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CAT (2021)

Important Dates


About Exam


The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a computer based test for admission in graduate management programs. The test consists of three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA). The exam is taken online over a period of three hours, with one hour per section. In 2020, due to the COVID precautions, IIM Indore decided to conducted the CAT Exam in 2 hours with 40 minutes devoted to each section.The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) started this exam and use the test for selecting students for their business administration programs (MBA or PGDM). The test is conducted every year by one of the IIMs based on a policy of rotation.

Exam Eligibility


  • The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s Degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [45% in the case of candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PwD) categories], awarded by any University or educational institution as incorporated by an Act of Parliament or State legislature in India or declared to be deemed as an University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India.
  • Candidates appearing for the final year of Bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply. However, it may be noted that such candidates, if selected, will be allowed to join the programme provisionally, only if they submit a certificate from the Principal/Registrar of their University/Institution (issued on or before the date as stipulated by the respective IIM) stating that they have completed all the requirements for obtaining the Bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification on the date of issue of the certificate.
  • Candidates applying for CAT 2021 should fulfill any one of the following conditions:
    • Completed Bachelor’s degree with the required percentage of marks*.
    • Completed professional degree (CA/CS/ICWA/Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI)) with required percentage*.
    • Should be in the final year of Bachelor’s degree with required percentage*.
      *SC/ST/PwD candidates should have a minimum 45%. For General, EWS and NC-OBC
      candidates, the minimum is 50%.
  • The percentage of marks obtained by the candidate would be calculated based on the practice as followed by the respective University/Institution. In case of grades/CGPA, the conversion to percentage of marks would be based on the procedure as certified by the respective University/Institution. If any University/Institution confirms that there is no scheme for converting CGPA into equivalent marks, the equivalence would be established by dividing the candidate’s CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA, and multiplying the result with 100.
  • IIMs may verify eligibility at various stages of the selection process, the details of which are provided at the website www.iimcat.ac.in. Applicants should note that the mere fulfilment of the minimum eligibility criteria will not ensure consideration for shortlisting by IIMs. Candidates must declare and maintain a valid and unique email account and a mobile phone number throughout the selection process