CMAT 2027 exam is expected to be held on January 24, 2027. Based on previous years’ exam trends, CMAT Exam Pattern 2027 is expected to comprise of 100 objective type (MCQs) questions which are equally divided into five sections: Language Comprehension, Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, General Awareness and Innovation and Entrepreneurship. CMAT 2026 exam duration is 180 minutes. Read complete details of CMAT 2027 Exam Pattern and previous year CMAT papers below. CMAT Exam Pattern PDF download link is also given below. Latest Changes in CMAT Exam Pattern are also given.
CMAT is a government organized computer based national level MBA entrance examination for entry into 1000 AICTE approved management programmes (MBA/PGDM) all over India. More than 75,000 candidates apply for CMAT every year. Highlights of CMAT exam is given below.
CMAT Exam Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
CMAT Full Form | Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) |
CMAT exam conducted by | National Testing Agency (NTA) |
Top MBA Colleges Accepting CMAT Scores | JBIMS Mumbai, SIMSREE Mumbai, Pune University PUMBA, NIA Pune, Welingkar Mumbai and BIMTECH Greater Noida |
CMAT 2027 Exam Date | January 24, 2027 (Expected) |
CMAT 2027 Exam Timings | 09:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. |
Mode of CMAT exam | Online Computer Based Test at Exam Centres |
CMAT 2027 Official Website | cmat.nta.nic.in |
CMAT 2027 Application Fees | Male Candidates - Rs. 2500; Female Candidates - Rs. 1250 (Expected) |
Number of CMAT Test Takers | For CMAT 2026, 41,872 Candidates Appeared (out of 53,453 registered) |
CMAT 2027 Exam Pattern | 100 Questions, Divided in five sections |
Number of Sections | 5 Sections with 20 Questions in Each Section |
CMAT Pattern is released by NTA in CMAT information bulletin. CMAT exam duration is expected to be 180 minutes. There is no sectional time limit. Based on previous years’ exam paper patterns, CMAT Exam Pattern 2027 is given below
Section | Exam Sections | Number of Questions | Maximum Marks Section-wise |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Language Comprehension | 20 | 80 |
2 | Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation | 20 | 80 |
3 | Logical Reasoning | 20 | 80 |
4 | General Awareness | 20 | 80 |
5 | Innovation and Entrepreneurship | 20 | 80 |
| Total | 100 | 400 |
CMAT marking scheme is also released by NTA in CMAT information bulletin. Based on previous year exam paper patterns, CMAT Marking Scheme 2027 is given below.
i) Each question carries 04 (four) marks.
ii) For each correct response, candidate will get 04 (four) marks.
iii) For each incorrect response, 01 (one) mark will be deducted from the total score.
iv) Un-answered/un-attempted will be given no marks.
v) To answer a question, the candidate needs to choose one option as correct option.
vi) However, after the process of Challenges of the Answer Key, in case there are multiple correct options or change in key, only those candidates who have attempted it correctly as per the revised Answer key will be awarded marks.
vii) In case a Question is dropped due to some technical error, full marks shall be given to all the candidates irrespective of the fact who have attempted it or not.
Read Section-Wise Break-Up of CMAT Exam Pattern 2027 in the following sections.
Out of total 100 questions in CMAT, 20 questions are based on Language Comprehension section. The Language Comprehension Section in CMAT is divided into 2 parts. The 1st part covers topics on Verbal Ability and the 2nd Part covers Reading Comprehension passages. Check type of questions that appeared in this section in CMAT 2026 exam. Based on this, you can understand CMAT language comprehension section exam pattern 2026.
CMAT 2026: Type of Questions in Language Comprehension Section
CMAT 2026 Language Comprehension section was of easy to medium difficulty level. The Language Comprehension Section consisted of 2 Reading Comprehension questions and 18 Non-RC questions. The passage was easy to read. The non-RC questions were largely easy as well with one or two moderate questions. The non RC questions were dominated by grammar topics such as prepositions, verb forms, compound sentences, in familiar question types like identifying the correct/incorrect sentence, sentence completion, assertion reason, etc.
Area | No. of Qs. |
|---|---|
Reading Comprehension - 1 Passage - 150 words Topic: Scientific thories | 2 |
Cloze Passage (3 blanks) | 3 |
Jumbled Sentence | 1 |
Vocabulary (1 meaning of underlined idiom, 1 meaning of a phrase) | 2 |
Grammar (compound sentence, verb forms, active-passive voice, reported speech, prepositions, degrees of comparison, miscellaneous) | 12 |
Out of total 100 questions in CMAT, 20 questions are based on Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation section. It tests you on your ability on Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Modern Math, and your skills to analyse the data from Graphs, Charts, Tables etc. Check type of questions that appeared in this section in CMAT 2026 exam. Based on this, you can better understand CMAT Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation exam pattern 2027.
CMAT 2026: Type of Questions in Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation
CMAT 2026 Quantitative Technique and Data Interpretation section was of easy difficulty level. Out of 20 questions in the section, 3 questions were on Data Interpretation and the remaining 17 were on Quantitative Technique. There was a set of 3 questions on Data Interpretation which consisted of questions based on a Table which involved simple calculations. As expected, the questions on Quantitative Techniques were dominated by questions on Arithmetic. Out of 17 questions on Quantitative Techniques, 7 questions were on Arithmetic, which included questions on Time and work, Ratio-Proportion, Profit & Loss, Percentages, Allegations and Mixtures and Clocks. There were 6 questions on Numbers. There were 3 questions on Geometry, 1 question on Modern Math zero questions on Algebra. Most of the questions on Quantitative Technique were relatively easy.
Area | Total | Details |
|---|---|---|
Arithmetic | 7 | Time and Work (1), Ratio-Proportion (1), Profit & Loss (2), Clock(1), Allegations and Mixtures (1), Percentages (1) |
Geometry | 3 | Triangles (1), Mensuration (1), Quadrilateral (1) |
Modern Math | 1 |
Probability (1) |
Numbers | 6 | Surds (1), indices (1), fraction (1), classification (1), HCF – LCM (1), Misc (1) |
Algebra | 0 |
|
Data Interpretation | 3 | Table (Set of 3 questions) |
Out of total 100 questions in CMAT exam, 20 questions are based on Logical Reasoning section. Check type of questions that appeared in this section in CMAT 2026 exam. Based on this, you can understand CMAT Logical Reasoning exam pattern 2027.
CMAT 2026: Type of Questions in Logical Reasoning Section
CMAT 2026 Logical Reasoning section was of easy difficulty level. Similar to last year’s pattern, out of the 20 questions in this section, 16 were on Non-Verbal Reasoning and 4 questions were on Verbal Reasoning. All the questions were standalone questions and there were no set-based questions.
The questions on Non-Verbal Reasoning were spread across different topics in Logical Reasoning such as Family tree, Directions, Cubes, Counting figures, Linear Arrangements, coding and clocks etc. The questions on Verbal Reasoning included questions such as Assertion Reason, Strong/Weak Arguments, Syllogisms, Analogy. The questions were not lengthy and many questions were straightforward and easy to solve. Check detailed breakup of questions in the table below.
Area | No. of Qs. |
|---|---|
Directions | 1 |
Cubes | 1 |
Counting figures | 2 |
Linear Arrangement | 2 |
Family tree | 3 |
Clocks | 1 |
NumericalPuzzle | 2 |
Coding | 2 |
Logical venndiagram | 1 |
Alpha numeric | 1 |
Verbal Reasoning | |
Assertion Reason; Strong/Weak Argument; Syllogisms (3 statements); Analogy | 4 |
In CMAT GK section, most of the 20 questions are based on Static GK and cover topics like Science, Sports, Indian constitution, History, Culture of India, among others. Most of the questions are based on Indian GK, only a few questions were on international events. Check type of questions that appeared in this section in CMAT 2026 exam.
CMAT 2026 General Awareness Section
CMAT 2026 General Awareness section was of medium difficulty level. Out of the 20 General Awareness questions, 19 were based on Static GK, with only 1 question was on current affairs. The majority of questions were based on Indian news and events. Only a few questions were on international developments and events. The questions were on science, sports, books, famous personalities, institutions, history, among others.
Area | No. of Qs | Specifics/Topics |
|---|---|---|
Static GK | 19 | Science (2q), Sports (2q), Management (3q), Indian history, awards, art, personalities, (7q), International awardsinstitutions, etc (4q), books and authors, miscellaneous questions (2q) |
Out of the 20 questions, most of the questions in this section are based on Business, Management, Economics, and Entrepreneurship concepts. Check type of questions that appeared in this section in CMAT 2026 exam.
CMAT 2026 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Section was of easy to moderate difficulty level. Out of the 20 questions, 17 were based on Business and Entrepreneurship concepts like bootstrapping, venture capital, factors impacting markets, qualities of entrepreneurs, ambidexterity theory, design thinking. 3 questions were on Business GK.
CMAT 2027 pattern PDF download link is given below. This document includes CMAT Exam Pattern by section, as publish in this article. Download CMAT Exam Pattern 2027 PDF from link below.
CMAT 2026 pattern PDF download link is given below. This document includes CMAT Exam Pattern by section, as publish in this article. Download CMAT Exam Pattern 2026 PDF from link below.
Based on exam pattern (discussed above), CMAT 2027 syllabus and previous year’s question papers, CMAT preparation strategy is as follows:
In addition to preparing fundamentals, you must take mock tests regularly Read following section on how to take free Mock CMAT tests online.
CMAT Mock Tests and Previous Year question papers are the best preparation tools. Toppers recommend to take as many CMAT mocks and analyse each of them thoroughly. You can take free mock tests on MBAUniverse.com from links below.
Download CMAT MOCK TEST 1 PDF
CMAT Vs CAT exam pattern has many similarities as well as differences. A brief CMAT & CAT comparison is shared below:
Component | CMAT 2026 | CAT 2025 |
|---|---|---|
Total questions | 100 | 68 |
Overall time limit to attempt the exam | 3 hours | 2 hours |
Type of questions | All MCQs | 48 questions are MCQs, rest 18 Non-MCQs |
Answer options for MCQs | 4 | 4 |
Marks awarded for each correct answer | 4 | 3 |
Negative marking | -1 | -1 only for MCQs; No negative marking for Non-MCQs |
Exam difficulty level | Moderate | Comparatively high |
Number of sections | 5 | 3 |
Name of section-1 with number of questions | Language Comprehension-20 | Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension- 24 |
Name of Section-2 with number of questions | Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation-20 | Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning -20 |
Name of Section-3 with number of questions | Logical Reasoning-20 | Quantitative Ability-22 |
Name of Section-4 with number of questions | General Awareness-20 | NA |
Name of Section-4 with number of questions | Innovation and Entrepreneurship-20 | NA |
Facility to choose order of sections | Any section from the question paper | No, has to follow pre specified sectional order |
Individual Sectional time limit | No | Each section with 40 minutes time limit |
CMAT 2026 Exam Pattern consists of 100 objective type (MCQs) questions divided into five sections. CMAT exam duration is 180 minutes. CMAT 2027 exam is expected to be held in January 24, 2026. Read complete details of CMAT 2026 Pattern in above article. Also read: CMAT 2026 Exam Overview & Highlights and CMAT 2026 exam preparation tips.
