GATE 2021: Dates announced, two new subjects added, eligibility criteria relaxed

GATE 2021 Dates: IIT Bombay has announced the GATE 2021 dates, relaxed the eligibility criteria and added two new subjects. Read below to know details

GATE 2021: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has announced that the GATE 2021 will be held over February 5-7 and February 12-13. This is for the first time, the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) will spread over a longer period than usual keeping the COVID-19 outbreak in mind.

The exam to be conducted in 2021 will also witness the introduction of two new subjects and relaxation in the GATE 2021 eligibility criteria. Organising team of IIT Bombay led by professor Deepankar Choudhury, Upendra Bhandarkar and Mohd Aslam of has made these changes

With the introduction of the two new subjects – Environmental Science and Engineering (ES) and Humanities and Social Science (XS), the total number of subjects has increased to 27.

Professor Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay, while appreciating the new initiatives of the GATE-2021 committee, said: “I am particularly delighted at the creation of much needed new career opportunities for those in the Humanities and Social Sciences area as this may serve as one single standardized criterion for admission to various masters and doctoral programs in various IITs and other universities in India.”

“Should any agency, for example, various PSUs [Public Sector Undertakings] want to hire candidates with Humanities background, this new exam paper in GATE will prove to be a great enabler,” the director added.

In another newly introduced change, students applying for GATE 2021 can also opt for two subject papers from the prescribed set of combinations.

A statement by the IIT Bombay in this regard said, “To boost the opportunity to study in inter-disciplinary areas, unlike in the previous year when a candidate could write only one subject paper, the candidate can now opt for up to two subject papers (from a prescribed set of combinations) that the exam calendar would permit.”

Details including application and new GATE 2021 exam updates is available at the official website: https://gate.iitb.ac.in

GATE 2021: Relaxation in eligibility criteria

As per the new eligibility criteria, students in the third year of their undergraduate programmes will also be eligible for GATE. According to the IIT Bombay Statement, GATE-2021 Eligibility criteria have been relaxed from the minimum 10+2+4 (ongoing) to minimum 10+2+3 (ongoing). It will enable even those in the third year of their undergraduate studies to appear for the examination.