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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CAT Application Date:01 Aug' 25 - 13 Sep' 25

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 Amgothu

With 305 marks in ICAR PG and being from ST category, your chances of getting an AIEEA (CAT) seat is good, especially in plant sciences and less competitive subjects

Hello

As you said you by mistakenly done that,  you don't need to get worry regarding that ,

Just inform the help desk and carry the correct certifications , the state certificate will not disqualify you .

The steps you can follow is -

1. You can check if the correction window is available or not

2. Contact the CAT desk immediately.

Hope this helps

In CAT registration, you cannot create a new user ID with the same mobile number, even if you use a different email ID. Each mobile number and email can be linked to only one account. If you already registered once, the system will not accept a duplicate with that number. To register again, you must use a new mobile number and new email ID. If you lost your old login, you can recover it through the forgot password/user ID option on the CAT portal.



Yes, you can fill the CAT form even if you currently have a backlog. CAT eligibility requires you to be in your final year of graduation or already graduated backlogs don’t stop you from applying.

While filling the form:

  • Enter the aggregate percentage/CGPA of marks you have obtained up to the latest semester for which results are declared (in your case till 4th semester).

  • There will be an option to mention that you have a backlog.

  • If you clear the backlog later, you’ll just need to show the updated marks during admission.

Hello Aspirant,

Yes, you can apply for the CAT exam as a final-year student. You must declare your backlog on the online application form. You do not write about it on the final-year student certificate; that document is to certify your enrollment status. You must clear all backlogs before the final admission process to any MBA college.