Preparing for Group Discussion? Use This Checklist for GD Topics

Here's a lowdown of GD topics given to CAT qualifiers by various top MBA institutes over the past years.

Group Discussioon is a crucial part of the selection procedure of most of the other premier management institutes in India. Though several IIMs did away with the Group Discussion or GD round including top IIMs - IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow and IIM Kozhikode. GD is replaced with now-popular Writing Ability Test (WAT). While newer IIMs still conduct GD round as part of their admission process. In this article, we have shared a list of GD topics given to CAT qualifiers by various top MBA institutes over the past years.

Group exercises in MICA are generally fun and creative while institutes like FMS and IIM Lucknow offer very generic topics for group discussion. Case studies of IIM Shillong, Amity Business School, NMIMS and VGSOM, IIT Kharagpur are almost always strategy-based, while SJMSOM, IIT Bombay have been coming up with HR-related case studies for GD. XLRI offers GD topics that force students to think about broader perspectives of reforms and legislations.

Also read another article mentioning useful list of GD topics for MBA

GD Topics

• Legalising doping in sports in modern times.
• Should essential services like electricity and water be privatised?
• In India, should minorities be given the first right to resources?
• Breaking larger state into smaller states is politically correct.
• More IITs and IIMs will dilute quality of education.
• The only way to reduce crime is to increase the severity of punishments.
• Women's Reservation bill will enhance the gender divide.
• Beauty pageants objectify women.
• If life is a competition, success is the final quest, then victory is all that matters.
• The Government is right in denying provision of surplus food grains for free to people below poverty line.
• Religion is the only way to attain Spirituality.
• The major reason behind the success of Capitalism is not greed-based but success-based.
• Positive discrimination is the price we are paying in the present for the past.
• Taboos and Traditions are nothing but a cultural baggage.
• Introducing sex education in primary classrooms is jumping the gun.
• Tradition is just another means of inconsistency and inequality.
• All government institutions should be under the purview of RTI.
• Commom man has to bear burden of corruption because he isn't as honest as he should be.
• War is the only way to preserve peace.
• Regional languages in India are fading out in today's world.
• A poor country like India should stop it's space programmes and use the funds for upliftment of the poor.
• Importance of Women in Mens' Life
• Insanity is doing same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
• Advertising is legalised lying.
• The man who isn't willing to die for what he believes, doesn't deserve to live.
• All exact sciences are dominated by approximations.
• Keep your feet on the ground but aim for lofty heights.
• Government view of Indian economy: "If it moves tax it, if it keeps on moving regulate it, if it stops moving subsidize it".
• Art is the proper task of life.
• Life is a struggle.
• Lifelong employment is a thing of the past.
• Truth cannot be hidden for long and time waits for no one.
• India is progressing at the expense of poor.
• Policing in India is incompetent.
• What we see is what we get, what we don't see gets us.
• Today, the world is losing ethics and values.
• In marketing, the game is to catch eyeballs.
• Indian TV shows do not reflect Indian values.
• Business successful globally, dies nationally.
• Tabs will soon replace libraries.
• Media sensationalises news.
• Pollution and development are two sides of the same coin.
• It is tougher to stay at the top than to reach the top.
• CSR is a sham.
• It is a good policy to not hit a man when he is down and out.
• The irony of Facebook is that face-to-face conversation is getting lesser.
• Case study on FDI in Retail. Pros and Cons given. Analyse.
• National Games: Costly affair for a poor country
• What can Indians learn from the Egyptian revolution?
• Capitalism in Sports: Good or Bad
• Indian Education Bill - step in the right direction
• Impact of social networking sites
• Medical reforms in India- Why and How?
• Will newspapers be able to cope up with mobile technology?
• Govt regulation on telecom sector –unjustified milestone
• Government jobs provide no job satisfaction.
• Intellectual Property is absurd and should be abolished.
• High population is good or bad.
• Will Walmart coming to India spell doom for the retail sector?
• Democracy is a luxury in India.
• In democracy, is the foreign partnership in print media necessary?
• Good managers are not always engineers.
• Gandhi and his principles are not practical in the modern world.
• Access to Education should be a Fundamental Right.
• Trade unions will continue to play an important role in democratic India.
• Beauty and love are not related to each other.
• Indian MNCs are a threat to western MNCs.
• In a democracy, foreign media participation should be allowed.
• Globalization is not the answer to world's problems.
• Uneducated and unskilled population is a liability to the nation.
• Whether foreign publications should be allowed in the media space for a democracy like India?
• Privatisation of higher education will lead to the commercialisation.
• Justice is a rarity in corrupt India.
• Have foreign TV channels demystified the Indian culture?
• Medical research using animals should be banned.
• Subsidies are not useful to economy if they compromise on macro-economic fundamentals of India.

Download: GDPI Prep Guide 2020-21

Download: Current Affairs Guide 2020-21

Discussions Based on Case Studies

• A girl goes to a live in a community to learn about how they lead their lives. As a sign of integration in the community, she has to accept stolen goods. To be one among them she is forced to make an ethical decision.
• A contract being awarded to a person who's in the state government and wants to bid for it through his private company. Whether we should award him the contract or not?
• About an Indian lady who conducted an ethnographic study in Malaysia with a rural community there and decided not to publish the names of the village or the people involved in the internal feuds there owing to inter-country conventions. When she visits the village again with the book, they not only realise the book is about their community but also get irritated with her for not publishing their names correctly and criticise her. What should she do?
• XYZ company is a pro in genetic engineering and files a patent on GE modified tomato and applies to National food and drug association (NFDA). This product’s pros and cons were given in the narration like good for vitamins, nutrients etc but some activists protest that the testing on animals should not be done and it may have long time consequences. The question is – Being a member of NFDA would you label it or not.
• About the decision of government to continue funding in conservation of bio-fuels.
• Should the genetically modified food be used to meet the future food demand though it may lead to side effects like health concerns?
• A young port engineer is proud to be the executer of a multi-million dollar repair of one of the ships of his shipping company. But then he finds that the contracted firm has overcharged his company by 1/3rd of the original amount, which he then brings to his boss’s notice. Though the officials then set up a meeting, they agree to split the amount and seem to him to be very cavalier about the entire deal. He then realises that though the company respects his integrity, they will not do anything about this (i.e. they are corrupt themselves).  If he does not sign the passing order, he may lose his job, and there were not many companies offering the kind of role he wanted. Also, he has an ailing mother. What can he do now?
• About the professional dilemma of an audit firm employee, who is acting as a whistle-blower, but his superiors are trying to curb him.
• About a plastic goods manufacturing company that wanted to go for new technology in order to reduce toxic effluents but had a stringent budget. Also, if not opted for it, government might impose it forcefully after sometime on the basis of public outcry. The current level of toxins released by the company were within legal limits but a report published recently showed that the legal levels set for the toxins were lagging and the regulation to reduce the level of toxins could come any soon. Further, the company was not generating very high profits due to already going expansion plans. The introduction of new technology could create a problem of over-budget to the company.
• Should capital punishment be abolished or not?
• Some info was given about BRICS nations doing really well, how OPEC determines the oil prices, and how India are China are large importers of oil etc. Students had to design the oil policy of India?
• There is a city where to stop bikers from NOT wearing helmet, instead of fining them, a new innovative way is used : of garlanding them. As a DGP, discuss whether similar technique would work for other such social crimes.
• IRCTC has made it mandatory for older people (above 70) travelling on tour packages to have one young companion with them and for 60-70 age group to carry a medical fitness certificate with them. What do you think about it?
• Dhoni has made a press release that he wants to retire from the Test cricket arena so that he can continue till the 2015 WC. As a selector what is your reaction?
• Should the content of social sites be pre-scrutinised or checked afterwards?
• Sports ministry wants to make a policy that allows athletes of other countries to represent our country so that India can win more medals. What are your suggestions to the ministry?
• UP's former CM Mayawati erecter her statues. Election Commission (EC) wants to stop the practice and remove the statues. An MLA is quoted saying that removing her status is not the right solution to the problem. You are the head of EC, what would you do?
• Should Indian pitches be made spinner friendly or not?
• Should Voting be made mandatory?
•  A consultant has opportunity to sell survey data to rival and get a good job with 50% hike. Catch is even his parent firm was not ethical in its practices.
• An ad agency, known for originality of work, gets a deadline for a huge contract. Design team finds the deadline too short. A team member suggests picking up the idea of another ad firm in a foreign country. Should they steal the idea and meet the deadline or be original and risk losing the contract?
• Tribals at Andaman are facing problems. Should authorities protect tribals and risk losing revenues?
• Student Council starts a stationery store within campus to benefit students. They purchase at wholesale prices and sell at rates cheaper than outside market. They gain handsome 10% profit margin. They plan to take up loan and expand services to nearby area too. However, few days later they face opposition from a group of students, claiming that the council have greater interests and are corrupt. What should the student council do?
• A commerce grad opened his business of manufacturing some metal products. He has 2 main clients. He finds out that he hasn't priced his products well and is just earning good enough to cover his costs. Suddenly he's asked to repay 2 lakhs of loan taken by him. Since there are no profits, there is no money to repay. What should he do?
• I am the manager of a company. One of the companies who I have got a contract with is at a loss. I have to pay a loan to someone too. I won’t get a contract with a company till 8 months. My family financial assistance is so-so. What to do?
• The drugs intended for the earthquake relief camp of the protagonist is forcefully taken by son of a local politician for his camp. The drugs are lifesaving and required urgently. What should we do?
• A cloth merchant’s company is going through a transitory phase and the management is falling apart. Analyse and give a solution to the problem.
• A new comer in a company struggles to mingle with oldies who are not serious about their job/ day-to-day work. Conflict between the two was given.
• Employees at a company were working for more than 10 hrs a day and it was affecting their domestic lives. Discuss whether it’s necessary to work like that and whether such employees were suitable for corporate world?
• An FMCG firm spends a good amount in giving training to its employees for skill enhancement. An Engg+MBA with 6 years of work-experience and the training certification applies to another MNC, gets a lucrative job offer and is deciding to quit as there aren't enough growth opportunities in this organisation. His manager is in a fix as he is working on some project for 10 months and if he leaves then he would have to find a replacement and the company’s money invested on his training would also go waste. Discuss on what should be the policy guidelines for such employees? What should the manager do and what should be the rules for such development programmes?
• About Oswal Textiles, which was once a brand name but is now losing its market share because old employees are at the verge of retirement and there is much dispute among younger generation of employees.
• An HR case study in which a person is recruited by an electrical company at high salary. He works hard and enthusiastically but slowly gets loaded with more and more work. So, after a year when it gets unbearable to manage social and personal life, he quits. GM tries but fails to stop him. GM then appoints a committee to look into the issue. But then suddenly GM dissolves it. Discuss: What made GM dissolve the committee before it started working? What are the flaws in recruiting policy of HR, and what made the guy quit?
• About customer dissatisfaction about a retail store, less than expected profit, etc. What should the manager do?
• About the productivity and how it affects the nation as a whole and the different companies.
• A case study on a firm which deals with aspirin based products in an analgesic market.
• About two managers Ben and Phil. Ben believes that workers are priority. He believes in keeping his workers happy and provides every facility he can and never interferes in the work of supervisors. Though he was not able to provide the results and plant was in loss under his management, there was no union under his management period. Then some company took over the plant and then replaced Ben with Phil. Phil thinks opposite to Ben. He believes that he should take strict measures and workers should not be given much importance. He used measures of firing workers if they didn't work properly. He did cost cutting and many other things. During his time, company did make profit and even cost of production was less. But all this led to anger in workers. Many supervisors left, and he was facing difficulty in recruiting new employees and there were talks about creation of union. Finally, there were 2 questions: Who is an ideal manager? And What should be done in this situation?
• About Kelloggs Company whose CEO decided to expand it and the challenges faced by it.
• Analysis of the successful business operations of McDonald's in US and the strategies adopted by it to target the customers in other countries such as Japan , Germany et al.
• A guy was working for a company for 5 years. He wanted a promotion and enrolled for a six-month course offered by his company where a good performance would get him a promotion. He was a good student in school. So, he isolated himself for the first month of course and he kept studying. On his first assessment exam, he got a grade of B. Other grades were A+,A, B+,B(nothing was mentioned that A+ is highest or B is lowest). The guy got depressed after his performance. His morale went down. He started bunking the classes for the course he joined. Discuss: What could be the possible reason for his performance? What kind of expectation he had from his current job? What should the course coordinator do in order to boost the guy's morale?
• A company has 3 products in juices category. One of the products is making losses while the same type of product is making profit for a rival company. Advice the company about the same.
• Mr X has been to several foreign countries and now wants to open a Health Resort and Gymnasium in our country. He aims to first open it for working employees & professionals and then, open it for college students and housewives. As lot of investment is involved, he needs advice on finance as well as market research area.
• Mr A started an HR Company and preferred an informal working environment. Everyone was contributing happily. Later, a new head of HR was appointed and as soon as he joined, he sacked some of the employees for not working properly. All employees became scared of the new guy and company started becoming formal and employees were not contributing like before. What should be done now?
• A case study about a CEO who had to lay off employees despite promising them verbally that it won't happen. What can he do to gain the trust of the people and what could he have done better?
• 2 convicts had to be jailed but attorney couldn't do it due to lack of evidence. Decide individually for the first 5 minutes, then discuss for 15 mins and come to a consensus.
• The MD of Finance of a very reputed company charged with insider trading banned by the SEBI. But such jobs give you inside information. Should limited insider trading be allowed?
• You are a tourism company and need to select some new packages with a new approach. 6 packages are given for you to rank as per your preferences. Discuss about packages and come to a common group ranking.
• Chinese authoritarian rule v/s the democratic structure of India
• 5 company workers are angry as their salary is less than that of employees hired later. They want HR to resolve the matter in a day. But HR neglects the scenario for two days. Then Operations manager intervenes and solves the matter. Workers start working more and have to sometimes work even at weekends. Then after some time they start realising that hopes of better remuneration are not realistic. So frustrated with the unknown workload they have plans to quit. What should be done now?

Group Exercise (GE) Tasks

• Re-enact a scene from a classic movie and relate it to a current scenario. (Material given: magazine, a bunch of chart papers, sketch pens etc.)
• Design a social networking platform for the year 2025. Discuss 5 major features it will have. Come up with an innovative name and design for its wall.
• Prepare a humorous Save Fuel ad campaign in 25 min and enact it in 5 min. (Props: hammer, umbrella, charkha, teddy bear, some artificial flowers, sketch pens etc.)
• Create an ad against cruelty towards animals. (Props: hammer, umbrella, charkha, teddy bear, some artificial flowers, sketch pens etc.)
• Create a TV commercial for a men's luxury watch brand.
• Come up with "communication tools" for the age-group of 2 to 5 year olds to reduce the consumption of chocolates and candies.
• Design an innovative selection method for radio jockeys
• Select a member from your group to stand for the elections in Bihar legislative assembly, and create a pictorial speech for the deaf people. Half the team members are from the same faction as the leader, and half are from the opposing faction
• Create and enact an ad campaign for early detection of cancer (in a humorous way).
• Enact a TV commercial for promoting primary education using a horror theme.
• Make a model/chart to show what Mahatma Gandhi would have given in his message to the world in the year of 1977, 1987, 2000, 2008, and 2020.
• Design a chain of corporate washrooms for executives using chart papers, scissors, glue, magazines.
• What message Swami Vivekanand would have conveyed if the world was ending in the years 1977, 1987, 2000, 2008, 2020.
• Draw a city layout to show strategic positioning of your aids awareness campaigns. (Candidates were given chart paper, pens, and a glue stick.)
• Create a model of a living room of a house. Identify and place various media and communication gadgets in the room to optimise their utility.
• Construct a tall tower using 50 plastic cups, pins, sketch pens, piece of cloth ~ 50x50cm, and paper clips
• Prepare an action plan for an emergency situation involving fire in a mall.
• Make a model of a garden for the youth targeting health, harmony, greenery and value systems using chart paper, sketch pens, tape, plants (small), and grass.

Also Read:

• Dos & Don’ts of Group Discussion
• COVID-19: Tips to Appear for Virtual GD/PI 
• Personal Interviews: 5 Situations That May Stump You
• How to Handle Surprise Topics in GDs
• Top 32 Personal Interview qQuestions for MBA Admission

GD/PI Experience Shared by IIM Students 

Read GD/PI experience of students who converted IIM interview calls, pursuing MBA or have passed out from various IIMs.

Student Name	IIM	Interview
Somansh Chordia	IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta	Read Full Interview
Kislay Jha	IIM Ahmedabad	Read Full Interview
Ahsaas Sharma	IIM Ahmedabad	Read Full Interview
Devesh Bansal	IIM Kozhikode	Read Full Interview
Isha Nisar	IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore	Read Full Interview
Akshay Mehendiratta	IIM Ahmedabad	Read Full Interview
Anchal Taatya	IIM Ahmedabad	Read Full Interview
Ananya Mishra	IIM Ahmedabad	Read Full Interview
Pratham Mani	IIM Ahmedabad	Read Full Interview
Omkar Mukherjee	IIM Calcutta	Read Full Interview
Vaibhav Jatin Shah	IIM Shillong	Read Full Interview
Parth Agarwal	IIM Kozhikode	Read Full Interview
Anshul Aggarwal	IIM Kozhikode	Read Full Interview
Ankur Parmar	IIM Kozhikode	Read Full Interview
Priyanjit Biswas	IIM Ahmedabad	Read Full Interview
Ruchika Bhartiya	IIM Bangalore	Read Full Interview
Parth Agarwal	IIM Bangalore	Read Full Interview
Ankit Anand	IIM Bangalore	Read Full Interview
Pratham Mani	IIM Calcutta	Read Full Interview
Aditi Agarwal	IIM Ahmedabad	Read Full Interview
Gursimran Ahuja	IIM Ahmedabad	Read Full Interview
Biswanath Chakraborty	IIM Indore	Read Full Interview
Nishant Shah	IIM Ahmedabad	Read Full Interview
Biswanath Chakraborty	IIM Bangalore	Read Full Interview
Achintya Bhattacharya	IIM Bangalore	Read Full Interview
Biswanath Chakraborty	IIM Lucknow	Read Full Interview
Shubham Varshney	IIM Ahmedabad	Read Full Interview
Shubham Ranka	IIM Calcutta	Read Full Interview
Dhiraj Bedi	IIM Calcutta	Read Full Interview
Wasim Khan Pathan	IIM Calcutta	Read Full Interview