IIM Reservation Policy 2025: Understanding the Quota System in IIM Admissions

IIM Reservation Policy 2025: Understanding the Quota System in IIM Admissions

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Team Careers360Updated on 28 Aug 2025, 09:55 AM IST

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) reserves seats for candidates belonging to SC, ST, OBC, PwD, and EwS categories. The IIM reservation policy is made for those talented candidates who lack the resources to complete their education. As per IIM Reservation Policy 2025, OBC is 27%, SC is 15%, ST is 7.5%, PwD is 5%, and EwS is 10%. Continue reading this article to know the number of seats reserved for candidates belonging to the reservation category and their cutoffs for IIM admission.

This Story also Contains

  1. IIM Reservation Policy 2025
  2. IIM reservation Policy for MBA 2025: Cut Off
  3. Step-by-Step: Reservation Across Admission in IIM
  4. IIM Reservation Policy 2025: Final Selection
IIM Reservation Policy 2025: Understanding the Quota System in IIM Admissions
IIM Reservation Policy 2025 for OBS, SC, EWS and PwD

For IIM Reservation Cut Off Check Out: IIM Admission

IIM Reservation Policy 2025

Candidates can check out the percentage of IIM reservation seats for MBA admission given below:

  • IIM reservation for OBC (Non-creamy layer): 27%
  • IIM reservation for SC (Schedule Caste): 15%
  • IIM reservation for ST (Schedule Tribe): 7.5%
  • PwD reservation in IIM (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities): 5%
  • Economically Weaker Sections (EWS): up to 10%

A “person with benchmark disability” means a person with not less than forty percent (40%) of a specified disability where the specified disability has not been defined in measurable terms. Whereas a person with disabilities is where a specified disability has been defined in measurable terms, as certified by the certifying authority.

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IIM reservation Policy for MBA 2025: Cut Off

IIMs accept CAT exam for admission to its MBA programmes. The CAT cut off set by IIMs for MBA/PGDM admission varies from college to college. Candidates belonging to the reserved category can have a look at the range of IIM reservation cut off given below:

Category

CAT cut off (Percentile)

OBC

70 - 80

SC

45 - 70

ST

35 - 65

PwD

30 - 60

EWS

70 - 85

Candidates belonging to the IIM reservation quota category must upload their certificates as proof while filling out the CAT registration form.

Step-by-Step: Reservation Across Admission in IIM

The IIM admission policy does not revolve around a single exam or metric. Instead, it involves around multiple stages, and the reservation policy applied at each step, which are mentioned below:

Shortlisting for WAT-PI (Written Ability Test and Personal Interview)

These are the first cut offs that are released after CAT results and is roughly similar for all the IIMs. Each IIM will release their own shortlist based on minimum CAT percentile cutoffs. However, one must note that the cutoff is lower for reserve categories as compared to the General category.

Take a look at the following cutoff which we have listed for all the categories:

Category

Cutoff (Approx.)

General

98+ percentile

NC-OBC

90-92 percentile

SC

80-85 percentile

ST

70-72 percentile

PwD (depends on the horizontal category)

60-70 percentile


IIM Reservation Policy 2025: Final Selection

Post the completion of the WAT-PI rounds, all IIMs will calculate the composite score for each category. It will include CAT percentile, academic scores, work experience, performance in WAT-Pi and diversity factors.

Each category will have its own merit list, meaning that candidates are only competing with others in their own reservation group.

Seat Allotment and Waitlist Movement

Post the release of the final offers, all candidates will need to either accept or reject the offer. Additionally, seats that remain empty due to rejections will then be offered to the next candidates on the category-wise waitlists. This will be done to maintain the reservation percentages.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is the reservation policy for IIM?
A:

All IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) follow the government's reservation policy quotas for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backwards Classes (OBC), Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Persons with Disabilities (PwD). Specifically, 15% of seats are reserved for SC candidates, 7.5% for ST candidates and 27% of OBC candidates. 

Q: Is it easy for SC to get into IIM?
A:

As compared to general category and other few categories, IIM cut off for SC is between 40 to 70 percentile. So, it is easier for SCs to clear the minimum CAT cut off and get into IIMs.

Q: Do we have reservations in IIM?
A:

Yes, IIMs provide IIM reservation quota for SC ST, OBC, PwD and EWS categories. 

Q: What is the cut off for IIM reservation?
A:

The minimum qualifying CAT cut off for reserved categories falls between 30 to 85 percentile.

Q: What is the quota of IIM SC ST?
A:

The IIM reservation quota cut off for SC is 40-70 and ST is 35-65 percentile. The IIM Cut offs cary depends on the college.

Q: Is there any home state quota in IIM?
A:

No, IIMs do not provide any home state quota.

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Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

Hello dear candidate,

Yes, you have a very good chance of getting a BPT seat with 488 out of 600 and TS EAMCET rank of 14,000 under the ST category.

As the cut off of BPT for ST category students are generally between 25,000 to 45,000 ranks, depending upon the college and you have TS EAMCET rank of 14,000.

Thank you.

If you got 802 marks in Telangana Intermediate and belong to the ST category, you have a fair chance to get admission in a BPT course in 2025, but it depends on the college and cut-off. Most BPT colleges in Telangana ask for 12th marks in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, and some also use the TS EAMCET rank for admission. The cut-off for ST students is usually lower than for general students, but it changes every year. It is better to check the previous year’s cut-offs of the colleges you want to apply to.

Hello, Getting shortlisted for IIM Lucknow or IIT Bombay (SJMSOM) with your profile is challenging, primarily due to your 58% in Class 10th, which significantly impacts the composite score calculation for both institutes. While your 98 percentile CAT score is excellent, and your 24 months of work experience, B.Com (Hons) background (providing academic diversity, especially for IIM-L), and KVS National player status are valuable additions, top IIMs and IITs heavily weigh consistent academic performance. Your 74% in 12th is also on the lower side. IIM Lucknow places substantial weight on 10th and 12th marks, making a call quite difficult despite your strengths. You likely have a relatively better, though still uncertain, chance at IIT Bombay, as their weighting might be slightly less penalizing for past academics compared to IIM-L, and your high CAT score is a major factor. However, the low 10th score remains a significant hurdle for both prestigious institutions.

I hope you found this information helpful and for study related queries you can ask in careers360 app, Have a great day and!

Hey,

You already have a strong profile with the score of 58% in Class 10, 74% in Class 12, and 80% in graduation, but admission in IIT Bombay, Shailesh J Mehta School of Management is quite competitive, especially if you are in general category because the cutoff for general goes to 98.5-99%. Your CAT percentage is impressive but your 10th marks might reduce your score during the shortlisting process. If you perform well in Written Ability Test and Personal Interview, and present your commerce background you still stand a fair chance. But it would also be wise if you have some backups like MDI Gurugram, IMT Ghaziabad, IMI Delhi, where your marks and profile will fit well in their selection range.

HELLO,

I am providing you the link below through which you will be able to download the previous 10 years CAT question papers

Here is the link :- CAT Previous year Question papers

Hope this Helps!