In the last week before CAT 2025, practice DILR, VARC and Quants questions of previous years. Get here CAT 2021 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR, VARC & Quant Questions PDF with Answers.
CAT 2021 question paper was moderately difficult and on the same lines as the exam usually is. The 66 questions were divided into VARC (24), DILR (20) and QA( 22). The question papers of all three slots had questions from same topics. Candidates, who will be appearing for CAT 2025 on November 30, should check out the CAT 2021 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR, VARC & Quant Questions as part of their exam strategy. Practicing old questions will help them strengthen grip over CAT topics and instill confidence.
Shiksha has shared in this article, sectional details of CAT 2021 question paper and downloadable PDFs of Slot 1, Slot 2 and Slot 3. Practice these CAT 2021 DILR, VARC & Quant Questions and know your strength and weakness.
- CAT 2021 (Slot 1, 2, 3) Sectional Breakup
- CAT 2021 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR Questions PDF with Answers
- CAT 2021 (Slot 1, 2, 3) VARC Questions PDF with Answers
- CAT 2021 VARC section Slot 1
- CAT 2021 (Slot 1, 2, 3) Quants Questions PDF with Answers
CAT 2021 (Slot 1, 2, 3) Sectional Breakup
Check below sectional break up of the CAT 2021 question paper of slot 1, 2 and 3 combined:
| CAT section |
Number of questions |
Important topics |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension |
24 |
Reading comprehension, parajumbles parasummary, para completion |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning |
20 |
Reasoning based DI, Arrangement, Sets, Tables |
| Quantitative Aptitude |
22 |
Remainder, Indices, Log, Equations, Functions, Maxima-Minima, Sequence & Series, Algebraic Expression, TSD-, T&W-, SI-CI, Percentage, PLD, Mixture, Averages, Ratios, P&C, Circle, Cuboid/Square, Coordinate Geometry |
Commonly asked questions
CAT question papers are released within a week of the exam in the form of a PDF as a response sheet and answer key. Candidates who have appeared for the test are able to access the CAT question paper and answer key. The question paper of every slot is released on the same day along with candidate response sheet and official answer to all question. If any candidate needs previous year CAT question papers for preparation purpose, then they can download them from Shiksha website. We have hosted last five years' CAT question papers for aspirants to download and practice. These official CAT question papers are available for download free. You can download the CAT question paper PDFs at this link: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/cat-exam-question-papers Candidates must check and practice the latest CAT question paper to know the latest exam pattern and difficulty level.
No, it is not mandatory to attempt all the questions in CAT. Candidates can choose to attempt questions as per their preparation. It is not possible also to attempt all the questions due to time limitation and difficulty level. Reading dense RC passages often take up a lot of time. In DILR and QA too, some questions are time taking and calculation intensive due to which not much time is left in hand to attempt all questions. The aim of every test taker should be to attempt about 2/3rd of the total questions in all the sections of CAT.
There is no difference between slot 1, 2 and 3 of CAT exam paper in terms of structure and patten. The sectional break up, marking scheme and time limit are the same in all slots. However, due to unique sets of questions in each slot leads to difference in difficulty levels. There is usually a slight difference in the CAT question papers of different slots. Sometimes, topic wise weightage of the questions also vary. To negate advantage or disadantage to candidates due to difference in difficulty level of slots, CAT scores are normalised for result preparation.
CAT 2021 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR Questions PDF with Answers
Check below slot wise DILR questions asked in CAT 2021 and get free PDF for practice with answers.
CAT 2021 DILR questions Slot 1
Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2021 DILR section Slot 1:
| DILR |
Set Type |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar graph on sales |
DI |
4 |
Moderate |
| Friends & Acquaintances |
LR |
6 |
Difficult |
| Smoothies |
DI |
4 |
Difficult |
| Journals |
LR |
6 |
Very Difficult |
CAT 2021 DILR questions slot 2
Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2021 DILR section Slot 2
| DILR |
Set Type |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar graph on Delivery times |
DI |
4 |
Easy-Moderate |
| Games & Tournaments/Distribution |
LR |
4 |
Moderate-Difficult |
| Pizza delivery ratings |
LR |
6 |
Difficult |
| Objects, Bundles & Values |
DI |
6 |
Very Difficult |
CAT 2021 DILR questions Slot 3
Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2021 DILR section Slot 3
| DILR |
Set Type |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar graph on Employee Schedules |
DI |
4 |
Easy-Moderate |
| Purity of Solutions |
LR |
4 |
Moderate |
| Javelin Throw |
LR |
6 |
Very Difficult |
| Question Evaluation |
DI |
6 |
Moderate-Difficult |
You can download CAT 2021 DILR questions PDF with answers below.
| CAT 2021 Question Paper DILR Questions PDF with Answers |
Also Read:
CAT 2021 (Slot 1, 2, 3) VARC Questions PDF with Answers
Check below slot wise VARC questions asked in CAT 2021 and get free PDF for practice with answers.
CAT 2021 VARC section Slot 1
Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2021 VARC section Slot 1:
| Passage |
Number of Questions |
Readability |
Overall Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayan Civilisation |
4 |
Difficult |
Difficult |
| Utopia and Dystopia |
4 |
Difficult |
Very Difficult |
| Marshmallow experiment |
4 |
Moderate |
Difficult |
| Evolution of Tea as a drink |
4 |
Moderate |
Moderate |
Commonly asked questions
As per the latest CAT exam pattern, there will be 68 questions. The format will be MCQ and non-MCQ. VARC will have 24 questions, DILR will have 22 questions and QA will have 22 questions. Each question will carry 3 marks and there will be negative marking of -1 for incorrect answer. Sectional time limit will be 40 minutes.
CAT has 68 questions. Each question carries three marks. There is negative marking of minus one for incorrect attempts. There is no deduction of marks for unanswered questions. Total marks in 204.
In CAT exam, each candidate gets 120 minutes to solve the paper. There are three sections in CAT Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude. For each section 40 minutes are allotted as sectional time limit. For PwD candidates, the sectional time limit is 53.20 minutes per section. Candidates have to complete each section within the given time limit. Since the CAT is an online mode exam, the test screen will move from first section to the next section automatically as soon as the time limit gets over. Thus candidates have to be mindful of the on-screen timer and pre-decide the number of questions to solve in each section. The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section of CAT has 24 questions, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section has 22 questions and Quantitative Aptitude section has 22 questions. It is not mandatory to solve all the questions in CAT so candidates can devise a strategy to use 40 minutes per section as per their strength and weakness.
Explore colleges based on CAT
CAT 2021 VARC section Slot 1
Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2021 VARC section Slot 2:
| Passage |
Number of Questions |
Readability |
Overall Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Language/ Indigenous people |
4 |
Difficult |
Difficult |
| Why Fiction Trumps Truth |
4 |
Moderate |
Moderate |
| Colonialism/Nationalism |
4 |
Difficult |
Difficult |
| Knowledge and problems of knowledge is a scandal to philosophy |
4 |
Very Difficult |
Very Difficult |
CAT 2021 VARC section Slot 3
Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2021 VARC section Slot 3:
| Passage |
Number of Questions |
Readability |
Overall Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nanotechnology |
4 |
Moderate |
Moderate |
| Language Instinct |
4 |
Moderate |
Moderate |
| Time Accuracy Entropy |
4 |
Moderate |
Difficult |
| Unconscious and Psychoanalysis |
4 |
Difficult |
Very Difficult |
You can download CAT 2021 VARC questions PDF with answers below.
| CAT 2021 Question Paper VARC Questions PDFs with Answers |
CAT 2021 (Slot 1, 2, 3) Quants Questions PDF with Answers
Check below slot wise Quantitative Aptitude questions asked in CAT 2021 and get free PDF for practice with answers.
CAT 2021 Quants questions Slot 1
Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2021 Quants section Slot 1:
| Topic |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| ERPV |
3 |
Moderate |
| Percentages, Profit & Loss |
2 |
Moderate |
| SI-CI |
1 |
Easy |
| Time & Distance |
1 |
Easy |
| Time & Work |
2 |
Moderate |
| Numbers |
1 |
Moderate |
| Geometry |
3 |
Easy - Moderate |
| Progressions |
2 |
Difficult |
| Logarithms and Indices |
1 |
Moderate |
| Functions & Graphs |
1 |
Moderate |
| Quadratic Equations |
2 |
Moderate - Difficult |
| Inequalities & Modulus |
1 |
Moderate |
| AMA |
2 |
Moderate |
Also Read:
- CAT 2024 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR, VARC & Quant Questions PDF with Answers
- CAT 2023 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR, VARC & Quant Questions PDF with Answers
- CAT 2022 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR, VARC & Quant Questions PDF with Answers
- CAT 2020 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR, VARC & Quant Questions PDF with Answers
CAT 2021 Quants questions Slot 2
Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2021 Quants section Slot 2:
| Topic |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| Time & Work |
2 |
Easy-Moderate |
| Time & Distance |
1 |
Moderate |
| Logarithms |
1 |
Easy |
| Progressions |
2 |
Moderate-Difficult |
| Mensuration |
3 |
Moderate |
| Quadratic Equations |
1 |
Moderate |
| Functions & Graphs |
1 |
Moderate |
| Inequalities & Modulus |
1 |
Moderate |
| Percentages, Profit & Loss |
3 |
Moderate |
| Indices |
1 |
Difficult |
| Miscellaneous |
1 |
Difficult |
| AMA |
3 |
Easy-Moderate |
| P&C |
1 |
Difficult |
| Special Equations |
1 |
Difficult |
CAT 2021 Quants questions Slot 3
Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2021 Quants section Slot 3:
| Topic |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| AMA |
1 |
Moderate |
| Averages |
1 |
Moderate |
| ERPV |
4 |
Moderate - Difficult |
| Function |
1 |
Moderate |
| Geometry & Mensuration |
4 |
Moderate-Difficult |
| Indices & Logs |
2 |
Difficult |
| Inequalities |
1 |
Difficult |
| Special Equations |
1 |
Difficult |
| Percentages |
2 |
Moderate |
| sequence |
1 |
Difficult |
| SI CI |
1 |
Difficult |
| Time & Work |
2 |
Moderate |
| Time & Distance |
1 |
Moderate |
You can download CAT 2021 Quants questions PDF with answers below.
| CAT 2021 Question Paper QA Questions PDF with Answers |
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Student Forum
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Yes, students can get admission in Shri Vaishnav Institute of Management & Science MBA without CAT. That is because the institute accepts CMAT scores instead. Admissions to the programme are through CMAT + counselling basis. CAT is not required.
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
No, CAT exam is not strictly required to take admission in MBA at Babu Banarsi Das Institute of Technology. Candidates may submit scores from CAT, MAT, XAT, CMAT, or GMAT for MBA admissions.
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
Yes, according to the GITAM School of Management MBA cutoff 2025 via the CAT entrance examination, you could get into this institute if you belong to the General AI category.
The aforementioned category had an estimated qualifying percentile of 70 in 2025. Admission for this category candidates may
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Contributor-Level 10
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The Global Institute of Business Studies delivers consistent training for aspiring business professionals to prepare them for interviews and the workplace via a number of organized programs and other forms of practical experience.
A CPMP (Finishing School) prepares students with the following:
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Beginner-Level 4
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Answered 5 days ago
Business schools with campus in Bangalore GIBS Bangalore accepts a wide range of entrance exams for its AICTE-approved PGDM programme (MBA equivalent), prioritizing accessibility for diverse candidates over elite CAT toppers alone. This flexible policy suits your MAT 522 score, enabling shortlisting
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
KMAT, and Karnataka PGCET are the accepted entrance examinations at Jyoti Nivas College. Students who wish to get admissions must clear all the entrance examinations for admissions.
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The Global Institute of Business Studies has set a moderate cut-off for its CAT exam, far lower than those of the premier IIMs.
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Beginner-Level 4
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GIBS Business School situated in Bangalore acknowledges CAT, MAT, and XAT as authorized admission tests for both undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
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- CAT (Common Admission Test)
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Beginner-Level 4
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