Introduction to GATE exam and its importance
GATE exam which stands for Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering is a national level computer-based test which aims to examine all engineering and science subjects. GATE is conducted by Indian Institute of Science and other seven IIT’s which are in Roorkee, Kanpur, Delhi, Kharagpur, Chennai, Bombay and Guwahati.
The GATE score of a student reflects the performance level of a candidate which is further for admission to programs of post-graduate education programs like Master of Technology (M.Tech), Master of Architecture (M. Arch) and Doctor of Philosophy in various higher Indian education institutes. GATE scores are also being checked and used by Indian PSU’s or Public Sector Undertaking to recruit various graduate engineers in the entry level positions. All this makes GATE one of major competitive exams in India. GATE is also recognized by many other institute outside India too (example Nanyang Technological University which is in Singapore).
Financial Assistance in Post Graduate Programs
GATE qualified Master degree students are also awarded scholarship from MHRD which is Rs. 12,400 per month. In order to avail the financial assistance in form of scholarship, the student must need to secure admission to one of the programs in higher Institute. The criteria may vary according to Institute during the post graduate admission.
Eligibility for GATE exam 2020
The following are the students or candidate who can apply for GATE exam for the next year ie. 2020:
- Bachelor’s degree in Technology, Engineering or Architecture in any government or private institute of the country or those students who are in the final year of these courses.
- Master degree holder in branch of Mathematics, Science, Statistics or Computer Applications. Again, students who are in the final year of these programs are also eligible.
- Candidates who are fourth or fifth year of the five year integrated program of dual degree programs in the field of engineering and technology.
- Candidates who have completed such courses are also eligible to appear for the GATE Examination
- NOTE: It should be noted that there no age limit criteria defined by authority which is conducting the GATE exam
Gate 2020 Application Process
Application mode: Online
Payment mode: Net Banking, Debit and Credit Cards
| Category | Quota | Gender | Mode | Amount of Fee |
| General, ST, SC, OBC | PWD | Male, Female & Transgender | Online | 750 |
| General, OBC | Male & Transgender | Online | 1500 | |
| General, ST, SC, OBC | Female | Online | 750 | |
| ST, SC | Male & Transgender | Online | 750 |
The application for the GATE 2020 is available from 31 August 2019 which is filled via GATE Online Application Processing System. The last date to for late fee of Rs 500 was on October 5. The students have to fill their basic information in order to complete the whole process of applying for the exam. It should be noted that students are required to provide genuine information in the application form.
Various steps to fill the application form:
Registration: To start the application process, the candidate had to register on GOAPS portal by providing the details like the name, email id, country of residence as well as mobile number. Every student have to choose a password for logging in the future. After this process, an enrolment number would be generated to the candidate.
Filling in the final form: The candidate has to provide personal as well as academic details and finally the zone they want to prefer.
Uploading photograph: In this process, the scanned image and signature of the candidate has to be uploaded in prescribed format which is been provided on the website.
Payment for Application fee: Finally the application fee is to be paid which is Rs. 1500 for the male candidate and Rs. 750 for the female candidate. The application fee can be paid via net banking, debit or credit cards.
Various Discipline or Streams in which GATE is conducted
At present year 2019, GATE is conducted in 25 different disciplines in which a candidate can choose from:
| GATE Exam | Code |
| Aerospace Engineering | AE |
| Architecture and Planning | AG |
| Agriculture Engineering | AR |
| Biomedical | BM |
| Biotechnology | BT |
| Geology and Geophysics | GG |
| Civil Engineering | CE |
| Computer Science and IT | CS |
| Instrumentation Engineering | IN |
| Mechanical Engineering | ME |
| Mathematics | MA |
| Mining Engineering | MN |
| Petroleum Engineering | PE |
| Physics | PH |
| Metallurgical Engineering | MT |
| Physics | PH |
| Electronics and Communication Engineering | EC |
| Ecology and Evolution | EY |
| Electrical Engineering | EE |
| Chemical Engineering | CH |
| Textile Engineering and Fiber Science | TF |
| Production and Industrial Engineering | PI |
| Life Sciences | XL |
| Engineering Sceince | XE |
| Statistics | ST |
GATE Exam type and & Duration
The exam is of 3 hours in duration in which the students have to complete 65 questions which constitute for 100 marks. After the year 2014, the exam is carried out in online type of Computer based mode where all the candidates are shown the questions as a type of random sequence of questions on the computer screen. The questions consists both of MCQ (multiple choice questions) as well as Numerical Answer type questions (answer is real number which is to be entered through on screen keyboard and mouse device). Candidates are also provided with the scribble pads for all of their rough work which has to be returned after the exams. After the duration of three hours, the computer screen automatically which makes sure that the examination is over.
Syllabus of GATE Examination
- Verbal Ability: English Grammar, Verbal Analogies, word groups, completion of sentence and critical reasoning with verbal deduction
- Numerical Ability: Numerical reasoning, data interpretation, estimation of numbers
- Engineering mathematics which is not compulsory for all the examinations
- Technical Ability exam: Various Technical questions according to the paper which has been chosen
GATE Exam Questions as well as Marking Scheme
The exam consists of 65 questions in total which are been categorized into one mark and two marks questions. Out of all 65 questions, 10 would be from General Aptitude type where the candidate is tested verbally as well as numerical ability is also been tested. The General Aptitude consists of 5 one marks questions as well as 5 questions of 2 marks which accounts to nearly 15% of total marks. Rest all the 55 questions will be technical which depends on the type of paper chosen. The technical and engineering mathematics will have 25 one mark questions and 30 two marks questions which covers remaining 85% of marks.
GATE Exam Test score & Results
The GATE exam results are generally declared just after 4-5 weeks after the exam. The results depict the total marks of a student and All India Rank (AIR) is been assigned to those marks. The cutoffs for various categories are then declared and the score of the exam is valid for period of 3 years from the date of the results of the GATE examination. Finally, the score card is issued to those candidate who has qualified after the exam.
Admission to Post Graduate Program after GATE exams
Candidates must apply on individual level to each of the institute after the given institute has published the notification of the M.Tech, which is usually in the month of March. There is no such separate counselling to be held.
Some institutes specify the GATE as most important in order to give admission to students of post graduate programs. The candidates who have qualified the GATE examination are also eligible for Junior research Fellowship program of CSIR and all CSIR sponsored projects. Some of the top rank holder of the exam apply for Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Fellowship which is also awarded by the CSIR team. Some of the most prestigious government organizations do make sure that the students applying for the post of scientist or engineer must be GATE qualified. Hence, all such benefits after qualifying GATE makes it among top competitive exam in the field of engineering and technology.
Recruitment process of top rankers in GATE examination
Public sector undertaking or the PSU’s known popularly, post out 1000 jobs for the GATE students for which around 1,00,000 candidates apply. This is selection rate of less than 1%. The GATE score is the main criteria for the PSU’s during the initial shortlisting of the students. When this notification was released in the year 2012, made thousands of students to apply for GATE. Among the top PSU’s, Indian Oil corporation, National Thermal Power Corporation, Bharat Heavy Electricals and Power Grid Corporation are among the top PSU’s to shortlist the candidates on basis of GATE score.
List of companies recruiting on basis of GATE Score
Many top companies have signed MOU or memorandums of understanding with GATE committee, for using GATE score in order to recruit engineers at their entry level positions at various departments.
| Oil and natural gas corporation (ONGC) |
| Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. |
| Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. |
| Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. |
| National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd. |
| Central Electronics Ltd. |
| Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd. |
| Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. |
| National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. |
| Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd. |
| Coal India Ltd. |
| Bharat Broadband Network Limited |
| Odisha Power Generation Corporation |
| Airport Authority of India |
| Delhi Metro Rail Corporation |
| Bihar State Power Holing Company Ltd. |
Frequent Asked Question on GATE exams
Q: I had passed my B.Tech and currently pursuing M.Tech, can I apply for GATE exam 2020?
A: Yes, of course you can. Any candidate who has passed the degree or is currently in the final year of the degree can apply for the exam. The candidate just has to provide the degree certificate during the process of filling the form.
Q: I am currently pursuing B.Sc. Can I appear in the GATE exam 2020?
A: If the course is research course and is of time span of 4 years. If the course is of three years period, then the candidate is not eligible for the exam.
Q: I have passed in the year of 2019 but right now I have backlog. Can I apply for GATE next year?
A: You can apply for the GATE by uploading your final semester mark sheets as proof. However, you have to clear that backlog by August month of next year in order to get admission in M.Tech.
Q: I have completed B.Tech with just 45%. Am I eligible for GATE next year?
A: Yes, for sure. There is no specific pass percentage criteria. There may be case when some of the IIT’s can ask for 60% and above. Also, most of the PSU’s also ask for 60% to recruit a candidate.
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