GATE Application Date:28 Aug' 25 - 28 Sep' 25
GATE Exam Pattern 2026 - IIT Guwahati has released the exam pattern for GATE 2026 on the official website, gate2026.iitg.ac.in. Referring to the GATE exam pattern is the foremost step before starting their test preparation. The authority has introduced a new optional subject, Energy Science, under the Engineering Mathematics paper in 2026. The exam pattern of GATE 2026 includes the exam duration, mode of exam, GATE marking scheme, types of questions, and much more. The GATE question paper will have 65 questions, divided into the general aptitude section and core disciplines. There is a negative marking scheme for incorrect responses in the GATE 2026 exam. The GATE 2026 total marks are 100 for all papers.
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Along with the GATE 2026 exam pattern, candidates must check the GATE syllabus to know the important topics for the exam. Candidates appearing for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering must know the GATE pattern for preparation. Read the article to understand the GATE paper pattern, marking scheme, and GATE marks distribution on this page.
The following GATE exam pattern highlights table contains the mode of exam, duration, GATE marking scheme, test codes and more that help aspirants make a well-planned preparation strategy. Here are the highlights of GATE question paper pattern.
Particulars | Details |
Examination Mode | Computer Based Test (Online) |
| Medium of GATE 2026 exam | English |
Duration | 3 Hours |
Number of Papers in GATE 2026 | 30 Papers |
Section |
|
Type of Questions |
|
GATE Design of Questions | The questions are designed to test the listed abilities
|
Number of Questions | 65 Questions (including 10 questions from General Aptitude) |
GATE Marks Distribution for all Papers except AR, CY, DA, EY, GG, MA, PH, ST, XH and XL |
|
GATE 2026 Marks Distribution for AR, CY, DA, EY, GG, MA, PH, ST, XH and XL |
|
Total Marks | 100 Marks |
GATE Exam Marking Scheme | All of the questions will be worth 1 or 2 marks |
GATE Negative Marking | Two types of MCQs:
|
Paper Code | Exam Pattern |
CE, CS, EC, AE, AG, BT, CH, ME, MN, MT, EE, IN, TF, XE, PE, ST, and PI | GA (General Aptitude) – 15 Engineering Mathematics – 13 question Subject of the Paper – 72 question |
AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH, XH, and XL | GA (General Aptitude) – 15 Subject of the Paper – 85 |
Check the table for the GATE exam marking scheme for Mechanical, Civil, Computer Science, Electrical, and other courses.
GATE Paper Code to prepare for the test | General Aptitude (GA) Marks | Subject Marks | Total Marks | Total Time (Minutes) |
AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, ES, IN, ME, MN, MT, NM, PE, PI, TF; these papers include questions on Engineering Mathematics | 15 | 85 | 100 | 180 |
AR [Part A + Part B (B1: Architecture or B2: Planning)] | 15 | 60 + 25 | 100 | 180 |
GE [Part A + Part B (Section I or Section II) | 15 | 55 + 30 | 100 | 180 |
GG [Part A + Part B (Section 1: Geology or Section 2: Geophysics)] | 15 | 25 + 60 | 100 | 180 |
XE (Section A + Any TWO Sections) | 15 | 15 + (2 x 35) | 100 | 180 |
XH (Section B1 + Any ONE Section) | 15 | 25 + 60 | 100 | 180 |
XL (Section P (Chemistry compulsory)+ Any TWO Sections) | 15 | 25 + (2 x 30) | 100 | 180 |
| CY, DA, EY, MA, PH, ST | 15 | 85 | 100 | 180 |
Here is the information about the weightage of General Aptitude and Engineering Mathematics in the GATE 2026 exam:
In GATE 2026, General Aptitude and Engineering Mathematics will be compulsory sections which include 15% weightage each in total marks in GATE papers with codes AE, AG, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, IN ME, MN, MT, PE, PI, TF, and XE. The remaining 70% weightage will be given to the subject selected by the student.
In the case of GATE 2026 question papers AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH, ST, and XL there will be a compulsory section of General Aptitude (15% of the total marks). The remaining 85% weightage will be given to the selected subject.
Also Read- GATE Normalisation process: How Scores are calculated?
Below are a few important points that candidates need to know about GATE Papers 2026:
The GATE pattern for CSE includes the mode of the exam, the number of questions asked, the GATE negative marking scheme, and more. Here, we have provided the GATE exam pattern for CSE in the table.
Particulars | Specifications |
Exam duration | 3 hours |
Exam mode | Online (Computer-based test) |
Type and total number of Questions | Total 65 Questions MCQs and MCQs and/or Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions |
Total marks of the exam | 100 |
Total number of sections |
|
Marking Scheme |
|
Students preparing for the GATE ECE 2026 must know the GATE exam test pattern, marking scheme, weightage, sections, and the number of questions. Moreover, candidates can know the GATE exam total marks for ECE. Check the details of the GATE exam paper pattern 2026 for ECE below
The total question marks of the ECE question paper will be 100 marks on electronics and communication question papers.
The exam will be conducted in online mode CBT (computer-based test).
The GATE question pattern of CE will contain 3 types of MCQs, MSQs, and NAT.
There will be 1 mark and 2 mark questions in the exam.
GATE 2026 ECE question paper will contain a total of 65 questions with 10 questions on general aptitude and 55 questions on electronics and communication engineering.
The total GATE exam duration will be 3 hours (180 minutes) in the exam.
The GATE negative marking is in objective-type questions only of 1/3 and 2/3 marks.
The GE Paper contains the General Aptitude (GA) section (15 Marks) as applicable for all papers of GATE 2026.
The rest of the GATE GE Paper consists of two parts covering the syllabus: Part A (55 marks) and Part B (30 marks).
Part A is compulsory for all the candidates.
Part B contains two optional sections: Section I and Section II. Candidates have to choose any one of these during the examination.
GATE 2026 papers will have 45 questions, out of which 15 questions will carry 1 mark each and 30 will carry 2 marks each.
There will be multiple-choice questions and numerical answer-type questions present in the GATE paper.
The Geology and Geophysics Paper of GATE will be divided into two parts - A and B.
Part A is mandatory, while Part B comprises two sections – Geology (Section I) and Geophysics (Section II). It will be up to the candidates which section they want to opt for.
Part A contains 25 questions carrying 1 mark each. Numerical answer-type questions will also be present in this section.
Part B (Sections I and II) contains 30 questions carrying 2 marks each.
This GATE paper will have one mandatory section that all candidates have to attempt i.e., Engineering Mathematics
Another compulsory section is General Aptitude consists of 15 marks.
Section A consists of 11 questions with a total of 15 marks. The paper may also contain Some numerical answer-type questions.
Candidates will have the option to choose any of the sections from Section B to I.
The sections (B to I) comprise 22 questions each carrying 35 marks in total.
Section | Type of Question | Number of Question | Sub-total (Marks) |
Section A (Compulsory) | 1 Mark Question | 7 | 7 |
2 Marks Question | 4 | 8 | |
Section B to I | 1 Mark Question | 9 | 9 |
2 Marks Question | 13 | 26 |
Candidates appearing for the GATE 2026 exam can check the exam pattern of GATE 2026 on this page. Along with the GATE paper pattern, candidates must check the GATE 2026 syllabus to prepare for the exam. The GATE 2026 paper pattern includes information about the mode of the exam, types of questions, marks, exam duration, sections, and marking scheme.
Chemistry (Section P) is a mandatory section, consisting of 15 questions for a total of 25 marks. This section also has a few numerical answer-type questions.
The paper also has a General Aptitude section of a total of 15 marks.
Apart from Chemistry, the candidates also have to choose one more section from Q to U. Each of the sections from Q to U consists of 20 questions carrying a total of 30 marks
Section | Type of Questions | Number of Questions | Sub-Total (Marks) |
Chemistry Section or Section P (Compulsory) | 1 mark questions | 5 | 5 |
2 mark questions | 10 | 20 | |
Sections Q to U | 1 mark questions | 10 | 10 |
2 mark questions | 10 | 20 |
GATE exam pattern 2026 is different for each subject. Below are the subject-wise GATE 2026 subject paper codes for all 30 subject papers of GATE.
Paper | Code | Paper | Code |
Architecture and Planning | AR | Geology and Geophysics | GG |
Biotechnology | BT | Mathematics | MA |
Aerospace Engineering | AE | Physics | PE |
Agricultural Engineering | AG | Engineering Sciences | XE* |
Chemical Engineering | CH | Life Sciences | XL** |
Civil Engineering | CE | Instrumentation Engineering | IN |
Computer Science and Information Technology | CS | Mining Engineering | MN |
Electronics and Communication Engineering | EC | Mechanical Engineering | ME |
Electrical Engineering | EE | Textile Engineering and Fiber Science | TF |
Chemistry | CY | Production and Industrial Engineering | PI |
| Data Science & Artificial Intelligence | DA | Biomedical Engineering | BE |
Ecology and Evolution | EY | Petroleum Engineering | PE |
Statistics | ST | Metallurgical Engineering | MT |
Environmental Science and Engineering | ES | Humanities and Social Sciences | XH |
Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering | NM | Geomatics Engineering | GE |
XH Paper Sections | Code |
Reasoning and Comprehension (Compulsory) 25 marks | B1 |
Any of the following Optional Subjects (60 marks) | |
Economics | C1 |
English | C2 |
Linguistics | C3 |
Philosophy | C4 |
Psychology | C5 |
Sociology | C6 |
XE Paper Sections | Code | XL Paper Sections | Code |
Engineering Mathematics (Compulsory) | A | Chemistry (Compulsory) | P |
Fluid Mechanics | B | Biochemistry | Q |
Materials Science | C | Botany | R |
Solid Mechanics | D | Microbiology | S |
Thermodynamics | E | Zoology | T |
Polymer Science and Engineering | F | Food Technology | U |
Food Technology | G | ||
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences | H | ||
| Energy Science | I |
**XE (Engineering Sciences) and **XL (Life Sciences) papers will consist of sections listed in the table above
Quick Links:- When is the Right Time to Start GATE Preparation
The GATE exam tests the abilities of candidates registered for the exam on various grounds. The question papers are designed as per the GATE 2026 question paper pattern.
Recall – The questions asked in the GATE question paper 2026 will be directly linked to the principles, facts, formulas, or laws of the paper selected by the candidate. Therefore, the memory and computation skills of the candidates were put to the test.
Comprehension – There will be questions that test the basic understanding of the candidates in their respective fields of study. Therefore, candidates have to stress fundamental ideas to draw out simple conclusions.
Application – Candidates will be required to apply their computational and logical reasoning skills.
Analysis and Synthesis – The questions comprise a mix of data, diagrams, and images. Candidates will be able to solve the questions by analyzing the information contained in them.
Candidates are advised to understand the negative marking for GATE to gain good marks. There will be negative markings in the GATE 2026 exam. Knowing about the negative marking help in making a proper strategy for exam. To give an idea of how the GATE negative marking scheme is, we have mentioned the GATE 2026 negative marking scheme below.
There will be no negative markings in MSQ and NAT questions.
There will be negative markings in Gate MCQ questions. For every incorrect answer marks will be deducted.
Type of Question | Negative Marking/ Question |
MCQ – 1 mark question | 1/3 |
MCQ – 2 marks question | 2/3 |
The students preparing for the GATE exam must know the types of questions to understand the exam mode and pattern with ease. There will be different types of questions asked as per the GATE 2026 exam pattern which are mentioned below.
1. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
In MCQ questions, the student will be provided with four options, out of which they have to select the right option. There will be negative markings in MCQ questions.
2. Multiple Select Questions (MSQs)
These will be multiple selection questions, and every question contains four options, out of which, the candidates can select one or more than one option. There will be no negative markings for MSQ questions. Also, there are no partial marks allotted for MSQ-type questions.
3. Numerical Answer Type (NAT)
In numerical questions, candidates have to enter their answers in digits. In these types of questions, there will be no negative marking.
Keep the following instructions in mind while appearing for the GATE exam 2026:
Physical calculators, wristwatches, and mobile phones are strictly prohibited inside the GATE examination centres.
For the ease and convenience of candidates, a virtual calculator will be provided on the screen of the candidates.
How to navigate to a question?
On the right side of the screen, candidates find a serial-wise list of questions.
Candidates can directly navigate to a question by clicking on the GATE question number.
The question will be displayed on the screen when the question button is pressed.
Procedure to answer a question?
In the case of MCQs, candidates have to click on a particular option to select it.
To deselect the option, click on the option again. Candidates can also select the clear response option to deselect any option.
In the case of numerical-type questions, enter the answer through the virtual keyboard present on the screen.
Steps to save answers?
Candidates have to click on the “Save and Next” option given on the screen.
If candidates are unsure of their answer they can mark the question for review by selecting the “Mark for Review and Next” option.
Once the time limits all the answers will be automatically submitted.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The GATE 2026 application form date is August 25, 2025.
The first shift of the GATE exam will begin at 9:30 AM and continue until 12:30 PM.
Candidates can find the exam pattern for GATE 2026 on the official website, gate2026.iitg.ac.in.
IIT Guwahati has announced the GATE 2026 exam dates online. It will held on February 7, 8, 14 and 15, 2026.
If a candidate has a doubt, he must check if he or she is ready for GATE 2026 with the help of certain factors like topics covered, score in the mock tests, etc.
According to the GATE 2026 exam pattern, the paper will have a total of 65 questions.
Yes, there will be negative marking in the GATE 2026 exam. For multiple-choice questions (MCQs), incorrect answers lead to a deduction of 1/3 marks, while for numerical answer type questions, there is no negative marking.
The GATE exam pattern is designed to test the aptitude of candidates in their respective engineering disciplines. It is a computer-based test that includes multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and numerical answer type (NAT) questions.
The GATE exam carries 100 marks and consists of a total of 65 questions.
The total GATE exam time duration of the GATE exam is 3 hours.
On Question asked by student community
Hello
As an EEE (Electrical and Electronics Engineering) graduate, your core GATE paper is EE (Electrical Engineering).
You can also choose papers like IN (Instrumentation) or EC (Electronics and Communication) if you're comfortable. GATE now allows two-paper combinations EE plus IN is a valid pair.
Choose based on your strengths and future goals (e.g., PSU jobs, M.Tech). Always check the latest GATE brochure for updated paper codes and combinations.
How to clear GATE Exam :
First, know the syllabus and exam pattern.
Make a small study plan and follow it every week.
Read from good books or trusted online notes.
Practice old GATE question papers.
Give mock tests to check speed and accuracy.
Revise your notes and formulas again and again.
How to get Job in PSU:
Score high in GATE, because PSUs take only top ranks.
Keep checking PSU job notices regularly.
Apply on time with your GATE score.
Be ready for interviews or group discussions.
Work on subject knowledge and also your communication skills.
Yes, it will be acceptable. In GATE registration, the name should match your valid photo ID proof in terms of spelling, not the order. Many Indian IDs have surname written first, while the portal generates it as first–middle–last. Since all three parts of your name (Vikash, Rameshbhai, Bhagel) are correct, there won’t be any issue. Just ensure you upload the correct ID proof. During verification, they check spelling, photo, and signature, not the word order.
Hello,
Yes, you can change your category from General to OBC during the GATE 2026 correction window.
GATE always allows candidates to correct details like category. You will need to pay a small correction fee for this change. Make sure you upload a valid OBC certificate as per the format and date mentioned by GATE.
So, wait for the correction window, log in to your application, and update your category to OBC.
Hope it helps !
Hello! If you are preparing for GATE, there are plenty of free resources available online that can boost your preparation. You can easily access e-books, handwritten notes, subject wise PYQs, and test series shared by toppers on different platforms. Along with that, free PDFs and study material are available through various websites and Telegram channels. To make it easier, I will be attaching the link where you can find preparation tips, a study timetable, free study materials, and previous year question papers all in one place.
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/gate-preparation-timetable
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/how-to-prepare-for-gate
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/gate-preparation-material
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/gate-mock-test
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/gate-question-papers
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