# Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering

Acronym GATE Computer-based standardized test Conducted jointly by IISc and 7 IITs on behalf of the National Coordination Board – GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India.[1] Undergraduate level knowledge of the chosen engineering or science discipline. Post-graduate engineering admissions,[1] screening for entry-level engineering jobs,[2] etc. 1984 3 hours[3] Marks (unscaled) out of 100, in 0.33 point increments. Score (scaled) out of 1000, in 1 point increments. 2 years Once every year (usually in February). Over 660 centres all over India.[4] English 889,156 in 2014[5] Final year student or graduate of Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in engineering/ architecture or Master's degree (or equivalent) in science, computer applications, etc.[6] 1500 (about US$24) for general category and OBC male candidates. 750 (about US$ 12) for all female and SC, ST male candidates.[7] Various Indian engineering colleges offering post-graduate education,[1] several public sector Indian companies recruiting engineers,[2] etc. 16.84 % in 2014[8] gate.iitkgp.ac.in/gate2014 (for GATE 2014)

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all-India examination that primarily tests the comprehensive understanding of various undergraduate subjects in engineering and science. GATE is conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science and seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras and IIT Roorkee) on behalf of the National Coordination Board – GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), Government of India.

The GATE score of a candidate reflects the relative performance level of a candidate. The score is used for admissions to various post-graduate programs (e.g. Master of Engineering, Master of Technology, Doctor of Philosophy) in Indian higher education institutes, with financial assistance provided by MHRD and other government agencies. Recently, GATE scores are also being used by several Indian public sector undertakings (i.e., government-owned companies) for recruiting graduate engineers in entry-level positions. It is one of the most competitive examinations in India.

## Eligibility

The following are eligible to take GATE:[6]

• Bachelor’s degree holders in Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture (4 years after 10+2/ Post-B.Sc./ Post-Diploma) and those who are in the final year of such programs.
• Master’s degree holders in any branch of Science/ Mathematics/ Statistics/ Computer Applications or equivalent and those who are in the final year of such programs.
• Candidates in the second or higher year of Four-year integrated Master’s degree programs (Post-B.Sc.) in Engineering/ Technology.
• Candidates in the fourth or higher year of Five-year integrated Master’s degree programs or Dual Degree programs in Engineering/Technology.
• Candidates with qualifications obtained through examinations conducted by professional societies recognized by UPSC/AICTE (e.g. AMIE by iE(i), AMICE(i) by the institute of Civil Engineers (India)-iCE(i)) as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech.

Those who have completed section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.

## GATE disciplines and structure

At present, GATE is conducted in the following 22 disciplines. A candidate can select any one of these.[3]

GATE Paper Code GATE Paper Code
Aerospace Engineering AE Geology and Geophysics GG
Agricultural Engineering AG Instrumentation Engineering IN
Architecture and Planning AR Mathematics MA
Biotechnology BT Mechanical Engineering ME
Civil Engineering CE Mining Engineering MN
Chemical Engineering CH Metallurgical Engineering MT
Computer Science and Information Technology CS Physics PH
Chemistry CY Production and Industrial Engineering PI
Electronics and Communication Engineering EC Textile Engineering and Fibre Science TF
Electrical Engineering EE Engineering Sciences XE*
Ecology and Evolution EY Life Sciences XL**
* Engineering Sciences (XE) Paper Sections
(A and any 2 of B to G)
Code ** Life Sciences (XL) Paper Sections
(H and any 2 of I to M)
Code
Engineering Mathematics (Compulsory) A Chemistry (Compulsory) H
Fluid Mechanics B Biochemistry I
Materials Science C Botany J
Solid Mechanics D Microbiology K
Thermodynamics E Zoology L
Polymer Science and Engineering F Food Technology M
Food Technology G

General aptitude questions

Each subject's test contains 10 questions that test the "general aptitude" (language and analytic skills), apart from the core subject of the discipline.[3]

Duration and examination type

The GATE examination consists of a single test of 3-hour duration that contains a total of 65 questions, worth a maximum of 100 marks. The questions consist of both multiple choice questions (MCQs) and numerical answer type questions.[3] Numerical answer type questions[9] does not contain any options for the answers, the candidate has to solve the numerical and write the answer in the spec given.

From 2014 onward, the examination for all the papers is carried out in an online Computer Based Test (CBT) mode where the candidates are shown the questions in a random sequence on a computer screen. The candidates are required to either select the answer (for multiple-choice question type) or enter the answer for numerical answer type question using a mouse on a virtual keyboard (keyboard of the computer is disabled). Candidates are provided with blank paper sheets for rough work and these have to be returned after the examination. At the end of the 3-hour window, the computer automatically closes the screen from further actions.[3]

## Result and test score

GATE results are usually declared about one month after the examinations are over. The results show the total marks scored by a candidate, the GATE score, the all-India rank and the cut off marks for various categories in the candidate's paper. The score is valid for 2 years from the date of announcement of the results. The score cards are issued to only the qualified candidates.

### Normalized GATE Score (new procedure)

Calculation of "normalized marks" for subjects held in multiple sessions (CE, CS, EC, EE and ME):

Graph showing the linear relationship between "actual marks" and "normalized marks" of a candidate, in a multiple-session subject (CE, EE, ME, EE or CE) of GATE.
Mgt = average marks of top 0.1 % of the candidates in all sessions of that subject.
Mgq = mean + standard deviation, of marks of all candidates in all sessions of that subject.
Mti = average marks of top 0.1 % of candidates in the ith session of that subject.
Miq = mean + standard deviation, of marks of candidates in the ith session of that subject.

In 2014, examination for CE, CS, EC, EE and ME subjects is being held in multiple sessions. Hence, for these subjects, a suitable normalization is applied to take into account any variation in the difficulty levels of the question sets across different sessions. The normalization is done based on the fundamental assumption that "in all multi-session GATE papers, the distribution of abilities of candidates is the same across all the sessions". According to the GATE committee, this assumption is justified since "the number of candidates appearing in multi-session subjects in GATE 2014 is large and the procedure of allocation of session to candidates is random. Further it is also ensured that for the same multi-session subject, the number of candidates allotted in each session is of the same order of magnitude."

Based on the above, and considering various normalization methods, the committee arrived at the following formula for calculating the normalized marks, for CE, CS, EC, EE and ME subjects:

Normalized mark (ij) of jth candidate in ith session, is given by
ij = Mgt - Mgq/ Mti - Miq ( Mij - Miq ) + Mgq
where,

Mij is the actual marks obtained by the jth candidate in the ith session,
Mgt is the average marks of the top 0.1 % of the candidates in all sessions of that subject,
Mgq is the sum of mean and standard deviation of marks of all candidates in all sessions of that subject,
Mti is the average of marks of top 0.1 % of candidates in the ith session of that subject,
Miq is the sum of mean and standard deviation of marks of candidates in the ith session of that subject.

After evaluation of the answers, normalized marks based on the above formula will be calculated using the raw (actual) marks obtained by a candidate in the CE, CS, EC, EE or ME subject. The "score" will be calculated using these normalized marks. For all other subjects (whose tests are conducted in a single session), the actual marks obtained by the candidates will be used in calculating the score.

Calculation of GATE Score for all subjects (both single-session and multiple-session):

Graph showing the linear relationship between marks and score in GATE.
Mq = Qualifying marks for general category candidates.
Mt = Average marks of top 0.1 % or top 10 (whichever is higher) candidates.
Sq = 350.
St = 900.
Note: In case of multiple-session subjects (EC, CS, ME, EE and CE), "marks" considered are the "normalized marks".

From GATE 2014 onward (and year 2014-15 of the 2-year validity period of GATE 2013 score), a candidate's GATE score is computed by the following new formula.[10]
$S = S_q + (S_t - S_q) \frac {M - M_q}{\overline{M}_t - M_q}$
where,

S = Score (normalized) of a candidate,
M = Marks obtained by a candidate ("normalized marks" in case of multiple-session subjects CE, CS, EC, EE and ME),
Mq = Qualifying marks for general category candidates in that subject (usually 25 or μ + σ, whichever is higher),
μ = Average (i.e. arithmetic mean) of marks of all candidates in that subject,
σ = Standard deviation of marks of all candidates in that subject,
Mt = Average marks of top 0.1 % or top 10 (whichever is higher) candidates in that subject,
St = 900 = Score assigned to Mt,
Sq = 350 = Score assigned to Mq.

Percentile:

A candidate's percentile denotes the percentage of candidates scoring lower than that particular candidate. It is calculated as:

Percentile = ( 1 - All India rank/ No. of candidates in that subject ) x 100 %

### Old formula

Till GATE 2012 (and year 2013-14 of the 2-year validity period of GATE 2013 score), the score was calculated using the formula:[11]

GATE score = $10 (a_g + s_g\frac{m-a}{S})$

where,

m = Marks obtained by the candidate,
a = Average of marks of all candidates who appeared in that subject, in that year, with marks less than zero converted to zero,
S = Standard deviation of marks of all candidates who appeared in that subject, in that year, with marks less than zero converted to zero,
ag = Global average of marks of all candidates who appeared across all subjects in current and past 3 years (i.e. 2010 to 2013 for GATE 2013), with marks less than zero converted to zero,
sg = Global standard deviation of marks of all candidates who appeared across all subjects in current and past 3 years (i.e. 2010 to 2013 for GATE 2013), with marks less than zero converted to zero.

## Qualifying marks

The rules for qualifying marks have varied from year to year. The qualifying marks (out of 100) are different for different subjects as well as categories.

Category Qualifying mark (out of 100)
General (GN) 25 or μ + σ, whichever is higher.
Other backward classes (OBC) 90% of general category's qualifying mark.
Scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) 2/3 (i.e., 66.67%) of general category's qualifying mark.

Here μ is the average (i.e., arithmetic mean) of marks of all candidates in the subject (with negative marks converted to zero) and σ is the standard deviation of all marks in that subject.

Usually, the general category's qualifying mark is in the 25 to 30 range.

The Government of India implemented reservations for other backward classes (non-creamy layer) in college admissions and public sector job recruitment in the year 2008. Before that, all OBC candidates were included in the "general" category. There was no separate OBC category then.

## Statistics

The total number of candidates appearing in GATE (across all subjects) increased till 2013. In 2014, it decreased slightly.

Total number of candidates appearing in GATE
Year Number of candidates appearing
2014
889,156
2013
984,855
2012
686,614
2011
553,000
2010
414,000
2009
230,000
2008
180,000
Year Total number of candidates appearing Reference(s)
2014 889,156 [12]
2013 984,855 [13]
2012 686,614 [14]
2011 Approximately 553,000 *
2010 Approximately 414,000 *
2009 Approximately 230,000 * [15]
2008 Approximately 170,000 to 180,000 * [15][16]

* Precise figures unavailable right now.

The following line chart shows the variation of the number of candidates appeared in the top 5 subjects, since GATE 2010:

Electronics and Communication Engineering (EC)
Computer Science and Information Technology (CS)
Mechanical Engineering (ME)
Electrical Engineering (EE)
Civil Engineering (CE)
All other subjects

### 2012

The three hour test in 21 papers was conducted in 860 centers and 170 cities/towns across the country on two days: the computer based online exam in six papers on 29 January 2012 and the offline exam in the remaining fifteen papers on 12 February 2012. A total of 7,77,134 candidates registered for GATE 2012 and 6,86,614 candidates appeared for the exam. Nearly 81% of the total number of candidates who appeared for GATE 2012 were from four papers: Electronics and Communication Engineering (1,76,944), Computer Science and Information Technology (1,56,780), Mechanical Engineering (1,12,320) and Electrical Engineering (1,10,125).[17]

Subject-wise distribution of the 686,614 appeared candidates in GATE 2012[18][19]

Electronics and Communication Engineering (EC) (25.77%)
Computer Science and Information Technology (CS) (22.83%)
Mechanical Engineering (ME) (16.34%)
Electrical Engineering (EE) (16.04%)
Civil Engineering (CE) (5.27%)
Instrumentation engineering (IN) (3.13%)
Chemical Engineering (CH) (1.66%)
Other (8.96%)

Category-wise distribution of the 108,526 qualified candidates in GATE 2012[20]

General category (GN) (50.19%)
Other backward classes (OBC) (27.91%)
Scheduled castes (SC) and Scheduled tribes (ST) (21.90%)
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
Appeared
Qualified
•   Male
•   Female
Male Female Total
Registered NA NA 777,134
Appeared 501,416 185,198 686,614
Qualified 85,630 22,896 108,526
Percentage of appeared that qualified 17.08% 12.36% 15.81%
Subject No. of candidates appeared[21][22]
Electronics and Communication Engineering 176,944
Computer Science and Information Technology 156,780
Mechanical Engineering 112,320
Electrical Engineering 110,125
Civil Engineering 36,156
Instrumentation engineering 21,509
Chemical Engineering 11,407
Others 61,373
Total 686,614

The total number of candidates qualified in GATE 2012 is 1,08,526. This year, 30,294 OBC candidates qualified in the test, while 23,765 SC/ST and 447 physically challenged candidates qualified. Out of 1,85,198 female candidates who appeared in GATE 2012, 22,896 candidates qualified.[23]

The IIT Delhi zone topped among the other zones with 18,927 candidates figuring in the list of qualified candidates, followed by IIT Madras (17,343), IIT Kharagpur (15,735), IISc Bangalore (14,379), IIT Kanpur (12,469), IIT Roorkee (12,328), IIT Bombay (12,287), and IIT Guwahati (5,058).[24]

### 2013

250,000
500,000
750,000
1,000,000
1,250,000
1,500,000
Registered
Appeared
Qualified
•   Male
•   Female
•   Other
Male Female Other Total
Registered 723508 477194 26 1200728
Appeared 639326 345510 19 984855
Qualified 108124 28572 3 136699
Percentage of appeared that qualified 16.91% 8.27% 15.79% 13.88%
250,000
500,000
750,000
1,000,000
1,250,000
1,500,000
Registered
Appeared
Qualified
•   General category (GN)
•   Other backward classes (OBC)
•   Scheduled castes (SC)
•   Scheduled tribes (ST)
General category
(GN)
Other backward classes
(OBC)
Scheduled castes
(SC)
Scheduled tribes
(ST)
Total
Registered 618265 412191 137137 33135 1200728
Appeared 496284 347617 113163 27758 984855
Qualified 72125 41237 18936 4401 136699
Percentage of appeared that qualified 14.53% 11.86% 16.73% 15.85% 13.88%

A total of 1,200,728 candidates registered for GATE 2013 and 984,855 candidates (82.02%) appeared for the exam, of which 136,699 (13.88%) qualified in GATE 2013.[25]

The three-hour test was conducted on two days over four sessions in total. The computer based online exam for 2,02,223 candidates in fifteen papers was conducted in 572 centers spread over 123 cities and towns across the country on 20 January 2013. The offline exam for 9,98,505 candidates in the remaining six papers was conducted in 992 centers spread over 183 cities and towns across the country on 10 February 2013.[26]

A larger fraction of the registered men appeared (88%) for the exam than women candidates (72%). Nearly 81% of the total number of candidates who appeared for GATE 2013 were from four papers: Electronics and Communication Engineering (2,56,135), Computer Science and Information Technology (2,24,160), Mechanical Engineering (1,65,814) and Electrical Engineering (1,52,381).[27]

Women formed 20.9% of the total qualified candidates. As per the candidate supplied category (General, OBC-NC, SC, and ST) information, among the qualified candidates, 72,125 belong to General, 41,237 to OBC-NC, 18,936 to SC, and 4,401 to ST category. Physically challenged candidates comprised a total of 1,136 among the qualified in various categories.[28]

The top five States that had qualified candidates as their permanent residence were Andra Pradesh (22,476), Uttar Pradesh (22,400), Maharashtra (9,951), Bihar (9,820), and Kerala (8,992).[29]

The city of New Delhi has the maximum number of qualified candidates who had mentioned it as their correspondence address. "Correspondence address City" has a slightly different bearing compared to the "Permanent State". While the Permanent Residence State often relates to the “Native” State or State where their Parents/Guardians live, the Correspondence City is mostly related to the current residence, which is more likely to be the place of study or employment.[30]

Subject-wise distribution of the 984,855 appeared candidates in GATE 2013[31]

Electronics and Communication Engineering (EC) (26.0%)
Computer Science and Information Technology (CS) (22.8%)
Mechanical Engineering (ME) (16.8%)
Electrical Engineering (EE) (15.5%)
Civil Engineering (CE) (6.9%)
Instrumentation Engineering (IN) (2.9%)
Biotechnology (BT) (1.6%)
Chemical Engineering (CH) (1.5%)
Life Sciences (XL) (1.3%)
Chemistry (CY) (1.2%)
Other (4.7%)
Subject Number appeared Number qualified Percentage of appeared that qualified
Electronics and Communication Engineering (EC) 256135 36394 14.21%
Computer Science and Information Technology (CS) 224160 17440 7.78%
Mechanical Engineering (ME) 165814 24573 14.82%
Electrical Engineering (EE) 152381 25342 16.63%
Civil Engineering (CE) 67472 11920 17.67%
Instrumentation Engineering (IN) 28249 3376 11.95%
Biotechnology (BT) 16159 3424 21.19%
Chemical Engineering (CH) 14835 2887 19.46%
Life Sciences (XL) 12920 2675 20.70%
Chemistry (CY) 11768 2362 20.07%
Physics (PH) 7497 1000 13.34%
Mathematics (MA) 4963 800 16.12%
Aerospace Engineering (AE) 4523 843 18.64%
Production and Industrial Engineering (PI) 3871 679 17.54%
Geology and Geophysics (GG) 2765 629 22.75%
Architecture and Planning (AR) 2718 580 21.34%
Metallurgical Engineering (MT) 2663 635 23.85%
Engineering Sciences (XE) 2476 501 20.23%
Others (4 subjects) 3486 639 18.33%
Total (22 subjects) 984855 136699 13.88 %

[32]

Permanent state-wise distribution of the 136,699 qualified candidates in GATE 2013[33]

Maharashtra (7.3%)
Bihar (7.2%)
Kerala (6.6%)
West Bengal (5.8%)
Rajasthan (5.7%)
Haryana (3.3%)
Other (25.4%)
Permanent state-wise distribution of the 136,699 qualified candidates in GATE 2013[34]
State Number of candidates qualifying
22,476
22,400
Maharashtra
9,951
Bihar
9,820
Kerala
8,992
West Bengal
7,967
Rajasthan
7,753
7,644
4,985
Haryana
4,546
Delhi
4,393
Odisha
3,960
Karnataka
3,780
Jharkhand
3,409
Chhattisgarh
3,288
Gujarat
3,064
Uttarakhand
2,363
Punjab
2,054
Assam
1,308
735
Jammu and Kashmir
558
Chandigarh
329
Tripura
221
Others (12 states)
703

### 2014

A total of 1,033,625 candidates registered, of which 889,156 candidates (86.02%) appeared for the exam. Out of the total candidates registered, 30.17 % were female candidates while the rest were male candidates and others.[35]

Subject-wise distribution of the 149,694 qualified candidates in GATE 2014[36]

Electronics and Communication Engineering (24.33%)
Mechanical Engineering (20.87%)
Computer Science and Information Technology (17.45%)
Electrical Engineering (15.95%)
Civil Engineering (10.22%)
Other (11.18%)

Category-wise distribution of the 149,694 qualified candidates in GATE 2014[37]

General (56.82%)
Scheduled castes (11.41%)
Scheduled tribes (2.82%)
Other backwards classes (non-creamy layer) (28.25%)
Persons with disabilities (0.69%)
250,000
500,000
750,000
1,000,000
1,250,000
1,500,000
Registered
Appeared
Qualified
•   Male and other
•   Female

Out of the registered candidates, 86% of the Male and 85% of the Female registrants appeared for the examination. In terms of the number of candidates, the five largest papers were: Electronics and Communication Engineering (2,16,367), Mechanical Engineering (1,85,578), Computer Science and Information Technology (1,55,190), Electrical Engineering (1,41,799) and Civil Engineering (90,872). Examination for all these papers was conducted in multi-session mode. A suitable normalization method was followed for these papers.[38]

Subject No. of candidates appeared
Electronics and Communication Engineering 216,367
Mechanical Engineering 185,578
Computer Science and Information Technology 155,190
Electrical Engineering 141,799
Civil Engineering 90,872
Others 99,350
Total 889,156
Male and other Female Total
Qualified 118,263 31,431 149,694

In GATE 2014, based on the qualified marks criterion, 149,694 (16.84%) candidates qualified (i.e., received scorecards). In terms of the category as declared by the candidates [General, OBC (non-creamy layer), SC, ST and PwD], 85,063 General, 42,287 OBC (non-creamy layer), 17,085 SC, 4,224 ST and 1,035 PwD candidates qualified. The number of female qualified candidates was 31,431 (21% of the total).[39]

## Difficulty level of GATE

GATE, for long, has been known to test the Engineering basics in a smart way. Complaints of "lengthy" problems have been rare. But the task of mastering an entire course of Engineering (30 plus subjects) for a three hour test, itself gives the test a certain level of toughness. Each year, only around 15 % of all appearing candidates qualify.

Unlike undergraduate admissions in India, candidates must apply individually to each institute after the institute has published its M.Tech. notification (usually in the month of March). There is no separate counselling held.

Some institutions specify GATE qualification as mandatory even for admission of self-financing students to postgraduate programs. GATE qualified candidates are also eligible for the award of Junior Research Fellowship in CSIR Laboratories and CSIR sponsored projects. Top rank holders in some GATE papers are entitled to apply for “Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Fellowship” awarded by CSIR. Some government organizations prescribe GATE qualification as a requirement for applying to the post of a Scientist/Engineer.

In recent years, various academicians have recognized GATE as being one of the toughest exams in its category. Some non-Indian universities like the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and some technical universities in Germany also identify GATE score as a parameter for judging the quality of the candidates for admission into their Masters and Ph.D. programs.

Some management institutes like NITIE, Mumbai offer admission to Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering on the basis of GATE score.

Most Indian institutes do not specify cut-off marks for previous years. So there is a general confusion in terms of selecting institutes and specializations. But in the recent years IIT Kharagpur and IIT Guwahati have been specifying last year cut-off mark list. Indian Institute of Technology Delhi has a very detailed website on Post Graduate (PG) activities and admissions where students can find the relevant information on cut-off marks etc. Typically the Indian Institute of Science and Indian Institutes of Technology are the most selective followed by National Institutes of Technology and others. Also there are some state universities in India, whose standards and facilities are very much comparable to top IITs and NITs. Some of them are Bengal Engineering and Science University (recently converted to IIEST), Jadavpur University, Delhi Technological University, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Andhra University College of Engineering, Osmania University and PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh etc. Even within the top institutes, the selection criteria varies widely across departments and programs depending on expertise areas. The Directorate of Technical Education of Maharashtra state has also started conducting CAP round from the year 2013 for GATE and non-GATE candidates in all institute in Maharashtra that offer M.E./M.Tech. programs.

## Recruitment through GATE

Public sector undertakings (PSUs) in India, for long, have had troubles conducting their recruitment processes with more than 100,000 students giving the exams for less than 1000 jobs (a selection rate of less than 1%). After sensing the exponential rise in the number of engineering graduates in India who wish to get a PSU job, the PSUs have decided that a GATE score shall be the primary criteria for initial shortlisting. This change was the primary cause for the rapid increase in applicants for GATE 2012.

Indian Oil Corporation was the first PSU which successfully tested out this system and was followed two years later by National Thermal Power Corporation, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bharat Electronics & PowerGrid Corporation of India.

Usually these companies release their recruitment notifications right after GATE notification, indicating that candidates have to take GATE to be considered for a job in their organizations.

### Latest list of companies (GATE 2014)

As of now, the following public sector undertakings have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the GATE 2014 organizing committee, for using GATE 2014 score as a screening tool for recruiting engineers at entry level positions:[2]

[The numbers of posts mentioned are the total numbers. Of these, usually around half are reserved for candidates of scheduled castes (SCs), scheduled tribes (STs) and other backward classes (OBCs), as per the norms of the Government of India.]

S. No. Company Electronics and communication engineering Computer science and information technology Mechanical engineering Electrical engineering Civil engineering Instrumentation engineering Chemical engineering Other Total number of posts Reference(s)
1. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. - - - - - - [40]
2. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. - - [41]
3. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. - Metallurgical engineering [42][43]
4. National Fertilizers Ltd. - - (19 posts) (10 posts) - (10 posts) (10 posts) 49 [44]
5. Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd. - (3 posts) (27 posts) (21 posts) (8 posts) (9 posts) - Mining engineering (10 posts) 78 [45]
6. National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd. - - (25 posts) (130 posts) (25 posts) - - - 180 [46]
7. National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. - - - [47]
8. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. - - - (132 posts) - - - - 132 [48][49]
9. Vizag Steel Plant Metallurgical engineering [50]
10. Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) - - (18 posts) (14 posts) - (13 posts) (20 posts) - 65 [51][52]
11. Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd. - - (20 posts) - - - - Chemistry (5 posts), Geology and geophysics (7 + 3 = 10 posts) 35 [53]
12. Mazagon Dock Ltd. (7 posts) - (24 posts) (14 posts) - - - - 45 [54]
13. National Aluminium Company Ltd.
14. Rail India Technical and Economic Services Ltd. - - (15 posts) - (24 posts) - - - 39 [55]
15. National Projects Construction Corporation Ltd. (30 posts) 30 [56]
16. RailTel Corporation of India Ltd.
17. Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd.
18. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Department of Atomic Energy (Government of India) Metallurgical engineering; Physics; Engineering sciences; Chemistry; Life sciences or Biotechnology; Geology and Geophysics. [57][58][59]
19. Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd. (20 posts) (20 posts) (10 posts) (10 posts) 60 [60][61]
Total number of posts > 7 > 3 > 168 > 341 > 97 > 42 > 30 > 25 > 713

In the above table, ">" is the "greater than" sign. The exact number of posts in each discipline can not be known, as some companies have not revealed the numbers of posts.

Many other PSUs are also processing the MoU and these are in progress.[2]

## Changes in recent years

Year Changes Reference(s)
2009
• The IT and CS papers were merged and there was no separate IT paper.
• The GATE score was valid only for one year but later the GATE committee made it valid for two years in 2010.
2010
• Pharmacy was no longer on the GATE subject papers list, with GPAT as the replacement. Also, the Biotechnology section of the XL GATE paper had been removed and replaced by a separate Biotechnology paper (paper code BT).
• An additional section of General Aptitude was introduced in GATE. A total of ten questions carrying 15 marks makes up this last section of GATE.
2011
• Based on a trouble-free pilot project in 2010, four of the GATE papers in GATE 2011 were run using computer based online mode. The four online papers for 2011 are Aerospace Engineering (paper code AE), Geology and Geophysics (paper code GG), Mining Engineering (paper code MN) and Textile Engineering (paper code TF) and Fiber Science.
• GATE was held in morning (9-12) session for some papers and afternoon (2-5) session for others. Also, the computer based tests was held on a different date.
2012
• Only final year students and passed-out candidates were declared eligible to take GATE. Pre-final year students, which were eligible till 2011, were no longer eligible.
• The application process was made completely online. Candidates could view their responses of the ORS and also GATE Office released official solutions for GATE papers.
• The exam mode was changed from paper-based to "online" (i.e. computer-based) for 2 additional subjects: Agricultural Engineering (AG) and Architecture and Planning (AR).
• The use of pencils to darken the bubbles in the answer sheet was discontinued. Candidates could use only black ink ball point pens for darkening of the bubbles in the answer sheet.
[62]
2013
• Female candidates were exempted from paying the application fee.
• Candidates were required to upload scanned copy of photograph and signature. Print-out of the completed application form was to be mailed to the institute by post.
• The Application fee was increased from 1000 to 1200.
• The GATE score formula was changed. Scores calculated using the old formula were effective during the year 2013-14. Scores calculated using the new formula were effective during the year 2014-15.
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2014
• A new paper of "Ecology and Evolution" is introduced.
• Examinations for all the 22 papers will be conducted by an online Computer-Based Test (CBT). The online examination paper will contain some questions for which numerical answers must be keyed in by the candidate using the "virtual" (i.e. on-screen) keypad. Rest of the questions shall be of Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) type.
• Female candidates are required to pay some fee for application, a change introduced due to many raising complaints about a large portion of female candidates who registered but did not appear for the exam in 2013.
• Application fee is increased from 1200 to 1500 for general category, OBC male/other candidates, and 750 for all female candidates and SC, ST male/other candidates.
• Examinations will be held during forenoon and afternoon sessions on alternate weekends (Saturday and Sunday) between 1 February 2014 and 2 March 2014. Examination for some of the papers in GATE 2014 will be held in multiple sessions.
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## Year and Organizing Institute

Each year's GATE is organised by any one of 8 institutes: IISc and 7 IITs. The overall co-ordination and responsibility of conducting GATE lies with this institute, which is designated as the Organizing Institute (OI) for GATE of that year. GATE coaching institutes often make speculations regarding the topics to focus upon depending upon the institute that is the OI of that year.

Year Organizing Institute
GATE 2014 IIT Kharagpur
GATE 2013 IIT Bombay
GATE 2012 IIT Delhi
GATE 2010 IIT Guwahati
GATE 2009 IIT Roorkee
GATE 2008 IISc Bangalore
GATE 2007 IIT Kanpur
GATE 2006 IIT Kharagpur
GATE 2005 IIT Bombay
GATE 2004 IIT Delhi
GATE 2002 IISc Bangalore
GATE 2001 IIT Kanpur
GATE 2000 IIT Kharagpur
GATE 1999 IIT Bombay
GATE 1998 IIT Delhi
GATE 1996 IISc Bangalore
GATE 1995 IIT Kanpur
GATE 1994 IIT Kharagpur
GATE 1993 IIT Bombay
GATE 1992 IIT Delhi