CAT 2026: The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) conduct the Common Admission Test (CAT) every year for admission to various postgraduate and doctorate programmes at IIMs. Additionally, CAT scores are allowed to be used by listed non-IIM member institutions for admission. Last year, the CAT advertisement was published in July. As per the announcement, the organising institute opened the registration window on August 1 at 10 am.
Test Date, Time, Topics Covered,
With the test scheduled for November 30 in the previous academic cycle, the exam had the following three sections:
Section I: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
Section II: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
Section III: Quantitative Ability
The duration of the test was 120 minutes, as per the official record. Candidates planning to appear for the CAT 2026, must note that they will be allotted exactly 40 minutes for answering questions in each section and they will not be allowed to switch from one section to another while answering questions in a section.
Exam Centres, City Allotment
Candidates will be given the option to choose five preferred cities. As per official information, the exam body will try its best to ensure that a candidate gets one of their preferred options. In case of high demand in a particular region, the CAT Centre reserves the right to allot a centre close to any of the preferred options.
Once a centre is allotted to a candidate, no change is permitted. Last year, the CAT exams were conducted in approximately 170 cities.
The CAT result was declared on December 24 last year. A total of 12 candidates scored a perfect 100 percentile.