IIM Amritsar - Indian Institute of Management Cutoff

What the published percentiles mean

IIM Amritsar’s latest admission policies reviewed for its MBA, MBA in Business Analytics (MBA-BA) and MBA in Human Resources (MBA-HR) are for the 2026-28 batch, based on CAT 2025. They list minimum CAT percentile floors for entry to the first shortlist. They are not the score of the last candidate invited to interview, a final admission cutoff, or a promise of a PI call. The institute says selection criteria and weights are set for each admission cycle. Applicants planning for 2027-29 should use these tables as the latest published reference, not assume they carry forward unchanged.

All three 2026-28 programme tables show the same minimums. Percentiles are listed as Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), then overall:

TableCards

Category	QA	DILR	VARC	Overall
General	80	75	80	90
EWS	80	75	77	90
NC-OBC	65	60	65	80
SC	55	50	52	55
ST	40	35	37	40
PwD	40	35	37	40

These are category-specific published floors, not interchangeable estimates. Use the row that matches the category under which you apply, and check the institute’s live policy for definitions and documentation. The policies also say a candidate must have a positive raw score in every CAT section. Meeting percentile floors alone does not guarantee shortlisting: the first shortlist is followed by further ranking and a limited number of PI invitations.

How the shortlist proceeds

For the 2026-28 MBA and MBA-BA policies, CAT contributes 50% of the pre-PI score, with Class 10 and Class 12 board scores at 10% each, graduation at 5%, gender diversity at 10%, and work experience at 15%. MBA-HR uses a different pre-PI mix: CAT 40%, Class 10 and 12 at 10% each, graduation 5%, gender diversity 10%, work experience 15%, and academic diversity 10%. The distinction matters: even when the percentile floors match, applicants should not assume the programme routes rank profiles identically.

The institute first selects candidates for PI from those meeting its section-wise and overall floors and positive raw-score condition. It then combines pre-PI and post-PI scores for final ranking. In the current MBA policy, the post-PI score assigns 70% to PI and 10% each to work experience, gender diversity and academic diversity. MBA-BA assigns 70% to PI, 15% to work experience, 10% to gender diversity and 5% to academic diversity. MBA-HR assigns 70% to PI and 10% each to work experience, gender diversity and academic diversity. The final score gives 60% weight to pre-PI and 40% to post-PI for these three policies. Read the programme-specific policy before estimating how any one component may affect your application.

The current policies explain that candidates are ranked by composite scores and that only a reasonable number are called for interview. They do not publish the category-wise last percentile or CAT score of candidates actually called, nor a final admitted-candidate cutoff. That information cannot be derived from the minimum eligibility table. A percentile above the listed floor may still not result in an invitation, while the published floor is not a forecast of the final cohort’s score distribution.

What changed in the published MBA and MBA-BA floors

The institute’s Hindi policy pages also preserve the 2025-27 CAT 2024 tables for MBA and MBA-BA. Comparing those directly with the 2026-28 CAT 2025 policies shows the following changes in minimum first-shortlist floors. The MBA and MBA-BA historical tables match each other, and the two current programme tables match each other:

TableCards

Category	2025-27 CAT 2024 QA / DILR / VARC / overall	2026-28 CAT 2025 QA / DILR / VARC / overall
General	80 / 75 / 75 / 90	80 / 75 / 80 / 90
EWS	80 / 75 / 75 / 90	80 / 75 / 77 / 90
NC-OBC	65 / 60 / 60 / 80	65 / 60 / 65 / 80
SC	55 / 50 / 50 / not displayed	55 / 50 / 52 / 55
ST	35 / 35 / 35 / 40	40 / 35 / 37 / 40
PwD	35 / 35 / 35 / 40	40 / 35 / 37 / 40

Across these two published editions, QA floors rose by five percentile points for ST and PwD; VARC rose by five for General and NC-OBC, two for EWS, SC, ST and PwD. The other displayed section and overall values stayed the same. The older Hindi tables do not display an overall value on their SC row, so this comparison leaves it unfilled rather than reconstructing it. This is a comparison of the minimum criteria written in two policy editions, not evidence that actual interview invitations or admitted candidates had those scores. The institute explicitly states its criteria and weights are decided annually and that the older policy cannot be used to infer a future cycle. The historical pages are therefore useful for context, but the 2026-28 policy should not be relabelled as a 2027-29 rule.

Use the right policy for your application

Start with the programme-specific admissions page and confirm its batch label, CAT year, category row and definitions. If applying to MBA-BA or MBA-HR, do not substitute a general MBA page just because some thresholds match; the programme’s pre-PI and post-PI weights differ. Keep a copy of the policy applicable to your cycle and verify changes when IIM Amritsar publishes the next admission criteria. For a 2027-29 application, the next policy’s minimums, score weights, eligibility details and interview process remain unconfirmed in the material reviewed here.

The institute’s admission pages are the responsible source for these values. They provide minimum shortlisting criteria and the scoring framework, but not an actual closing percentile, category-wise shortlist size or last admitted score. Applicants should treat the table as an initial eligibility check, then plan around the full composite process rather than a single CAT number.