Common Admission Test
The Common Admission Test is a computer based test for admission in graduate management programs. The test consists of three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability. The exam was taken online over a period of three hours, with one hour per section. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 precautions, Indian Institute of Management Indore decided to conduct the CAT Exam in 2 hours with 40 minutes devoted to each section. The Indian Institutes of Management started this exam and use the test for selecting students for their business administration programs. The test is conducted every year by one of the Indian Institutes of Managements based on a policy of rotation.
In August 2011, it was announced that Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institute of Science would also use the CAT scores, instead of the Joint Management Entrance Test, to select students for their management programmes starting with the 2012-15 batch.
Before 2010, CAT was a paper based test conducted on a single day for all candidates. The pattern, number of questions and duration have seen considerable variations over the years.
On 1 May 2009, it was announced that CAT would be a Computer Based Test starting from 2009. The American firm Prometric was entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the test from 2009 to 2013. The first computer based CAT was marred with technical snags. The issue was so serious that it prompted the Government of India to seek a report from the convenor. The trouble was diagnosed as 'Conficker' and 'W32 Nimda', the two viruses that attacked the system display of the test, causing server slow down. Since 2014 onward, CAT has been conducted by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). CAT 2015 and CAT 2016 were 180-minute tests consisting of 100 questions (34 from Quantitative Ability, 34 from Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, and 32 from Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. CAT 2020 onwards, the exam duration has been reduced to two hours, with 40 minutes allotted per section.
Eligibility for CAT
The candidate must satisfy the below specified criteria:- Hold a bachelor's degree, with not less than 50% or equal CGPA /Differently Able
- The degree should be granted by any of the universities consolidated by an act of the central or state statutory body in India or other instructive organizations built up by an act of Parliament or pronounced to be considered as a university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India.
- Competitors appearing for the final year of bachelor's degree/equivalent qualification examination and the individuals who have finished degree prerequisites and are anticipating results can likewise apply. If selected, such applicants will be permitted to join the program temporarily, only if they present a certificate most recent by June of next year in which the exam is held, from the principal/registrar of their college/institute expressing that the competitor has finished every one of the prerequisites for acquiring four-year or three-year college education/identical capability on the date of the issue of the certificate.
Exam pattern
The Common Admission Test uses different versions of the exam each year, so it reports two types of scores: a raw score and a scaled score.The raw score is calculated for each section based on the number of questions one answered correctly, incorrectly, or left attempted. Candidates are given +3 points for each correct answer and -1 point for each incorrect answer, no negative marking for TITA questions.
Since different versions of the test may vary slightly in difficulty, the raw scores are adjusted using a method called equating. After that, the scores are scaled to ensure fairness, so that scores from different exam slots can be compared accurately.
The number of questions in CAT can change from year to year. Recently, the paper has had 68 questions divided into three sections:Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension – 24 questionsData Interpretation and Logical Reasoning – 22 questionsQuantitative Ability – 22 questions
CAT is held in three sessions in a single day: Morning, Afternoon, and Evening. Candidate can give exam in only on of the session.
CAT Pattern and Duration
The CAT 2024 exam will be conducted in three sessions, each of 40 minutes, for a total exam duration of 120 minutes. The CAT exam pattern includes both Multiple Choice Question and non-MCQ or TITA questions. The test comprises the following three sections:- Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension
- * 24 questions in total: 8 Verbal Ability questions and 4 Reading Comprehension passages, each containing 4 questions.
- Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
- * 22 questions are asked across 5 sets, 2 sets having 5 questions each and 3 sets having 4 questions each.
- Quantitative Ability
- * 22 questions covering topics such as Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Number System, and Modern Math.
Candidates can not switch between sections while answering; the order of sections is fixed as: VARC → DILR → QA.
Controversy
In 2003, CAT got leaked leading to re examinationIn CAT 2024, a question of slot 2 in VARC was challenged by students and educators but IIM C did not accept any changes. One candidate took the matter to the court still the challenge was not accepted.
In CAT 2025, IIM K released provisional answer keys without releasing provisional answers for QA questions.
CAT registrations in numbers over the years
The number of registrations in the past years are shown in the following chart:| Year | No. of candidates Registered | No. of candidates Appeared |
| 2005 | 170,000 | 155,000 |
| 2006 | 191,000 | 180,000 |
| 2007 | 250,000 | 230,000 |
| 2008 | 290,000 | 276,000 |
| 2009 | 241,000 | 230,000 |
| 2010 | 204,000 | 185,000 |
| 2011 | 205,000 | 186,000 |
| 2012 | 214,000 | 195,000 |
| 2013 | 194,516 | 173,714 |
| 2014 | 196,988 | 170,000 |
| 2015 | 218,664 | 179,602 |
| 2016 | 232,434 | 195,679 |
| 2017 | 231,067 | 199,632 |
| 2018 | 240,338 | 209,405 |
| 2019 | 244,169 | 209,926 |
| 2020 | 227,835 | 190,144 |
| 2021 | 229,969 | 191,660 |
| 2022 | 255,501 | 222,184 |
| 2023 | 328,000 | 288,000 |
| 2024 | 329,000 | 293,000 |
| 2025 | 295,000 | 258,000 |
''Note: Data of candidates registered till 2012 are approximate.''