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Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content
Updated on Nov 22, 2025 18:11 IST
CAT 2023 question papers of slot 1, slot 2 and slot 3 were same in terms of sectional break up and difficulty level but had different question sets. As part of the CAT 2025 exam preparation practice previous years' questions. Check here CAT 2023 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR, VARC & Quant Questions PDF with Answers.

As part of the CAT 2025 exam preparation practice previous years' questions. Check here CAT 2023 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR, VARC & Quant Questions PDF with Answers. 

CAT 2023 question paper PDF with answers slot 1, 2, 3

CAT 2023 question paper PDF with answers slot 1, 2, 3

CAT 2023 question papers of slot 1, slot 2 and slot 3 were same in terms of sectional break up and difficulty level but had different question sets. Like always, the CAT 2023 question paper was tough. Candidates, who will be appearing for CAT 2025 on November 30, must take a look at the CAT 2023 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR, VARC & Quant Questions and practice them as part of their final leg preparation.

Shiksha has shared in this article, sectional details of CAT 2023 question paper and downloadable PDFs of Slot 1, Slot 2 and Slot 3. Practice these CAT 2023 DILR, VARC & Quant Questions and check your preparation level.

Table of contents
  • CAT 2023 (Slot 1, 2, 3) Sectional Breakup
  • CAT 2023 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR Questions PDF with Answers
  • CAT 2023 (Slot 1, 2, 3) VARC Questions PDF with Answers
  • CAT 2023 VARC section Slot 2
  • CAT 2023 (Slot 1, 2, 3) Quants Questions PDF with Answers

CAT 2023 (Slot 1, 2, 3) Sectional Breakup

Check below sectional break up of the CAT 2023 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 and odd sentence

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

Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
Q:   Which CAT slot has the toughest question paper?
A: 
There is no pattern to which CAT question paper can be the toughest. The CAT question paper of every slot has unique questions. The examination body strives to maintain the same difficulty level of the paper across all slots but it may happen that a question can be more difficult from another. It is seen that, to keep the uniqueness of the question paper intact, the examination authority also changes the topic wise weightage a little bit across the exam slots. In most of the previous years, it is seen that the morning slot of the CAT exam is tougher than the rest two. However, candidates must not worry about the difficulty level of the slots as, the scores of all the candidates are normalised on a common scale to root out the possibility of advantage or disadvantage to any student due to difference in difficulty level. To know how the CAT scores are normalised, read this article: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/understanding-cat-normalization-process-blogId-9386.
Q:   How many vocabulary questions are asked in CAT?
A: 

There are no straight forward vocabulary questions in CAT. Out of the total of 24 questions in VARC section, 12-14 questions are Reading Comprehension based and rest of them comprise parajumbles, para completion and odd sentence. CAT is the only MBA entrance exam, which does not have direct vocabulary and grammar questions. However, one needs to have strong vocabulary and grammar to be able to solve RC, parajumble, para completion and odd sentence questions.

Q:   From where can I download CAT question papers?
A: 

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.

CAT 2023 (Slot 1, 2, 3) DILR Questions PDF with Answers

Check below slot wise DILR questions asked in CAT 2023 and get free PDF for practice with answers.

CAT 2023 DILR questions Slot 1

Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2023 DILR section Slot 1:

DILR Area

Set Description

No. of Questions

Question Type

Difficulty Level

Data Interpretation

(Reasoning based DI)
Gig workers and Restaurants, Mathematical Reasoning
Involved Measures of central tendency

5

5 (1 MCQ, 4 TITA)

Moderate to Difficult

Logical Reasoning

(Arrangements)
Professors in departments

5

5 MCQ

Easy to Moderate

Data Interpretation

Visa Office
Special Equation handling

5

5 (3 MCQ, 2 TITA)

Moderate to Difficult

Logical Reasoning

Houses on sale

5

5 (3 MCQ, 2 TITA)

Moderate to Difficult

CAT 2023 DILR questions Slot 2

Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2023 DILR section Slot 2

Area

Set Description

No. of Questions

Question Type

Difficulty Level

DI

5 firms – Funds raised in consecutive years

5

4 MCQ, 1 TITA

Easy to Medium

DI

Draw competition

5

3 MCQ, 2 TITA

Medium to Difficult

LR

3 friends visited a park.
Many rides. Scheduling questions.

5

3 MCQ, 2 TITA

Medium to Difficult

DI

Nine Boxes – sudoku type puzzle

5

2 MCQ, 3 TITA

Medium to Difficult

CAT 2023 DILR questions Slot 3

Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2024 DILR section Slot 3

Area

Set Description

No. of Questions

Question Type

Difficulty Level

DI

Number of enrollments in offline and online courses

5

3 MCQ, 2 TITA

Easy to Medium

LR

Six police stations with maps (route based set)

5

3 MCQ,
2 TITA

Medium

DI

Project and test scores of 3 boys and 3 girls

5

3 MCQ, 2 TITA

Medium to Difficult

DI

AC company – 4 dealers

5

3 MCQ, 2 TITA

Medium to Difficult

You can download CAT 2023 DILR questions PDF with answers below.

CAT 2023 Question Paper DILR Questions with Answers

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CAT 2023 (Slot 1, 2, 3) VARC Questions PDF with Answers

Check below slot wise VARC questions asked in CAT 2023 and get free PDF for practice with answers.

CAT 2023 VARC section Slot 1

Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2023 VARC section Slot 1:

VARC Topics

No. of Questions

Difficulty Level

Reading Comprehension

16

Overall: Difficult

Passage 1: Return of wolves’ predation in a French region

4

Easy

Passage 2: Current economies of North and South Korea

4

Easy

Passage 3:  Indian Ocean Literature

4

Moderate 

Passage 4:Modern materialism versus ancient societies

t4

Difficulr

Verbal Ability

08

Overall: Difficulty

Para jumble

2

Easy to moderate

Para completion

2

Easy

Para summary

2

tEasy to moderate

Odd sentence out

2

Easy to moderate

Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
Q:   How many DI questions are asked in CAT?
A: 

Data Interpretation or DI is a sub part of CAT's second section DILR. This section has 20 -22 questions (until 2023, the totla number of DILR questions was 20, and in 2024 the number of questions was 22). Both Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning questions have equal number of questions. Candidates must make sure that they prepare for both topics well as the weightage is equal and if they are ill prepared for either of the two, their score will get affected. 

Q:   Is it mandatory to attempt all the questions in CAT?
A: 

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. 

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CAT 2023 VARC section Slot 2

Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2023 VARC section Slot 2:

Area / Questions

No. of Questions

Type of questions

Difficulty Level

Reading Comprehension

16

MCQ

Overall: Easy to Moderste

RC-1: Second-hand Shopping and Fast Fashion

4

MCQ

Easy

RC-2: Translated Streaming on Netflix in Europe

4

MCQ

Easy

RC-3: Why Liberalism Failed (Book Review)

4

MCQ

Moderate

RC-4: What is Historical Fact

4

MCQ

Difficult

Verbal Ability

08

MCQ & TITA

Overall: Easy

Para jumbles (4 sentences)

2

TITA

1 Easy, 1 Moderate

Para-completion

2

MCQ

2 Easy

Summary

2

MCQ

1 Easy, 1 Moderate

Odd Sentence Questions

2

TITA

1 Easy, 1 Moderate

CAT 2023 VARC section Slot 3

Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2023 VARC section Slot 3:

Area / Questions

No. of Questions 

Question Type

Difficulty Level

Reading Comprehension

16

MCQ

Overall: Moderate

RC-1: Colonialism and Global Warming (The Nutmeg’s Curse)

4

MCQ

Easy

RC-2: Understanding Romantic Aesthetics

4

MCQ

Easy

RC-3: Cultural Patrimony Laws

4

MCQ

Easy-Moderate

RC-4: Rationality by Steven Pinker

4

MCQ

Difficult

Verbal Ability

08

MCQ & TITA

Overall: Easy

Para jumbles (4 sentences)

2

TITA

1 Easy, 1 Moderate

Para-completion

2

MCQ

1 Easy, 1 Moderate

Summary

2

MCQ

1 Easy, 1 Moderate

Odd Sentence Questions

2

TITA

1 Easy, 1 Moderate

You can download CAT 2023 VARC questions PDF with answers below.

CAT 2023 Question Paper VARC Questions PDF with Answers

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CAT 2023 (Slot 1, 2, 3) Quants Questions PDF with Answers

Check below slot wise Quantitative Aptitude questions asked in CAT 2023 and get free PDF for practice with answers.

CAT 2023 Quants questions Slot 1

Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2023 Quants section Slot 1:

QA Topics

No.  of Questions

Arithmetic

7

Algebra

8

Geometry

4

Modern Maths

2

Numbers

1

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CAT 2023 Quants questions Slot 2

Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2023 Quants section Slot 2:

Area/Q Type

No. of Questions

Arithmetic

7

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8

Modern Math

2

Geometry

3

CAT 2023 Quants questions Slot 3

Here’s a brief overview of CAT 2023 Quants section Slot 3:

Area/Q Type

No. of Questions

Arithmetic

8

Algebra

4

Modern Math

4

Geometry

3

Numbers

3

You can download CAT 2023 Quants questions PDF with answers below.

CAT 2023 Question Paper QA Questions PDF with Answers

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Vipra Shrivastava
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Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8

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Answered Yesterday

Yes, CAT/MAT/XAT/CMAT/GMAT scores are valid for KIITEE MBA. Candidates applying online will be required to submit copies of their mark sheets and other supporting documents.

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Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 3 days ago

CAT is a national-level exam that is conducted for MBA admission at PG level in colleges. CAT is a computer-based-test. The test duration is 120 minutes. It consists of 68 questions that are divided in the following 3 sections:

  1. VARC (Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension)
  2. DILR (Data Interpretation

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Saumya Gairola

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To get admission in IIM Kashipur MBA, students have to clear the CAT cutoff. The cutoff for the general category AI quota was 95. For NC-OBC candidates, it is 81 percentile, for SC candidates it is 66 percentile whereas for SC and PwD candidates, it is 40 percentile. Students can check the official

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Anangsha Aggarwal

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 4 days ago

No, the application fee for Amrita CAT can only be paid online. There is no provision of offline payment. 

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Rashmi Chatterjee

Contributor-Level 6

Answered 5 days ago

CAT exam conducted only once a year in the month of November. It is conducted in three shifts on a single day.

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Manisha Singh

Contributor-Level 7

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CAT exam is conducted in computer based test mode. Candidates have to visit a designated test centre to give the exam on a computer system. They have to login their answers with the help of computer mouse.

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Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

Maximum marks in CAT is 204. There are 68 questions each carrying 3 marks. VARC is of 72 marks and DILR and Quants are of 66 marks each.

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Pallavi Gupta

Contributor-Level 7

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CAT exam is of 120 minutes. Each section is of 40 minutes. PwD candidates get extra time of 53 minutes and 20 seconds per section.

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Yes, CAT exam is MCQ type, meaning there are no subjective type questions wherein you have to write a lot. In CAT every question is to be answered in one word or option. However, all questions don't have MCQ options, some are Type In The Answer (TITA) questions.

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Yes, students can prepare for the KMAT exam along with the CAT exam. However, CAT is comparatively a difficult MBA exam. The difficulty level of KMAT is easy to moderate, but CAT retains high difficulty levels. Students can use CAT books for KMAT preparation

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Contributor-Level 6