GATE 2026 DA Important Topics: Exam Date (OUT), Topic-Wise Weightage, Pattern, and Revision Tips
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering 2026 ( GATE )
Result - 19 Mar '26
The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE 2026) for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DA) syllabus, important topics, high-weightage chapters can be checked here. A thorough understanding of syllabus, important GATE DA topics, and their respective weightage is crucial for aspirants aiming to excel in this examination. Read below for more.
IIT Guwahati has released the GATE 2026 DA syllabus on official website. Candidates who want to appear for the GATE DA paper must fill out the GATE 2026 application form, which was available on gate2026.iitg.ac.in.
Latest Update: GATE 2026 branch-wise exam schedule released
GATE 2026 DA Marks: Distribution and Weightage
The GATE 2025 DA question paper comprises two sections -
- General aptitude - 15 marks
- Subject questions - 85 marks
A total of 100 marks is allotted for the GATE 2026 DA question paper. The question types include Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), Multiple Select Questions (MSQs), and Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions. Negative marking applies only to MCQs, with a deduction of 1/3 mark for 1-mark questions and 2/3 mark for 2-mark questions. There is no negative marking for MSQs and NAT questions.
GATE 2026 DA Exam Date
IIT Guwahati will conduct GATE DA exam on February 15 in second shift (2:30 pm to 5:30 pm). Candidates appearing for exam must download their admit card on January 2.
Also Read:
GATE 2026 DA Syllabus- Topics and Weightage
The GATE Data Science and Artificial Intelligence syllabus, as per the GATE 2025 exam, is as follows. Aspirants can also check an approximate weightage section-wise below-
| Subjects | Approximate Weightage/Marks |
|---|---|
| Probability and Statistics | 16 marks |
| Linear Algebra | 10 marks |
| Calculus and Optimisation | 8 marks |
| Programming, Data Structures, and Algorithms | 21 marks |
| Database Management and Warehousing | 8 marks |
| Machine Learning | 11 marks |
| Artificial Intelligence | 11 marks |
GATE 2026 DA Expected Questions (Topic-Wise)
IIT Guwahati conducted the GATE exam in 2018, and looking at the pattern and format of the questions, here are some expected questions that can be asked from following topics covered in the GATE 2026 DA question paper -
| Topics |
Expected Questions in the following topics |
|---|---|
| Data Structures and Algorithms |
Tree Traversal, Hashing, Stack application, Graph traversal, Time complexities, master theorem, sorting, searching, shortest path, minimum cost spanning tree |
| Programming in Python |
Recursion, List and dictionary comprehension, List, Tuple, set, and dictionary data types, and Scope of variable in a function |
| Database Management and Warehousing |
Checking FD’s, Additional FD’s, Finding Normal Form of the relation, Decomposition properties, Tuple relational calculus, Data normalisation, OLAP operations, Equivalence FD’s, Decomposing the relation, B and B+ tree insertion and deletion, |
| Machine Learning |
Decision trees -information gain, entropy, K-value selection in KNN, K-means, single linkage clustering in KNN, Model parameters in Naive Bayes, model parameters in ANN, Hyper plane, decision boundary, and linearly non-separable data, distance-weighted KNN, decision trees pruning, cross validation techniques, etc. |
| Artificial Intelligence |
Iterative deepening search, depth limited search, bi-directional search, rules of inference, tautologies, exact inference through variable elimination, quantifies and multiple quantifiers |
GATE 2026 DA Important Formulas (Topic-Wise)
| Topics/Subjects | Important Formulas to Focus |
|---|---|
| Probability and Statistics | Baye's Theorem, Mean and Variance, Probability and Distributions (Binomial, Poisson, and Normal Distribution) |
| Linear Algebra | Matrix operations, Principal component analysis - (Formula for Eigenvalues of Covariance Matrix) |
| Calculus and Optimization | Gradient Descent Update Rule, Lagrange Multiplier Method |
| Machine Learning | Loss Functions, Naïve Bayes Classifier |
| Data Structures and Algorithms | Time Complexity (Big-O Notation), Dynamic Programming |
| Artificial Intelligence | Minimax Algorithm (Game Theory), Perceptron Rule (Basic Neural Network) |
Quick Tips for Memorisation and Problem Solving
- Revise short notes, mind maps, and cheat sheets for quick concept review.
- Memorize important formulas, such as Bayes’ Theorem, Eigenvalues, Gradient Descent, etc.
- Attempt at least 2 to 3 full-length mock tests following real exam guidelines.
- Attempt 50+ NAT-type questions for numerical accuracy.
- Follow a 50-40-30 rule during the exam- (50 mins for General aptitude, 40 mins for medium-difficulty questions, and 30 mins for tough questions & review)
- Get 7-8 hours of sleep before the exam. Avoid starting new topics. Revise what you've read already.
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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 days ago
No, GATE registrations have been closed for IIT Hyderabad PhD admissions to the academic year 2026. However, GATE is not a mandatory entrance exam for all PhD admissions at IIT Hyderabad.
Thus, candidates can still apply for PhD courses at IIT Hyderabad into the departments which accept candidates wi
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No, GATE is not a compulsory entrance exam for PhD admissions at IIT Hyderabad. However, every department of IIT Hyderabad has a separate eligibility and selection criteria for their offered PhD courses.
In some departments, candidates are required to appear for the GATE in order to be eligible for I
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Yes, University of Mysore does accept GATE scores. Students seeking admissions to MTech/ PhD programmes can submit GATE score. This applies to programmes offered through various affiliated institutes/ college also. Students can check the university's site to know more.
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COAP also called as Common Offer Acceptance Portal is a platform used for GATE qualified candidates to exercise their college acceptance choices for admission to MTech/Ph/ME programmes. The COAP is a counselling platform used by participating IITs, IISc, and PSU for job recruitments.
It is one platfo
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In GATE, normalisation process generally makes a gap of 4 to 7 marks (approximately) between actual and normalised scores. However, if difficulty level of paper was high then the marks might increase. On other hand, for easier paper, marks may reduce offering fairness across sessions.
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No, the GATE 2026 exam has already been concluded at this point for Jerusalem College of Engineering ME admissions. The entrance exam was conducted in the month of February and the result is expected to be revealed soon in the upcoming month of March.
Candidates who failed to appear for GATE can stil
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There is no confirmation whether GATE is a compulsory entrance exam for Jerusalem College of Engineering ME course admissions. Several unofficial sources state that Jerusalem College of Engineering accepts GATE scores for ME admissions.
However, the website of Jerusalem College of Engineering has not
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No, to get admission into IIT Madras MTech course, students have to appear for the GATE exam. This is a part of minimum eligibility criteria for M.Tech course admissions. After clearing the GATE exam, the students are selected on the basis of merit list. The students have to obtain a minimum of 60%
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No, there is no subject-wise cutoff mark for GATE exam. The scores along with minimum-qualifying cutoff will be released (category-wise) along with normalised score.
- GATE Marks out of 100
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Upasana Pradhan is an Mtech graduate in Electronics and Communication Engineering from DTU who specialises in curating postgraduate and undergraduate engineering entrance exam content, such as GATE, TS PGECET, KCET,
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