In India, education is not just a step to individual advancement at an intellectual level. Rather, it is a bridge to societal transformation, something more than just knowledge. Among the most prestigious academic institutions in the country, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have established their names in last couple of decades. It is now synonymous to academic excellence who has the ability to groom future leaders. This in turn leads to shaping up of industries, economies and even governance for that matter. However, in a country as diverse and unequal as ours, academic excellence is not as easy like the West. And, it cannot be truly meaningful unless it is inclusive. This brings us to one of the most debated yet vital aspects of MBA, IIM Reservation Policy. Read the article to learn more about the IIM Reservation Policy and how what are the benefits from the same.
While the policy has its fair share of admirers and critics, knowing the details remain a challenge. Hence, we present this article for you to understand its intent, implementation and impact which requires more than a surface-level glance. It demands empathy, context and a recognition of India’s socio-historical realities without letting the meritocracy downhill. Let us take a thoughtful dive into how IIM Reservation Policy works, what it means for different communities. We will also explore why it remains a crucial, albeit evolving, even in the sector of management education.
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The Foundation: Why Reservation?
Before we get into specifics, it is important to take a moment to understand why reservation exists at all in Indian higher education. The IIM reservation Policy is not about giving undue advantage to a few. Rather, it is about levelling the playing field for those who have been historically disadvantaged due to their caste, socio-economic background or gender. Generations of systemic oppression, social exclusion and limited access to quality education have made it very difficult for certain communities in India. This is especially for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). For them to compete on the same footing as others, reservation still exists. The reservation system is there to acknowledge such imbalances and bring in a certain level of equality. It is to ensure that education is accessible to all and everyone gets a fair share to improve their standard of living.
The Broad Framework: How IIM Reservation Works
The IIMs, like all the centrally funded institutions, follow the reservation guidelines set by the Government of India. Here is a detail-level breakdown of the current reservation in percentages:
| Category | Reservation Percentage |
| Scheduled Castes (SC) | 15% |
| Scheduled Tribes (ST) | 7.5% |
| Other Backward Classes – Non-Creamy Layer (OBC-NCL) | 27% |
| Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) | 10% |
| Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD) | 5% (horizontal reservation across all categories) |
| Total (excluding PwD as it is horizontal) | 59.5% |
Note: The total of 59.5% includes only vertical reservations i.e., different basis. The 5% PwD reservation is horizontal, meaning it overlaps with all other categories and is not there in the total seat count. How does it work? There could a general PwD candidate, an SC PwD candidate and likewise. These numbers apply to the total number of seats available in each IIM for the flagship Post Graduate Programme (PGP).
Step-by-Step: Reservation Across Admission Stages
Now, the IIM admission Policy process does not revolve around a single exam or metric. Rather it involves multiple stages, and the reservation policy applies at each step:
1. Shortlisting for WAT-PI (Written Ability Test and Personal Interview)
This is the first cut after CAT results are out and is roughly similar for all the IIMs. Each IIM releases its own shortlist based on minimum CAT percentile cut-offs. Undoubtedly, these are lower for reserve categories against the General category candidates. For instance, a typical range of CAT percentile cut-off may look like the following. Also, do not think that these are just indicative numbers and vary slightly by institute and year.
| Category | Cut-off (approx.) |
| General | 98+ percentile |
| NC-OBC | 90–92 percentile |
| SC | 80–85 percentile |
| ST | 70–75 percentile |
| PwD (depends on the horizontal category) | 60–70 percentile |
2. Final Selection
Post the WAT and PI rounds, the IIMs calculate composite scores for each category. It includes CAT percentile, academic scores, work experience, diversity factors, and performance in WAT-PI. Each category has its own merit list, it simply means that candidates are only competing with others in their own reservation group. This ensures that SC, ST, OBC-NCL and EWS seats are genuinely there for candidates from those categories only.
3. Seat Allotment and Waitlist Movement
Post final offers, candidates may accept or reject the offer. Additionally, seats that remain empty due to rejections are then offered to the next candidates on the category-wise waitlists. This is to again maintain the reservation percentages.
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The EWS Addition: A New Layer
Introduced in 2019, the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) reservation is for General category candidates who are economically disadvantaged. This was a notable shift for the first time, where financial background is taken into consideration irrespective of any caste. To qualify for EWS, a candidate’s family income must be below 8 lakh INR per annum. And the family must not own assets like large landholdings or residential flats above a certain value (check GoI website for more details). This move was to make sure that students coming from economically challenged strata gets their fair share of chance in pursuing their MBA dream. While it added a new dimension to inclusion, it also sparked debates on how it affects overall seat availability and meritocracy. Not to mention, this also means fewer seats are now left for general category students and if you are a male candidate, the competition is even tougher.
PwD Reservation: Going Beyond Physical Accessibility
A lesser-discussed but equally important part of the IIM reservation policy is the 5% horizontal reservation for Persons with Disabilities (PwD). This category is not limited to but includes:
- Blindness and low vision
- Deaf and hard of hearing
- Locomotor disability (like cerebral palsy, dwarfism, acid attack victims, etc.)
- Mental illness and intellectual disabilities
- Multiple disabilities – read in detail as per the govt. of India
What makes this category different is that it cuts across all vertical categories (Like general, SC, ST, OBC, EWS). So, a PwD candidate could be from SC or General, but will get the 5% reservation benefit as per horizontal rules. Additionally, IIMs have also been increasingly investing in infrastructure accessibility like scribe support. They are also conducting inclusive interviews to be more accommodating, however, more work remains to be done.
The Role of Diversity: More Than Just Numbers
While reservation ensures representation, IIMs also place a strong focus on academic and gender diversity. Almost all the IIMs give extra marks to non-engineers and female candidates in their total composite score calculation. Though this is not a formal reservation, but rather a form of inclusion such that it fulfils the current need of the corporates. To put it up simply, this means that a female candidate from a Humanities background will get an edge despite her caste of economic background. This ensures fair representation of women in the B-School scenario which was earlier highly dominated by men.
Criticisms and Concerns: IIM Reservation
Like any other policy, the reservation system in IIMs comes with its fair share of criticism. Some of the most commonly raised concerns include the following:
1. “It dilutes merit.”
This is perhaps the most frequent argument, but it is also a narrow and shallow one. Merit is not a static measure. Rather it is shaped by opportunity, privilege and access to education and other standard of living so far. While if we look at the surface, it may seem that two aspirants scoring the same percentile should be treated equally. However, in reality, the background of these two candidates should be considered and this is exactly where the IIM Reservation Policy comes into picture to make it a level-playing field.
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2. “Reserved category students struggle academically.”
While it is true that a few of the students may struggle in academics or even placements. But, we should not neglect the fact that all of these have a factor of luck in it and cannot be generalised for all. Looking at the brighter side of the IIM Reservation Policy, it brings students from all strata at one place, providing them access to higher education.
3. “Creamy layer within OBC takes away the benefit from the truly needy.”
This concern led to the ‘non-creamy layer’criterion for OBCs. Even within the OBC category, only those whose family income is below 8 lakh INR per annum and who do not belong to certain categories (like high-ranking government officials) qualify for reservation. However, the exact classification has always been a challenge and a lot of work is needed to be done.
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