CAT 2026 registration number decreased !! As per the reports from the national daily Indian Express, CAT 2026 registration number is around 2.84 Lakhs which is almost 10 thousand less than that of last year. The decrease in CAT 2026 total application number has been going on for the last couple of years.The total CAT 2026 registration number has decreased more than 13 % in the last three years. While there has been no official confirmation as of now about how many candidates will appear for CAT 2026, it is of course going to be less than last year. CAT 2026 will be held on November 29, 2026 for the 22 IIMs along with other prominent B-Schools across the country. Looking at the trends of the past years, there will be 8284+ seats up for grabs in 22 IIMs, the top B-Schools in the country via CAT 2026.
The final official figures for CAT 2026 registrations and candidates who appeared should be confirmed by the CAT conducting authority. The actual attendance figure may be available through the official CAT results/statistics or post-exam announcements. CAT 2026 will be conducted by IIM Indore on November 29, 2026, and the CAT 2026 result is expected in the first week of January 2027. The number of CAT 2026 registrations and the total count of students participating in the CAT exam are mentioned here.
Total CAT 2026 Registrations | To Be Updated |
Number of students attending the CAT 2026 exam | To Be Updated |
% of students who attended CAT 2026 | To Be Updated |
If one looks at the previous trends of the CAT application one thing will be evident that CAT registration and number of students appearing for CAT has decreased more than 13%.
Year | Total CAT registrations | Increase /Decrease | Total Students Appeared for the CAT exam | Increase /Decrease |
CAT 2026 | 2.84 Lakhs | ↓3.73% | - | - |
CAT 2025 | 2.95 Lakhs | ↓ 10.33% | 2.58 Lakhs | ↓ 11.95% |
CAT 2024 | 3.29 Lakhs | ↑ 0.30% | 2.93 Lakhs | ↑ 0.30% |
CAT 2023 | 3.28 Lakhs | - | 2.88 Lakhs | - |
In CAT 2025, 2.95 lakh candidates registered and 2.58 lakh appeared for the exam. Check out the last six years CAT exam attendance to understand how the trends have changed this year.
Year | CAT Conducting IIMs | Total CAT registrations | Total Students Appeared for the CAT exam |
2026 | IIM Indore | 2.84 Lakhs | - |
2025 | IIM Kozhikode | 2.95 Lakhs | 2.58 Lakhs |
2024 | IIM Calcutta | 3.29 Lakhs | 2.93 Lakhs |
2023 | IIM Lucknow | 3.28 lakhs | 2.88 lakh |
2022 | IIM Bangalore | 2.55 lakhs | 2.22 lakh |
2021 | IIM Ahmedabad | 2.30 lakhs | 1.90 lakh |
2020 | IIM Indore | 2.30 lakhs | 1.90 lakh |
While the discussions about the number of CAT 2026 applications and how many candidates will be appearing for CAT 2026 goes on, here is the list of IIM Fees 2027 based on the trends of the previous years.
IIMs in India | Flagship 2-Year MBA/PGP Programme Fee |
26.30 Lakhs | |
20.75 Lakhs | |
27.50 Lakhs (2025-27) | |
25.00 Lakhs (2023-25) | |
23.50 Lakhs | |
25.15 Lakhs | |
21.50 Lakhs | |
21.13 Lakhs | |
25.00 Lakhs | |
22.80 Lakhs | |
21.51 Lakhs | |
21.00 Lakhs | |
17.90 Lakhs | |
20.08 Lakhs | |
17.96 Lakhs | |
21.00 Lakhs | |
26.18 Lakhs (2024-26) | |
20.80 Lakhs | |
21.24 Lakhs | |
23.58 Lakhs | |
19.20 Lakhs | |
18.00 Lakhs |
The above-mentioned fees are as per last year's (2026-28) MBA fees.
Those who are appearing for the CAT 2026 , majorly prioritise to take MBA 2027-29 admission in the 22 IIMs, the premier B-Schools in India. Therefore here is the expected number of IIM seats available based on the trends of past years. Around 2.84 lakh candidates are reported to have registered for CAT 2026, while recent intake figures suggest that the 22 IIMs together may offer around 8,284+ seats across their flagship two-year MBA/PGP programmes. However, the number of registered candidates should not be directly equated with the number of candidates competing for these seats.
IIM Ahmedabad seats | 414 |
IIM Bangalore seats | 540 |
IIM Calcutta seats | 480 |
IIM Lucknow seats | 504 (2024-26) |
IIM Indore seats | 487 |
IIM Nagpur seats | 340 |
518 (2025-27) | |
IIM Kozhikode seats | 497 |
IIM Amritsar seats | 355 (2025-27) |
IIM Sambalpur seats | 320 |
IIM Raipur seats | 348 |
IIM Ranchi seats | 314 |
IIM Vizag seats | 341 |
IIM Bodh Gaya seats | 293 |
IIM Shillong seats | 419 |
IIM Sirmaur seats | 297 (2024-26) |
IIM Rohtak seats | 264 |
IIM Kashipur | 350 |
IIM Udaipur seats | 378 |
IIM Jammu | 300 |
IIM Trichy seats | 455(2024-26) |
IIM Guwahati seats | 70 |
Total | 8284 |
The above-mentioned seats are based on last three years
On Question asked by student community
Hello, CAT aur B-school entrance exams ke baare mein aap exam dates, eligibility, registration, exam pattern, syllabus, colleges ya admission process ki information dekh sakte hain. Aapki requirement ke according relevant details yahan mil sakti hain: https://bschool.careers360.com/exams
You can download the latest CAT syllabus from here:
Hey there,
For a B.Sc. with Chemistry, Botany and Zoology (CBZ), if the CAT application asks separately for:
If the Discipline dropdown has a more specific option such as “Biological Sciences,” “Life Sciences,” or “Zoology/Botany,”
Hey there,
Yes. With 2 years of work experience, you are eligible to target the regular 2-year MBA at IIM Calcutta as long as you have a bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD). Work experience is not required for eligibility.
For
Hey there,
For NIT Hamirpur MBA, the General-category CAT cutoff is not a fixed official percentile. NIT Hamirpur's 2026–27 admission process gives CAT a 10/10 weightage in the test component, followed by an interview; it accepts CAT, CMAT and MAT.
As a practical target, 80+ percentile is worth considering, while
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