The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) has increased the minimum CAT percentile requirements for admission to its flagship Post Graduate Programme (PGP) for the 2026-28 batch. This revision significantly raises the eligibility bar for candidates seeking to secure a place in one of India’s premier management institutes.According to the updated criteria, General and EWS category candidates must achieve an overall CAT percentile of 95, with a minimum of 85 percentile in each sectional paper — Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA). This marks a substantial increase from the previous overall cut-off of 80 percentile and sectional cut-off of 70 percentile.Detailed admission criteria and category-wise cut-offsThe revised selection process at IIMA involves shortlisting candidates based on the CAT score, followed by the Analytical Writing Test (AWT) and Personal Interview (PI) rounds. The screening through AWT and PI carries a combined weightage of 65% in the final selection, while the remaining 35% is derived from the candidate’s academic record and profile-based Application Rating (AR).Category-wise, the cut-offs vary as follows:• For General and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) candidates, the minimum CAT percentile requirement is 95 overall with at least 85 in each section. Persons with Disability (PwD) applicants under these categories have relaxed cut-offs of 85 overall and 75 sectional.• Non-Creamy Other Backward Classes (NC-OBC) candidates must score at least 90 percentile overall and 80 percentile section-wise, with PwD applicants in this category requiring 80 overall and 70 in each section.• Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates need a minimum of 85 percentile overall and 75 in each section. For PwD SC candidates, the cut-offs are further reduced to 75 overall and 65 section-wise.• Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates require a minimum of 75 percentile overall and 65 in each section. PwD ST candidates have the lowest cut-offs at 65 overall and 55 sectional percentile.It is also noted that transgender candidates in the General category will be considered under the NC-OBC category cut-offs.Composite score for final selectionThe final admission offers will be based on a composite score comprising multiple components. The Personal Interview (PI) accounts for 50%, the Analytical Writing Test (AWT) contributes 10%, the CAT score makes up 25%, and the Application Rating (AR) constitutes the remaining 15%.This multi-stage selection process aims to evaluate candidates on both academic merit and overall suitability for the programme.CAT 2025 registration and scheduleCAT 2025 will be conducted in computer-based mode across nearly 170 cities in India. The registration process is open and will close on September 13, 2025. The examination itself is scheduled for November 30, 2025.Prof Karthik Sriram, Chairperson of Admissions (PGP & PGP-FABM), has confirmed the revised cut-offs, stating they are intended to strengthen the pool of candidates invited for interviews.Candidates aiming for admission to IIMA’s PGP and PGP-FABM programmes for the 2026-28 batch are advised to meet the heightened percentile requirements to advance through the selection stages.TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here.
