According to a Thursday notification by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad (IIM-A), on its website, the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2009, which goes online this year onwards, would be held between November 28 and December 7.

While the earlier paper-based CAT was held on only one particular date, the candidates appearing this time round can take the test on any day falling between the two mentioned dates, that too, from the comfort of their homes!

The IIM-A notification further said that on August 30, the advertisements pertaining to the sale of CAT vouchers will run in all leading daily newspapers of the country. The vouchers, which can be obtained from the banks from September 9 to October 1, will help candidates register themselves for the online CAT.

Differing opinions have been expressed about the online CAT decision - while some people hail the convenience factor of the online test, there are also others who feel that the decision is not a fair one in the sense that rural-area students may face a 'technology handicap.'

Opposing the idea of online CAT a coaching institute director, Ulhas Vairegkar, said: "The decision is biased on the part of such reputed institutions as students in rural areas are not as tech-savvy as students in urban sector. They should think of such aspirants for whom technology is still a barrier."