The latest RTI data from IIM Indore has raised eyebrows. ST students in the 2025-27 PGP batch secured admission at just 49.25 percentile. General category candidates needed 92.43 percentile to gain entry. The gap is huge. It gets everyone talking about fairness and opportunity. Reservations clearly make a difference here. Critics raise questions about merit and fairness. While others say that a reservation is needed to support historically disadvantaged communities. The debate continues over how top B-schools should balance merit, fairness, and equal representation in PGP admission.
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How a Caste Certificate Opens the Door to IIMs?
Having a Caste Certificate is more advantageous than securing high CAT scores. It opens doors to IIMs that are otherwise inaccessible. ST students can claim relaxation in percentile cut-offs and final composite scores as per the reservation policy. A General category student needs to be among the top 7-8% of CAT takers to gain admission in IIM Indore. An ST student can gain admission with just a 49 percentile which is below the national average. This reveals a huge gap between the categories. This is not against the law. It indeed follows India’s policy to promote inclusion. But it still raises questions about merit vs social justice.
General Category Students Scoring 99%ile Still Left Out of BLACKI
A huge number of general category students appear in the CAT exam every year. Even after scoring above 98 to 99 percentile in CAT, they don’t receive a call from the BLACKI IIMs. What are the key reasons? The weightage for academic diversity, gender, and category influences the shortlisting criteria. But candidates from reserved categories are shortlisted and even admitted to top IIMs with just 49 percentile. A General category student scoring 99 percentile could still miss out on the chance. While an ST student with just half that score gains entry into the same institute. It is purely due to category advantage and normalisation policies. It is unfair and demotivating for many serious aspirants. All their hard work and top scores fall short against ST students with far lower marks. But many believe that this approach is reducing social inequality.
Is the Admission System Really Fair?
The idea behind the reservation policy is equal opportunity. But lakhs of students appear in the CAT exam to secure a seat in the top IIMs. The gap in the CAT cutoff percentile appears too wide. It raises a few questions about whether admissions were truly based on merit. Should a student with 49 percentile be in the same batch as someone with 99?. Critics say this affects the IIM brand and academic standards. Supporters believe that everyone deserves a chance. They say that talent should not be measured only by percentile. The discussion continues with no simple answers.
The Reality Behind the IIM Indore RTI Data
According to IIM Indore RTI data, the category-wise minimum CAT percentile is as follows:
- ST minimum percentile: 49.25
- General minimum percentile: 92.43
- EWS minimum percentile: 92.14
- NC-OBC minimum percentile: 81.26
- SC minimum percentile: 64.71
- PWD minimum percentile: 63.68
That means that an ST student with a moderate CAT performance and strong academics can secure admission. But a General candidate with outstanding CAT performance and academics might lose the chance. This huge gap reveals how reservation impacts admissions. This is applied especially in leading IIMs like Indore.
Should the System Be Reformed?
Earlier experts have suggested a middle path to balance merit and social justice. Their advice was to maintain reservations but reduce the huge percentile gaps. There were also proposals to prioritise economic and social background instead of only caste. Some argue that after admission, everyone performs at the same level. And this will make percentiles less important. But many General students still feel it is unfair. The demand for change (not removal) is increasing day by day. Let’s see whether the education system will be reformed in future or remain the same.
Conclusion
The RTI Data from IIM Indore is not just about numbers. It showcases the complexity of India’s education system. It reveals the impact of reservation policies on admissions. There is a constant clash between merit, privilege, and policy. It also highlights how social and academic realities are deeply connected. A mere caste certificate helps low scorers secure a seat in top IIMs. It means that general students with higher marks do not even receive calls from IIMs. These raise many questions about fairness and equality. Whether it seems unfair or necessary, the debate around IIM reservations continues to grow.
