CAT 2025 DILR : How to plan your 120 Days 



If you’re wondering what to expect from the DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning) section in CAT 2025, you’re in the right place. This section has always been a bit of a wild card, and recently, it’s gotten even trickier. So if you’re serious about scoring high, it’s super important to understand what’s changing and how to adapt your prep strategy. Let’s break it all down for you while also analyzing the changes in detail.

DILR Section Overview

First, let’s get a quick refresher. The DILR section usually consists of 20–22 questions to be solved in 40 minutes, divided into 4–5 sets. You’ll see 4 to 5 sets—some MCQs, and some TITA (Type In The Answer) questions where you have to type the correct number or value.

This section checks how well you can analyze data, recognize patterns, and think logically under pressure. You can expect questions in the format of charts, tables, graphs, block shapes, rankings, and puzzles. Since time is limited, smart time management will get you through, and the trick is to spot the easier sets early and not get stuck on one mind-bending puzzle.

Recent Changes: CAT 2024 to 2025

There have been some significant changes in the DILR section from CAT 2024, which are likely to continue in 2025.

Increase in the number of questions: Earlier, DILR had 20 questions, but in CAT 2024, it has increased to 22. It is expected that this number will continue in CAT 2025 as well.

Increase in mixed sets: While DI and LR were separate earlier, now almost all sets have mixed the two. For example, in sets like "Games & Tournaments", numbers, patterns, and logic have to be used together.

Increase in the number of TITA questions: Many questions do not provide any options; only the correct number has to be typed. This reduces the scope for guessing, and accuracy becomes very important.

Time management is becoming difficult: As the questions are large and time-consuming, many are stuck with one or two sets. It results in a decrease in the overall question answering rate.

Understanding these changes and strategizing based on them is very important for the candidates of 2025.

How These Changes Affect You

It’s not just about how many questions there are. It’s how you handle them. The impact of the recent changes in DILR on scoring is quite profound:

Accuracy has become more important: While TITA questions don’t carry negative marking, blindly guessing them wastes time and throws off your focus.

No chance of guessing in non-option questions: There is no more chance of guessing from four options, like in the old days.

The time crunch is more acute: As the questions are analytical and long, there is additional pressure on the time of the candidates.

Chances of increasing cut-off: To score well, you now have to do at least 12-14 questions very accurately.

You should prepare by keeping these points in mind for success in the exam.

Is DILR Really Getting Tougher?

Yep, and there’s no sugar-coating it. Over the past couple of years, DILR has taken a tougher turn:

CAT 2023 and 2024: The question structure has become more complex in these two years. Especially "Tournament-based puzzles" and "Multi-layered Data Sets" have put students under a lot of pressure.

TITA and Mixed Sets: The increase in the number of these has further increased the uncertainty of the exam. A lot of time is being spent analyzing the sets.

However, it should be remembered that if you practice enough, it is possible to handle this additional difficulty.

DILR Section: Comparative Analysis of The Past Few Years

The DILR section was important in CAT earlier too, but there has been a clear change in this section over the past few years.


Year

Question type

Special features

Before CAT 2021

DI and LR were separate, simple graphs and charts, mostly MCQs.

Simpler sets, guesswork possible

CAT 2022–23

DI and LR merged,

TITA increased, and puzzle-based questions came


CAT 2024

22 questions, mostly in mixed patterns.

Long sets and more thinking are required



This analysis proves that the DILR section in CAT is becoming more analytical and mentally challenging day by day.

Common mistakes that aspirants make :

  1. False sense of preparation: Regularly doing easy sets, the biggest pitfall. Doing easy sets gives you a false sense of preparation.
  2. Solution seekers : jumping directly to solutions, the biggest mistake. For the time being you may feel your brain is easy and comforted but you will not be able to develop your thought process.
  3.  Revising  those sets that you were not able to solve and that forced you to see the solution becomes extremely important. 
  • REVISION TECHNIQUE : Take that DILR set which you were not able to solve, put a timer and start solving… if you get it, bang on! You are good with that particular logic. Similarly, move to the next.
  •  What to do in 120 days? 
  ℹ︎. Set a target : Choose a target of roughly 3 to 5 Quality sets on a daily basis this will lead to roughly 450 sets till CAT. It's good enough to `train your mind.

 ℹ︎ℹ︎. Spend time : Invest your time in the sets, try different approaches. This helps you in building your problem-solving skills, by which you will be able to gauge and solve sets on the D-day. 


Conclusion

Although the DILR section of CAT 2025 can be a bit tougher and more uncertain than before, with proper preparation, it can be a great opportunity for you to improve your score. You need effective practice, smart strategy, accuracy, and patience, and the Ability to analyze questions carefully to succeed in this section. Start preparing now, focus on building speed and accuracy, and train your brain to handle pressure calmly. Remember, almost every CAT topper once struggled with DILR. What made them successful was their discipline, practice, and strategy.