CAT 2024 Official Notification (OUT) @iimcat.ac.in: Download PDF

The top 6 Indian Institute of Management are given the responsibility to conduct the Common Admission Test exam. Each of the top Indian Institutes of Management conducts the exam rotation-wise after a gap of five years. The responsibility to conduct the CAT 2023 was given to IIM Lucknow. Professor Sanjeet Singh had been appointed as the CAT convener. For CAT 2024, IIM Calcutta will be the exam convening institute. IIM Calcutta will be responsible for preparation and conduct of the exam without glitches, in collaboration with TCS  for test labs and centres. The institute will design the question papers, exam pattern and guidelines, as well as manage the conduct of exam and preparation of admit card, answer key and result.

CAT Conducting Indian Institute of Management Over the Years:

• 2023: IIM Lucknow
• 2022: IIM Bangalore
• 2021: IIM Ahmedabad
• 2020: IIM Indore
• 2019: IIM Kozhikode
• 2018: IIM Calcutta
• 2017: IIM Lucknow
• 2016: IIM Bangalore
• 2015: IIM Ahmedabad
• 2014: IIM Indore
• 2013: IIM Indore
• 2012: IIM Kozhikode
• 2011: IIM Calcutta
• 2010: IIM Lucknow
• 2009: IIM Ahmedabad

For more information, you may visit the Shiksha Common Admission Test page. (https://www.shiksha.com/mba/cat-exam). I hope this will help you.

CAT (Common Admission Test) is a competitive exam conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (Iims) for admission to various management programs. The registration process for CAT 2024 started from August 1, 2024. The last date to fill the CAT application form 2024 is September 20, 2024. Here are the general steps to apply for CAT 2024:

• Visit the official website of CAT (iimcat. ac. in) and click on the "New Candidate Registration" link. 
• Fill out the registration form with basic details to register
• Then fill the CAT 2024 application form with your personal and academic details.
• You will also need to upload your photograph, signature, and other required documents.
• Pay the registration fee online through the available payment modes.

After successful registration, you will receive a confirmation email containing your registration details and application number.

You can download your admit card from the official website once it is released. The admit card contains important details such as exam date, time, and venue. Please note that the exact process and dates may vary slightly from year to year. It is advisable to regularly check the official CAT website for updates and notifications.

There has been no change in exam pattern and syllabus of the CAT exam from last year apart from the fee amount which has been increased from INR 2,400 to INR 2,500 for General category candidates and from INR 1,200 to INR 1250 for Reserved category candidates. 

Another key change in the latest CAT application form is reduction in the number of test city selection from six to five. The CAT 2024 applicants can only select 5 cities for test centre allotment. 

During COVID era, 

• Candidates had to mention their COVID-19 vaccination status in the CAT application form.
• Eligibility criteria for CAT was extended for FCAI degree holders. Now, they are also eligible to appear for the CAT.

The CAT application fee is INR 2,500 for General, EWS and NC-OBC candidates. For the SC/SCT/PWD candidates, the fee is INR 1,250. Applicants have to pay the fee at the time of form filling. The application form is not accepted without the payment of fees. Candidates must also keep in mind that the CAT application fee is non-refundable under any circumstances. Thus, candidates must fill their forms carefully as if they make a mistake they will have to fill the application form again and pay the fees again. There is a provision of form correction in CAT but only test centre, photo and signature can be edited in the already submitted form. In case, you, ve made a mistake in any other field, you will have to fill the form again. 

CAT score is the total marks a candidate receives out of the maximum marks, calculated by subtracting the marks of incorrect answers from the marks of correct answers. For every correct answer, +3 is given to the candidates, for every incorrect -1 is deducted from the overall score. Apart from this, a candidate's rank is calculated by normalizing the scores of all candidates and placing them on a common scale based on the difficulty and attempts of the candidates. It is important to understand the difference between CAT score and CAT percentile because IIMs and all MBA colleges in India select candidates on the basis of their CAT and other MBA related exam percentiles and not score.

The CAT percentile is referred to as the rank of a candidate against the rest of the test takers. The percentile indicates the total percentage of candidates who scored less than or equal to a particular candidate in CAT. 

Suppose,1,000 people take an exam and you bag the top rank, which means 999 candidates scored less than you. Then your CAT percentile will be 999/1000*100 = 99.9.

Candidates need the following documents while filling the CAT application form:

• A recent passport size photo (color against white background)
• Scanned signature with black pen on white paper
• Any photo ID card like PAN card, Aadhaar Card, Voter ID, Passport 
• Class 10 marksheet 
• Class 12 marksheet 
• Graduation marksheet 
• Permanent address proof 
• Work experience documents Reserved category students need to upload Category Certificate along with the CAT application form. The Certificate is available on the CAT website. Candidates can download, fill it, get it attested by competent authority and upload it as PDF with the CAT application form. 
• The PwD category students also have to fill the PwD form and Scribe affidavit along with the exam application form. This is necessary for getting scribe facility and PwD facility at the test centre. The CAT application form is same for students from all categories. Those belonging to a particular category (SC/ST/PwD) will be required to mention it in the relevant field of the CAT form.

CAT 2024 application form will be released on the official website - iimcat.ac.in. on August 1, 2024. Candidates will be able to fill the CAT form and pay the application fee online by creating a log ID. The application process for CAT 2024 exam registration window will remain open until September 13, 2024. The CAT exam date and registration schedule was announced on July 30, 2024. Given below is the brief description of how to fill the CAT application form:

Step 1. Go to iimcat. ac. in website

Step 2. Click on 'new registration' 

Step3. Enter name, date of birth, nationality, country, phone number and email ID 

Step 4. Click on submit and use OTP received to generate CAT ID

Step 5. The ID and password will be shared in email

Step 6. Use the CAT ID and password to login and fill the application form

Step 7. In the application form, fill personal details, academic details, work experience, test city preference, courses and Iims.

Step 8. Upload recent passport size photo and signature

Step 9. Pay application fee via debit/credit card, net banking or UPI wallet to complete the form submission process.

The CAT form correction window usually opens for 2-3 days. It opens a day after the last date of CAT registration. For example, if the CAT registration 2024 will end on September 13, the form correction window will open on September 14 and close on September 17, 2024.

Only registered candidates, who shall have paid the application fee will be able to access their CAT 2024 application forms to make changes. CAT form correction is a one-time activity so candidates must not miss the chance of updating their photo, signature and changing test city choices if required.

CAT exam is held in about 170 cities across India. Candidates can choose up to six cities as their preferred test location. The list of test cities for CAT is available in application form. Candidates should choose the test city carefully as the request to change the test city later may or may not be accepted due to non-availability of seats at the centres in that particular city. Given below are the cities where CAT exam is usually held.

Port Blair, Hamirpur, Mumbai, Guntur, Jammu, Nashik, Nellore, Bokaro, Satara, Vijayawada, Dhanbad, Palghar, Kakinada, Hazaribagh, Ulhasnagar, Rajahmundry, Jamshedpur, Shillong, Visakhapatnam, Ranchi, Aizawl, Kurnool, Belagavi (Belgaum), Kohima, Tirupati, Bengaluru, Balasore, Vizianagaram, Hubballi (Hubli), Cuttack, Itanagar, Mysuru (Mysore), Sambalpur, Dibrugarh, Kalaburagi (Gulbarga), Berhampur, Silchar, Shivamogga (Shimoga), Dhenkanal, Guwahati, Dharwad, Bhubaneswar, Tezpur, Mangaluru (Bangalore), Rourkela, Jorhat, Udupi, Puducherry, Aurangabad-Bihar, Kannur, Pathankot, Darbhanga, Ernakulam, Ludhiana, Arrah, Kollam, Amritsar, Muzaffarpur, Kottayam, Bhatinda, Bhagalpur, Kozhikode, Patiala, Patna, Thrissur, Jalandhar, Mohali, Trivandrum, Sangrur, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Ajmer, Bhilai Nagar, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Bilaspur, Ujjain, Sikar, Raipur, Gwalior, Alwar, Delhi, Sagar, Jodhpur, Faridabad, Indore, Udaipur, Gurugram, Satna, Bikaner, Ghaziabad, Bhopal, Kotak, New Delhi, Jabalpur, Madurai, Greater Noida, Ujjain, Chennai, Noida, Gwalior, Salem, Meerut, Sagar, Trichy, Panaji, Indore, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Satna, Vellore, Mehsana, Amravati, Tirunelveli, Vadodara, Jalgaon, Hyderabad, Anand, Nagpur, Karimnagar, Rajkot, Pune, Warangal, Gandhinagar, Solapur, Allahabad, Surat, Navi Mumbai, Bareilly, Ambala, Ahmednagar, Kanpur, Hisar, Kolhapur, Muzaffarnagar, Karnal, Nanded, Agra, Kurushetra, Raigad, Gorakhpur, Panipat, Thane, Lucknow, Rohtak, Vasai, Varanasi, Shimla, Aurangabad, Aligarh, Jhansi, Moradabad, Dehradun, Haldwani, Roorkee, Asansol, Durgapur, Bankura, Burdwan, Kolkata, Hooghly, Kalyani, Siliguri, Srinagar and Imphal.

There are over 170 cities where CAT exam is held. These 170 cities are spread across India consist of metropolitan cities, capital cities, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Candidate can select up to five cities for allotment of test centre. The process of test city selection is a part of CAT application process. In the CAT application form, there is a field in which candidates have to select the cities. They need to select the city of preference in order of 1 to 5. The examination authorities will try to allot the test centre in the city of first preference. Thus, candidates must fill all the five cities carefully. They must choose their home city of city of current residence as the first preference. The test city option can only be changed during the form correction window. After that, the request for change of the city will not be accepted by the exam authorities.

Candidates will know their allotted CAT exam centre only from the admit card. There is no way to know the test centre before the release of the CAT admit card. The examination authority allots a test centre to aspirants in the city of their first preference as mentioned in the city. So, candidates can atleast be assured that they will get a test centre in the city they had chosen as first preference in the CAT application form. However, the venue will be mentioned only on the candidate’s admit card. So as soon as the CAT admit card is released, candidates must check the test city and test centre details. In order to avoid any confusion, they must visit the centre at least once before the exam day.

IIM selection criteria for all the 21 campuses is same and includes selection of candidates through three stages. CAT score Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion GD and Personal Interview (PI) Academic record, work experience Academic and gender diversity CAT exam score is the first parameter on which candidates are shortlisted for admission. In the first state of IIM admission, the institutes shortlist candidates for WAT, GD and PI on the basis of their CAT score and class 10, 12 and graduation marks. The cut offs for shortlisting of candidates is between 95-100 percentile (for SC/ST/PwD candidates the cut offs are lower). These shortlisted candidates have to then appear for What, GD and PI round. Those who clear this round are considered for final admission. For the final selection, every IIMs takes into consideration the following aspects: CAT score What, GD and PI performance Class 10 and 12 marks Graduation marks Work experience Academic diversity Gender diversity.

CAT is the common entrance test for a range of post management courses offered by the Indian Institute of Management. The CAT score is accepted for admission to PGP, MBA, Executive MBA, Ph.D. and FPM courses.

Here is the list of courses offered by every IIM.

• IIM Ahmedabad: PGP, PGP-FABM, ePGD-ABA (post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Business Analytics), PhD
• IIM Amritsar: MBA, MBA-Business Analytics, MBA-HRM, EMBA, PhD
• IIM Bangalore: PGP, PGPEM, PGPBA, PhD
• IIM Bodh Gaya: PGP, Ph.D. (FPM)
• IIM Calcutta: MBA, PhD
• IIM Indore: PGP, PGP-HRM, MSDSM (Master of Science in Data Science and Management), FPM
• IIM Jammu: MBA, MBA (Hospital Administration & Healthcare Management, Executive MBA (Blended Mode), Ph.D. (Full-Time Mode), Ph.D. (Part-Time Mode)
• IIM Kashipur: MBA, MBA (Analytics), EMBA, EMBAA (Executive Master of Business Administration Analytics), PhD
• IIM Kozhikode: PGP, PGP-BL, PGP-F, PGP-LSM, EPGP Kochi, PhD
• IIM Lucknow: PGP, PGP-ABM, PGP-some, PGPWE, PhD
• IIM Nagpur: MBA, MBA (Executive), Ph.D. (Executive)
• IIM Raipur: PGP, FPM/PhD, EFPM
• IIM Ranchi: PGP, PGP-HRM, PGP (Business Analytics), Ph.D. EPhD
• IIM Rohtak: PGP, EPGDSM, PhD
• IIM Sambalpur: MBA, Executive MBA, Ph.D. Executive PhD
• IIM Shillong: PGP, PGPEX, MBA (WE), Ph.D. PhDWP
• IIM Sirmaur: MBA, MBA (T&HM), ExMBA (Digital Transformation & Analytics), PhD
• IIM Tiruchirappalli: PGPM & PGPM-HR, DPM, E-DPM
• IIM Udaipur: MBA, MBA-DEM, MBA-GSCM, PGDBAWE, PhD
• IIM Visakhapatnam: PGP, PGPEx, PGPDGM, Ph.D.

The CAT application fee is INR 2,500 for General, EWS and NC-OBC candidates. For the SC/SCT/PWD candidates, the fee is INR 1,250. Applicants have to pay the fee at the time of form filling. The application form is not accepted without the payment of fees. Candidates must also keep in mind that the CAT application fee is non-refundable under any circumstances. Thus, candidates must fill their forms carefully as if they make a mistake they will have to fill the application form again and pay the fees again. There is a provision of form correction in CAT but only test centre, photo and signature can be edited in the already submitted form. In case, you, ve made a mistake in any other field, you will have to fill the form again. 

CAT registration cum application form link is activated at iimcat.ac.in.in website. The CAT 2024 registration link was made live on August 1, 2024.. Candidates will have to open this url: iimcat.ac.in to register for CAT 2024 and fill the application form before the registration deadline (September 13, 2024). The CAT application process includes uploading of relevant documents and payment of fees, without which the application will not be submitted. There will be six sections in CAT application form which candidates will be required to fill. They are - personal details, academic details, work experience, programmes, test city and fee payment. 

In Personal Details section, the candidates will have to enter details such as name, date of birth, father's name, category, gender, nationality, communication address, email ID, mobile phone number, etc.

In Academic Details section of the form, candidates have to enter class 10 and 12 exam scores, Bachelor's degree details and marksheet and details of other professional courses (if any).

In Work Experience section, candidates have to fill relevant work-experience if any, they need to fill in details such as name of the company, duration, etc.

In the programmes section, applicants have to select IIMs and MBA programmes of their choice. In the test city section candidates have to select test city for allotment of exam centre. Candidates can select up to six cities from the given list.

In the payment section, candidates have to pay the registration fee via Credit/Debit Card, Internet Banking or Paytm/PayU mobile wallets.

CAT is a computer based test which is conducted in three shifts. The CAT is conducted for two hours in which candidates have to solve 68 questions.

These 68 questions are divided into three sections Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension VARC Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning DILR and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). The VARC section has 24 questions, the DILR section has 28 questions and QA section has 22 question. Each question carries 3 marks for correct entry and -1 for incorrect entry. There is no negative marking for unanswered question. A unique aspect of CAT is the sectional time limit. Each section has a time limit of 40 minutes (53.20 minutes for PwD candidates).

Candidates have to complete the section within the time limit as the moment the onscreen timer shows 0 minutes left, the screen will automatically move to the next section. There is no option to go back to older questions. Also, candidates have to follow the question paper chronology. They have to first solve the VARC section, then the DILR section and then the QA section.