CAT 2022: What to Expect – Conducting IIM, Pattern, Syllabus

In CAT 2025, the following changes were seen:

• The fee amount increased from INR 2,500 to INR 2,600 for General category candidates and from INR 1,250 to INR 1300 for Reserved category candidates. 
• In DILR section, number of questions increased from 20 to 22. 
• Total marks of CAT DILR section increased from 60 to 66. 
• Total marks of CAT exam increased from 198 to 204. 
• Candidates can select five cities instead of six.

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.

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, there are 20 questions in the Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section and the total sectional marks is 60 out of 198. In CAT 2020, there were 24 question on DILR and the sectional marks were 72. In CAT 2021 and CAT 2022, there were 20 questions and the sectional marks were 60.  The 20 questions are equally divided into both Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. That means, Both Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning have 10 questions each. The questions are mostly in sets. There’s rarely any standalone question in DILR.

Some of the top MBA entrance exams carrying a high weightage of Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning questions are MAH CET, ATMA, CAT, CMAT, XAT IIFT, to name a few.

Yes, the CAT exam has negative marking for wrong answers. However, the marks are deducted only for the wrong MCQ-based answer and not for non-MCQ-based answers. The latest marking scheme for the CAT exam is as follows: 1. The total number of questions is 76, and the time allotted is 120 minutes. 2. Total Scores: 228 3. The number of questions per section: VARC-26, DILR-24 and QA-26 4. Three marks are given for every correct answer. 5. Around 1/3, I. e. , 1 mark is deducted for every wrong MCQ answer. No mark is deducted for wrong non-MCQ-based answers.