Tracing back to the year 1959 the Indian Government had decided to establish two management institutes upon the recommendation of Professor George Robbins of UCLA having the objective of producing suitable managers for the growing public sector enterprises. The first management institute was established on 13th November 1961 at Calcutta which came to be known as the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta abbreviated as IIM Calcutta. The collaborating organizations for the Institute were MIT Solan School of Management, The Ford Foundation, and The Indian Industry. The second management Institute was established on 11th December 1961 at Ahmedabad which came to be known as the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad abbreviated as IIM Ahmedabad and the collaborating organization was Harvard Business School. Witnessing the success of the two institutes, the establishment of another institute was recommended by the Ravi j. Mathai Committee in the year 1972. Thereby the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore abbreviated as IIM Bangalore was established in the year 1972. The Institutes were performing quite well and had reached their optimum capacity to produce graduates every year. To tackle the situation the IIM Review Committee of 1981 suggested the setting up of two more Institutes. Accordingly, the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow or IIM Lucknow was established in the year 1984. Similarly, other Institutes were established in Kozhikode, Indore, Shillong, etc. and now there are about 20 Indian Institutes of Management.
Prior to the establishment of the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, the
other three management institutes conducted their own entrance examination
for admission to their PG program. In 1983 a common entrance test for
admission to all the institutes was proposed. This marked the beginning of the
Common Admission Test or commonly known as CAT. Over the years there have
been multiple variations introduced in the exam pattern, mode of conduct, and
duration of the CAT exam. Today CAT is one of the most competitive exams in
India with over one lakh students appearing every year.
Initially, CAT was conducted on pen and paper, however, in the year 2009, it
became a Computer Based Test or CBT. The software for the first computer-based
the test was designed by the American Firm ‘Prometric’ and the exam was held in November 2009. Due to technical faults in the software a retest was taken in
January 2010. The exam was conducted by IIM Ahmedabad. The contract with
Prometric was from 2009-2013 and from 2014 onwards The Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS) has been providing the software for the exam. The CAT exam is
conducted every year by one Institute on rotation.
The eligibility for appearing in the exam has not significantly changed over the
years. Only those candidates are eligible to appear who:
- Have completed graduation from a recognized University having consolidation from the University Grants Commission;
- Have score more or equal to 50% CGPA (45% for SC/ST/PWD);
- Are in their final year of graduation and are expecting their bachelor certificate. They are required to present a certificate issued by the Registrar/Principal of their college expressing that the candidate has finished the duration of their course if they are selected for the program.
From 2009-2013 CAT was held over 20 days of the window in 40 slots. In 2014 the
window was reduced to 2 days with 4 slots. From 2015-2019 it was reduced to 1
a day with 2 slots. The 2020 exam will be held on 1 day with 3 slots.
The total number of registrations for the exam has witnessed a significant increase
over the years. Given below is the number of registrations from 2007-2020:
YEAR NO. OF REGISTRATIONS
2007 2,50,000
2008 2,90,000
2009 2,41,000
2010 2,04,000
2011 2,05,000
2012 2,14,000
2013 1,94,516
2014 1,96,988
2015 2,18,664
2016 2,32,434
2017 2,31,000
2018 2,40,338
2019 2,44,169
2020 2,30,000
The marking scheme has also not changed for the exam. 3 points are awarded for a
correct answer and 1 point is deducted for a wrong answer. However there have
been changes in the duration, number of questions, and sections. Every year some
amount of change has been introduced in the paper.
In the year 1999, the paper consisted of 165 questions to be completed within 120
minutes. The paper is divided into 3 parts: Verbal Ability and Reading
Comprehension, Problem Solving, and Data Interpretation and Verbal Reasoning.
25 questions were from Verbal Ability and 30 questions were from Reading
Comprehension, 55 questions were from problem-solving, 31 questions were
In 2000 also the paper consisted of 165 questions to be completed within 120
minutes. 15 questions were from Verbal Ability and 40 questions were from
Reading Comprehension, 55 questions were from problem-solving, 31 questions
were from data interpretation and 24 questions were from verbal reasoning.
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2001
The paper consisted of 150 questions and the time limit was 120 minutes. 20
questions were from Verbal Ability and 30 questions were from Reading
Comprehension, 50 questions were from problem-solving, 31 questions were
from data interpretation and 19 questions were from verbal reasoning.
2002
The paper consisted of 150 questions and the time limit was 120 minutes. 25
questions were from Verbal Ability and 25 questions were from Reading
Comprehension, 50 questions were from problem-solving, 40 questions were
from data interpretation and 10 questions were from verbal reasoning.
2003
The paper consisted of 150 questions and the time limit was 120 minutes. 25
questions were from Verbal Ability and 25 questions were from Reading
Comprehension, 50 questions were from problem-solving, 30 questions were
from data interpretation and 20 questions were from verbal reasoning. The
format of re-exam was introduced this year.
2004
The paper consisted of 123 questions, the total marks being 150 and the time
allotted was 120 minutes. Each section had one mark as well as 2 marks
questions. Section 1 consisted of 20 questions of one mark from data
interpretation, 6 questions of 1 mark from data sufficiency, 12 questions of 2
marks from logical reasoning. Section 2 consisted of 20 questions of 1 mark and
15 questions of two marks relating to math problems. Section 3 consisted of 10
questions of 0.5 marks, 14 questions of 1 mark and 5 questions of 2 marks from
verbal ability, and 21 questions of one mark from reading comprehension.
2005
The concept of negative marking was introduced this year and the number of
questions was reduced to 90, the total marks remaining the same. The total time limit
was 150 minutes. Each section had one mark as well as 2 marks questions. Section
1 consisted of 10 questions of 1 mark and 20 questions of 2 marks from verbal
ability and 20 questions of 2 marks from reading comprehension. Section 2
consisted of 10 questions of 1 mark and 20 questions of 2 marks relating to math
problems. Section 3 consisted of 10 questions of 1 mark and 20 questions of 2
marks from data interpretation, data sufficiency, and logical reasoning.
2006
The total number of questions was further reduced to 75 and the total time limit
was 150 minutes. Each section had 25 questions. Each section had 25 questions
each of 4 marks.
2007
The total number of questions was 75 and the total time limit was 150 minutes.
The paper consisted of three sections- Quantitative Ability (QA), Verbal and
Reading Comprehension (VRC) and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI, LR). Each section had 25 questions. Each section had 25 questions each of 4 marks
2008
The paper consisted of 90 questions, total marks being 360 and the time allotted was 150 minutes. Each question was 4 marks. 25 questions were from data interpretation and logical reasoning, and quantitative ability, and 40 questions were verbal ability and reading comprehension.
2009
A computer-based exam was initiated this year. Sectional timings were
introduced. The time limit was increased as it the first time for computer-based
exam. There were technical glitches in the exam that led to re-examination in the
following year.
2011
The total number of questions was 60 and the total time allotted was 140
minutes. There were only 2 sections each consisting of 30 questions: Quantitative
Ability and Data Interpretation, and Logical Reasoning and Verbal Ability. There
was a sectional time limit with a decrease in the number of questions. The exam was
conducted by IIM Calcutta.
2012
The total number of questions was 60 and the total time allotted was 140
minutes. There were 2 sections each consisting of 30 questions: Quantitative
Ability and Data Interpretation, and Logical Reasoning and Verbal Ability. There
was the introduction of a sectional time limit with a decrease in the number of questions.
This proved beneficial for the candidates. IIM Kozhikode was the conducting body
for the exam in 2012.
2013
The total number of questions was 60 and the total time allotted was 140
minutes. There were again 2 sections each consisting of 30 questions:
Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation, and Logical Reasoning and Verbal
Ability. There was a sectional time limit with a decrease in the number of questions.
The exam was conducted by IIM Indore.
2014
The number of questions was increased to 100. The time limit was increased to
170 minutes. There were only 2 sections each consisting of 30 questions:
Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation, and Logical Reasoning and Verbal
Ability. The exam was conducted by IIM Indore.
2015
This year on-screen calculators were introduced. The total number of questions
was 100 and the total time was 180 minutes. Non-MCQ questions were introduced
for the first time. There was no negative marking for non-MCQ questions. 32
questions were from data interpretation and logical reasoning and 34 questions
were from quantitative ability, and verbal ability, and reading comprehension. The
exam was conducted by IIM Ahmedabad.
2016
There was a change in schedule whereby the exam was held on the first week of
December instead of the last week of November. The total number of questions was
100 and the total time was 180 minutes. There were 32 questions from data
interpretation and logical reasoning and 34 questions from quantitative ability,
and verbal ability, and reading comprehension. There was no negative marking for
non-MCQ questions. The exam was conducted by IIM Bangalore.
2017
The total number of questions was 100 and the total time was 180 minutes. 32
questions were from data interpretation and logical reasoning and 34 questions
were from quantitative ability, and verbal ability, and reading comprehension. The
exam was conducted by IIM Lucknow in 2017.
2018
The total number of questions was 100 and the total time was 180 minutes. 32
questions were from data interpretation and logical reasoning and 34 questions
were from quantitative ability, and verbal ability, and reading comprehension. The
exam was conducted by IIM Calcutta.
2019
The total number of questions was 100 and the total time was 180 minutes.
There were 32 questions from data interpretation and logical reasoning and 34
questions from quantitative ability, and verbal ability, and reading comprehension.
IIM Kozhikode was the conducting body for the exam in 2019.
2020
The total number of questions will be 100 and the total time allotted is 180
minutes. 32 questions will be from data interpretation and logical reasoning and
34 questions will be from quantitative ability, and verbal ability, and reading
comprehension. The exam will be conducted by IIM Indore.
During the years of 2011-2014, the paper consisted of 2 sections while prior to
2011 and after 2014 the paper consisted of 3 sections. You can find all the important questions which have the potency to repeat in the current year on https://www.percentilers.in/.
In the year 2019, there were certain changes introduced in the application process. The registration fee for the general category was increased from Rs 1800/- to Rs 1900/- and for the SC/ST/PWD the fee was increased from Rs 900/- to Rs 950/-. PayU, BillDesk, and Paytm were the new payment partners for registration.
With new changes being introduced every year CAT exam has evolved as a
difficult exam to crack because of its unpredictable nature. Therefore the
candidates need to be prepared for new surprises in the paper. However, the
number of applicants is increasing every year regardless of the difficulty level.
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