XAT 2027 changes: you can leave 12 questions blank without penalty, XLRI adds 60 HR seats, and 17 more institutes accept the score

XLRI Jamshedpur, which runs the Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) on behalf of the Xavier Association of Management Institutions (XAMI), has announced changes for XAT 2027 on xatonline.in. We read them on the portal on 10 November 2026. The exam itself stays on Sunday, 3 January 2027, as set in the XAT 2027 bulletin.

The three changes

• More blanks allowed. The number of questions you can leave unanswered without a penalty goes up from 8 to 12. The exam pattern section of the same portal still says 8, and XLRI has not said whether the deduction for each blank beyond the limit changes, so go by the instructions on your admit card.
• More HR seats at XLRI. The PGDM (Human Resource Management) intake at the Jamshedpur campus rises from 180 to 240, that is 60 more seats.
• 17 more institutes. Sixteen new XAT associate institutes and one new XAMI member institute, Xavier Institute of Management and Informatics, Jaipur, will use XAT 2027 scores.

The new associate institutes

Abhijit Kadam Institute of Management and Social Sciences, Solapur; Accman Institute of Management, Greater Noida; Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management, Faridabad; Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) Department of Management Studies, Navi Mumbai; Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Management and Research, New Delhi; Dayananda Sagar Business School, Bengaluru; Institute of Management, Kolhapur; Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development, Pune; Institute of Management and Rural Development Administration, Sangli; Lexicon Management Institute of Leadership and Excellence, Pune; Mahindra University, Hyderabad; Masters' Union University, Gurgaon; Narayana Business School, Ahmedabad; RV University, Bengaluru; Sparsh Global Business School, Greater Noida; and Yashwantrao Mohite Institute of Management, Karad.

Each associate institute runs its own admission process. Registering for XAT does not apply you to them; you apply to each one separately.

Key dates from the bulletin

Step	Date
XAT and XLRI registration	15 July to 6 December 2026
Registration fee	₹2,300
Admit card	From 20 December 2026 (tentative)
XAT 2027	Sunday, 3 January 2027
Result	Last week of January 2027

XLRI also says candidates who complete their application by 11 November 2026 get the XAT 2025 and 2026 question papers with answer keys. The bulletin lists six test cities in Gujarat: Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara. For the full pattern and section plan, read our XAT 2027 guide.

CareerBox News Desk, reporting on XLRI Jamshedpur and XAMI: the XAT 2027 announcements on xatonline.in (read 10 November 2026) and the XAT 2027 bulletin. Official portal: xatonline.in. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.