GATE 2026 Marking Scheme- IIT Guwahati has released the GATE marking scheme on the official website, gate2026.iitg.ac.in. The GATE 2026 marking scheme is available in the information brochure. Candidates should be aware of the GATE marking scheme 2026 to be able to calculate their marks. The GATE exam is of 100 marks irrespective of the type of paper. The marks assigned vary with the type of questions. They have negative marking as well. Candidates can use the GATE answer key 2026 to calculate probable scores. Using the GATE 2026 answer key, candidates can determine their performance in GATE 2026. The authority is conducting the GATE exam on February 7, 8, 14 and 15, 2026.
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The marking scheme for GATE 2026 can be found below. It varies with the paper. The GATE exam is held for 30 papers with combination of optional papers and secondary paper. Overall, the exam is held for 100 marks. The final normalised score is out of 1000.
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
Total Number of Questions (In all papers) | 65 |
Exam Sections | General Aptitude: 10 Questions Subject Component: 55 Questions |
Marks Carry | 1 or 2 |
Type of Questions | MCQ: Multiple Select Questions MSQ: Multiple Choice Questions NAT: Numerical Answer Type |
In test papers- XL, XH, AR, EY, CY, DA, GE, GG, PH, MA, PH, ST |
|
In test papers- AE, BM, BT, NM, ME, TF, PE, AG, CE, CH, EC, EE, IN, CS, ES, IN, MT, PI, MN |
|
XE is a common compulsory section | XE-A(Engineering mathematics) carry 15 marks |
Negative Marking |
|
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Below is the section-wise question distribution for all GATE 2026 papers. There will be a total of 30 papers.
| GATE Paper Code | General Aptitude (GA) | Subject Questions | Total Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, ES, IN, ME, MN, MT, NM, PE, PI, and TF | 15 | 85 | 100 |
AR [Part A + Part B (B1: Architecture or B2: Planning)] | 15 | 60 + 25 | 100 |
GE [Part A + Part B (Section I or Section II) | 15 | 55 + 30 | 100 |
GG [Part A + Part B (Section 1: Geology or Section 2: Geophysics)] | 15 | 25 + 60 | 100 |
XE (Section A + Any TWO Sections) | 15 | 15 + (2 x 35) | 100 |
XH (Section B1 + Any ONE Section) | 15 | 25 + 60 | 100 |
XL (Section P + Any TWO Sections) | 15 | 25 + (2 x 30) | 100 |
CY, DA, EY, MA, PH | 15 | 85 | 100 |
As per the GATE 2026 exam pattern, the authority deducts some marks for each wrong answer. Meaning, depending on the type of question, some marks will be removed from the total in case the chosen answer is wrong. Check the following table to understand the GATE 2026 negative marking scheme.
| Type of Question | GATE Negative Marking Scheme |
|---|---|
One marker | -⅓ for wrong attempt. |
Two marker | -⅔ for wrong attempt. |
Unattempted questions | No negative marking |
Partially answered questions | No marks assigned |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A GATE 2026 paper is of 100 marks.
Yes, there is negative marking in GATE 2026.
Candidates need to check the GATE 2026 marking scheme to be able to calculate marks in the exam.
GATE marking scheme mentions the marks assigned to each type of question. It also includes the GATE negative marking scheme.
On Question asked by student community
Check the syllabus first - https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/gate-data-science-and-ai-syllabus . Understand where you stand with your knowledge. Check out any past question papers for this and see the question types.
Start preparing on those lines, take up free mock tests and series. There are plenty available on reddit and telegram and other social
Hello, admission for MTech or PhD depends on your GATE score, cutoff, college and branch you choose. Cutoff is different for each and changes every year.
For more details, please check this link: GATE Cutoff 2026
Students are advised to carry only their exam admit card and a pen. Only a few exam centres offer a safe area, but usually, exam centres don’t provide storage; you must keep bags and phones outside the gate at your own risk or avoid bringing them.
With a 413 rank, 350 gate score under the SC category, you have a fair chance of admission into XH:C6 paper at IIT Delhi. For more details on IIT Delhi cutoff, check here: https://www.careers360.com/university/indian-institute-of-technology-delhi/cut-off
Dear Student,
The college predictor for GATE 2026 at Careers360 is free to use. With GATE 2026 College preditor, you can predict your chances of admisison to top MTech colleges like IITs, NITs, and GFTIs and recruitment in Public Sectro Units (PSUs).
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