IIM College Admissions 2026: Category-Wise Seats and Selection Process

IIM admission policies combine category-wise reservations with institute-specific selection criteria. There is no single seat count or CAT cutoff that applies to every IIM: intake and shortlisting rules vary by institute and programme. For the 2026–28 MBA batch, many IIMs used CAT 2025. CAT 2026 is for the next admission cycle, generally the 2027–29 batch.

Reservation Categories

IIM admission policies generally list reservations for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Other Backward Classes–Non-Creamy Layer (NC-OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Persons with Disabilities (PwD) are covered by horizontal reservation, which operates across categories.

The actual number of seats is set out in each institute’s admission policy and can change with the programme intake. As one official 2026–28 example, IIM Nagpur lists an MBA batch size of 340 and publishes these figures:

This is IIM Nagpur’s published intake, not a count for all IIMs. PwD/DAP reservation is horizontal, so candidates should read its treatment alongside the institute’s category-wise policy rather than assume it is a separate social category.

How IIM Selection Works

1. CAT screening: Each IIM sets its own overall and sectional CAT requirements, often with category-specific thresholds.
2. Shortlisting: Institutes may consider CAT performance alongside academic records, work experience, diversity factors or other profile details.
3. Interview stage: Shortlisted candidates may be invited to a personal interview and, depending on the institute, a written ability test or another assessment.
4. Final merit list: Each IIM calculates a composite score using its published weightings. The factors and weights differ across institutes.
5. Offer and verification: Admission offers remain subject to eligibility checks and valid category documentation.

Minimum CAT cutoffs are screening thresholds, not admission guarantees. Candidates should check the policy for each IIM they applied to and use the CAT-2025 score for 2026–28 admission decisions where that policy specifies it.

Upcoming CAT Date

Important Links

CAT official website: https://iimcat.ac.in/

IIM Nagpur MBA admission policy: https://www.iimnagpur.ac.in/College Admissions/mba/College Admissions-policy/

Ministry of Education reservation information: https://www.education.gov.in/