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    GATE 2026 Marking Scheme: Check Negative Marking, Section-wise Marks

    GATE 2026 Marking Scheme: Check Negative Marking, Section-wise Marks

    K Guna SahitiUpdated on 09 Feb 2026, 02:02 PM IST

    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.

    This Story also Contains

    1. GATE 2026 Marking Scheme
    2. GATE 2026 Marking Scheme- Paper Wise Distribution
    3. What is GATE Negative Marking Scheme?
    GATE 2026 Marking Scheme: Check Negative Marking, Section-wise Marks
    GATE 2026 Marking Scheme

    GATE 2026 Marking Scheme

    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.

    Marking Scheme of GATE 2026

    ParticularsDetails

    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

    • 15 marks for GA

    • 85 marks for Subject Questions.

    • No mathematics questions.

    In test papers- AE, BM, BT, NM, ME, TF, PE, AG, CE, CH, EC, EE, IN, CS, ES, IN, MT, PI, MN

    • 15 marks for GA

    • 85 marks for Subject Questions.

    • Including 13 marks for Engineering Mathematics.

    XE is a common compulsory section

    XE-A(Engineering mathematics) carry 15 marks

    Negative Marking

    • 1 Mark MCQ:


      • 1 for correct attempt

      • -⅓ for wrong attempt.

    • 2 Mark MCQ


      • 2 for correct attempt

      • -⅔ for wrong attempt.

    Also Read:

    GATE 2026 Marking Scheme- Paper Wise Distribution

    Below is the section-wise question distribution for all GATE 2026 papers. There will be a total of 30 papers.

    GATE 2026 Marking Scheme

    GATE Paper CodeGeneral Aptitude (GA)Subject QuestionsTotal 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

    What is GATE Negative Marking Scheme?

    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.

    GATE Negative Marking Scheme 2026

    Type of QuestionGATE 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)

    Q: What is the total marks of GATE 2026?
    A:

    A GATE 2026 paper is of 100 marks.

    Q: Is there negative marking in GATE 2026?
    A:

    Yes, there is negative marking in GATE 2026.

    Q: How to calculate scores in GATE 2026?
    A:

    Candidates need to check the GATE 2026 marking scheme to be able to calculate marks in the exam.

    Q: What is the GATE marking scheme?
    A:

    GATE marking scheme mentions the marks assigned to each type of question. It also includes the GATE negative marking scheme.

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    Questions related to GATE

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to GATE ?

    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.

    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).

    Check how to use the GATE 2026 College