The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an All-India Examination conducted by the seven Indian Institutes of Technologies, on behalf of the National Coordinating Board - GATE, Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), Government of India.

Admission to postgraduate programmes, with MHRD and other government scholarship/assistantship, in Engineering/Technology/Architecture/Pharmacy/Science at engineering colleges/institutes in the country will be open only to those who qualify through GATE. 

Some engineering colleges/institutes specify GATE as mandatory qualification even for admission of self-financing students to postgraduate programmes. However, GATE qualification in itself does not guarantee either admission or scholarship/assistantship. GATE qualified candidates in Engineering disciplines are also eligible for the award of the Junior Research Fellowship in CSIR Laboratories. Some Government Organizations prescribe GATE qualification as a requirement for applying to the post of a Scientist.

Eligibility :

The following categories of candidates are eligible to appear for GATE .

  • Bachelor's degree holders in Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture/ Pharmacy and those who are in the final or pre- final year of such programmes
  • Master's degree holders in any branch of Science/ Mathematics/ Statistics/ Computer Applications or equivalent and those who are in the final or pre- final year of such programmes
  • Candidates in the second or higher year of the Post B.Sc. Four- year Integrated Master's degree programme in Engineering/ Technology or in the third or higher year of the Five- Year integrated Master's degree/ Dual degree programme in Engineering/ Technology
  • Candidates with qualifications obtained through examination conducted by professional societies recognized by UPSC/ AICTE as equivalent to B.E / B. Tech. Those who have completed Section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.

Application Procedure :

There are two different processes by which a candidate can apply/ register for GATE, namely, "online" and "offline".

The registration-cum-application fee for offline applications is Rs.1000/- for General candidates and Rs.500/- for SC/ST candidates. The fee for online application is Rs. 900/- for General candidates and Rs. 400/- for SC/ST candidates. The registration fee is not refundable and the application form is not transferable.

The online process requires the candidate to fill a Web based application on the Internet. Online submission of application and online fee payment can be made by accessing the GATE websites of IITs

The Offline Application Form along with the Information Brochure can be obtained in three ways:
Forms are sold by designated bank branches in each zone on payment of the appropriate Registration Fee in cash. Designated bank branches are listed below.

Information Brochure and Application Form are also available by Post from the GATE Offices at all IITs and IISc on payment of appropriate Registration Fee by Demand Draft only, drawn in favour of the IIT/IISc to which the request is being made (eg. IIT Bombay in case of Bombay zone). Two self-addressed slips are to be enclosed along with the written request to the Chairman GATE of the concerned Institute.

Information Brochure and Application Form can also be obtained in person at the counter of GATE offices on payment of the appropriate Registration Fee by Demand Draft as above. GATE offices do not accept cash.
Completed application forms, along with the original pay- in- slip (issued by the bank/ GATE Office) and other enclosures as applicable, should be submitted to the Chairman GATE of the zone where the candidate intends to register for the examination.

Designated Bank Branches:

IISc Bangalore Zone: 
State Bank of India- Ananthapur, Bangalore (Main, IISc), Davangere, Hassan, Hyderabad (Begum Bazar, Nampally, Parishrama Bhavan), Kurnool Mahabubnagar, Mysore, Surathkal, Tumkur.

IIT Bombay Zone: 
State Bank of India- Akola, Amravati, Aurangabad, Gulbarga, Hubli, Jalgaon, Mumbai (Andheri, Dadar, IIT Powai, Main), Nagpur, Nanded, Nasik, Navi Mumbai (Belapur), Panjim, Pune, Sangli, Solapur, Surat, Thane.

IIT Delhi Zone: 
Canara Bank- Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Amritsar, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Jammu, Jhunjhunu (Rajasthan), Jodhpur, Ludhiana, Moga, New Delhi (IIT, Parliament Street), Patiala, Srinager (J&K), Udaipur, Vadodara

IIT Guwahati Zone: 
Canara Bank- Agartala, Asansol, Bhagalpur, Dhanbad, Durgapur, Gangtok, Guwahati, Jorhat, Kalyani, Patna, Shillong, Siliguri

IIT Kanpur Zone: 
Union Bank of India- Allahabad, Bhopal, Etawah, Faizabad, Gorakhpur, Indore, Jabalpur, Jhansi, Kanpur (Main, IIT), Lucknow, Rewa, Sagar (MP), Sultanpur, Ujjain, Varanasi

IIT Kharagpur Zone: 
Canara Bank- Angul, Balasore, Berhampur (Orissa), Bhimavaram, Bhubaneswar (Bapujinager, Cuttack Road, Saheednager), Bilaspur, Cuttack, Eluru, Howrah, Jamshedpur, Kakinada, Kharagpur, Khammam, Kolkata (Gariahat, Park Street, Sealdah), Machilipatnam, Raipur, Rajahmundry, Ranchi, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Sindri, Tadepalligudem, Vijayawada (Govemor Pet, Patamata), Visakhapatnam (Dwarakanagar, MVP Colony, Surya Bagh)

IIT Madras Zone: 
State Bank of India- Bapatla, Calicut, Chennai (Annanagar (W), Tiruvottiyur), Chidambaram, Coimbatore, Cuddapah, Dindigul, Ernakulam, Guntur, Kannur, Karaikudi, Kollam, Kottayam, Madurai, Manchiryala, Nagercoil, Nellore, Ongole, Palakkad, Pondhicherry, Salem, Tenali, Thanjavur, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Tiruchirapalli, Tirunelveli, Tirupati, Warangal

IIT Roorkee Zone: 
Punjab National Bank- Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Bijnor, Dehradun, Ghaziabad, Gwalior, Haldwani, Hamirpur (HP), Haridwar, Hissar, Kota, Kurukshetra, Mathura, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Nainital, Noida, Pauri Garhwal, Rohtak, Roorkee (IIT Campus), Rudrapur, Shimla, Yamunanagar

Exam Details and Centers :

The GATE examination consists of a single paper of 3 hours duration and of 150 marks. The choice of the appropriate paper is the responsibility of the candidate. The question paper of GATE  will be fully of objective type. The question papers will be in English only. 

GATE  will have the following papers - Aerospace Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Architecture and Planning, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Chemistry, Electronics & Communication Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Geology & Geophysics, Instrumentation Engineering, Information Technology, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Physics, Production & Industrial Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Textile Engineering & Fiber Science, Engineering Science, Life Sciences. 

Papers like Engineering Science and Life Sciences are of general nature. Engineering Science comprise of  the following topics like Engg. Mathematics (Compulsory), Computational Science, Electrical Sciences, Fluid Mechanics, Materials Science, Solid Mechanics, Thermodynamics.

Life Sciences include Chemistry (Compulsory), Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology
Candidates appearing in  these papers are required to answer three sections. Engg. Mathematics and Chemistry are compulsory. Candidates can choose any two out of the remaining sections mentioned against the respective papers.

Some guidelines are suggested below:

  • Candidates are expected to appear in a paper appropriate to the discipline of their qualifying degree.
  • The candidates are free to choose any paper according to their admission plan, keeping in mind the eligibility criteria of the admitting institute.
  • Candidates have to mark the correct choice by darkening the appropriate bubble against each question on an Objective Response Sheet (ORS).
  • There will be 'negative' marking for wrong answers. The deduction will be 25% of the marks allotted.

The criteria for postgraduate admission with scholarship/assistantship are different in various Institutes. For more details, the candidates are required to contact the institutes/universities to which they are interested in seeking admission.

Every qualified candidate will receive an original GATE Score Card which will include the GATE Score, Percentile Score and Rank of the candidate. The Gate score is valid for two years. Additional Score Cards, up to a maximum of two, will be issued on request and on payment of Rs 250/- per card.