GATE Exam Pattern 2021: GATE 2021 is being conducted by IIT Bombay on February 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 2021. Candidates appearing for GATE 2021 must be aware of GATE Exam Pattern 2021, GATE detailed syllabus and GATE exam schedule.
GATE Exam Pattern 2021 consists of all important information, such as a total number of questions, the number of sections, types of questions asked, and marking scheme of the exam. Having an idea about the GATE exam pattern will help candidates in their preparation as it will help them formulate the best strategy required for preparing for the exam successfully.
About GATE: GATE score facilitates admissions to Post Graduate Programmes such as ME, M.Tech, MS, direct PhD in institutes like IIT and IISc along with financial assistance offered by MHRD. Scores from GATE are also accepted by PSUs of the Indian government.
GATE Exam Pattern 2021
Here are the changes that has been made in the GATE Paper Pattern 2021:
- – This year, 2 more subjects have been added to GATE Exam 2021. The new subjects are Environmental Science & Engineering and Humanities & Social Sciences. Now, there are a total of 27 subjects.
- – Candidates can appear either in ONE (like earlier years) or maximum TWO papers in GATE 2021.
- – The second paper must be from the given set of combinations that have been provided below. Some branches may NOT get the second paper option.
- – GATE will be conducted in online mode.
- – The duration of the GATE exam is 3 hours and the maximum marks are 100.
The highlights of the GATE 2021 exam pattern is tabulated below:
| Mode of Exam | Online (Computer-based mode) |
| Sections | Three |
| Time Duration | 3 hours |
| Total Questions | 65 |
| Question type | MCQ and NAT (Numerical Answer Type) |
| Negative Marking | Only for MCQ’s: 1/3rd for 1-mark questions, 2/3rd for 2 marks questions |
| Total Marks | 100 |
Note:
- a. General Aptitude acts as a compulsory section for all papers and it carries 15% weightage of the total marks.
- b. A scribble pad will be provided to the test takers for rough work.
- c. A virtual calculator will be provided to candidates for calculation.
Also, Check:
GATE Exam Pattern 2021: GATE Paper Codes
There are a total of 27 papers in GATE which are as below. A candidate can appear for any one of the following papers.
| GATE Paper | Code | GATE Paper | Code |
| Aerospace Engineering | AE | Instrumentation Engineering | IN |
| Agricultural Engineering | AG | Mathematics | MA |
| Architecture and Planning | AR | Mechanical Engineering | ME |
| Bio-medical Engineering | BM | Mining Engineering | MN |
| Biotechnology | BT | Metallurgical Engineering | MT |
| Civil Engineering | CE | Petroleum Engineering | PE |
| Chemical Engineering | CH | Physics | PH |
| Computer Science and Information Technology | CS | Production and Industrial Engineering | PI |
| Chemistry | CY | Statistics | ST |
| Electronics and Communication Engineering | EC | Textile Engineering and Fibre Science | TF |
| Electrical Engineering | EE | Engineering Sciences | XE* |
| Environmental Science and Engineering | ES | Humanities and Social Sciences | XH** |
| Ecology and Evolution | EY | Life Sciences | XL*** |
| Geology and Geophysics | GG | – | – |
The XE*, XL, and XH** paper codes are of general nature. The list of subjects available under XE, XL and, XH are tabulated below:
| *XE Paper Sections | Code |
| Engineering Mathematics(Compulsory) | A |
| Any two optional sections(2×35 = 70 marks) | |
| Fluid Mechanics | B |
| Materials Science | C |
| Solid Mechanics | D |
| Thermodynamics | E |
| Polymer Science and Engineering | F |
| Food Technology | G |
| Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences | H |
| **XL Paper Sections | Code |
| Chemistry (Compulsory) | P |
| Any two optional sections(2×30 = 60 marks) | |
| Biochemistry | Q |
| Botany | R |
| Microbiology | S |
| Zoology | T |
| Food Technology | U |
| **XH Paper Sections | Code |
| Reasoning and Comprehension (Compulsory) (25 Marks) | B1 |
| Any two optional sections (60 marks) | |
| Economics | C1 |
| English | C2 |
| Linguistic | C3 |
| Philosophy | C4 |
| Psychology | C5 |
| Sociology | C6 |
Note:
- For paper code XE, “Engineering Mathematics” acts as a compulsory section
- For paper code XL, “Chemistry” acts as a compulsory section.
- Under XL, candidates can select any two of the subjects as optional from code Q to U.
- In the case of XE, candidates can select any two subjects as optional from code B to H.
GATE 2021 Exam Pattern: GATE Question Type
The GATE 2021 question paper consists of two types of questions and they are:
- Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs): For every question, 4 options will be there out of which one is correct.
- Numerical Answer Type:
- a. All answers to these questions will be real numbers where the candidate must enter the answer with the help of the virtual keyboard.
- b. No choices will be provided for this type of question.
- c. No negative marking will be there for NAT questions.
GATE Exam Pattern 2021 For Various Paper Codes
The GATE 2021 exam pattern for various paper codes are tabulated below:
| Paper Code | Exam Pattern |
| CE, CS, EC, AE, AG, BT, CH, ME, MN, MT, EE, IN, TF, XE, PE, ST and PI | General Aptitude– 15% Engineering Mathematics – 15% Subject of the Paper – 70% |
| AR, CY, GG, EY, XL, PH and MA | General Aptitude – 15% Subject of the Paper – 85% |
GATE Marking Scheme
The GATE 2021 Marking scheme will vary from one code to another. The GATE marking scheme is tabulated below:
|
Paper Code | General Aptitude Marks | Subject Marks |
Total Marks |
| CS, CY, EC, EE, CE, CH, AR, AE, AG, EY, BT, GG, IN, ME, MA, PH, PI, TF, MN, MT, PE, ST | 15 | 85 | 100 |
| XE (Section A + any two sections) | 15 | 15+2*35 | 100 |
| XL (Section P + any two sections) | 15 | 25+2*30 | 100 |
Note:
- The paper codes AE, AG, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, IN ME, MN, MT, PE, PI, TF and XE will have Engineering Mathematics (15%) & General Aptitude (15%) as compulsory sections. The rest of the sections will be based on the subject selected by the candidate.
- The paper codes AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH, ST and XL will have only 2 sections – 15% will be based on General Aptitude and the remaining 85% of the question paper will be based on the subject which candidate has selected.
- For 2-mark questions, 2/3rd marks will be deducted for every incorrect answer.
- For 1-mark questions, 1/3rd marks will be deducted for every incorrect answer.
GATE Exam Pattern For All Papers
GATE Exam Pattern For General Aptitude
- General Aptitude acts as a compulsory section in all GATE papers.
- 15% weightage of total marks will be given to the General Aptitude section.
- In this section, candidates will be examined based on their language and assessment skills.
- The detailed GATE exam pattern for General Aptitude is tabulated below:
| Question Type | Total Questions | Total Marks |
| One Mark questions | 5 questions | 5 marks |
| Two Mark questions | 5 questions | 10 marks |
| Total | 10 Questions | 15 marks |
GATE 2021 Exam Pattern For All Papers Except GG, XE, XL
- For all the papers except for the paper codes GG, XE, XL, the questions will be MCQs and numerical answer type in nature.
- There will be a total of 55 questions out of which 25 questions will be of 1 mark and 30 questions will be of 2 marks each.
GATE Exam Pattern For GG
- Geology and Geophysics paper consists of two parts. Part A consists of Mulitple Choice Questions and Part B is further divided into 2 sections i.e., Section 1 – Geology and Section 2 – Geophysics.
- Part A consists of 25 questions each carrying 1 mark.
- Part B consists of 30 questions each carrying 2 marks.
GATE Exam Pattern For Engineering Sciences (XE)
- There will be a total of 55 questions.
- Engineering Mathematics (Section A) acts as a compulsory subject.
- A total of 11 questions will be asked in Engineering Mathematics.
- Now coming to Section B, candidates can select any two subjects as optional from the paper code B to H.
- The detailed GATE Exam Pattern for paper code XE is tabulated below:
|
Section |
Total Questions |
Total Marks |
| Section A (Compulsory) | 7 (1-mark question) | 7 |
| 4 (2-mark question) | 8 | |
| Section B to H (Any two) | 9 (1-mark question) in each of the two sections | 18 |
| 13 (2-mark question) in each of the two sections | 52 | |
| Total ( 2 Sections) | 55 Questions | 85 marks |
Note – General Aptitude section of 15 marks should also be attempted along with the above sections.
GATE Exam Pattern For Life Sciences (XL)
- General Aptitude section of 15 marks should be attempted.
- Chemistry acts as a compulsory subject in section A.
- Now in Section B, aspirants can choose any 2 optional subjects from the paper code Q to U.
- The detailed GATE Life Sciences exam pattern is tabulated below:
|
Section |
Total Questions |
Total Marks |
| P or Chemistry Section | 5 (1-mark each) | 5 |
| 10 (2-marks each) | 20 | |
| Sections Q to U (Any two) | 10 (1-mark each) in each section | 20 |
| 10(2-marks each) in each section | 40 |
GATE 2021 Exam Pattern: Design Of Questions
The GATE 2021 design of questions is picturized below:
GATE Exam Date 2021 (Paper-wise)
Here is the branch-wise GATE 2021 Exam Schedule:
| Date (Day) | Time (IST) | Activities/ Paper |
| 5th February 2021 (Friday) | 12:00 – 17:00 hrs | Miscellaneous Activities* |
| 6th February 2021 (Saturday) | 09:30 – 12:30 hrs (Forenoon Session-FN) | CE-1, IN, CY |
| 6th February 2021 (Saturday) | 15:00 – 18:00 hrs (Afternoon Session-AN) | CE-2, PH, AR, BM, AE, MN |
| 7th February 2021 (Sunday) | 09:30 – 12:30 hrs (Forenoon Session-FN) | EE, GG, AG, EY |
| 7th February 2021 (Sunday) | 15:00 – 18:00 hrs (Afternoon Session-AN) | EC, PE, ES, ST, PI |
| 12th February 2021 (Friday) | 12:00 – 17:00 hrs | Miscellaneous Activities* |
| 13th February 2021 (Saturday) | 09:30 – 12:30 hrs (Forenoon Session-FN) | CS-1, MA, BT, CH, TF |
| 13th February 2021 (Saturday) | 15:00 – 18:00 hrs (Afternoon Session-AN) | CS-2, XE, XL |
| 14th February 2021 (Sunday) | 09:30 – 12:30 hrs (Forenoon Session-FN) | ME-1, XH |
| 14th February 2021 (Sunday) | 15:00 – 18:00 hrs (Afternoon Session-AN) | ME-2, MT |
Note: Miscellaneous Activities include:
(i) Conducting trial (mock) test by zonal GATE IIT/IISc officials (NOT for candidates),
(ii) Briefing to Invigilators,
(iii) Scribes selection (if any),
(iv) Preparation of exam center including Sanitisation
(v) Other activities (display posters, signboard, seating arrangements, etc.), Optional visit by Candidates to check the exam center, etc.
FAQs On GATE 2021 Exam Pattern
The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding GATE Exam Pattern 2021 are as under:
Ans. No, GATE is conducted only in the online mode.
Ans. There are two types of questions asked in GATE – 1) Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), and 2) Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions.
Ans. Yes, for 1-mark questions, the penalty is 1/3 marks; for 2-marks questions, the penalty is 2/3 marks. However, there is no negative marking for wrong answers to NAT questions.
We hope that this detailed article on the GATE exam pattern 2021 helps you. If you have any queries regarding GATE 2021, drop a comment and we will get back to you.
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