Calcutta, Oct. 12: Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, for the first time, has announced its minimum cut-off scores for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2007.

A candidate to be shortlisted for the group discussion and personal interview has to score at least 20 per cent in the quantitative section, 20 per cent in logic and data interpretation, and 10 per cent in the verbal section. The actual cut-off marks, however, may be higher, depending on the performance of the students.

“The minimum cut-off marks, earlier kept confidential, have been announced to make the admission process more transparent,” said Ashish Bhattacharyya, the chairman (admission) of the Joka institute.

IIM Calcutta has announced its cut-off percentiles in the CAT Bulletin 2007, following in the footsteps of its Ahmedabad counterpart that has been making such figures public since last year. The minimum cut-off scores of IIM Ahmedabad are more than that of IIM Calcutta — 25 per cent in each CAT section.

“Candidates should target more than the minimum cutoff marks, because the actual cut-off scores are likely to be higher than what have been announced,” said Rahul Reddy, the director of the city-based Triumphant Institute of Management Education.

Reddy’s views have been seconded by other experts. “If a student aims at the minimum cut-off score of 20 per cent in a particular section, he will lose out if the actual cut-off is raised to 25 per cent following a better overall performance,” said Kaushik Kapoor of Erudite, a management training institute in the city.

Some feel that by announcing the cut-off, IIM will be able to maintain a standard, as the marks will be applicable to reserved categories as well.

“The actual cut-off may be vary for different categories of students, but a minimum cut-off for all will ensure a minimum standard for the institute,” said Reddy.