CAT Reservation 2025: Category-Wise IIM Reservation, Seat Matrix ,Quotas

CAT Reservation 2025 plays a major role in the admission process for the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). The CAT exam itself has no reservations. However, the IIM reservation policy strictly follows the Government of India guidelines for SC, ST, OBC, EWS, and PwD candidates. Every year, thousands of aspirants search for details like “reservation in CAT exam”, “total seats in IIM for MBA”, and  “category-wise reservation” to understand their chances of admission. In this blog, we break down the complete IIM seat matrix. We also answer whether there is a reservation in CAT. And provide clarity on the number of IIM seats in India for 2025.

CAT Reservation Policy 2025 – Category-Wise Reservation

The IIM reservation policy strictly follows the Government of India guidelines. Once you clear the CAT exam, the admissions process at IIMs allocates seats based on your category. Here is the updated category-wise reservation in IIMs for 2025: 

CAT and IIM Reservation Criteria 2025

For availing the reserved category benefits, specific category-wise criteria must be fulfilled by the applicant.
Essential Conditions:

• SC/ST candidates must make sure their caste or tribe appear in the official government list.
• OBC candidates must belong to the non-creamy layer category as per the central list. Additionally, they must provide proof of their income for the latest year.
• EWS category candidates must have their latest year’s income certificate and asset certificates.
• The PwD candidates must have 40% or more disability (benchmark) as defined by the government (RPwD Act 2016).

The certificates mentioned must be uploaded during the CAT registration and presented at the interview.

The table below explains the CAT reservation criteria document requirements:

IIM Reservation & Seat Distribution

Currently, there are 21 IIMs in India offering MBA/PGP programs. As of 2025, the total number of seats in IIMs for MBA is around 5,500–6,000 seats across all campuses.

Here’s a quick look at the IIM seats in India (approximate intake):

• Older IIMs (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Kozhikode, Indore) – 400 to 600 seats each.
• Newer IIMs (Ranchi, Rohtak, Raipur, Trichy, Udaipur, Kashipur, Nagpur, etc.) – 200 to 350 seats each.
• Newest IIMs (Sirmaur, Amritsar, Sambalpur, Jammu, Bodh Gaya, Visakhapatnam, etc.) – 120 to 180 seats each.

Category-wise Seat Distribution in IIMs

Here is the category-wise seat breakdown of the total number of seats in IIMs:

• General Category: 2,200 seats (40% of total seats)

• OBC-NCL Category: 1,485 seats (27% of total seats)

• SC Category: 825 seats (15% of total seats)

• ST Category: 413 seats (7.5% of total seats)

• EWS Category: 550 seats (10% of total seats)

• PwD Category: 275 seats (5% of total seats)

Top IIM Seats in India

This breakdown helps aspirants understand how category-wise reservation impacts IIM seat allocation.

Category-wise Expected CAT Cut Off Range 2025

Based on the previous year patterns, here are the expected CAT percentile ranges for clearing category-wise cutoffs: 

• General Category: 85-100 percentile
• OBC-NCL Category: 75-95 percentile
• SC Category: 38-70 percentile
• ST Category: 35-65 percentile
• EWS Category: 80-95 percentile
• PwD Category: 30-85 percentile

CAT Reservation for Women

Although there is no specified reservation for women in the CAT. However, individual IIMs promote gender diversity, awarding women candidates bonus points during the selection process. Some examples include:

• IIM Bangalore gives 5 bonus points to women candidates.
• IIM Calcutta gives 4 bonus points to women candidates.

These points are added in the final shortlisting and promote the gender ratio in campuses.

Conclusion

Understanding the CAT reservation policy 2025 is crucial for every MBA aspirant. IIMs follow the Government of India’s guidelines, and students from SC, ST, OBC-NCL, EWS, and PwD categories benefit from reserved seats. Compared to IITs, IIMs have fewer seats, making strategic preparation for CAT even more important.

Irrespective of your category, your focus should be on building a strong preparation strategy. Keeping the reservation criteria, seat availability, and cut-offs in mind is then helpful. This clarity will help you set realistic goals and plan your journey to an IIM seat effectively.