The IIMs received 232,434 applications for admission to their flagship management courses, with a final boost in applications during an extension in the registration window for the common admission test (CAT). According to IIM Bangalore, the coordinating institute for CAT 2016, the total number of registrations was 208,000 on 22 September when the original deadline for registration ended. A five-day extension brought in 24,000 more applicants.

“Total applications for CAT 2016 as of 5pm (closing time) on September 27, 2016 is 232,434. Last year (2015), it was 218,664,” IIM-Bangalore said in an email without providing more details.

The registration for CAT 2016 is the highest since 2009 when the IIMs received 242,000 applicants. Since then, the number of applications have been below the expectations of IIMs. There were 195,943 candidates in 2014.

The fresh CAT registration numbers point to a revival of interest in management education, which was subdued over the last few years. India has 19 IIMs that admit nearly 4,000 students in their flagship postgraduate management course every year.

The employment situation in India has improved and the current spurt in applications can also be attributed to the good placement season earlier this year.

CAT Registration Trends:

After witnessing the worst-ever application numbers in CAT 2015, IIM Ahmedabad was forced to extend the application deadline by five days. According to the IIMA officials, the total number of registrations received till the original registration deadline was 1, 38,000, compared to the registered 1.90 lakh candidates in the year 2015. However, the CAT 2015 registrations number increased to a total of 2.18 lakh, after the second deadline.

CAT Registrations trend over years

As per Government of India norms, IIMs reserve 15% seats for SC candidates, 7.5% seats for ST candidates and 27% seats for NC-OBC candidates. 3% seats are also reserved for Persons with Disabilities. IIMs also provide scholarships to deserving students who need financial support.

The Indian Institutes of Management are public establishments with autonomous control over its day to today operations and curriculum. Today, there are 20 IIMs as public autonomous institutes in India. List of IIMs are as below:

Logo	Name Of Institute	Year of Establishment	State Located
	IIM Ahmedabad	1961	Gujarat
	IIM Calcutta	1961	West Bengal
	IIM Bangalore	1973	Karnataka
	IIM Lucknow	1984	Uttar Pradesh
	IIM Indore	1996	Madhya Pradesh
	IIM Kozhikode	1996	Kerala
	IIM Shillong	2007	Meghalaya
	IIM Raipur	2010	Chhattisgarh
	IIM Ranchi	2010	Jharkhand
	IIM Rohtak	2010	Haryana
	IIM Kashipur	2011	Uttarakhand
	IIM Tiruchirappalli	2011	Tamil Nadu
	IIM Udaipur	2011	Rajasthan
	IIM Amritsar	2015	Punjab
	IIM Bodh Gaya	2015	Bihar
	IIM Nagpur	2015	Maharashtra
	IIM Sambalpur	2015	Odisha
	IIM Sirmaur	2015	Himachal Pradesh
	IIM Visakhapatnam	2015	Andhra Pradesh
	IIM Jammu	2016	Jammu and Kashmir