GATE Exam Pattern, Marking Scheme & Paper Type
GATE 2021 Exam Pattern contains details about the number of questions asked in the examination, number of sections, marking scheme, and time duration.
This exam is going to be organized by IIT, Delhi for the year 2021. Check below GATE exam pattern 2021 in detail.
GATE 2021 Exam Pattern
The examination of GATE 2021 will be conducted for 25 papers in online mode only (Computer Based Test). Candidates can appear only in ANY ONE paper of GATE exam.
A new paper of Bio-medical Engineering (BM) has been added to the syllabus of GATE 2021.
GATE 2021 examination will be held on 1st, 2nd, 8th & 9th February 2021 during forenoon (9:30 AM to 12:30 PM) and afternoon (14:30 PM to 17:30 PM) sessions of weekends.
GATE will also be conducted in International centers and the session timings at as per their local time.
- Question Type: The question paper of GATE 2021 will consist of both multiple-choice type (MCQ) and numerical answer type (NAT).
- For objective type questions, there are multiple options available out of which students have to choose only the right answer.
- For numerical answer type questions, candidates have to enter a number using the virtual keyword available on the computer screen during the examination.
- Number of Questions: The question paper of GATE will contain 65 questions of a maximum of 100 marks.
- Exam Duration: 3 hours.
GATE 2021 Paper Codes
Check the GATE paper and paper codes for GATE 2021 from the below table:
| Paper | Paper Code |
| Aerospace Engineering | AE |
| Agricultural Engineering | AG |
| Architecture and Planning | AR |
| Biotechnology | BT |
| Bio-medical Engineering | BM |
| Civil Engineering | CE |
| Chemical Engineering | CH |
| Computer Science and Information Technology | CS |
| Chemistry | CY |
| Electronics and Communication Engineering | EC |
| Electrical Engineering | EE |
| Ecology and Evolution | EY |
| Geology and Geophysics | GG |
| Instrumentation Engineering | IN |
| Mathematics | MA |
| Mechanical Engineering | ME |
| Mining Engineering | MN |
| Metallurgical Engineering | MT |
| Petroleum Engineering | PE |
| Physics | PH |
| Production and Industrial Engineering | PI |
| Textile Engineering and Fiber Science | TF |
| Engineering Sciences | XE |
| Life Sciences | XL |
| Statistics | ST |
Note: CE, CS, EC, EE and ME papers: Examination may be conducted in multiple sessions. However, a candidate is allowed to appear in only ONE specified session.
Exam Pattern for Various Papers
Below are the Exam patterns for the various papers;
- In the papers of AE, AG, BT, BM, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, IN, ME, MN, MT, PE, PI, TF and XE, Engineering Mathematics will carry 15% marks of total marks, General Aptitude section will contain 15% marks, and the rest of the 70% marks will be contained by the core subject of the paper.
- In the papers AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH, ST and XL, the General Aptitude section will carry 15% of the total marks and the remaining 85% marks will be carried by the core subject of the paper.
- The General Aptitude section 5 questions of 1 mark and 5 questions of 2 marks.
- Question paper other than GG, XE, and XL will contain 25 questions of 1 mark and 30 questions of 2 marks.
For XE Paper:
Candidate appearing XE paper has to attempt the following sections:
- Section A – Engineering Mathematics (compulsory section) – contains 11 questions (7 questions of 1 mark and 4 questions of 2 marks).
- GA – General Aptitude carrying of total 15 marks.
- Any two of XE sections B to H – contains 22 questions (9 questions carrying 1 mark and 13 questions carrying 2 marks).
XE paper contains the following sections:
| Sections | Code |
| Engineering Mathematics (Compulsory) | A |
| Fluid Mechanics | B |
| Materials Science | C |
| Solid Mechanics | D |
| Thermodynamics | E |
| Polymer Science and Engineering | F |
| Food Technology | G |
| Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences | H |
For XL Paper:
Candidate appearing XL paper has to attempt the following sections:
- Section P– Chemistry (compulsory section) – It contains 15 questions (5 questions of 1 marks and 10 questions of 2 marks).
- GA – General Aptitude carrying of total 15 marks.
- Any two of XL sections Q to U – It contains 20 questions (10 questions of 1 mark and 10 questions of 2 marks).
XL Paper of GATE has the following sections:
| Sections | Code |
| Chemistry (Compulsory) | P |
| Biochemistry | Q |
| Botany | R |
| Microbiology | S |
| Zoology | T |
| Food Technology | U |
Students can choose the sections during the examination after viewing the questions.
For GG Paper:
The question paper will consist of two parts: Part A and Part B. Part A is common for all candidates. Part B has 2 sections; Section-1 is of Geology and Section-2 is of Geophysics. In Part A, there is a total of 25 of 1 mark each. In Part B, each section contains 30 questions of 2 marks.
Note: Apart from the core subject of the paper, General Aptitude (GA) is the common section in each paper of GATE.
Marking Scheme
There is a negative marking in GATE for multiple-choice questions. For Numerical answer type questions, no negative marking will be there. For 1-mark question, 1/3 mark will be deducted for wrong answers and 2 marks question, 2/3 marks will be deducted. Visit Homepage.
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CSN Team.
