GATE Exam Pattern 2026 (Released), Check subject-wise exam pattern & marking scheme

The GATE exam pattern 2026 has been released by IIT Guwahati on the official website of GATE exam – gate2026.iitg.ac.in The GATE 2026 test pattern includes the number of questions asked, duration of the exam, types of questions, marking scheme, and subject-wise marks distribution.

The GATE paper will have 30 subjects this year, and the students can choose their subjects while filling out the GATE application form. The GATE exam has 65 questions in total to be solved in 3 hours. Each paper is for 100 marks and the exam is conducted online as CBT.

To know more about the GATE exam pattern including the detailed marking scheme and paper codes, scroll through this page. Candidates must know their paper code as it is required at the time of GATE application form as well as at the time of GATE admission.

GATE 2026 Exam Pattern Key Overview

The duration of the GATE exam is 3 hours and the maximum marks are 100. The exam is divided into three sections one contains General Aptitude (MCQ), Engineering and Mathematics. Candidates have to choose one of the 30 subjects.

Particulars	Details
Mode of Examination	Computer Based Test (CBT)
Language of examination	English
Duration	3 Hours
Number of papers (Subjects)	30 test papers
Sections	General Aptitude (GA) + Candidate's Selected Subject(s)
Total Questions	10 (GA) + 55 (Subject) = 65
Type of Questions	Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) Multiple Select Question (MSQ) Numerical Answer Type (NAT)
Testing of abilities	Recall Comprehension Application Analysis & Synthesis
Distribution of Marks in all Papers EXCEPT papers AR, CY, DA, EY, GE, GG, MA, PH, ST, XH, and XL	General Aptitude: 15 marks Engineering Mathematics**: 13 marks Subject Questions: 72 marks Total: 100 marks (**XE includes Engineering Mathematics section XE-A of 15 marks)
Distribution of Marks in papers AR, CY, DA, EY, GE, GG, MA, PH, ST, XH, and XL	General Aptitude: 15 marks Subject Questions: 85 marks Total: 100 marks
Marking Scheme	Questions carry either 1 mark or 2 marks
Negative Marking	For a wrong answer chosen in an MCQ, there will be negative marking. For a 1-mark MCQ, 1/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. For a 2-mark MCQ, 2/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. There is no negative marking for wrong answer(s) to MSQ or NAT questions. There is no partial marking in MSQ.

GATE 2026 Exam Pattern Paper Codes

This year onwards, the GATE Exam will have 30 disciplines/ subjects. A candidate can appear only in any one paper of the following disciplines.

GATE Test Paper	Code	GATE Test Paper	Code
Aerospace Engineering	AE	Geology & Geophysics	GG
Agricultural Engineering	AG	Instrumentation Engineering	IN
Architecture and Planning	AR	Mathematics	MA
Biomedical Engineering	BM	Mechanical Engineering	ME
Biotechnology	BT	Mining Engineering	MN
Civil Engineering	CE	Metallurgical Engineering	MT
Chemical Engineering	CH	Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering	NM
Computer Science & Information Technology	CS	Petroleum Engineering	PE
Chemistry	CY	Physics	PH
Data Science & Artificial Intelligence	DA	Production & Industrial Engineering	PI
Electronics & Communication Engineering	EC	Statistics	ST
Electrical Engineering	EE	Textile Engineering & Fibre Science	TF
Environmental Science & Engineering	ES	Engineering Sciences	XE
Ecology and Evolution	EY	Humanities & Social Sciences	XH
Geomatics Engineering	GE	Life Sciences	XL

GATE Exam Pattern: Compulsory and Optional Papers

XE Paper Sections	Code	XH Paper Sections	Code	XL Paper Sections	Code
Engineering Mathematics	A	Reasoning and Comprehension	B1	Chemistry	P
(Compulsory) (15 marks)		(Compulsory) (25 marks)		(Compulsory) (25 marks)
Any TWO optional Sections		Any ONE optional Section		Any TWO optional Sections
(2x35 = 70 marks)		(60 marks)		(2x30 = 60 marks)
Fluid Mechanics	B	Economics	C1	Biochemistry	Q
Materials Science	C	English	C2	Botany	R
Solid Mechanics	D	Linguistics	C3	Microbiology	S
Thermodynamics	E	Philosophy	C4	Zoology	T
Polymer Science and Engineering	F	Psychology	C5	Food Technology	U
Food Technology	G	Sociology	C6
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences	H
Energy Science	I

GATE 2026 Exam Pattern: Two Paper Combination

Candidates can choose two subjects in GATE 2026. You have to choose both the subjects from the allowed subject combination in GATE 2026 exam. Check the tentative subject combinations for GATE exam 2026 below.

First Paper code (Primary paper)	Second paper code (secondary paper)	First paper code (primary paper)	Second paper code (secondary paper)
AE	CE, ME, XE	GE	AR, CE, CS, ES, GG
AG	CE	GG	GE
AR	CE, GE	IN	BM, EC, EE, ME
BM	BT, IN	MA	CS, DA, PH, ST
BT	BM, XL	ME	AE, DA, IN, NM, PI, XE
CE	AE, AG AR, ES, GE, NM, XE	MT	XE
CH	ES, PE, XE	NM	CE, ME
CS	DA, EC, GE, MA, PH, ST	PE	CH
CY	XE, XL	PH	CS, DA, EC, EE, MA, XE
DA	CS, EC, EE, MA, ME, PH, ST, XE	PI	ME, XE
EC	CS, DA, EE, IN, PH	ST	CS, DA, MA, XH
EE	DA, EC, IN, PH	XE	AE, CE, CH, CY, DA, ME, MT, PH, PI
ES	CE, CH, GE	XH	ST
EY	XL	XL	BT, CY, EY

Points to remember while choosing both the subjects

• If a new paper combination is added later (correction window), you can also choose any combination, including new and original paper combinations, during the correction window and can add a new subject with payment of the required fee.
• If any paper combination is removed later (correction window), the fee for the second paper will be refunded to you.

GATE Exam Pattern: Marking Scheme

There is a different marking scheme depending on the paper you are attempting. Check the marking scheme of the different papers in the table below.

Paper Code	General Aptitude (GA) Marks	Subject: Compulsory Section	Subject: Optional Section(s)	Total Marks	Total Time* (Minutes)
AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, ES, IN, ME, MN, MT, NM, PE, PI, TF; Subject marks in these papers include questions on Engineering Mathematics (13 marks), which are paper-specific.	15	85	--	100	180
CY, DA, EY, MA, PH, ST	15	85	--	100	180
AR: Part A is Common and Compulsory. Part B1/B2 can be selected during the exam. B1 - Architecture or B2 - Planning	15	60	25	100	180
GE: Part A is Common and Compulsory. Part B1/B2 can be selected during the exam. B1 - Surveying and Mapping or B2 - Image Processing and Analysis	15	55	30	100	180
GG: Part A is Common and Compulsory. Part B1/B2 must be chosen at the time of application. B1 - Geology or B2 - Geophysics	15	25	60	100	180
XE: Section A (Engineering Mathematics) is Common and Compulsory. Applicants must select any TWO of the other sections during the exam.	15	15	2 x 35	100	180
XH: Section B1 (Reasoning and Comprehension) is Common and Compulsory. Applicants must select any ONE of the other sections at the time of application.	15	25	60	100	180
XL: Section P (Chemistry) is Common and Compulsory. Applicants must select any TWO of the other sections during the exam.	15	25	2 x 30	100	180

GATE 2026 Exam Pattern: Type of Questions

The GATE exam has 65 questions for 100 marks. Three types of questions are asked in the GATE exam: MCQs, MSQs & NAT. Candidate must check question types with respective marking scheme given below:

1. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) - carries 1 or 2 marks. 4 options will be there for each MCQ. 1/3 of the marks will be deducted for each wrong answer for MCQs.
2. Multiple Select Questions (MSQs) - carries 1 or 2 marks in all the GATE question papers. 4 options will be there for each MSQ. No negative marking for MSQs. Marks will be given on proportional correctness basis with respect to other options.
3. Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions - carries 1 or 2 marks in all the GATE question papers. No options will be there for each NAT Question. Candidates must write the answer in terms of real numbers using the virtual keyboard provided during the GATE exam. No negative marking for NAT questions in GATE exam.

Category of questions

Candidates must know that the GATE 2026 exam question paper will be designed to evaluate the capabilities of candidates through a diverse range of assessment criteria. Candidates can check the detailed assessment criteria below.

→ Recall: These questions are based on facts, principles, formulae, or laws of the discipline. The candidate is expected to obtain the answer from the subject's memory or, at most, from a short computation.

→ Comprehension: These questions test the candidate’s understanding of the basic concepts and require the candidate to draw simple conclusions from fundamental ideas.

→ Application: These questions test the candidate’s application of knowledge, either through computation or by logical reasoning

→ Analysis and Synthesis: Analytical questions test the candidate’s applicability to analyse given data with images, diagrams, graphs, etc. to produce the answer. A Synthesis question might require the candidate to compare two or more pieces of information. Questions in this category could, for example, involve the candidate recognising unstated assumptions or separating useful information from irrelevant information.

GATE 2026 Exam Pattern Subject Wise

The GATE Exam Pattern 2026 differs for each paper, considering the sections and marks distribution. Every GATE paper includes a General Aptitude section, which accounts for 15% of the total marks. This section evaluates verbal, numerical, and quantitative abilities. It consists of 10 questions, with 5 questions worth 1 mark each and 5 questions worth 2 marks each.

Subject	Number of questions	Marks per Question	Total Marks
General Aptitude	5	1	5
	5	2	10
Total	10	–	15

GATE 2026 Exam Pattern for AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, ES, IN, ME, MN, MT, NM, PE, PI, TF, and ST Papers

For the papers with codes AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, ES, IN, ME, MN, MT, PE, PI, TF, and XE, The marks will be divided or distributed as follows: 15% will be allocated to General Aptitude, 13% to Engineering Mathematics, and the remaining 72% to the subject paper.

Subjects	Number of questions	Marks per Question	Total Marks
AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, ES, IN, ME, MN, MT, NM, PE, PI, TF, and ST	25	1	25
	30	2	60
Total	55	–	85

GATE 2026 Exam Pattern for AR (Architecture and Planning)

Architecture and Planning (AR) Test Paper Apart from the General Aptitude (GA) section, the test paper consists of two parts: Part A (60 marks) and Part B (25 marks).

Section	Description
Part A	Compulsory for all the candidates Consists of 39 questions carrying a total of 60 marks 18 questions carrying one mark each and 21 questions carrying 2 marks each
Part B	Consist of 16 questions carrying a total of 25 marks 7 questions carry 1 mark each and 9 questions carry 2 marks each.

GATE 2026 Exam Pattern for GE (Geomatics Engineering)

Geomatics Engineering (GE) Test Paper Apart from the General Aptitude (GA) section, the question paper consists of two parts: Part A (55 marks) and Part B (30 marks).

Section	Description
Part A	Compulsory for all the candidates Consists of 36 questions carrying a total of 55 marks 17 questions carry one mark each and 19 questions carry 2 marks each.
Part B	Consist of 19 questions carrying a total of 30 marks. 8 questions carrying 1 mark each and 11 questions carrying 2 marks each.

GATE 2026 Exam Pattern for GG (Geology and Geophysics)

Geology and Geophysics (GG) Test Paper Apart from the General Aptitude (GA) section, the GG question paper consists of two parts: Part A (25 marks) and Part B (60 marks).

Section	Description
Part A	Compulsory for all the candidates Consists of 16 questions carrying a total of 25 marks 7 questions carry 1 mark each and 9 questions carry 2 marks each.
Part B	Consist of 39 questions carrying a total of 60 marks. 18 questions carrying 1 mark each and 11 questions carrying 21 marks each.

GATE 2026 Exam Pattern for XE (Engineering Sciences)

Engineering Sciences (XE) Test Paper apart from the General Aptitude (GA) section, the XE question paper consists of three parts: Section A (15 marks) and any two sections from Section B to H (2×35= 70 marks).

Section	Description
Part A	Compulsory for all the candidates Consists of 11 questions carrying a total of 15 marks 7 questions carry one mark each and 4 questions carry 2 marks each.
Part B	Consist of 22 questions carrying a total of 35 marks. 9 questions carrying 1 mark each and 13 questions carrying 2 marks each.

GATE 2026 Exam Pattern for XH (Humanities and Social Sciences)

Humanities and Social Sciences (XH) Test Paper apart from the General Aptitude (GA) section, the XH question paper consists of three parts: Section A (15 marks), Section B1 (25 marks) and anyone section from Section C1 to C6 (2×30= 60 marks).

Section	Description
Part A	Compulsory for all the candidates Consists of 16 questions carrying a total of 25 marks 7 questions carry one mark each and 9 questions carry 2 marks each.
Part B	Consist of 39 questions carrying a total of 60 marks. 18 questions carrying 1 mark each and 21 questions carrying 2 marks each.

GATE 2026 Exam Pattern for XL Paper (Life Sciences)

Life Sciences (XL) Test Paper apart from the General Aptitude (GA) section, the XL question paper consists of three parts: Section P (25 marks), and any two sections from Section Q to U (2×30= 60 marks).

Section	Description
Part A	Compulsory for all the candidates Consists of 17 questions carrying a total of 25 marks 9 questions carry one mark each and 8 questions carry 2 marks each.
Part B	Consist of 19 questions carrying a total of 30 marks. 8 questions carrying 1 mark each and 11 questions carrying 2 marks each.