Admit Card - 5 Nov '25 - 30 Nov '25
Competition to secure a seat at IIM is high. IIMs follow a reservation criteria set as per the laws issued by Government of India. Read this article for a clear picture of OBC reserved seats in different IIM colleges.
OBC Seats at IIMs
OBC category seats at IIMs: Indian Institutes of Management collectively has more than 5500 seats for admission. Out of the total seats at IIMs, 3,491 seats belong to the open category, 809 seats belong to the OBC categories, 538 seats are reserved for SC/ST categories, and the remaining seats are left for EWS and PwD categories.
Explore colleges based on CAT
Want better recommendations?
There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
- Chat with our counselor
- Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
With a highly competitive exam, candidates having a valid category certificate have a better chance of securing seat reserved under a category for admission based on the CAT exam. Taking this into consideration, Shiksha is back with an updated list on the seats available in the PGP programs of the IIMs for Other Backward Caste (OBC) candidates.
Candidates seeking admission to IIM Nagpur must ensure that they are eligible for the preferred course. Hereafter, they must register for CAT and indicate their preference for IIM Nagpur on the CAT application form. The institution shortlists candidates on the basis of CAT scores. Shortlisted candidates are invited for WAT and PI rounds after which the final score that is a total of the academic performance and interview round is compared. The candidates are finally selected on the basis of this total score.
Candidates willing to take admission to the MBA programme at IIM Sirmaur must take the CAT exam as IIM Sirmaur inducts candidates based on their CAT percentile. Given below are the steps required to complete the CAT application process.
Step 1: Visit the official website of CAT.
Step 2: Click on 'new registration' and enter the required details to get the login credentials.
Step 3: Log in with the ID received in the email to fill out the application form.
Step 4: Enter personal and academic details.
Step 5: Upload scanned images of the candidate's photograph and signature
Step 6: Select preferred courses and IIMs
Step 7: Select test city preference for exam centre allotment
Step 8: Pay the application fee via credit/debit card or net banking
Step 9: Take the print of the acknowledgement slip for future reference.
Although we have tried to be as much precise as possible, there may be few cases where seat availability could slightly vary. Such IIMs are yet to update exact figures for the upcoming session. We have put to use the government quota norms and have tried to update equivalent seats for OBC category students in PGP program.
| Check Category Wise IIM Seats 2024 | ||
| Total IIM Seats for General Category | Total IIM Seats for General Category | Total IIM Seats for SC/ST Category |
Let’s begin with IIM Ahmedabad. Widely acclaimed for producing top business leaders and entrepreneurs, the Post Graduate Master’s Degree Program offered by the college has always been top priority for aspirants.
Some of the alumni of IIM-A include Raghuram Rajan (Former RBI Governor), K.V Kamath (Chief of BRICS Bank), and Ajaypal Singh Banga (CEO of Mastercard) among many other eminent names. Not only in India but the premier institute is one of the top ranked B-schools worldwide. It has 104 seats in PGP (now rechristened MBA) program reserved for OBC candidates.
Explore more MBA exams with upcoming dates
14 Oct '25 - 16 Oct '25
1 Aug '25 - 18 Oct '25
1 Aug '25 - 19 Oct '25
4 Nov '25
1 Aug '25 - 20 Nov '25
30 Sep '25 - 20 Nov '25
1 Jul '25 - 19 Dec '25
21 Dec '25
31 Jul '25 - 31 Dec '25
31 Dec '25
Candidates fulfilling the eligibility criteria can fill out the admission form by visiting the official website. Moreover, the selection is done based on candidates score in CAT exam. Candidates without CAT score, can apply with a valid score in exams as mentioned in the table below:
Specialisation | Entrance Exam in lieu of CAT |
|---|---|
Finance & Control | GMAT/GRE/UGC-JRF in Commerce/ Economics/ Management |
Human Resource Management | GMAT/GRE/GATE/UGC-JRF in Economics/ Management/ Law/ Labour & Social Welfare/ Human Resource Management/ Labour Welfare/ Personnel Management/ Industrial Relations/ Psychology/ Sociology |
Management Information Systems | GMAT/GRE/GATE/UGC-JRF in any stream |
Marketing | GMAT/GRE/GATE/UGC-JRF in Economics/ Psychology/ Sociology/ Anthropology/ Management |
GMAT/GRE/UGC-JRF in Management/ Mathematical Sciences | |
Organizational Behavior | GMAT/GRE/GATE/UGC-JRF in Psychology/ Sociology/ Anthropology/ Public Administration/ Social Work/ Management/ Labour Welfare/ Personnel Management/ Industrial Relations/ Labour & Social Welfare/ Human Resource Management |
Public Policy and Management | GRE/GATE in Architecture & Planning/ UGC-NET in Anthropology/ Economics/ Education/ Environmental Science/ Geography/ History/ International & Area Studies/ Law/ Management/ Political Science/ Psychology/ Public Administration/ Social Work/ Sociology |
Regional Development | GRE/UGC-NET in Anthropology/ Economics/ Geography/ Population Studies/ Public Administration/ Sociology |
Sociology | UGC-NET in Anthropology/ Economics/ Political Science/ Sociology |
Strategic Management | GMAT/GRE/GATE/UGC-JRF in Anthropology/ Commerce/ Defence & Strategic Studies/ Economics/ Environmental Science/ Geography/ History/ Law/ Management/ Political Science/ Psychology/ Public Administration/ Sociology |
Moving to our next IIM in the list, let’s talk about another top ranked one – IIM Bangalore. Located in one of the most beautiful cities of India, IIM Bangalore has always been among the favourite business schools for aspirants. The college has an outstanding placement record and has seen many business tycoons as its alumni.
Some of the alumni of IIM-B include K. Radhakrishnan (Former ISRO Chairman), Ravi Subramanian (Author of many bestsellers), and Nila Madhab Panda (Film Producer) among many others. It has 103 seats reserved for OBC candidates in the PGP (now called MBA) program, almost equal to its peer - IIM Ahmedabad.
Next in the list comes the IIM with the largest number of seats among all 20 campuses – IIM Calcutta. The college is placed among top 3 business schools, IIM ABC, in India. It has impeccable placement records. The institute has produced some of the best brains in business world.
Some of the alumni of IIM-C include Ajith Balakrishnan (Founder of Rediff), Indra Nooyi (Former CEO of Pepsi), and Amish Tripathi (Author of many bestsellers) among many others. It has 125 seats reserved for OBC candidates in the flagship PGP (now renamed MBA) program.
IIM-Wise OBC Seats
Go through the list given below to have detailed information on the OBC seats in different IIM colleges:
| IIMs |
Seats for OBC candidates |
|---|---|
| 113 |
|
| 122 |
|
| 102 |
|
| 32 |
|
| 32 |
|
| 32 |
|
| 32 |
|
| 28 |
|
| 32 |
|
| 25 |
|
| 33 |
|
| 37* |
|
| 37* |
|
| 17* |
|
| 38* |
|
| 33* |
|
| 33* |
|
| Total |
1110 |
Asterisk (*) has been put on the number of seats to give a clear picture about colleges wherein number of seats can vary slightly.
Total Seats at IIMs
The table below mentions the total seats offered by all the IIMs:
| Name of IIM | Total number of Seats |
|---|---|
| IIM Ahmedabad (IIM A) | 385 |
| IIM Amritsar | 240 |
| IIM Bangalore (IIM B) | 565 |
| IIM Bodh Gaya (IIM BG) | 120 |
| IIM Calcutta (IIM C) | 462 |
| IIM Indore (IIM I) | 450+150 |
| IIM Jammu | 120 |
| IIM Kashipur | 210 |
| IIM Kozhikode | 525 |
| IIM Lucknow (IIM L) | 490 |
| IIM Mumbai | 550 |
| IIM Nagpur | 240 |
| IIM Raipur | 210 |
| IIM Ranchi | 210+150 |
| IIM Rohtak | 240+60 |
| IIM Sambalpur | 120 |
| IIM Shillong | 180 |
| IIM Sirmaur | 170 |
| IIM Tiruchirappalli | 210 |
| IIM Udaipur | 150 |
| IIM Vishakhapatnam (IIM Vizag) | 120 |
Hopefully, the list will be helpful for those OBC candidates who have been doing all sorts of research in order to have an idea of seat availability in different IIM colleges. For such IIM updates, stay tuned to Shiksha.
Read More:
News & Updates
Explore Other Exams
14 Oct '25 - 16 Oct '25 | XAT 2026 form correction |
10 Jul '25 - 5 Dec '25 | XAT 2026 Exam registration |
1 Aug '25 - 20 Nov '25 | SNAP 2025 Registration Process |
28 Nov '25 - 6 Dec '25 | SNAP 2025 admit card session 1... |
1 Aug '25 - 18 Oct '25 | NMAT 2025 Registration Window |
1 Aug '25 - 25 Oct '25 | NMAT 2025 Scheduling Window |
17 Oct '24 - 5 Dec '24 | IIFT 2025 registration and app... |
28 Sep '25 | MAT CBT Exam 2025 (Sept ) |
25 Sep '25 - 28 Sep '25 | MAT CBT Admit Card 2025 (Sept ... |
1 Jul '25 - 19 Dec '25 | IBSAT 2025 Registration |
27 Dec '25 - 28 Dec '25 | IBSAT 2025 Exam Date |
13 Feb '25 | CMAT 2025 Result |
31 Jan '25 - 2 Feb '25 | CMAT 2025 Answer Key Release a... |
Dec '25 | MAH MBA CET 2026 registration ... |
2 Sep '25 - 4 Sep '25 | MAH MBA CAP 2025: Reporting to... |
Jan '26 | Publication of TANCET notifica... |
Jan '26 | TANCET registration window |
Mar '25 | IRMASAT 2025 Final Result Anno... |
Feb '25 | IRMASAT Personal Interviews |
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 17 hours ago
Candidates who did not appear for the CAT entrance exam can apply St. Xavier's College, Kolkata admissions as it is not a mandatory entrance exam. The candidates who wish to gain admissions into the MBA course of the institute have to appear for the Kolkata University entrance test for St. Xavier's
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
With a 300 SC category rank in CAT, your chances for NIT Trichy MBA are relatively high. Based on 2025 data, NIT Trichy generally shortlists SC candidates with CAT percentiles around 60-65. To achieve a 300 rank under SC category, you would need about a 65-70 percentile, or a score of roughly 60-65
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
PGCET and CAT serve distinct purposes. The PGCET is primarily conducted for MBA admissions in colleges in the state of Karnataka, specifically for government colleges and private universities with lower fees. CAT is a national level exam for top-ranking B-schools and colleges such as the IIMs that h
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 weeks ago
That's a wonderful goal to push your son toward right at the start. To obtain previous CAT model papers, you can check many available popular exam preparation books in any bookstore or online store. Coaching interest such as TIME, IMS, Career Launcher, etc., usually have mock tests and sample papers
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 weeks ago
Yes, you can get admission to Jaypee Business School (JBS), Noida for MBA even if you don't have CAT. JBS accepts scores from several other exams such as MAT, CMAT, XAT, GMAT, ATMA, and also CUET-PG. Just make sure you have a bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks, then apply with any of those va
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 3 weeks ago
I
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 3 weeks ago
For candidates pursuing MBA, the eligibility criteria includes merit and entrance based selection. Whereas, for BBA, candidates must qualify Class 12 with a minimum aggregate. JIIT CDOE MBA on the other hand, is offered based on the minimum aggregate of graduation. However, for the final admission,
M
Contributor-Level 8
Answered 3 weeks ago
Yes, students can get MBA admission into Galgotia University without CAT. The university accepts other national entrance exams for MBA programme. The university accepts entrance exams such as MAT, CMAT, XAT, SAT, and other. It is mandatory to qualify one of the entrance exams.
K
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 3 weeks ago
Yes, students can get admission in Greater Noida Institute of Technology without CAT. CAT is one of the accepted entrance exams at Greater Noida Institute of Technology. The other accepted entrance exams are MAT, NMAT, XAT, CMAT, and others. If a student's CAT score is not good, worry not other acce
A
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 3 weeks ago
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi offers various programmes and specilisations across various streams. For obtaining IIFT Delhi admission, candidates are required to appear for the prescribed entrance tests. Students can visit the official website of the IIFT Delhi to learn more regarding the
U
Contributor-Level 8
To get admission in IIM Bangalore, studnets are required to fulfil the admission criteria of the desired programme. have a bachelor's degree with a minimum of 50% or an equivalent CGPA (45% for candidates belonging to the SC/ST/PwD category). IIM Bangalore admission is completely entrance-based. Admission to the flagship course, i.e., the MBA of IIM Bangalore, is based on a valid score in the CAT exam, followed by a personal interview (PI) and written ability test (What) round. IIM Bangalore offers admission to Indian students via CAT and international students via GMAT/GRE. IIM Bangalore conducts the IIM-B tests for admission to Executive MBA (EPGP) and PhD courses.