Among all newer IIMs, IIM Visakhapatnam has the lowest CAT 2025 percentile requirement at 82 for General category students — making it the most accessible newer IIM overall for the 2026 admission cycle.
IIM CAP 2026 is the centralised admission process shared by three newer IIMs — IIM Bodhgaya, IIM Jammu and IIM Sirmaur — where all three use identical CAT cutoffs for the PI shortlisting stage. Beyond the CAP cluster, other newer IIMs operate through JAP (IIM Kashipur, IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi and IIM Trichy) or run independent admission processes with varying percentile thresholds. Understanding where each newer IIM sets its minimum bar is key to planning your application strategy.
- IIM CAP 2026 requires a minimum 95 percentile overall for General category students, shared equally by IIM Bodhgaya, IIM Jammu and IIM Sirmaur.
- IIM Visakhapatnam sets the lowest bar among all newer IIMs at 82 percentile for General category students through its independent process.
- JAP 2026 IIMs — Kashipur, Raipur, Ranchi and Trichy — require 96.25 percentile for General category, the highest among newer IIM groups.
- IIM Rohtak independently requires 97 percentile, making it the most competitive newer IIM overall.
- For SC category students, IIM CAP 2026 sets the minimum at 66 percentile; for ST students the bar is 42 percentile.
- Sectional cutoffs for IIM CAP 2026 are 75 percentile in each section (VARC, DILR and QA) for General category students.
| Direct Link — IIM Bodhgaya Official Website: www.iimbodhgaya.ac.in |
What is IIM CAP 2026 and Which Newer IIMs Participate?
IIM CAP (Common Admission Process) 2026 is a shared WAT-PI round that lets qualifying students appear for multiple IIMs in one combined process. IIM Jammu coordinates the 2026 cycle. Three newer IIMs participate: IIM Bodhgaya, IIM Jammu and IIM Sirmaur. All three share a single unified set of CAT 2025 percentile cutoffs for PI shortlisting with no differentiation at the eligibility stage — the distinction between them happens at the composite score and final merit list stage.
Newer IIMs outside the CAP umbrella include four JAP participants — IIM Kashipur, IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi and IIM Trichy — and several institutions with independent processes: IIM Udaipur, IIM Nagpur, IIM Sambalpur, IIM Visakhapatnam, IIM Rohtak and IIM Amritsar. Each group sets its own minimum CAT percentile threshold for shortlisting, producing a wide range of entry points across the newer IIM landscape.
IIM CAP 2026 Category-wise Cutoffs (Bodhgaya, Jammu and Sirmaur)
All three IIM CAP 2026 colleges share identical PI shortlisting cutoffs. The figures below are the minimum CAT 2025 percentile thresholds students must clear to receive a PI call from any of the three CAP colleges.
| Category | Overall CAT Percentile | VARC (Sectional) | DILR (Sectional) | QA (Sectional) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General (UR) | 95 | 75 | 75 | 75 |
| OBC / NC-OBC | 81 | 55 | 55 | 55 |
| EWS | 81 | 55 | 55 | 55 |
| SC | 66 | 45 | 45 | 45 |
| ST | 42 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| PwD | 42 | 25 | 25 | 30 |
IIM Bodhgaya computes the final composite score with CAT score at 50%, Personal Interview at 25% and academic or work-experience profile at 25%. Female and transgender students receive an additional percentile relaxation at the PI shortlisting stage. All three CAP colleges require students to have secured at least 50% marks in their bachelor’s degree to be eligible for shortlisting.
Cutoff Comparison Across All Newer IIMs for 2026
The table below compares General and reserved category CAT 2025 PI shortlist cutoffs across all newer IIMs for the 2026 admission cycle. These are minimum eligibility thresholds based on 2025-26 trends — actual closing percentiles at the final admission offer stage are typically higher than these published minimums.
| IIM | Admission Route | General (%ile) | OBC (%ile) | SC (%ile) | ST (%ile) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IIM Rohtak | Independent | 97 | 83 | 60 | 50 |
| IIM Kashipur, Ranchi, Raipur, Trichy | JAP 2026 | 96.25 | 88.5 | 75 | 44 |
| IIM Bodhgaya, Jammu, Sirmaur | CAP 2026 | 95 | 81 | 66 | 42 |
| IIM Nagpur | Independent | 95 | 85 | 65 | 40 |
| IIM Udaipur | Independent | 94 | 77 | 60 | 40 |
| IIM Amritsar | Independent | ~93-95 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| IIM Sambalpur | Independent | 90 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| IIM Visakhapatnam | Independent | 82 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Which Newer IIM Has the Lowest CAT Percentile Requirement?
IIM Visakhapatnam has the lowest CAT percentile requirement among all newer IIMs at 82 percentile for General category students, based on 2025-26 admission trends. It runs an independent selection process and does not participate in either CAP 2026 or JAP 2026.
Among the IIM CAP 2026 cluster specifically, IIM Bodhgaya, IIM Jammu and IIM Sirmaur all require 95 percentile for General category students. There is no differentiation in minimum eligibility between these three; the distinction happens at the composite score and final merit list stage after the WAT-PI round.
Students scoring between 82 and 95 percentile should consider IIM Visakhapatnam (82 percentile) and IIM Sambalpur (90 percentile) as the most accessible entry points among newer IIMs in 2026. IIM Udaipur at 94 percentile offers the next tier, followed by the CAP cluster at 95 percentile and JAP IIMs at 96.25 percentile.
At the top end, IIM Rohtak at 97 percentile is the most competitive newer IIM overall — on par with several older-generation IIMs in its minimum eligibility requirement. Notably, IIM Rohtak does not impose sectional cutoffs, unlike CAP and JAP IIMs that require 75 percentile in each section for General category students.
IIM CAP 2026 Cutoff FAQs
Ques. Which newer IIM has the lowest CAT percentile cutoff in 2026?
Ans. IIM Visakhapatnam has the lowest CAT percentile requirement among all newer IIMs at 82 percentile for General category students, based on 2025-26 trends. It runs an independent admission process separate from CAP and JAP. Among IIM CAP 2026 participants, all three colleges — Bodhgaya, Jammu and Sirmaur — share the same minimum of 95 percentile for General category.
Ques. Which newer IIMs participate in IIM CAP 2026?
Ans. Three newer IIMs participate in IIM CAP 2026 — IIM Bodhgaya, IIM Jammu and IIM Sirmaur. IIM Jammu coordinates the process for this cycle. The four JAP IIMs (Kashipur, Raipur, Ranchi and Trichy) form a separate group and are not part of CAP 2026.
Ques. What is the sectional cutoff for IIM CAP 2026 for General category students?
Ans. General category students must score at least 75 percentile in each CAT section — VARC, DILR and QA — along with an overall 95 percentile to qualify for the IIM CAP 2026 PI shortlist. OBC and EWS students need 55 percentile per section, SC students need 45 percentile per section and ST students need 25 percentile per section.
Ques. Are the IIM CAP 2026 cutoffs the same as the final closing cutoffs?
Ans. No. The cutoffs published by IIM CAP 2026 colleges are minimum PI shortlisting thresholds. The actual closing percentile at which the last student received a final admission offer is typically higher than these published minimums depending on the applicant pool size and total seats available.
Ques. What is the IIM Bodhgaya cutoff for SC category students in CAP 2026?
Ans. SC category students need a minimum overall CAT 2025 percentile of 66 and a sectional percentile of at least 45 in VARC, DILR and QA each to receive a PI shortlist call from IIM Bodhgaya under IIM CAP 2026. The same cutoffs apply to IIM Jammu and IIM Sirmaur since all three share identical CAP cutoffs.
Ques. Which newer IIM requires the highest CAT percentile in 2026?
Ans. IIM Rohtak requires the highest CAT percentile among all newer IIMs at 97 percentile for General category students through its independent admission process. The JAP 2026 group — IIM Kashipur, IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi and IIM Trichy — collectively requires 96.25 percentile for General category students, making it the second most competitive tier among newer IIMs.
Comments