CAT 2020 to be held on November 29 in three shifts across 159 cities

Number of centres up from 376 last year to 430, registrations down by over 15,000

After a 5-year lull, CAT registrations up 15.6% — Last year, CAT 2019 was held on Sunday, November 24, with eventually 209,926 candidates taking the test.

Vinay Umarji Ahmedabad

2 min read Last Updated : Nov 27 2020 | 10:39 PM IST

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Unlike the usual two shifts, the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2020 will be held in three shifts on Sunday, November 29, even as more centres and cities are added to ensure safety measures for candidates.

The gateway to the 20 premier Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and over 110 non-IIM B-schools, CAT 2020 will be held this year at 430 centres in 159 cities, up from 376 centres in 156 cities in two sessions last year. The computerised entrance paper will be held in three sessions, starting from 8:30 am to 10:30 am, followed by 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm and 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

Being held by IIM Indore this year on behalf of all IIMs, the premier B-school and its delivery partner Tata Consulting Services (TCS) have taken steps to ensure implementation of the Government of India advisory on social distancing and other preventive/protective measures at the examination centres. "Additional measures have been taken to minimise the travel needs of candidates by increasing the centres for examination to 430 across the country," IIM Indore stated.

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However, this year number of candidates registering for CAT 2020 has come down by over 15,000. As against over 244,000 candidates registering for CAT 2019, this year 228,000 have registered.

The CAT Convenor has also approached the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of various states and UTs to request their full support in the smooth conduct of the CAT exam and to allow and facilitate the candidates to travel with their admit cards as curfew pass in case of lockdowns or curfews. The local authorities have also been requested to provide necessary administrative facilitation and security for conducting the CAT Examination on November 29, 2020.

Last year, CAT 2019 was held on Sunday, November 24, with eventually 209,926 candidates taking the test.

Carrying a duration of 180 minutes, the computer-based entrance test is usually divided into three sections, namely, verbal ability and reading comprehension (VARC), data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR) and quantitative ability (QA). Last year, the paper was easier than previous years, CAT takers and experts had observed.