Campus Times | Lucknow 

The registration fee for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 has been increased by Rs 100, taking the fee for general category candidates from Rs 2,600 to Rs 2,700. The latest revision marks a significant rise in the examination fee over the past 11 years, with the amount increasing from Rs 1,600 in 2015 to Rs 2,700 in 2026.

Prof Himanshu Rai, Director of IIM Indore, said the fee revision has been necessitated by inflation, higher operational expenses and the growing infrastructure requirements involved in conducting the examination across the country.

According to Rai, although the CAT registration fee has broadly increased by about 5% annually over the years, the pace of increase has moderated. The 3.85% hike introduced for CAT 2026 is lower than the 6.25% increase recorded in 2016.

For candidates belonging to the SC, ST and PwD categories, the registration fee continues to remain at 50% of the fee applicable to other candidates.

Around 3 lakh candidates expected to register

IIM Indore expects around three lakh candidates to register for CAT 2026, although the final number could vary depending on several factors. The institute also indicated that there may be minor changes in the number of examination cities and test centres this year.

The allocation of cities and centres will largely depend on the volume of applications received and the preferences selected by candidates during registration.

AI to strengthen CAT 2026 examination security

Alongside the fee revision, CAT 2026 is set to see additional technology-driven measures aimed at strengthening examination security. Rai said AI-based monitoring and candidate-verification mechanisms are among the interventions being planned for this years test.

The CAT Committee periodically reviews the examinations security framework and risk-mitigation protocols covering different stages, from test development to administration. The objective is to further enhance the integrity, reliability and security of the national-level management entrance examination.

CAT 2026 exam pattern unchanged

Despite the planned technological interventions, there is no change in the CAT 2026 examination pattern.

The test will continue to have a 40-minute sectional time limit. Around 70% of the questions will be Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), while the remaining 30% will be Type-In-The-Answer (TITA) questions.

Negative marking will continue to apply only to incorrect MCQ responses, with one mark deducted for each wrong answer.

CAT 2026 admit card and exam date

The CAT 2026 admit card is scheduled to be released online on November 4, 2026. The examination will be conducted on November 29, 2026.

With the registration fee revised and additional technology-based security measures in the pipeline, CAT 2026 is expected to combine the existing examination structure with enhanced systems for candidate verification and test security.