UPES M.Tech Admissions 2026
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GATE Exam Date:07 Feb' 26 - 08 Feb' 26
GATE Exam Pattern for ECE 2026 - IIT Guwahati has released the GATE 2026 ECE exam pattern on the official website, gate2026.iitg.ac.in. Candidates can check the GATE exam pattern for ECE 2026 on this page. The paper pattern includes details about the marking scheme, types of questions, total marks, and much more. The GATE ECE question paper will have a total weightage of 85% in Electronics and Communication Engineering and 15% in General Aptitude. Students preparing for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering must prepare for the test, keeping in mind the GATE paper pattern for ECE. The GATE 2026 exam will be conducted on February 7, 8, 14, and 15, 2026.
The GATE 2026 Electronics and Communication paper pattern includes eight major sections of Engineering Mathematics, Networks, Signals and Systems, Electronic Devices, Analog Circuits, Digital Circuits, Control Systems, Communications, and Electromagnetics. The GATE ECE question paper will feature three types of questions, including Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ), Multiple-Select Questions (MSQ), and Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions. There will be a total of 100 questions in the GATE ECE exam. Candidates preparing for the GATE 2026 exam for Electronics and Communication Engineering can check the detailed syllabus and exam pattern here.
Students preparing for the GATE exam 2026 must know the exam pattern, marking scheme, weightage, sections, and the number of questions. Check the details below.
There will be a total of 100 marks on electronics and communication question papers.
The exam will be conducted in online mode, CBT (computer-based test).
The GATE question paper of ECE will contain 3 types of MCQs, MSQs, and NAT.
There will be 1-mark and 2-mark questions in the exam.
The 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 time duration will be 3 hours (180 minutes) in the exam.
The 1/3 and 2/3 marks will be deducted for every incorrect answer. There will be negative markings in objective-type questions only.
The candidates appearing for the GATE 2026 ECE paper have the choice to choose IN, PH, EE, CS, or GE as their second paper.
| Gate exam pattern for Mechanical Engineering | Gate exam pattern for Textile Engineering | Gate exam pattern for Physics |
| Gate exam pattern for Chemistry | Gate exam pattern for CSE | Gate exam pattern for ECE |
GATE 2026 ECE Paper Marking Scheme
Candidates are advised to make a preparation strategy based on the GATE syllabus for ECE with weightage. Check out the complete details regarding the syllabus weightage below:
Subject Code/Name | No. of Questions | Marks Distribution | Mark's percent weightage | Negative Marking | Total time |
General Aptitude | 10 | 5 x 1 5 x 2 | 15 | 1/3 for 1 mark Que in MCQ 2/3 for 2-mark questions in MCQ No Negative marking in MSQ and NAT | |
Electronics and communication engineering (ECE) | 44 | (25 x 1) (30 x 2) | 72 | ||
Engineering Mathematics | 11 | 13 | |||
Total | 65 | 100 | 180 Minutes |
Also Read: GATE exam pattern for Civil Engineering
The GATE exam syllabus for ECE 2026 is available online on the website. Candidates appearing for the entrance test can check the GATE syllabus for ECE 2026 to know the important topics section-wise. Check the table below for the GATE 2026 ECE syllabus.
Sections | Important Topics |
General Aptitude |
|
Engineering Mathematics |
|
Networks, Signals and Systems |
|
Electronic Devices |
|
Analog Circuits |
|
Digital Circuits |
|
Control Systems |
|
Communications |
|
Electromagnetics |
|
Also Read: How to Prepare for GATE Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE)
Candidates can check all the important details carefully to know the GATE exam pattern for ECE 2026.
The GATE ECE exam 2026 will be a computer-based exam. The total time will be 3 hours.
The GATE paper total marks for ECE will be 100 marks.
There will be 1 and 2-mark questions. For MCQ questions, candidates will have 4 options, out of which 1 will be the correct answer.
The General aptitude section will have a total of 10 questions with 15% weightage.
The Engineering Mathematics and core subject electronics engineering will contain 55 questions with a total of 72% marks.
The GATE exam pattern for ECE electronics and communication will have multiple-choice questions, Multiple Select Questions (MSQs), and Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions.
For MSQ questions, candidates will have 4 options, out of which candidates can choose one or more correct answers.
For NAT questions, candidates have to enter the numerical values using a virtual keypad. No choices will be given for these questions.
Also Read: Download Free ECE GATE Previous Year Papers
Best books for GATE 2026 preparation, students must have:
Book Name | Author |
Network Theory | Alexander Sadikuv |
Electronic Devices | Jacob Millman & Christos C. Halkias |
Analog Circuits | Donald A. Neaman |
Digital Circuits | Ronald J. Toccii, Pearson Publications |
Control System | Nagarath and Gopal |
Read Also: Best recommended books for GATE ECE Preparation
Candidates will be able to access the GATE 2026 cutoff for ECE on the official website. For admissions to M.Tech at the IITs, NITs, IIITs, other centrally funded institutes, and private institutes, candidates have to qualify for the GATE score. Students can analyze the GATE exam pattern for ECE and can solve the previous year's GATE cutoff to prepare and have an overview.
Year | General | OBC-NCL | SC/ST/PH |
| 2025 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
2024 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.5 |
2023 | 29.9 | 26.9 | 19.9 |
2022 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.5 |
2021 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
2020 | 28.8 | 25.9 | 19.2 |
2019 | 26.7 | 24 | 17.8 |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The authority has released the GATE syllabus for ECE 2026 on the official website.
The GATE exam pattern for ECE electronics and communication has a total of 3 sections. The General aptitude contains 15% weightage, Engineering Mathematics will contain 13%, and ECE Electronics and Communication will contain 72% weightage.
There will be only one paper in GATE ECE 2026. GATE exam pattern for ECE Electronics and Communication consists of 3 main sections. General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics, and core subject (Electronics and Communication Engineering).
GATE ECE question paper will have three types of questions. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), Multiple Select Questions (MSQ), and Numerical Answer Type (NAT).
There will be a total of 65 questions in the GATE ECE exam: 55 questions from the core subjects, including Engineering Mathematics, and 10 questions from the General Aptitude section.
There will be three sections General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics, Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE). The core sections of the ECE are:
Section 1: Networks, Signals, and Systems
Section 2: Electronic Devices
Section 3: Analog Circuits
Section 4: Digital Circuits
Section 5: Control Systems
Section 6: Communications
Section 7: Electromagnetics
On Question asked by student community
Hello
Just visit the link I am attaching below, so that it will help you to download and practice the papers, so that you can practice well and score well.
Hope it will help you!!!
Hello dear candidate,
You will not receive another rectification mail unless and until there is still an error in your reuploaded signature. if everything is okay your status will change to accepted on the GATE portal.
My advice is that you should keep checking your application status on the official website of GATE 2026.
Thank you.
Hello,
Visit the below website to download the previous 15 years question paper of GATE exam.
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/last-15-years-gate-papers-solutions
You'll also get the solutions from it. These question papers will help you a lot in your preparation.
All the best.
This is likely a temporary portal or validation issue, not something you did wrong. When candidates try to change category from GEN to OBC-NCL during the GATE correction window, the system checks required fields and sometimes a supporting certificate or fee is needed. If any required data or document is missing, or the server is busy, the portal can show Something went wrong, please try again. Explain to them that first they should log into the GATE portal, open the Correction tab and confirm which fields are editable and whether a payment or document upload is required for category change. Tell them to clear browser cache or try a different browser/device and retry. If the error persists, advise contacting GATE support or the zonal office with a screenshot and timing of the error so officials can check server logs.
Hello,
The GATE 2026 Agricultural Engineering (AG) paper will have a total of 100 marks. Out of this, 15 marks are for General Aptitude and 85 marks are for core Agricultural Engineering subjects.
The marks are generally distributed among major topics like Engineering Mathematics (12–13 marks), Farm Machinery (10–11), Farm Power (14–15), Soil & Water Conservation (12–13), Irrigation & Drainage (10–12), Agricultural Process Engineering (10–12), and Dairy & Food Engineering (9–10 marks).
The official qualifying marks for GATE 2026 are not yet released. However, based on previous years, the cutoff for the Agricultural Engineering paper is expected to be around 25 marks for General, 22.5 for OBC/EWS, and 16.6 for SC/ST/PwD candidates.
Hope it helps !
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