GATE stands for Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering. It is a national level examination. Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and seven Indian Institutes of Technology (Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorke) jointly conduct GATE exam. This exam is conducted in the month of February every year through online mode. The GATE score is valid for 3 years from the date of announcement of results and is mandatory to take admission in Master’s degree programs as well as Doctoral programs at IITs, IISc and other prestigious Institutes or Universities in all over India.
If you’re GATE qualified, then several PSUs consider your GATE score to shortlist the candidates and offer you a job with good salary package. Few of the PSUs which use GATE score for providing jobs include BARC, BHEL, IOCL, HPCL, NTPC, Powergrid, NHPC etc.
In this article, we discussed about Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering exam in detail.
1 What is the Eligibility Criteria for GATE exam?
The Eligibility Criteria for GATE exam will consist of certain parameters such as age limit, nationality, academic qualification and much more. Before proceeding to fill the application form, candidates must need to check the list of eligible qualifying examinations mentioned below
| Criteria | Eligibility |
| Age limit | There is no age limit for GATE exam. |
| Nationality | Both Indian as well as international students are eligible to apply for GATE exam. |
| Academic qualification | The candidates who have completed final year examination or in last year are also eligible to apply. |
| Pass percentage | No minimum pass percentage is required for GATE exam. |
2 How to apply for GATE exam?
All the candidates who meet the above eligibility criteria can apply for GATE exam by following steps shown below
| Register | Firstly, you have to register yourself by entering your name, email ID and mobile number through GOAPS portal. Enrollment number will be generated after registration. Then create a password for further process of GATE exam. |
| Fill application form | Login and fill the application form. The selection of GATE paper and exam centers as per the preference had to be done. |
| Upload scanned images | After that, you need to upload scanned photograph, signature and category certificate as per the specifications mentioned by the authorities. |
| Payment of application fee | Can be done through online mode i.e net banking/debit card/credit card. |
| Registration fee | The registration fee for male candidates (General, OBC and Others) is Rs. 1500; for SC/ST/PwD candidates is Rs. 750 whereas registration fee for female candidates (all category) is Rs. 750. |
Submit your application form after completing all of the above mentioned steps.
3 What is the exam pattern for GATE exam?
Before starting the preparation, you must thoroughly go through the exam pattern of GATE. This will assist you to understand how GATE will be conducted and also boost their preparation process.
- The exam paper comprises of three sections such as General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics and main specific section in which you’re applied for.
- GATE exam contain two different types of questions i.e Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) and Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions.
- Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) carrying one or two marks questions and there is a negative marking for each wrong answer whereas both Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) and Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions also carrying one or two marks questions but there is no negative marking for a wrong answer.
- The marking scheme of GATE exam is shown below
- MCQs – 1 mark for each correct answer whereas 1/3 mark will be deducted for every wrong answer.
- MCQs – 2 marks for each correct answer whereas 2/3 mark will be deducted for every incorrect response.
- The duration of GATE exam is 3 hours and consists of 65 questions.
3.1 The pattern of GATE exam according to paper code
| Paper Code | Exam Pattern |
| CE, CS, EC, AE, AG, BT, CH, ME, MN, MT, EE, IN, TF, PE, ST and PI | GA (General Aptitude) – 5 questions (15 marks)
Engineering Mathematics – 5 questions (13 marks) Main Subject Paper – 15 questions (72 marks)
|
| AR, CY, GG, EY, XE, XL, PH and MA | GA (General Aptitude) and Maths – 11 questions (15 marks)
Main Subject Paper – 44 questions (85 marks) |
To summarize the above work we can conclude that before you’re going to applying for GATE exam make sure you know all the parameters mentioned above. Once you have qualified GATE exam, numerous options are there in front of you like you can persue your master as well as doctorate programs at IITs, IISc etc. or you can do job because several PSUs have used GATE score to shortlist the candidates for employment.
