The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 registration fee has been increased by Rs 100, with candidates appearing for the management entrance examination now required to pay Rs 2,700 instead of Rs 2,600. The fee hike is aimed at offsetting inflation, rising operational costs and increased infrastructure requirements for conducting the nationwide examination securely, said Prof Himanshu Rai, Director, IIM Indore.“The CAT registration fee has risen from Rs 1,600 in 2015 to Rs 2,700 in 2026. While the registration fee has generally increased by around 5% annually, the percentage increase has moderated over the years,” Rai said.The increase for CAT 2026 is 3.85%, lower than the 6.25% hike recorded in 2016, he said. The registration fee for SC, ST and PwD candidates continues to be fixed at 50% of the fee applicable to other candidates, the IIM-Indore director added.The number of CAT 2026 registrations is expected to be around three lakh, although the annual registration count varies depending on several factors, Rai said.There will also be minor changes in the number of test cities and examination centres for CAT 2026. These changes will primarily depend on the number of applications received and the test-city preferences indicated by candidates.On examination security, Rai said CAT is conducted under a robust framework of technology, security and administrative safeguards. The CAT Committee regularly reviews security protocols and risk-mitigation measures at every stage of examination development and administration to strengthen the security, integrity and reliability of the test.For CAT 2026, new technological interventions are also being planned, including AI-based monitoring and candidate-verification measures, Rai said.Story continues below this adMeanwhile, the exam pattern remains the same. A sectional time limit of 40 minutes. Approximately 70% of questions are Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and 30% are Type-In-The-Answer (TITA) questions. Like every year, the negative marking of one mark applies only to wrong MCQ answers.The CAT 2026 admit card will be released online on November 4, and the exam will be held on November 29, 2026.Neeti Nigam leads the education department at indianexpress.com. She joined the Indian Express in 2015 and has set up the education and job sections in the online department. She covers schools and higher education, entrance and board exams, study abroad, civil services and other career-related news. Prior to that, she worked as a lifestyle and entertainment journalist in The Pioneer newspaper's magazine division. Besides working in the in-flight Air India (Namaskaar) magazine, she was part of the launch team of Indian Railways on-board magazine Rail Bandhu. She has also worked as a city reporter covering north Delhi in Hindustan Times. In 2012, she covered the MCD elections. You can write to her at neeti.nigam@indianexpress.com ... Read More