Generic

The CMAT 2026 exam was of easy to moderate difficulty overall. Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning were easy. Language Comprehension was easy to medium and Innovation and Entrepreneurship was easy to moderate. General Awareness, dominated by static GK, was the toughest at medium difficulty.

CMAT is generally considered less difficult than CAT: its difficulty level is moderate, while CAT’s is comparatively high. CMAT gives 3 hours for 100 MCQs with no sectional time limit. CAT gives 2 hours with a 40-minute limit for each of its three sections, and includes non-MCQ questions.

CMAT exam total marks are 400, as the paper has 100 questions of 4 marks each. The CMAT exam duration is 180 minutes (3 hours) for the whole paper. There is no sectional time limit, so candidates can attempt the five sections in any order.

The CMAT marking scheme awards 4 marks for each correct answer and deducts 1 mark for each incorrect answer, while unattempted questions get zero. If a question is dropped due to a technical error, all candidates get full marks for it. If the answer key changes, only those who answered correctly as per the revised key get marks.

Yes, CMAT has negative marking. For each incorrect answer, 1 mark is deducted from the total score, while each correct answer earns 4 marks. Unanswered questions get no marks, so there is no penalty for leaving out a question you are unsure of.