MCA is generally a three years course. If you have done BCA or some other similar course you can get admissions directly in 2nd year of MCA. This is known as lateral entry. If you have degree of art or science then the course duration will be 3 years. The MCA 3 years course is designes in such a manner that a non-cs student can be imparted skills with good computer programming skills. The lateral entry is for the students who have done BCA. But AICTE has decided to reduce the course tenure from 3 years to 2 years due to less number of applicants. Even the lateral entry scheme can also be scrapped due to reduction in applicants in last few years. But the official notice regarding this is yet to come. AICTE is expecting to implement this from the upcoming session I.e. 2020-21.