GATE 2026 Reservation Criteria: Types, Seat Intake for IITs and NITs
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering 2027 ( GATE )
GATE 2027 Registration Last Date without late fee
27 Sep '26
The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, otherwise called GATE is a national-level post engineering entrance exam that offers admission to IITs, NITs, and PSUs. With GATE 2026 scorecard valid for three years, the exam also aims to provide equal opportunity to every applicant category, be it registration, admission or GATE counselling 2026. Let’s discuss in detail.
GATE Reservation Criteria
GATE 2026 Reservation Criteria: The reservation criteria in GATE exam suggest total number of seats allocated for General, OBC-NCL, SC/ST and PwD categories. The reservation policy in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering is not only limited to counselling, but also in registration stage as well. Now that the GATE 2026 results are declared, and GATE counselling 2026 is to begin soon, candidates must be aware of reservation criteria.
Latest:
IIT Guwahati has issued GATE scorecard 2026 on March 27. Candidates can download it using their enrollment ID and password through the GOAPS login. The scorecard is vallid for three years. Along with that GATE cutoff 2026 marks and topper's list are also available now.
Also check:
- GATE 2026 Reservation Criteria
- GATE Reservation Criteria: Category-Wise
- How are seats distributed across institutions as per GATE 2026 Reservation Criteria?
- Institutional seat distribution under the GATE reservation policy 2026: Types
GATE 2026 Reservation Criteria
The reservation in GATE 2026 aims to provide seats to students from various categories, such as SC, ST, EWS, etc. Policy is designed by the authorities, and all institutes are advised to reserve seats as per government norms. GATE reservation criteria ensures that every category must get equal opportunity in GATE.
Also read:
GATE Reservation Criteria: Category-Wise
As per the Government of India, the GATE seat matrix follows the GATE reservation policy, which can be checked below -
| Category |
Reservation Criteria (%) |
|---|---|
| General (GN) |
40.5% |
| OBC |
27% |
| SC |
15% |
| ST |
7.5% |
| EWS |
10% |
How are seats distributed across institutions as per GATE 2026 Reservation Criteria?
The distribution of seats for postgraduate programmes (MTech, MSc, and PhD) across IITs, NITs and other institutions follow a prescribed format based on the central reservation policy. This policy is used at the time of GATE 2026 COAP counselling and CCMT counselling 2026. However, the process can differ depending on whether it is an IIT, IIIT, NIT, or GFTI.
Also read:
| GATE Branch-wise cutoff marks | How many students qualified in GATE exam? | GATE marks vs rank |
Institutional seat distribution under the GATE reservation policy 2026: Types
There are basically two types of reservation policy based on which GATE 2026 seats are allocated as per category.
Check: GATE College Predictor
The Vertical Reservation Model
Many institutes participating in GATE counselling follow a vertical reservation model. It means that a total sanctioned seat intake for a specific branch is divided into primary categories.
For example, if a department has 100 seats available for counselling, then the distribution of seats will be done as follows-
| Category |
Reservation Criteria (%) |
Seat Intake in a department |
|---|---|---|
| General (GN) |
40.5% |
40 to 41 seats |
| OBC |
27% |
27 seats |
| SC |
15% |
15 seats |
| ST |
7.5% |
7 to 8 seats |
| EWS |
10% |
10 seats |
Horizontal Reservation Model (for PwD)
The person with disability reservation of 5% comes under the GATE horizontal reservation model. It does not mean a separate set of seats added on top, but is extracted from within the existing category.
For example, if a general category has 40 seats, then 5% of 40 seats (around 2 seats) are reserved for PwD applicants. The same thing is implied for all categories.
In case, if no qualified PwD candidate is available in a specific category, then the seat is usually reverts to a non-PwD candidate of that same category.
All IITs, NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs offer seats for MTech admission through based on the GATE 2026 reservation criteria. Therefore, candidates are advised to check seats allocated to specific branch/department and then opt for choice filling and locking in CCMT or COAP counselling 2026.
Commonly asked questions
GATE counselling 2026 will be conducted by COAP and CCMT, which will be done by respective IITs and IISc on rotational basis.
- Through COAP, students will be offered admission to IITs
- Through CCMT, students will be offered admission to NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs.
This year, IIT Roorkee is conducting COAP counselling 2026. The dates have been released. COAP registrations are ongoing.
A GATE score of 700 to 800 is mainly required for M.Tech admission at IIT (especially for top IITs). However, the score also depends on the IIT popularity, branch popularity, and other factors. For new IITs, a GATE score of 500 to 600 is mainly required.
It is advised to check the past year's GATE cutoff trends before opting for counselling and admission.
The following IITs have the lowest GATE cutoffs -
- IIT Mandi
- IIT Palakkad
- IIT Tirupati and
- IIT Dharwad
These IITs mostly offer admission with GATE AIR between 3000 - 5000 ranks (approx) for computer Science and engineering.
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Commonly asked questions
The highest GATE cutoff score for NIT M.Tech admission typically ranges from 800 to 850 in the first round. Some of the top NITs include NIT Surathkal, NIT Trichy, and NIT Warangal, accept admissions with GATE score 800 above for branches like EC, CS, ME, and EE.
Qualified candidates have to register at the CCMT portal to participate in the GATE counselling. The counselling process will begin in June/July.
No, the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering examination takes place once a year. Every year, different IITs and IISc conduct exam on rotational basis. GATE is conducted online for three hours for 30 branch papers.
IIT Guwahati declared GATE result for 2026 on March 19. Candidates can now login with their credentials to download result.
The GATE counselling is conducted online by CCMT and COAP. Authorities announced GATE results 2026 on March 19. Qualified candidates can participate in counselling. COAP is done IIT and IISc admission and CCMT for NITs and other institutions.
Also read:
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Student Forum
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No
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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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