Chief Mentor
Mr. Prakash Rajput
Director + Chief Mentor, IMS Indore + Bhopal
Prakash Rajput is the Chief Mentor at IMS Indore. He is an IIM Indore graduate and an IET-DAVV Indore engineering alum who gave up a corporate job two decades ago to teach the CAT.
He has written and scored 99.8+ percentile on the CAT consistently across that span — 99.16 in 2003, 99.91 in 2023, 99.84 in 2024, and 99.91 in 2021 (the highest percentile among any CAT faculty in Madhya Pradesh that year).
He teaches across all areas of CAT and MBA test prep, with a particular fondness for helping students ace the VARC section. He runs the day-to-day mentor bench at the Indore centre and writes regularly on prep strategy, B-school decisions, and the realities of cracking the CAT from non-traditional backgrounds.
Credentials
What he’s done.
- ·IIM Indore — MBA
- ·IET-DAVV Indore — Engineering
- ·CAT 2003: 99.16 percentile
- ·CAT 2021: 99.90 percentile — highest among all CAT faculty in Madhya Pradesh
- ·CAT 2023: 99.91 percentile (overall)
- ·CAT 2024: 99.84 percentile (overall)
- ·Two decades of CAT teaching
Writing
Articles by Prakash Rajput.
Hindi-medium aspirants and CAT: bridging to English without losing speed
CAT is in English. Most Madhya Pradesh aspirants have studied through Hindi medium. Whether and how to make the linguistic transition — without sacrificing the speed and accuracy that CAT rewards.
Old IIMs vs New IIMs: the ROI comparison that actually matters
A real ROI comparison across IIM-A through IIM-Sambalpur. Fees, placement averages, payback periods, and the under-reported factors that change which IIM gives the best return for which type of candidate.
Is MBA worth it in 2026? An honest look at the ROI
A balanced analysis of whether an MBA in 2026 still produces the returns it once did. Salary data, payback period math, opportunity-cost framing, and the cases where MBA is or isn't the right move.
Eight IIM converts at 98.99 percentile: how Vaishnavi Goswami built her shortlist
Vaishnavi Goswami scored 98.99 percentile in CAT-25 and converted 8 IIMs — IIM-L, IIM-I, FMS Delhi, IIM Udaipur, IIM Raipur, IIM Amritsar, IIM Kashipur, IIM Trichy. The shortlist strategy that produced the conversions.
CAT 2026 strategy: a month-by-month plan from May
A practical month-by-month plan for CAT 2026 prep starting from May 2026. Monthly milestones, weekly hours, mock cadence, sectional priorities — the structure the IMS Indore senior batch follows.
How a 99.96 percentile happens: the Harsh Agrawal trajectory
Harsh Agrawal scored 99.96 percentile in CAT-25 and converted IIM Bangalore, Calcutta, Kozhikode, SPJain, and MDI. What his trajectory through the IMS Indore programme reveals about the prep patterns that produce top-1% outcomes.
The T20 framework: the 20 skills that actually carry CAT Quant
The T20 skills framework from Bell the CAT — the twenty specific quantitative skills that drive CAT QA performance. Saurabh Mundra (99.99 percentile in QA) maps each skill to specific practice methods.
CAT vs XAT vs SNAP vs NMAT: which exams should you actually write?
A frank decision framework for choosing which MBA entrance exams to write — CAT, XAT, SNAP, NMAT, MAT, CMAT. Which combinations make sense, the prep-overlap math, and which schools each exam actually unlocks.
Mental conditioning for CAT: the real difference between 99 and 99.9
What separates a 99 percentile from a 99.9 in CAT is not more practice — it is mental conditioning. The framework that Bell the CAT calls Mind over Matter, applied to the Indore cohort.
The Five Pauses Technique: how to read CAT RC passages without losing time
The Five Pauses Technique from Bell the CAT — five deliberate stops while reading an RC passage that improve comprehension without slowing you down. Explained by IMS Indore VARC specialist A. Deepti.
How to analyse a CAT mock: what most students get wrong
Spending two hours on a mock and 30 minutes on analysis is the most common waste of time in CAT prep. The IMS India methodology for analysing a mock — four passes, in this order.
A-B-C or Nothing: the worst goal in CAT prep is the most common one
Why setting "IIM-A, B, or C — or nothing" as your CAT prep goal is the single most common mistake. From Bell the CAT and the conversion data of 149 CAT-25 IMS Indore students.
Indore to IIM: why Madhya Pradesh produces more IIM converts than you would expect
You don't need to move to Delhi or Mumbai to crack CAT. 2,512 IIM calls in CAT-25 came from the IMS Indore + Bhopal centres alone. Why MP prep works, and what local students should know.
How a non-engineer cracks IIM-A: the four moves that actually matter
Over 80% of IMS Indore's CAT-25 IIM call-getters are non-engineers. The four prep moves that distinguish a non-engineer who cracks IIM-A from one who plateaus at 95 percentile.
CAT 2025 in numbers: the result patterns from 149 named Indore students
A breakdown of CAT-25 results from the IMS Indore + Bhopal cohort — 149 named call-getters, percentile distribution, which IIMs they were called by, what undergrad backgrounds, and what 90+ percentile actually buys.
You don't need a 99.5 on CAT — and the CAT-25 data proves it
The persistent myth that you need 99.5 percentile or higher to convert an IIM is wrong. The actual percentile floor for each tier, drawn from 149 named CAT-25 IMS Indore converts.