CAT 2021 Question Paper (Out): Download Slot Wise Papers & Answer Key PDFs

Content Writer | MBA Professional | Updated on - Dec 23, 2025

CAT 2021 Question Paper with Answer Key PDFs along with solutions are available for all 3 slots. The total number of questions were reduced to 66 from 76. Hence, VARC had 24 questions, DILR had 20 questions, and QA had 22 questions. 50% of the questions were from Arithmetic. In CAT VARC, 16 questions were based on RCs.

CAT Year Wise Question Paper Download
CAT 2025 Question Paper	CAT 2024 Question Paper
CAT 2023 Question Paper	CAT 2022 Question Paper

CAT 2021 Question Paper with Solutions PDF (Available)

CAT 2021 exam was conducted on 27 October 2021 and the CAT question paper is available here in PDF format with Solutions PDF. The exam was conducted in three sessions across around 155 test cities.

CAT 2021 Question Paper PDF (Quantitative Aptitude)

CAT Exam Slot	Question Paper PDF	Solution PDF
CAT Question Paper 2021 (QA Slot 1)	Download PDF	Check Solutions
CAT Question Paper 2021 (QA Slot 2)	Download PDF	Check Solutions
CAT Question Paper 2021 (QA Slot 3)	Download PDF	Check Solutions

CAT 2021 Question Paper PDF (VARC)

CAT Exam Slot	Question Paper PDF	Solution PDF
CAT Question Paper 2021 (VARC Slot 1)	Download PDF	Check Solutions
CAT Question Paper 2021 (VARC Slot 2)	Download PDF	Check Solutions
CAT Question Paper 2021 (VARC Slot 3)	Download PDF	Check Solutions

CAT 2021 Question Paper PDF (DILR)

CAT Exam Slot	Question Paper PDF	Solution PDF
CAT Question Paper 2021 (DILR Slot 1)	Download PDF	Check Solutions
CAT Question Paper 2021 (DILR Slot 2)	Download PDF	Check Solutions
CAT Question Paper 2021 (DILR Slot 3)	Download PDF	Check Solutions

CAT Exam Pattern

CAT is a 2-hour computer-based exam with a total of 204 marks from 68 questions distributed among three sections: VARC, DILR, and QA, each section with a time limit of 40 minutes. The CAT exam has both MCQs and TITA questions, with a marking system of +3 for correct responses, −1 for incorrect MCQs, and no negative marking for TITA.

Feature	Details
Exam Name	Common Admission Test (CAT)
Mode	Computer-Based Test (CBT)
Total Duration	120 minutes (2 hours)
Number of Sections	3
Sectional Time Limit	40 minutes per section (auto switch)
Total Questions	68
Question Types	MCQs & TITA (Type In The Answer)
Marking Scheme	+3 for correct, -1 for incorrect MCQ, 0 for TITA
Language of Exam	English
Total Marks	204

CAT 2021 Paper Analysis

VARC: The VARC pattern changed to four RC passages with four questions each, instead of the earlier 5-5-4-4 format. Difficulty was moderate to tough, with Slot 1 the hardest. VA included para jumbles, summaries, and odd-one-out, similar to previous years. RCs on dystopia and ancient Maya were challenging, while topics like tea history and self-control were easier.

DILR: The number of sets reduced from five to four. Each slot had a mix of DI and LR, and some sets were very time-consuming. The overall structure was similar across slots, but difficulty was different. Avoiding tricky sets was important for a good attempt.

QA: This section was dominated by arithmetic (10–11 questions per slot), followed by algebra, geometry, and number systems. The questions were conceptually easy but many of them required lengthy calculations. Slot 3 was the toughest, and speed with accuracy were required to score well.

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College.

CAT 2021 Questions

1.
A loan of Rs 1000 is fully repaid by two installments of Rs 530 and Rs 594, paid at the end of the first and second year, respectively. If the interest is compounded annually, then the rate of interest, in percentage, is:

$6%$
$7%$
$8%$
$9%$

View Solution

2.
A value of $c$ for which the minimum value of $f(x) = x^2 - 4cx + 8c$ is greater than the maximum value of $g(x) = -x^2 + 3cx - 2c$, is:

$\dfrac{1}{2}$
$-\dfrac{1}{2}$
$-2$
$2$

View Solution

3.
In a $\triangle ABC$, points $D$ and $E$ are on the sides $BC$ and $AC$, respectively. $BE$ and $AD$ intersect at point $T$ such that $AD : AT = 4 : 3$, and $BE : BT = 5 : 4$. Point $F$ lies on $AC$ such that $DF$ is parallel to $BE$. Then, $BD : CD$ is:

$15 : 4$
$11 : 4$
$9 : 4$
$7 : 4$

View Solution

4.
In the sequence 1, 3, 5, 7, ..., k, ..., 57, the sum of the numbers up to k, excluding k, is equal to the sum of the numbers from k up to 57, also excluding k. What is k?

View Solution

5.
Find the number of integer pairs (x, y) that satisfy the following system of inequalities:
\[ \begin{cases} x \geq y \geq 3 \\ x + y \leq 14 \end{cases} \]

View Solution

Categories	State
General	2600
sc	1300
pwd	1300

CAT 2021 Question Papers: Download Slot Wise CAT Question Paper & Answer Key PDFs for VARC, DILR, QA

CAT 2021 Question Paper with Solutions PDF (Available)

CAT 2021 Question Paper PDF (Quantitative Aptitude)

CAT 2021 Question Paper PDF (VARC)

CAT 2021 Question Paper PDF (DILR)

CAT Exam Pattern

CAT 2021 Paper Analysis

CAT 2021 Questions

1.
A loan of Rs 1000 is fully repaid by two installments of Rs 530 and Rs 594, paid at the end of the first and second year, respectively. If the interest is compounded annually, then the rate of interest, in percentage, is:

2.
A value of $c$ for which the minimum value of $f(x) = x^2 - 4cx + 8c$ is greater than the maximum value of $g(x) = -x^2 + 3cx - 2c$, is:

3.
In a $\triangle ABC$, points $D$ and $E$ are on the sides $BC$ and $AC$, respectively. $BE$ and $AD$ intersect at point $T$ such that $AD : AT = 4 : 3$, and $BE : BT = 5 : 4$. Point $F$ lies on $AC$ such that $DF$ is parallel to $BE$. Then, $BD : CD$ is:

4.
In the sequence 1, 3, 5, 7, ..., k, ..., 57, the sum of the numbers up to k, excluding k, is equal to the sum of the numbers from k up to 57, also excluding k. What is k?

5.
Find the number of integer pairs (x, y) that satisfy the following system of inequalities:
\[ \begin{cases} x \geq y \geq 3 \\ x + y \leq 14 \end{cases} \]

Previous Year CAT Questions

Fees Structure

Structure based on different categories

Comments

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWS LETTER

CAT 2021 Question Paper with Solutions PDF (Available)

CAT 2021 Question Paper PDF (Quantitative Aptitude)

CAT 2021 Question Paper PDF (VARC)

CAT 2021 Question Paper PDF (DILR)

CAT Exam Pattern

CAT 2021 Paper Analysis

CAT 2021 Questions

1.A loan of Rs 1000 is fully repaid by two installments of Rs 530 and Rs 594, paid at the end of the first and second year, respectively. If the interest is compounded annually, then the rate of interest, in percentage, is:

2.A value of $c$ for which the minimum value of $f(x) = x^2 - 4cx + 8c$ is greater than the maximum value of $g(x) = -x^2 + 3cx - 2c$, is:

3.In a $\triangle ABC$, points $D$ and $E$ are on the sides $BC$ and $AC$, respectively. $BE$ and $AD$ intersect at point $T$ such that $AD : AT = 4 : 3$, and $BE : BT = 5 : 4$. Point $F$ lies on $AC$ such that $DF$ is parallel to $BE$. Then, $BD : CD$ is:

4.In the sequence 1, 3, 5, 7, ..., k, ..., 57, the sum of the numbers up to k, excluding k, is equal to the sum of the numbers from k up to 57, also excluding k. What is k?

5.Find the number of integer pairs (x, y) that satisfy the following system of inequalities: \[ \begin{cases} x \geq y \geq 3 \\ x + y \leq 14 \end{cases} \]

Previous Year CAT Questions

Fees Structure

Structure based on different categories

Comments

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWS LETTER

1.
A loan of Rs 1000 is fully repaid by two installments of Rs 530 and Rs 594, paid at the end of the first and second year, respectively. If the interest is compounded annually, then the rate of interest, in percentage, is:

2.
A value of $c$ for which the minimum value of $f(x) = x^2 - 4cx + 8c$ is greater than the maximum value of $g(x) = -x^2 + 3cx - 2c$, is:

3.
In a $\triangle ABC$, points $D$ and $E$ are on the sides $BC$ and $AC$, respectively. $BE$ and $AD$ intersect at point $T$ such that $AD : AT = 4 : 3$, and $BE : BT = 5 : 4$. Point $F$ lies on $AC$ such that $DF$ is parallel to $BE$. Then, $BD : CD$ is:

4.
In the sequence 1, 3, 5, 7, ..., k, ..., 57, the sum of the numbers up to k, excluding k, is equal to the sum of the numbers from k up to 57, also excluding k. What is k?

5.
Find the number of integer pairs (x, y) that satisfy the following system of inequalities:
\[ \begin{cases} x \geq y \geq 3 \\ x + y \leq 14 \end{cases} \]