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
Hi,
Your scholarship eligibility depends on whether your GATE 2026 score meets the General category qualifying cutoff. If your category could not be changed after the correction window, then you are usually treated as a General category candidate during admission and scholarship processing.
Generally:
• If your score is equal
Hi,
With a GATE score of 426, you do have a chance of getting MTech Data Science in some NITs , especially through later counselling rounds or in comparatively less competitive NITs. For top NITs, though, Data Science seats can still be quite competitive since it is a popular specialisation.
Hello Student,
Getting a seat in Mining Engineering in MBM Jodhpur with 67th percentile as an OBC candidate might be difficult, as the cut off goes around 75-80th percentile.
What you can do is to go for spot rounds or REAP's last round, provided the seats remain vacant.
Hello Bhaskar
You can check you Admission chances from the link given below:
https://engineering.careers360.com/gate-college-predictor
Hope it helps.
Hello, yes, you can apply for some PSU jobs through your GATE EEE score even if you are studying ECE, but it depends on the eligibility criteria of each PSU recruitment. Some PSUs allow both ECE and EEE candidates for certain posts.
You can check the latest PSU recruitment updates
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