Maharashtra CET Cell clarifies revised MBA seat matrix; says 30% female reservation not applicable to PG

The Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell has clarified that the 30% reservation for women has never been applicable to postgraduate management programmes, including Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Management Studies (MMS). The clarification comes after concerns were raised over the revision of CAP Round 1 seat matrix during the ongoing admission process.

Allegations were being made that the Maharashtra CET Cell had replaced the MBA/MMS CAP Round 1 seat matrix after commencement of counselling by removing the 30% reservation for women, without issuing a detailed public explanation. Candidates who had filled their option forms based on the earlier seat matrix questioned the transparency of the revision.

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Reservation never implemented for PG students

Responding to Careers360, a CET Cell official said the women's reservation was never implemented for postgraduate courses because the Government Resolution (GR) governing the policy applies only to undergraduate programmes.

"The 30% female reservation was never implemented for the post-graduate courses, including MBA/MMS, as the underlying government resolution (GR) makes it applicable only for undergraduate programmes," the official said.

According to the official, last year's MBA/MMS information brochure clearly mentioned that defence, orphan and women's reservations were not applicable to postgraduate courses. However, while preparing this year's brochure, the line was removed after representations were received seeking the inclusion of defence and orphan quotas in MBA admissions.

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The CET Cell said that, following the omission, the initial seat matrix was prepared showing reserved seats for defence, orphan and women categories. However, concerns were subsequently raised that although the clarification had been removed from the information brochure, the original Government Resolution, which does not provide for a women's quota in postgraduate management courses, would prevail over the brochure.

"We sought a clarification from the government, which affirmed the non-applicability of this reservation for MBA. Hence, a revised seat matrix has now been issued," the official added.

The revised provisional seat distribution for admission to first-year, two-year full-time postgraduate degree courses in Management (MBA/MMS/PGDM) for the academic year 2026-27 has been published by the CET Cell. One can check institute-wise seat distribution across categories such as Open, SC, ST, OBC, EWS, PWD and Defence.