Checked 25 September 2026. Syllabus and marking from the August 2026 booklet; the January 2027 dates are an inference from past cycles until C-DAC publishes the February 2027 booklet.
If the January 2027 C-CAT follows the last two years — 10–11 January 2026 and 11–12 January 2025 — there are about fifteen weeks from the start of October. That is enough to cover Sections A and B properly and to spend the last month on timed practice, which is what +3/−1 marking rewards. This plan is built on the official syllabus and marking rules; C-DAC publishes no topic weights, so the hours are our judgement, not a blueprint.
Where other pages get this wrong
Section A is not the warm-up. It decides the qualifying cut and breaks ties.
Commonly published instead: Advice to "spend most of your time on Section B; Section A is easy marks".
The booklet denies a rank to the lowest 10% in Section A, and breaks ties first by Section A marks. It is also in every category's total. Easy for some, perhaps — but no section carries more weight in the ranking rules.
August 2026 booklet and the archived February 2026 page.
Plan your hours
Your C-CAT hours until January
Choose your category, a likely exam day and your weekly hours. The planner counts the weeks from today and splits your hours across the syllabus, weighting Section A heavily because it decides the qualifying cut and the first tie-break.
The dates are guesses from past cycles (10–11 Jan 2026, 11–12 Jan 2025); C-DAC had not announced the February 2027 C-CAT on 25 September 2026. The split is our suggestion — C-DAC publishes no topic weights.
The 15 weeks
| Weeks | Section A | Section B |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 (Oct) | Quant basics: percentages, ratios, time and work; one English grammar topic a day | C: data types, operators, control flow, functions |
| 3–4 | Reasoning: series, coding-decoding, arrangements | C: pointers, arrays, strings, structures, storage classes |
| 5–6 | Quant: numbers, averages, profit and loss; reading comprehension | Data structures: arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues |
| 7–8 (Nov) | Computer fundamentals: number systems, memory, software concepts | Data structures: trees, graphs, sorting and searching |
| 9 | Register for C-CAT when the window opens (late November last cycle) | OOP in C++: classes, inheritance, polymorphism |
| 10–11 (Dec) | Half-paper drills: 25 questions in 30 minutes | OS and networking; big data and AI basics |
| 12–13 | Two full timed Section A papers a week | Two full timed Section B papers a week |
| 14–15 (Jan) | Error log only; admit card | Error log only; one full mock at your slot time |
Category III candidates add Section C — computer architecture, digital electronics and microprocessors — at roughly a third of their hours from week 5, when the C and data-structures foundation is in place. Electronics graduates usually find Section C the quickest to restore; computer science graduates who have not touched digital electronics since second year should decide early whether ESD or VLSI is worth that time.
What to cover, section by section
C-CAT syllabus checklist
The official topics, with the sub-topics we suggest under each. Tick a topic once you score well on timed questions in it. Saved in this browser.
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The top-level topics are the booklet's; the sub-topics are our reading of them and of the references it lists. C-DAC publishes no weight for any of them.
Only six weeks?
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Section A quant and reasoning; C basics |
| 2 | Computer fundamentals; C pointers and arrays |
| 3 | English; data structures |
| 4 | C++ OOP; OS and networking |
| 5 | Two timed papers each for Sections A and B; error log |
| 6 | Error log only; one full mock at slot time |
With six weeks, drop Section C unless you are an electronics graduate aiming for ESD or VLSI, and keep the ratio of timed practice high: the marking rewards accuracy, which only timed practice measures.
The accuracy arithmetic
C-CAT marking is +3 for a right answer and −1 for a wrong one. Three consequences shape practice:
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| A blind guess among four options | Expected value exactly 0 — it adds risk and no marks on average |
| Rule out one option | Expected +0.33 a question — worth answering |
| Rule out two options | Expected +1 a question — always answer |
| 30 right of 35 attempted vs 30 right of 50 | 85 vs 70 marks: fewer wrong answers beat more attempts |
| Second tie-break, after Section A marks | Ratio of correct answers to questions attempted, in the section(s) the booklet specifies for the category — accuracy again |
So practise with a rule: answer what you know, answer what you can narrow to two or three options, and leave the rest. Track two numbers from every mock — marks and accuracy on attempted questions — and aim to raise the first without letting the second fall.
A mock-test routine
From week 10
- Time every set at 72 seconds a question (50 in 60 minutes), and take full mocks at your actual slot time — 9:30 or 14:00 in the last cycle.
- Sit the sections consecutively, with 15-minute gaps as on the day (A 9:30–10:30, B 10:45–11:45 in the morning slot).
- Keep an error log by topic and spend the last two weeks on it, not on new material.
- Record accuracy, not just marks. If accuracy falls below about 75% of attempts, you are guessing too much.
Section timings from the August 2026 booklet; the 75% line is our rule of thumb, not C-DAC's.
Exam week
- Download the admit card as soon as it is released — about four days before the test in the last two cycles — and check the date, slot and centre.
- Visit or map the centre in advance; tests start at 9:30 or 14:00 and the sections run back to back.
- Sleep on the same schedule as your slot for the last few days; a morning slot after a month of late-night practice is a handicap.
- Revise from your error log only. New topics in the last week cost more accuracy than they add marks.
Timings from the August 2026 booklet; the rest is ordinary exam practice.
Registration checklist
Before and after you register
Tick each item. Saved in this browser.
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Practise it, don't just read it
Start with the topic you would most like to avoid; the quiz explanations show where the marks went.
The ProSyllabus C-CAT library has topic quizzes for English and Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, Computer Fundamentals, C Programming and Data Structures and OOP — the core of Sections A and B. Each question comes with an explanation.
How should I prepare for C-CAT in three months?
Cover Section A (English, quant, reasoning, computer fundamentals) and Section B (C, data structures, C++, OS and networking, big data and AI basics) in the first two months, then spend the last month on timed section papers at 72 seconds a question, tracking both marks and accuracy.
Is Section A of C-CAT important?
Very. The lowest 10% in Section A get no rank, Section A marks are the first tie-breaker, and Section A is in every category's total.
Should I guess in C-CAT?
Not blindly: with +3/−1 marking and four options a blind guess has an expected value of zero. If you can rule out one or more options, answering becomes worthwhile on average.
When will C-CAT registration open for the February 2027 batch?
C-DAC had not announced it on 25 September 2026. For the February 2026 batch registration ran from 27 November to 29 December 2025, with the exam on 10–11 January 2026.
Which books are recommended for C-CAT?
The booklet's list (Table 6b) includes Wren & Martin for English, R. S. Aggarwal for aptitude, Kernighan & Ritchie and Let Us C for C, Srivastava for data structures, Silberschatz and Forouzan for OS and networking, and Stallings, Morris Mano and Gaonkar for Section C.
How many hours a day should I study for C-CAT?
That depends on the weeks left and your base. Two hours a day for fifteen weeks is about 210 hours — enough to cover Sections A and B and a month of timed practice; the planner on this page splits whatever you can give.
Should I take Category III if I am not sure about ESD or VLSI?
Section C does not affect your Category II rank, so the cost is ₹200 and an hour. The real cost is preparation time: Section C is a separate syllabus of architecture, digital electronics and microprocessors.
Are C-CAT previous papers available?
We found no official past papers on C-DAC's admission pages or in the booklet. Papers circulating online are memory-based reconstructions; use them for practice, not as a guide to weights.
How much time do I get per question in C-CAT?
72 seconds on average: 50 questions in each one-hour section.
More in this series
- C-CAT pattern, syllabus and Category II vs III
- Eligibility: which degree opens which C-DAC course
- The twelve C-DAC courses compared
- Counselling rounds, lock/freeze, fees and withdrawal
- Training centres and seats: C-DAC vs ATCs
- C-DAC placements: what the data does and does not show
- C-CAT notice board — official updates
Sources
- official — C-DAC ACTS admission booklet, August 2026 batch (v1.0)
- official — C-DAC admission page for the February 2026 batch (archived 19 Jan 2026)
- official — C-DAC PG Certificate Programme admission page
- reported — Careers360 — C-CAT 2025 admit card, exam 11–12 Jan 2025
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
