GATE - Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering is an All-India Examination conducted by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT’s). This test is conducted on behalf of the National Coordinating Board - GATE, Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), Government of India. GATE is a passport for admission into ME and MTech courses in almost all the colleges / institutes / universities of the country. ME / MTech is a three semester programme and admission to these programmes largely depends upon GATE percentile score.

GATE examination identifies meritorious and motivated candidates for admission to Postgraduate Programmes in Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Science and Pharmacy at National level. The examination is a compulsory requirement for the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) scholarship / assistantship for ME and M Tech programs.

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• Engineering / Technology
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Eligibility for Appearing in GATE

Eligibility criteria for Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering are -

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Technology/Architecture/Pharmacy or those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.

Master's degree holders in any branch of Science / Mathematics / Statistics / Computer Applications or equivalent and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.

Candidates in the second or higher year of the Four-year Integrated Master's degree programme (Post-B.Sc.) in Engineering/Technology or in the third or higher year of Five-year Integrated Master's degree programme and Dual Degree programme in Engineering/Technology.

Candidates with qualifications obtained through examination conducted by professional societies recognised by UPSC/AICTE e.g. AMIE (Associate Membership of Institution of Engineers) as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech. Those who have completed Section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.

PG Admission and MHRD Scholarships:

A candidate is eligible for Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Scholarship/Assistantship in Engineering/Technology/ Architecture/ Pharmacy/ Sciences at engineering colleges/institutes in the country only if he/she qualifies in GATE-Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering. To avail the scholarship, additionally, the candidate must secure admission to such a postgraduate programme, as per the prevailing procedure of the admitting institution. GATE qualification does not guarantee admission. GATE qualified candidates in Engineering disciplines are also eligible for the award of the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) in CSIR-Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Laboratories. Some government organizations prescribe GATE qualification as a requirement for applying to the post of a Scientist/Engineer.

As per the directives of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Govt. of India, the following procedure is to be adopted for admission to postgraduate programmes (Master’s and Doctoral) with MHRD Scholarship/ Assistantship. The GATE performance of the candidate is considered for admission. If the candidate is to be selected through interview for postgraduate programmes, minimum 70% weightage is to be given to the GATE performance. The remaining weightage (30% maximum) can be given to the marks obtained by the candidate in his/her qualifying examination or interview. Candidates opting for a general paper (Engineering Sciences or Life Sciences) should be further examined (by interview/written test) by the admitting institute. In such cases also the weightage for GATE score should not be less than 70%. The admitting institute will prescribe minimum passing percentage of marks in the interview. Some Colleges/Institutes specify GATE as mandatory qualification even for admission without MHRD Scholarship/Assistantship.

Candidates are advised to seek details about admission procedures and availability of MHRD Scholarship/ Assistantship from the department of their interest/postgraduate office of the concerned institution. GATE offices do not entertain any enquiry about admission and award of Scholarship/Assistantship.

While qualifying in GATE is essential for all candidates seeking admission to postgraduate programmes with MHRD Scholarship/ Assistantship, the management of the postgraduate scholarship / assistantship is the responsibility of the admitting institution. The GATE Committee has no role in the award or disbursement of scholarship/ assistantship. Similarly, reservation of seats under different categories is as per the policies and norms prevailing at the admitting institution.

According to MHRD rules, the award of postgraduate scholarship/assistantship to GATE qualified candidates is for a maximum period of 24 months for Master’s degree programmes in Engineering / Technology/ Architecture/ Pharmacy and Science.

Every qualified candidate receives an original GATE Scorecard valid for two years.

At present, students in the Integrated Master’s Degree and Dual Degree programmes in Engineering/Technology are eligible to appear in GATE in order to qualify for the postgraduate scholarship in their own institutions only. They are not eligible for admission to a fresh M.E. / M.Tech. programme.

GATE entrance examination is single paper of 3 hours duration and of 150 marks. The question paper is in English only. Before applying for GATE entrance examination, a candidates must assure that he/she has chosen the right optional subject, which enables him/her to become eligible to seek admission to the programme of interest. The criteria for postgraduate admission with scholarship/assistantship are different in various Institutes. GATE Offices are not in a position to provide any information in this regard.

The choice of the paper is the responsibility of the candidate.

Main Papers (Other than-Engineering Sciences / Life Sciences Papers)

1. The question paper is objective type for a total of 150 marks divided into three groups:

     i.   Group I: Question Numbers 1 to 20 (20 questions) of one mark each.

     ii.  Group II: Question numbers 21 to 75 (55 questions) of two marks each. Out of this, Q.71 to Q.75 may be common data based questions.

     iii. Group III: Question Numbers 76 to 85 (10 questions) of two marks each. These questions are called linked answer questions. These 10 questions comprise five pairs of questions (76 & 77, 78 & 79, etc.). The solution to the second question of each pair (e.g. Q.77) will be linked to the correct answer to the first one (e.g. Q.76) in the pair.

2. Each question consists of four choices for the answer. Only one choice is correct.

3. Wrong answers carry 25% negative marks. In Q.1 to Q.20, 0.25 mark are deducted for each wrong answer and in Q.21 to Q.76, Q.78, Q.80, Q.82 and Q.84, 0.5 mark are deducted for each wrong answer. However, there is no negative marking in Q.77, Q.79, Q.81, Q.83 and Q.85.

4. Papers on Agricultural Engg.,Civil Engg., Chemical Engg., Comp. Sc. & Engg., Elex.& Comm. Engg., Electrical Engg., Information Technology, Instrumention Engg., Mechanical Engg., Mining Engg., Metallurgical Engg., Production & Industrial Engg., Textile Engg. & Fibre Science contains questions on Engineering Mathematics to the extent of 20 to 25 marks.

5. The multiple choice objective test questions can be of the following type:

     i. Each choice containing a single stand-alone statement/phrase/data.

Example:

Q. The symmetry of stress tensor at a point in the body under equilibrium is obtained from

   A. conservation of mass
   B. force equilibrium equations
   C. moment of equilibrium equations
   D. conservation of energy

   ii. Each choice containing a combination of option codes.

The question may be accompanied by four options P, Q, R, S and the choices may be a combination of these options. The candidate has to choose the right combination as the correct answer.

Example:

Q. The infra-red stretching frequency ?co of

(P) Mn(CO)6+ (Q) CO (R) H3B‹–CO (S) [V(CO)6]-follows the order

(P>R>S>Q
(S>P>R>Q
(Q>S>P>R
(R>Q>P>S

   iii. Assertion[a]/Reason[r] type with the choices stating if [a]/[r] are True/False and/or stating if [r] is correct/incorrect reasoning of [a]

Example:

Q. Determine the correctness or otherwise of the following Assertion [a] and the Reason [r]

Assertion: For a fully developed laminar flow in a circular pipe the average velocity is one half of the maximum velocity.

Reason: The velocity for a fully developed laminar flow in a circular pipe varies linearly in the radial direction.

Both [a] and [r] are true and [r] is the correct reason for [a]
Both [a] and [r] are true but [r] is not the correct reason for [a]
Both [a] and [r] are false
[a] is true but [r] is false

   iv. Match items: Match all items in Column 1 with correct options from those given in Column 2 and choose the correct set of combinations from the choices A, B, C and D.

Example:

Q. Group I contains some properties of bitumen. Group II gives a list of laboratory tests conducted on bitumen to determine the properties. Match the property with the corresponding test.

   V. Common data based questions: Multiple questions may be linked to a common problem data, passage and the like. Two or three questions can be formed from the given common problem data. Each question is independent and its solution obtainable from the above problem data/passage directly. (Answer of the previous question is not required to solve the next question). Each question under this group will carry two marks.

Example:

Common data for Q. 74 & 75: A glass-reinforced polymer composite comprises of 35 vol % glass fibres and 65 vol % of polymer resin. The elastic moduli of glass and polymer resin are respectively 70 GPa and 3 GPa.

Q.74. The elastic modulus (in GPa) of the composite under iso-strain state is

(A) 4.51 (B) 25.45 (C) 26.45 (D) 27.45

Q.75. The elastic modulus (in GPa) of the composite under iso-stress state is

(A) 3.51 (B) 4.51 (C) 6.51 (D) 26.45

Linked answers question: These questions are of problem solving type. A problem statement is followed by two questions based on the problem statement. The two questions are to be designed such that the solution to the second question depends upon the answer to the first one. In other words, the first answer is an intermediate step in working out the second answer. Each question in such- linked answer questions’ Will carry two marks.

Example:

Statement for linked answer Q. 76 & 77: : A four-hour unit of a hydrograph of a catchment is triangular in shape with a base of 80 hours. The area of the catchment is 720 km2. The base flow and f-index are 30 m3/s and 1 mm/h, respectively. A storm of 4 cm occurs uniformly in 4 hours over the catchment.

Q.76 The peak discharge of four-hour unit hydrograph is

(A) 40 m3/s (B) 50 m3/s (C) 60 m3/s (D) 70 m3/s

Q.77 The peak flood discharge due to the storm is

(A) 210 m3/s (B) 230 m3/s (C) 260 m3/s (D) 720 m3/s

In the above simplistic example, the calculation of peak flood discharge due to the storm in Q.77 requires the value of peak discharge of four-hour unit hydrograph calculated in Q.76 as the first step.

Engineering Science / Life Science Papers

Engineering Science and Life Science papers contain a number of sections. Each Section is of 50 marks. Each Section will be fully objective type and the questions are divided into three groups.

Group I: Question Numbers 1 to 6 (6 questions) of one mark each (subtotal 6 marks).

Group II: Question numbers 7 to 24 (18 questions) of two marks each (subtotal 36 marks). Out of this, Q.23 and Q.24 may be common data based questions.

Group III: Question Numbers 25 to 28 (4 questions) of two marks each. These questions are called linked answer questions. These 4 questions comprise two pairs of questions (25 & 26 and 27 & 28). The solution to the second question of each pair (e.g. Q.26) will be linked to the correct answer to the first one (e.g. Q.25) in the pair (subtotal 8 marks).

All questions have four choices with only one being correct.

Wrong answers carry 25% negative marks. In Q.1 to Q.6 of each section, 0.25 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer and in Q.7 to Q.25 and Q.27, 0.5 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer. However, there is no negative marking in Q.26 and Q.28.

The pattern of multiple-choice questions is the same as in the Main papers as described in Main Papers (e).

The GATE score of a candidate is a statistical performance index in the range 0 to 1000. It reflects the ability of a candidate, irrespective of the paper or year in which he/she has qualified. Candidates with same GATE SCORE from different disciplines and/or years can be considered to be of equal ability.

The performance index (PI) of a candidate for his/her paper in a given year is defined as:

The GATE result and particulars of the qualified candidates are available to interested educational institutions, R and D laboratories, industries etc. in India and abroad based on written request by the organization on payment.

Details can be obtained from Chairpersons of GATE of IITs / IISc.