IIM Indore PGP 2027-29 Criteria: What Is Known So Far

Exam Updates

IIM Indore conducts CAT 2026, and it also runs its own PGP admission for the 2027-29 batch. Aspirants naturally ask how it will select candidates this time. The honest answer, as of the sources we could read, is that the new policy has not been published, and what exists is the policy for the previous batch.

This guide separates the two. It gives the 2026-28 criteria as a reference, makes clear that they are not the 2027-29 rules, explains what may and may not change, and suggests how to prepare without waiting. The figures come from a Careers360 article last updated on 20 August 2026 and are secondary. We could not open the institute own site, so confirm everything on the official admissions page.

What We Know and What We Do Not

Careers360 wrote, in an article last updated on 20 August 2026, that IIM Indore had not yet published a separate PGP 2027-29 admission procedure and that its admissions page still listed the 2026-28 batch procedure. A search made at the time of writing found no later report that said otherwise, but search results are not proof, and a policy may have been released since.

So the position is this. For 2027-29, we do not have a confirmed set of weights, cutoffs or stages. For 2026-28, we have a published set. The first may resemble the second, and it may not. We will not guess, and we suggest you do not plan on a guess either.

Eligibility is more stable. The reports give the usual bachelor degree with 50 percent marks, and 45 percent for SC, ST and PwD candidates, and CAT 2026 as the entrance test. CAT is on Sunday, 29 November 2026, according to the official CAT site, and IIM Indore is the convening institute this year.

The 2026-28 Policy as a Reference

Careers360 lists the 2026-28 criteria in three stages. In stage one, candidates must clear CAT minimum percentiles. For the General and EWS category, the reported overall minimum is 90 and the sectional minimum is 80 in each of QA, DILR and VARC. For NC-OBC, it is 80 overall and 70 sectional. For SC, it is 60 overall and 55 sectional. For ST and PwD, it is 45 overall and 40 sectional.

In stage two, a composite out of 100 decides the interview shortlist. It reportedly gave 10 points to Class 10, 25 to Class 12, 16 to VARC, 16 to DILR and 23 to QA in CAT, 7 to diversity factors, and 3 to work experience. In stage three, the final composite out of 100 reportedly gave 5 to Class 10, 5 to Class 12, 20 to VARC, 10 to DILR, 10 to QA, 45 to the interview and 5 to diversity.

Meeting the CAT cutoff does not guarantee an interview call. The article stresses that point, and it gives the previous year composite cutoffs only as reference points, and not as official figures for 2027.

Stage	Component	Reported 2026-28 weight
Shortlist (100)	Class 10 / Class 12	10 / 25
Shortlist (100)	CAT VARC / DILR / QA	16 / 16 / 23
Shortlist (100)	Diversity / Work experience	7 / 3
Final (100)	Class 10 / Class 12	5 / 5
Final (100)	CAT VARC / DILR / QA	20 / 10 / 10
Final (100)	Personal interview / Diversity	45 / 5

Why the Reference Is Still Useful

A past policy is not a forecast, but it does show how the institute thinks. The 2026-28 structure weights CAT by section, and the weights differ: QA carried the most points in the shortlist, and VARC the most in the final. That suggests a view of which sections matter at which stage, and institutes often keep such structures for several years.

It also shows that the interview is the largest single item in the final composite, at 45 points as reported. Even if the numbers change, an institute that values the interview this much is unlikely to cut it sharply in one year. Interview preparation is a safe investment.

The class 10 and 12 weights tell you that school marks count, in the shortlist more than in the final. You cannot change your marks now, but you can prepare to explain them. Our guide on how much work experience adds in IIM selection and the piece on CAT 2026 cutoffs across institutes help you place this institute among others.

What May Change and What Probably Will Not

Some things can change from one year to the next: the weights, the cutoffs, the treatment of work experience and diversity, and even whether sectional scores or the overall percentile are used. Other IIMs have changed in this cycle. IIM Ahmedabad, for example, is reported to have moved to a percentile based composite with discipline wise normalisation for 2027-29.

Other things tend to be stable: the use of CAT as the entrance test, a stage based process that ends with an interview, and the use of academic records. Written ability tests and group exercises are used by some institutes and not by others, and the 2026-28 process we read did not mention one.

Since you cannot know which changes will come, build preparation that is robust to them. A strong all round CAT result with no weak section, a clean academic and documents file, and a practised interview cover most variations.

Sectional Balance Under the Reference Policy

The 2026-28 reference weights sections unevenly, and that has a practical lesson even if the numbers change. In the shortlist composite, QA carried 23 points against 16 each for VARC and DILR. In the final composite, VARC carried 20 points against 10 each for DILR and QA. A candidate strong in one section and weak in another would score differently at each stage.

Do not read this as a reason to neglect any section. The sectional minimums, reported at 80 for General and EWS candidates, mean that a weak section can end your application before the weights apply. Your first aim is to clear each floor with room to spare, and your second is to build strength where the weights are highest.

This approach holds across most policies reported so far: a sectional floor, then a composite with unequal sectional weights. Our guide on how CAT, XAT, NMAT and SNAP compare on four deciding factors gives a way to think about where each test fits if you are also applying beyond the IIMs.

How to Prepare While You Wait

Treat the wait as a feature. You have a month before CAT, and the best use of it is to improve your sections, not to guess the policy. A balanced result is useful under almost any structure, since many policies set sectional minimums and weight sections differently.

After CAT, three tasks matter. First, collect your documents, using our three folder document system. Second, write your profile in one page and prepare honest explanations for any weak point. Third, begin interview practice, with a CAT mentor if you can. Our guide on 50 common IIM interview questions is a good start.

When the policy arrives, read it once, compute your own composite with the official formulas, and see where your weak points are. Do this calmly and early, and do not rely on forum summaries, which can be wrong.

How to Read the Policy When It Arrives

Read the stages first. Note the minimum cutoffs for your category and for each section. Then find the shortlist formula and the final formula, with their weights. Write the weights in a table of your own.

Next, check the definitions. How is work experience counted, and up to which date? How are Class 10 and 12 marks converted to points? Is the CAT input a score, a percentile or a sectional figure? These details change your numbers more than the headline weights do.

Last, compare with the previous year policy, section by section. Cracku and Careers360 usually publish comparisons, but the institute documents are the primary source. Our guide on what is confirmed and pending for CAT 2026 shows how we separate confirmed from pending items. Treat any number you cannot find in an institute document as unconfirmed, and write it down as such. That habit protects you from planning around a rumour.

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