IIM Raipur CAT 2026 Cutoff and Eligibility

The CAT 2025-based JAP registration minimums for MBA 2026-28 were:

These were registration floors, not guaranteed PI calls or final admission cutoffs. Positive scaled scores were required in VARC, DILR and QA. JAP could shortlist candidates at higher percentiles after registration.

Raipur also imposed a separate graduation minimum before including a candidate in its final merit list:

For example, a General candidate with 55% in graduation could meet the common JAP degree minimum but not Raipur's 60% final-merit condition. The same distinction applied to EWS and NC-OBC. For SC candidates, Raipur required 50% rather than the common 45%.

School percentages included all subjects on the marksheets. Meeting the CAT examination eligibility did not automatically meet every IIM's admission rules. The CAT cutoff guide explains the difference between qualifying, interview and admission thresholds.

IIM Raipur Selection Score

Raipur described its MBA 2026-28 final-score table as a 150-mark framework:

Gender and academic diversity did not add together. Eligible candidates received either the eight gender-diversity marks or the two academic-diversity marks, not ten. The table's stated total should not be read as permission to claim both components.

The CAT index used the three sectional percentiles and overall percentile with equal weights. The policy called these scaled percentiles but did not publish a complete numerical conversion equation. The index should not be replaced with overall percentile alone or an invented raw-score multiplier.

The PI assessed academic effort, awareness, attitude, personality, communication and work quality. Interview scores were normalised before their final weight was applied. Raipur prepared its own category-wise merit list after the common interview; the other JAP institutes used their own selection rules.

School Marks and Work Experience

Class 10 and Class 12/equivalent/diploma each contributed up to 15 marks, using the same bands:

Both school calculations included every subject listed on the grade sheet. For example, 89.9% in Class 10 earned ten points and 90% in Class 12 earned twelve: 22 points combined. A best-four or best-five percentage could place a candidate in the wrong band.

Work duration was counted in completed months up to 31 December 2025:

For 12-35 months, the compact formula reproduces each published monthly value: 12 months gives 0.6, 18 gives 4.2, 24 gives 7.8 and 35 gives 14.4. The maximum applies at 36-42 months; it falls to ten at 43 months and five after 48 months.

Eligible work was paid, full-time and after the qualifying education. Applicable TDS, provident-fund or professional-tax records supported the claim. The common JAP policy excluded:

• Part-time work, projects, internships and articleship
• Work before graduation or before qualifying CA/ICWA(CMA)/CS results
• Unpaid work and fellowships
• Salary paid in cash or through UPI apps
• Work as an owner of a partnership/sole proprietorship or in a family enterprise
• Company roles where the company paid no GST or had turnover below the GST limits

Having a job title or experience letter did not override these conditions. Work eligibility and the number of points were separate checks: a fresher received zero work points but was not automatically ineligible for the MBA.

Profile and Diversity Points

Four profile points were available for completing or pursuing an undergraduate qualification at a top-ten NIRF 2025 institution in one of these categories: Research Institutes, Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Medical, Dental, Law, Architecture and Planning, Agriculture and Allied Sectors, or Innovation.

An affiliated college or campus absent from the relevant NIRF list could not borrow the parent university's rank. The specified year was 2025; a ranking from another year did not satisfy this criterion by itself.

Completing CFA Level 1, 2 or 3 earned one additional profile point in total. Completing several levels did not multiply that point. CA, ICWA and CS instead appeared among the qualifications eligible for academic diversity.

Female and transgender candidates were eligible for eight gender-diversity points. The alternative two-point academic-diversity route covered these groups:

• Commerce, economics and finance: BAF, BBE, BBI, BCAF, BCCA, B.Com, BFIA, BFM, BHM, BHMCT and BIBF. The list includes economic development/planning; hospitality, catering, hotel, travel and tourism; accountancy, auditing, banking, business mathematics/organisation, finance, IT, insurance, investment analysis, public finance and secretarial practices; and vocational commerce degrees.
• Arts, humanities and related degrees: BA, BAA, BAJM, BCJ, BDES, BED, BFTECH, BJ, BJMC, BL, BM/BMus, BMC, BMM, BSW and LLB. Disciplines include accessories/apparel/fashion communication, design, technology, merchandising and retail management; interior, knitwear, leather, footwear and jewellery design; archaeology, education, fine arts, dance, drama, film, music, painting, history, languages, library science, literature, mass communication, media, philosophy, political science, public administration, social work/welfare and sociology. Also included are physical education/sports, journalism, law, psychology, rural studies/sociology/cooperatives/banking, architecture and vocational arts/education/humanities.
• Professional qualifications: CA, ICWA and CS.
• Medicine and surgery: MBBS, MD and related qualifications.
• Science and agriculture: BS/B.Sc and integrated MS/M.Sc routes include actuarial science; agronomy, soil science, agricultural biochemistry/economics, plant breeding/genetics and plant pathology; biosciences, biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, botany, life science and zoology; BCA/MCA; dentistry; fisheries; forestry; geography/geology/geophysics; horticulture; IT; computer science, mathematics and statistics; chemistry and physics; paramedical/physiotherapy; pharmacology/pharmacy; planning; veterinary science/animal husbandry; media science/technology; physiology; vocational science; home science, nursing and other science branches not otherwise excluded. Agricultural Engineering is excluded from this group. Economics, fashion design, journalism and leather design are excluded from the science grouping, but their relevant routes appear in the other groups above.
• Other degrees: the admission committee decides classifications not covered by the five groups.

The two diversity routes were alternatives. A female non-engineer could not claim eight plus two. A degree name outside the listed groups required an admission-committee classification rather than an assumption that every non-engineer qualified.

JAP Registration and Interview Documents

JAP 2026 brought together IIM Kashipur, Raipur, Ranchi and Tiruchirappalli, with Raipur coordinating. After CAT results, invited candidates had to register online. The invitation itself was not an interview call; a later shortlist determined who attended the joint PI.

The application required an APAAR ID. PwD applicants needed a valid UDID card and benchmark-disability eligibility. Original academic, category, work and professional documents were required for PI verification; failure to produce relevant originals could disqualify a candidate.

Final-year bachelor's and CA/CMA(ICWA)/CS candidates used their latest completed academic-period marks. For the 2026-28 intake, a Principal/Registrar certificate confirming completion of all qualifying requirements had to be issued and submitted by 30 June 2026. Final qualification proof was due when issued and no later than 30 September 2026.

The common interview did not create one combined admission offer. Each institute assessed the candidate under its own policy, so the IIM selection criteria matter alongside the shared JAP requirements. Raipur did not disclose individual PI attribute assessments or permit offer deferment to a later intake.

Offer Acceptance, Waitlist and Refund

Selected candidates had to pay INR 1 lakh through Raipur's portal by the offer-letter deadline. This acceptance amount was adjusted against Term 1 fees; it was not an extra charge above that term's fee.

After acceptance, the institute sent a registration link. The balance Term 1 fee had its own payment deadline. Missing either required payment could withdraw the offer, even if the acceptance amount had already been paid.

Withdrawal before the institute's specified deadline allowed a refund after an INR 1,000 deduction. Pre-registration requests had to go through the admission portal.

After that deadline, a refund after applicable hostel and other deductions depended on the withdrawal not taking the admitted batch below its sanctioned size. If it caused that shortfall, the policy allowed the entire fee to be forfeited. A late refund was therefore not automatic.

Waitlist offers depended on earlier candidates declining or failing to complete admission formalities. A waitlist position was not a CAT rank or a guaranteed seat. The CAT admission process involves separate institute offers and acceptance deadlines rather than one central allotment.

Cutoffs and Scoresentry conditions, merit and score bands Profile and Admissiondiversity, documents and offer rules

1. Registration and Degree Requirements
2. Final-Score Components
3. Academic and Work-Score Reference

1. Profile and Diversity Reference
2. JAP and Document Sequence
3. Acceptance and Withdrawal