CAT 2026: Will IIM Indore Make Exam Difficult? What to Expect
CAT 2026 is scheduled to be conducted on November 29, 2026, by IIM Indore. Knowing whether CAT exam will be tough or not is one thing that lakhs of CAT candidates most search for, to make their preparation strategy. Read the article below to know will CAT 2026 exam be tougher considering that IIM Indore is conducting the exam this year.
IIM Indore will be conducting the CAT 2026 exam on November 29, 2026, in the computer based test format. Every year, different IIMs conduct the exam and lakhs of students who appear for the exam try to predict the level of difficulty so that they can plan their preparation better. IIM Indore conducted the CAT exam in 2020, where the students saw many changes including the shortened exam duration. The exam duration was cut short to 120 minutes, and each section was to be solved in 40 minutes.
Now that Indian Institute of Management, Indore, is conducting the CAT exam again, students are asking, Will CAT 2026 Be Difficult? Even though the CAT 2026 exam will be conducted by IIM Indore, it is not necessary that the exam will be difficult, but students should also not bank upon it to be easy. The overall CAT question paper 2026 is expected to be moderate as per the previous year exam analysis. DILR can be challenging and QA and VARC are expected to be moderate.
CAT 2026 Expected Difficulty Level
IIM Indore CAT question paper is known to have a difficult DILR section. So, students should pay attention to this section and practice as many types of questions as possible. There may be calculation-heavy DI sets and multi-step reasoning questions.
Candidates should prioritize understanding the basics and not just merely memorize formulas. Check the expected section-wise expected difficulty level for CAT 2026:
| Section | Difficulty Level (Expected) |
| VARC | Easy to Moderate |
| QA | Moderate to Difficult |
| DILR | Moderate to Difficult |
| Overall | Moderate |
Will CAT Exam Pattern 2026 Change?
It is not necessary that the CAT exam pattern 2026 will change. Considering the IIM Indore’s history, candidates should not rely on one kind of mock format and instead practice different CAT mock tests with different structures, formats and difficulty levels. Check below the CAT 2026 exam pattern:
| CAT Sections | CAT Pattern Details |
| Format of questions | MCQ and non-MCQ |
| Number of answer options | 4 |
| Marking Scheme | +3 for correct attempt -1 for incorrect attempt 0 for unanswered questions 0 for incorrect MCQs 0 for incorrect TITA questions |
| Marks per section | VARC – 72 DILR – 66 QA- 66 |
| Total time | 120 minutes |
| Sectional time limit | 40 minutes per section |
So, to summarize, students should not only prepare for a tougher CAT but should also prepare for an unpredictable CAT exam.
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