CAT 2020 is right around the corner. Everyone has been looking forward to it. IIM Indore is the conducting body of the exam this year. Due to the ongoing pandemic, a couple of changes have been made in the CAT exam 2020. With CAT 2020 knocking at the Door.
With CAT 2020 knocking at the Door
However, do keep reading to find out about the latest notifications on the exam. The CAT paper will be conducted over three shifts; they are mentioned below:
- Morning: 8.30 AM to 10.30 AM
- Afternoon: 12.30 PM to 2.30 PM
- Evening: 4.30 PM to 6.30 PM
CAT 2020 Important Dates
| Event | Date | Time |
| Registration Starts | August 5th, 2020 (Wednesday) | 10:00 A.M |
| Registration Extended | September 23rd, 2020 (Wednesday) | 5:00 P.M |
| Download CAT 2020 Admit Card | October 28th, 2020 (Wednesday) | 5:00 P.M |
| Exam | November 29th, 2020 (Sunday) | In 3 shifts –
Morning, Afternoon, Evening |
Earlier, the final date for registration was announced to be 16th September 2020. Noting that several candidates had difficulty in signing up, the date has been extended to 23rd September 2020 until 5:00 pm. There will not be any more extensions or changes to the dates. The exam will be held in three sessions instead of two sessions.
CAT 2020 Registration – Latest Updates
As per the latest notifications, it is highly recommended that you should register as early as possible. After the registrations have been closed, the candidate can edit the following fields –
- Photograph,
- Signature, and
- Exam Center Preference.
A small window will be made available for the candidate to edit the fields. Editing any other fields will not be allowed. This will only be made available to the candidates that have paid the application fee and completed their registrations successfully. The last date for registration has been updated to 23rd September 2020. You can register on the official website only. To register for the exam, one has to pay an increased application fee of 2000 INR for the General Category. 1000 INR is the fee for reserved categories.
CAT 2020 Exam Pattern – Revised
IIM Indore has tweaked the CAT 2020 exam pattern a bit. The details of the new exam pattern are mentioned below:
| Section | Subject | Duration |
| Section I | Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension | 40 minutes |
| Section II | Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning | 40 minutes |
| Section III | Quantitative Ability | 40 minutes |
The exam duration has been reduced to 120 minutes. Students will now have exactly 40 minutes to solve each section. It is not just allowed to switch from one section to another while answering questions in a section. The number of questions per section will be –
| Section | Total Number of Questions | Number of MCQ questions | Number of Non-MCQ questions |
| Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 34, RC has 24 questions, and VA has 10 questions | 24 to 27 | 7 to 10 |
| Quant | 34 | 22 to 24 | 10 – 12 |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning | 32, DI-16 questions, LR-16 questions | 24 | 8 |
| Total Marks | 100 | 75 | 25 |
The CAT 2020 Marking scheme suggests that 3 marks will be awarded for correct answers, and 1 mark will be deducted for wrong answers. There will be no negative marking in non-MCQs. There are no changes in the CAT 2020 syllabus, though, as of now. To check the latest updates regarding CAT 2020 Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Marking Scheme, Mock Test, click here. The exam centers have not been finalized yet, but as per the last notification, there were 156 exam centers across India.
CAT 2020 Test Instructions
All instructions will appear on the screen just before the commencement of the exam. Aspirants must give their tests as per the guidelines mentioned on the screen.
After login into the respective systems, a clock will start ticking at the right side of the computer screen. This will show the passage of time of the exam in a section-wise way. The moment the allotted time duration for a particular section is complete, the aspirants will have to move on to the next sections.
This will guide the candidates to attempt questions based on priority.
- Red signifies the Questions that are not answered or marked for review.
- Green states the Questions that are answered but not marked for review.
- Grey – Questions that are neither viewed nor visited.
- Violet – Questions that are not answered but marked for review.
- Violet with a Grey Mark – Questions that are both answered and marked for review.
Conclusion | With CAT 2020 knocking at the Door
The IIMs have made it clear that CAT 2020 is a computer-based test and not an online test. All the details mentioned above will likely stay the same, having said that the uncertainties due to this pandemic can bring forth further modifications. There may be further updates regarding the same depending on any guidelines that the Central Government, State Government. The exam authorities will release such changes in due course (if any). Aspirants who are planning to take the CAT 2020 test, must stay tuned to the official websites for any further notifications.
