Standards, Preparation of Financial Statements
- Financial Statement Analysis – Ratio Analysis, Funds Flow and Cash Flow Analysis, DuPont Analysis
- Preparation of Cost Sheet, Marginal Costing, Cost Volume Profit Analysis
- Standard Costing & Variance Analysis
- Financial Management, Concept & Functions
- Capital Structure – Theories, Cost of Capital, Sources and Finance
- Budgeting and Budgetary Control, Types and Process, Zero base Budgeting
- Leverages – Operating, Financial and Combined Leverages, EBIT–EPS Analysis, Financial Breakeven Point & Indifference Level.
- Value & Returns – Time Preference for Money, Valuation of Bonds and Shares, Risk and Returns;
- Capital Budgeting – Nature of Investment, Evaluation, Comparison of Methods; Risk and Uncertainly Analysis
- Dividend – Theories and Determination
- Mergers and Acquisition – Corporate Restructuring, Value Creation, Merger Negotiations, Leveraged Buyouts, Takeover
- Portfolio Management – CAPM, APT Derivatives – Options, Option Payoffs, Option Pricing, Forward Contracts & Future Contracts
- Working Capital Management – Determinants, Cash, Inventory, Receivables and Payables Management, Factoring
- International Financial Management, Foreign exchange market
- Strategic Management – Concept, Process, Decision & Types
- Strategic Analysis – External Analysis, PEST, Porter's Approach to industry analysis, Internal Analysis – Resource Based Approach, Value Chain Analysis
- Strategy Formulation – SWOT Analysis, Corporate Strategy – Growth, Stability, Retrenchment, Integration and Diversification, Business Portfolio Analysis - BCG, GE Business Model, Ansoff's Product Market Growth Matrix
- Strategy Implementation – Challenges of Change, Developing Programs Mckinsey 7s Framework
- Marketing – Concept, Orientation, Trends and Tasks, Customer Value and Satisfaction
- Market Segmentation, Positioning and Targeting
- Product and Pricing Decision – Product Mix, Product Life Cycle, New Product development, Pricing – Types and Strategies
- Place and promotion decision – Marketing channels and value networks, VMS, IMC, Advertising and Sales promotion
- Consumer and Industrial Buying Behaviour: Theories and Models of Consumer Behaviour
- Brand Management – Role of Brands, Brand Equity, Equity Models, Developing a Branding Strategy; Brand Name Decisions, Brand Extensions and Loyalty
- Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Drivers, Value creation, Supply Chain Design, Designing and Managing Sales Force, Personal SellingService Marketing – Managing Service Quality and Brands, Marketing Strategies of Service Firms
- Customer Relationship Marketing – Relationship Building, Strategies, Values and Process
- Retail Marketing – Recent Trends in India, Types of Retail Outlets.
- Emerging Trends in Marketing – Concept of e-Marketing, Direct Marketing, Digital Marketing and Green Marketing
- International Marketing – Entry Mode Decisions, Planning Marketing Mix for International Markets
- Statistics for Management: Concept, Measures Of Central Tendency and Dispersion, Probability Distribution – Binominal, Poison, Normal and Exponential
- Data Collection & Questionnaire Design
- Sampling – Concept, Process and Techniques
- Hypothesis Testing – Procedure; T, Z, F, Chi-square tests
- Correlation and Regression Analysis
- Operations Management – Role and Scope
- Facility Location and Layout – Site Selection and Analysis, Layout – Design and Process
- Enterprise Resource Planning – ERP Modules, ERP implementation
- Scheduling; Loading, Sequencing and Monitoring
- Quality Management and Statistical Quality Control, Quality Circles, Total Quality Management – KAIZEN, Benchmarking, Six Sigma; ISO 9000 Series Standards
- Operation Research – Transportation, Queuing Decision Theory, PERT / CPM
- International Business – Managing Business in Globalization Era; Theories of International Trade; Balance of payment
- Foreign Direct Investment – Benefits and Costs
- Multilateral regulation of Trade and Investment under WTO
- International Trade Procedures and Documentation; EXIM Policies
- Role of International Financial Institutions – IMF and World Bank
- Information Technology – Use of Computers in Management Applications; MIS, DSS
- Artificial Intelligence and Big Data
- Data Warehousing, Data Mining and Knowledge Management – Concepts
- Managing Technological Change
- Entrepreneurship Development – Concept, Types, Theories and Process, Developing Entrepreneurial Competencies
- Intrapreneurship – Concept and Process
- Women Entrepreneurship and Rural Entrepreneurship
- Innovations in Business – Types of Innovations, Creating and Identifying Opportunities, Screening of Business Ideas
- Business Plan and Feasibility Analysis – Concept and Process of Technical, Market and Financial Analysis
- Micro and Small Scale Industries in India; Role of Government in Promoting SSI
- Sickness in Small Industries – Reasons and Rehabilitation
- Institutional Finance to Small Industries – Financial Institutions, Commercial Banks, Cooperative Banks, Micro Finance.
The subject for XSET’s Part B is “Management”. The syllabus is borrowed from UGC-NET’s syllabus for the subject titled Management with code 17. It spans 10 units and is as follows:
