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Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) in Physics
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an examination conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (at Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee) on behalf of the National Coordination Board (NCB)-GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India.
Qualifying in GATE is a mandatory requirement for seeking admission and/or financial assistance to:
- Master’s programs and Doctoral programs in Engineering/Technology/Architecture
- Doctoral programs in relevant branches of Science, in the institutions supported by the MHRD and other Government agencies.
Even in some colleges and institutions, which admit students without MHRD scholarship/assistantship, the GATE qualification is mandatory.
Further, many Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) have been using the GATE score in their recruitment process.
Age Limit: There is no age limit for the candidates.
GATE Schedule
GATE exam is conducted once in a year, i.e., in the months of February. The notifications announcing the GATE exam published in the months of September in the weekly journal of nation-wide circulation (Employment News).
Eligibility for GATE
The following categories of candidates ONLY are eligible to appear for GATE:
(a) Bachelor’s degree holders in Engineering/Technology/ Architecture (4 years after 10+2) and those who are in the final year of such programmes.
(b) Bachelor's degree holders in Engineering/Technology/Architecture (Post-B.Sc./Post-Diploma) and those who are in the final year of such programmes.
(c) 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 programmes.
(d) Candidates in the second or higher year of the Four-year Integrated Master’s degree programme (Post-B.Sc.) in Engineering/Technology.
(e) Candidates in the fourth or higher year of Five-year Integrated Master’s degree programme or Dual Degree programme in Engineering/Technology.
(f) Candidates with qualifications obtained through examinations conducted by professional societies recognized by UPSC/AICTE (e.g. AMIE by Institute of Engineers (India); AMICE by Institute of Civil Engineers (India)) as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech. Those who have completed section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.
Scheme of Test
The examination will be conducted in an ONLINE Computer Based Test (CBT) mode where the candidates will be shown the questions on a computer screen. GATE examination will be for 3 hours duration and they consist of 65 questions for a total of 100 marks. Since the examination is an ONLINE computer based test, at the end of the stipulated time (3-hours), computer will automatically close thescreen inhibiting any further action.
A Virtual Scientific Calculator will be available on the computer screen during the examination. Candidates have to use the same during the examination. Personal calculators, wristwatches, mobile phones or any other electronic devices are NOT allowed inside the examination hall.
Candidates should not bring any charts/tables/papers into the examination hall. GATE officials will not be responsible for the safe-keep of the candidates’ personal belongings.
Scribble pads will be provided to the candidates for any rough work. The candidate has
to write his/her name and registration number on the scribble pad before he/she starts using it. The scribble pad must be returned to the invigilator at the end of the examination.
Pattern of Questions
There will be a total of 65 questions carrying 100 marks, out of which 10 questions carrying a total of 15 marks will be on General Aptitude (GA), which is intended to test the Language and Analytical Skills. The General Aptitude section will carry 15% of the total marks and the remaining 85% of the total marks is devoted to the subject paper.
GATE Exam would contain questions of two different types in all the papers:
(i) Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) carrying 1 or 2 marks each. These questions are objective in nature, and each will have a choice of four answers, out ofwhich the candidate has to select (mark) the correct answer.
Negative Marking for Wrong Answers:
For a wrong answer chosen in a MCQ, there will be negative marking. For 1-mark MCQ, 1/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. Likewise, for 2-mark MCQ, 2/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer.
(ii) Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions carrying 1 or 2 marks each in all the papers and sections. For these questions, the answer is a signed real number, which needs to be entered by the candidate using the virtual numeric keypad on the monitor (keyboard of the computer will be disabled).
No choices will be shown for these type of questions. The answer can be a number such as 10 or -10 (an integer only). The answer may be in decimals as well, for example, 10.1 (one decimal) or 10.01 (two decimals) or -10.001 (three decimals). These questions will be mentioned with, up to which decimal places, the candidates need to make an answer. Also, an appropriate range will be considered while evaluating the numerical answer type questions so that the candidate is not penalized due to the usual round-off errors. Wherever required and possible, it is better to give NAT answer up to a maximum of three decimal places.
There is NO negative marking for a wrong answer in NAT questions.
Design of Questions
The questions in a paper may be designed to test the following abilities:
(i) Recall: These are based on facts, principles, formulae or laws of the discipline of the paper.The candidate is expected to be able to obtain the answer either from his/her memory of the subject or at most from a one-line computation.
(ii) Comprehension: These questions will test the candidate’s understanding of the basics of his/her field, by requiring him/her to draw simple conclusions from fundamental ideas.
(iii) Application: In these questions, the candidate is expected to apply his/her knowledge either through computation or by logical reasoning.
(iv) Analysis and Synthesis: These can be linked answer questions, where the answer to the first question of the pair is required in order to answer its successor. Or these can be common data questions, in which two questions share the same data but can be solved independently of each other.
Administration
GATE is administered jointly by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and seven Indian Institutes of Technology (namely, IITs at Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee). The GATE Committee, which comprises of representatives from the administering institutes, is the sole authority for regulating the examination and for declaring the results. For administrative purposes, the examination cities in India are segregated into eight zones. The operations related to GATE, in each of the eight zones, are managed by a Zonal GATE Office at the administering institute (IIT or IISc). One of the administering institutes is designated as the Organizing Institute (OI), and it would be responsible for the end-to-end process, as well as, the overall coordination amongst the administering institutes for conducting GATE.
Zones and the Corresponding Administrative Institutes
Zone-1 Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
http://gate.iisc.ac.in/
Zone-2 Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
http://www.gate.iitb.ac.in/
Zone-3 Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
http://gate.iitd.ac.in/
Zone-4 Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
http://www.gate.iitg.ac.in/
Zone-5 Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
http://gate.iitk.ac.in/
Zone-6 Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
http://gate.iitkgp.ac.in/
Zone-7 Indian Institute of Technology Madras
http://gate.iitm.ac.in/
Zone-8 Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
http://www.iitr.ac.in/gate/
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