CAT 2026 registration closes today at 5 pm, says IIM Indore

IIM Indore is closing the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 registration window today, September 15, at 5 pm. Applications must be submitted at iimcat.ac.in. A short correction window will follow for photograph, signature and test city preferences. The exam will be held on November 29, 2026 in three sessions, for 120 minutes, in about 170 cities. Fees are Rs 1,350 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates and Rs 2,700 for others. Admit cards will be available from November 4, 2026.

Written by AI from NDTV — India · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 15 Sept 2026, 9:01 am IST

Source

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#cat 2026#iim indore#mba entrance#exam registration#admissions

Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)

IIM Indore closes CAT 2026 registration today, September 15, at 5 pm on iimcat.ac.in. — Stated in source and attributed to the exam-conducting body; year of the September 15 deadline is not specified, an inconsistency an editor should check.
CAT will be held on November 29, 2026 in three sessions across about 170 cities, 120 minutes duration. — Figures appear in the source; no document or official notification is cited.
Fees are Rs 1,350 for SC/ST/PwBD and Rs 2,700 for all others, non-refundable. — Figures appear in the source; no source link or notification quoted.
Eligibility requires a bachelor's degree with 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwBD); final-year students are eligible. — Consistent with standard criteria as described in the source; not independently verified.
Admit cards can be downloaded from November 4, 2026; a short correction window will follow for photograph, signature and test city preferences. — Stated in source without attribution to a specific official document.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI విధాన విశ్లేషకులు · తెలుగు

క్యాట్ 2026 రిజిస్ట్రేషన్ ప్రక్రియ రూపకల్పన చూస్తే, ఇది కఠినమైన "ఒకే గడువు, రీఫండ్ లేదు" నమూనా — పరీక్ష నిర్వహణలో స్పష్టత, ఏకరూపత సాధించడానికి ఉపయోగపడే డిజైన్, కానీ దరఖాస్తుదారుపై బాధ్యతను పూర్తిగా మోపే డిజైన్ కూడా. సుమారు 170 నగరాల్లో పరీక్ష, కేటగిరీల ఆధారంగా సగం ఫీజు, తగ్గించిన అర్హత మార్కులు వంటివి ప్రవేశ అవకాశాలను విస్తృతం చేసే ప్రామాణిక సానుకూల చర్యలు. అయితే గడువు తర్వాత సవరణ పరిధి ఫొటో, సంతకం, పరీక్ష నగరం మాత్రమే కావడం — అంటే విద్యా, కేటగిరీ వివరాల్లో పొరపాట్లకు దిద్దుబాటు మార్గం ఉన్నట్టు కథనంలో లేదు.

ఎస్సీ, ఎస్టీ, పీడబ్ల్యూబీడీలకు రూ.1,350 vs ఇతరులకు రూ.2,700 — ఫీజులో సగం రాయితీ, అర్హత మార్కుల్లో 50% నుంచి 45%కి సడలింపు అనేవి ఆర్థిక, సామాజిక అడ్డంకులను తగ్గించే ఉద్దేశంతో ఉన్న రెండంచెల విధాన నమూనా.
ఫీజు ఎట్టి పరిస్థితుల్లోనూ వాపసు ఇవ్వబోమనే నిబంధన నిర్వహణ సంస్థకు ఆర్థిక నిశ్చితత్వం ఇస్తుంది, కానీ చివరి క్షణంలో అర్హత లేదా పత్రాల సమస్య ఎదురైన అభ్యర్థికి ఎలాంటి రక్షణ ఉండదు.
సవరణ కిటికీ కేవలం ఫీజు చెల్లించి రిజిస్ట్రేషన్ పూర్తి చేసిన వారికే, అది కూడా చాలా స్వల్ప కాలం — ఇది దుర్వినియోగాన్ని అడ్డుకునే కట్టుదిట్టమైన డిజైన్, అయితే నిజమైన పొరపాట్లకు వెసులుబాటును కూడా కుదిస్తుంది.
సుమారు 170 నగరాల్లో మూడు సెషన్లలో 120 నిమిషాల పరీక్ష అంటే ప్రయాణ భారం తగ్గించే భౌగోళిక విస్తరణ; అదే సమయంలో సెషన్‌ల మధ్య ప్రశ్నపత్రాల సమాన కాఠిన్యత (నార్మలైజేషన్) అనే పాత సవాలు కొనసాగుతుంది.
చివరి సంవత్సరం విద్యార్థులు, ఫలితాల కోసం ఎదురుచూస్తున్న వారికీ అర్హత కల్పించడం — ఇది విద్యా సంవత్సర చక్రంతో ప్రవేశ ప్రక్రియను సమన్వయం చేసే దీర్ఘకాలిక, స్థిరపడిన విధాన పద్ధతి.

What to watch — గడువు పొడిగింపు ప్రకటన వస్తుందా, సవరణ కిటికీ ఎప్పుడు–ఎన్ని రోజులు తెరుస్తారు, నవంబర్ 4 నుంచి అడ్మిట్ కార్డుల్లో కేటాయించిన పరీక్ష నగరాలు అభ్యర్థుల ప్రాధాన్యతలకు ఎంత మేర సరిపోతాయి — ఈ మూడింటిని గమనించాలి.

ఈ కథనం దరఖాస్తుల సంఖ్య, గత ఏడాదితో పోలిస్తే ఫీజు లేదా నగరాల మార్పు, గడువు పొడిగింపు అవకాశం, లేదా సవరణ కిటికీ ఖచ్చితమైన తేదీల గురించి ఏమీ నిర్ధారించలేదు.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 4 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is the national entrance test for admission to postgraduate management programmes at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and many other business schools. Each year one IIM conducts it on a rotational basis; for CAT 2026 the conducting body is IIM Indore. The registration window for CAT 2026, run through the official portal iimcat.ac.in, closes on September 15 at 5 pm, after which no forms will be accepted and only a brief correction window will be allowed.

Key facts

IIM Indore is the conducting body for CAT 2026; registration closes on September 15 at 5 pm on iimcat.ac.in.
No application forms will be accepted after the registration window closes.
A very short correction window will open only for candidates who registered and paid the fee before the deadline.
Correction is permitted only for photograph, signature and test city preferences.
CAT 2026 will be held on November 29, 2026 in three sessions: VARC, DILR and Quantitative Ability.
The test duration is 120 minutes and it will be conducted in approximately 170 cities.
Application fee is Rs 1,350 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates and Rs 2,700 for all others; fees are non-refundable.
Admit cards can be downloaded from November 4, 2026 onwards.

Timeline

September 15 (today), 5 pmCAT 2026 registration window closes on iimcat.ac.in; no forms accepted thereafter.
After registration closes (dates not stated in the source)Short correction window for photograph, signature and test city preferences for those who paid the fee.
November 4, 2026CAT 2026 admit cards available for download.
November 29, 2026CAT 2026 held in three sessions, 120 minutes, in about 170 cities.

Who has a stake

IIM Indore — Conducting body responsible for registration, correction window, admit cards and conduct of CAT 2026.
General, EWS and NC-OBC candidates — Must hold a bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA and pay Rs 2,700 as fee.
SC, ST and PwBD candidates — Relaxed eligibility of minimum 45% marks and a lower fee of Rs 1,350.
Final-year undergraduate students and those awaiting results — Eligible to apply, keeping the applicant pool open to students yet to complete degrees.
IIMs and other management institutes — Depend on CAT scores as the basis for admission to postgraduate management programmes.

Why it matters

CAT is the single gateway to the IIMs and many other management institutes, so a missed 5 pm deadline means waiting an entire year. The narrow correction window, limited to photograph, signature and test city preference, and the strictly non-refundable fee mean errors in other fields cannot be undone. With the exam spread over about 170 cities in three sessions, logistical choices made at registration directly shape a candidate's test-day experience.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

CAT 2026 conducting body: IIM Indore; official portal iimcat.ac.in.
CAT 2026 exam date: November 29, 2026; duration 120 minutes; three sessions; about 170 cities.
CAT sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), Quantitative Ability (QA).
Eligibility: 50% marks or equivalent CGPA in bachelor's degree for General/EWS/NC-OBC; 45% for SC/ST/PwBD.
Fee: Rs 1,350 for SC/ST/PwBD; Rs 2,700 for others; payable via UPI, credit/debit card or net banking; non-refundable.
Admit card download begins November 4, 2026.

Mains framing

The CAT 2026 cycle illustrates how high-stakes national entrance testing is administered in India: a single IIM (Indore this year) manages registration, fee collection, a tightly limited correction window, city allocation across roughly 170 centres and a computer-based test of 120 minutes in three sections. Such centralisation ensures uniformity and comparability of scores across thousands of applicants, but it also concentrates risk — a hard 5 pm deadline, non-refundable fees and correction limited to photograph, signature and test city mean administrative slips are effectively irreversible for the candidate. The differentiated design—45% degree marks and Rs 1,350 fee for SC, ST and PwBD candidates against 50% and Rs 2,700 for others, plus eligibility for final-year students awaiting results—shows an attempt to widen access within a competitive framework. The way forward, as the process itself suggests, lies in candidate-side diligence (documents such as Class 10 and 12 marksheets, category, PwD and scribe certificates, scanned photograph and signature ready in advance) and on the administrative side in clear communication of correction and admit-card timelines so that procedural barriers do not decide outcomes that merit should.

Key terms

CAT (Common Admission Test): National computer-based entrance test for postgraduate management programmes, conducted by an IIM on rotation.
IIM Indore: The Indian Institute of Management designated as the conducting body for CAT 2026.
VARC / DILR / QA: The three CAT sessions: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Ability.
PwBD: Persons with Benchmark Disability — a category given relaxed eligibility (45% marks) and reduced fee (Rs 1,350).
NC-OBC: Non-Creamy Layer Other Backward Classes category, required to meet the 50% degree marks norm like General and EWS candidates.
Correction window: Brief post-deadline period in which registered, fee-paid candidates may edit only photograph, signature and test city preferences.

Practice questions

Discuss the administrative challenges of conducting a single high-stakes national entrance test such as CAT across roughly 170 cities in one day, and suggest safeguards for candidates.
Examine how differentiated eligibility and fee norms for SC, ST and PwBD candidates in entrance examinations like CAT seek to balance merit with equity of access.
Why is CAT relevant for admission to IIMs and other management institutes? Outline its structure, sections and key 2026 timelines as notified by IIM Indore.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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