GATE 2026 Seat Matrix: Total Intake for IITs & NITs, Reservation Criteria
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering 2026 ( GATE )
GATE 2026 Scorecard (free download)
27 Mar '26 - 31 May '26
GATE 2026 seat matrix: With GATE result 2026 out on March 19, and counselling to begin soon. Candidates must have started estimating the total number of seats reserved for admission through GATE in IITs, NITs, and other universities. With 8 lakh applicants (approx) registered, it is expected that the competition is going to get tough. Based on past trends, around 13000+ seats are mainly reserved for IITs and approx 22000+ seats for NITs and IIITs. Check complete GATE 2026 seat intake analysis, predictions, and expected cutoff details here.
GATE 2026 admission counselling is about to start soon. IIT Guwahati declared GATE result 2026 on March 19, as per the official announcement. COAP and CCMT portals are responseible for GATE counselling 2026.
COAP 2026 counselling dates have been released, IIT Roorkee will be conducting the admission counselling for IITs and IISc. However, with the help of GATE seat matrix 2026, students can get an idea about how many seats are reserved across CCMT and COAP based on cutoff ranges, category, and other factors.
Latest:
- COAP counselling 2026 dates out, round 1 registrations starts on May 11
- IIT Madras GATE MTech 2026 Admission Dates OUT, Check details
For GATE, conducted for 30 test papers and hundreds of institutes participating for admission, understanding how seats are distributed across IITs, NITs, IIITs, and PSUs is important. In this article, we have discussed aspect in detail along with expected GATE qualifying mark, GATE 2026 marks vs rank, and other details.
Latest Update
In addition, candidates can also get an idea on what can be a safe score for GATE CSE, along with GATE 2026 cutoff for NITs and IITs.
Also read:
- GATE Result 2026 Date
- How many students appeared GATE 2026 exam?
- What is GATE 2026 Seat Matrix?
- GATE 2026 Branch-Wise Seat Matrix (Expected)
- What was the GATE CCMT 2025 seat matrix?
- GATE Reservation Criteria: Seats Allocated for Admission
- IISc Bangalore GATE 2026 Seat Matrix: Reservation Criteria & Seat Intake of Top Branches
GATE Result 2026 Date
IIT Guwahati has announced GATE exam result on March 19. Candidates can check their qualifying status at gate2026.iitg.ac.in at GOAPS portal. To check result, candidates need to provide their enrollment ID and password.
How many students appeared GATE 2026 exam?
The Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati releases the stats of the number of registered candidates in GATE 2026 and appeared candidates. Once the GATE cutoff mark 2026 is released at gate2026.iitg.ac.in, students will be able to check the number of applicants appeared in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering.
What is GATE 2026 Seat Matrix?
The GATE exam seat intake is the distribution of seats for admission to IITs, NITs, and other institutes. The seat availability for GATE counselling is mainly divided based on three major criteria: institute type, branch or specialisation, and GATE reservation criteria.
Candidates must note that IIT Guwahati will not conduct the counselling process. Separate institutes conduct GATE counselling on a rotational basis similar to how the GATE exam is conducted. Now, the counselling process is again divided into parts: COAP and CCMT.
- COAP - Common Offer Acceptance Portal, this is a counselling portal dedicated for admission to IITs, and IISc Bengaluru. Students will be offered admission to the courses based on their GATE result/scores. While each IIT will release its respective seat matrix, the total intake for MTech programmes for IITs mainly exceeds 13000+.
IIT Dhanbad has released its GATE COAP 2026 counselling seat matrix.
Download: COAP 2026 IIT Dhanbad GATE seat matrix
Note: This is an estimated number, the number of seats can increase or decrease, depending on the candidates quaified and other factors.
- CCMT - Centralised Counselling for MTech/MArch/MPlan Admission portal handles admission for around 31 NITs, 26 IIITs, and many GFTIs. Overall, the approx GATE 2026 CCMT seat availability exceeds 20000+. Check: CCMT GATE cutoff.
- GATE 2026 seat matrix for PSU Recruitment - Many PSU companies like NTPC, IOCL, AAI, and BHEL do not provide seats in academics but recruits students based on their GATE rank. Based on past trends and experts analysis, a GATE rank under 200 is excellent, and under 1000 is generally considered safe for PSU jobs through GATE.
Also read:
Predict Now using GATE College Predictor
GATE 2026 Branch-Wise Seat Matrix (Expected)
The official GATE 2026 seat matrix is updated annually and changes every year, based on candiates appeared, competition level, etc. In this section, candidates can check the estimated GATE seat intake 2026 (IITs and NITs) for popular branches.
| GATE Branch |
Estimated GATE 2026 seat matrix (IITs, NITs, IIITs) |
Demanding specialisations |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science (CSE) |
3000+ |
AI, Data Science, and Cybersecurity |
| Mechanical Engineering (ME) |
5500+ |
Thermal, Production Manufacturing, and Robotics |
| Electronics (ECE) |
4500+ |
VLSI, Embedded Systems, and Communication |
| Electrical Engineering (EE) |
3500 - 4500+ |
Power systems, Control and Automation |
| Civil Engineering (CE) |
4000+ |
Geotechnical and Transportation |
What was the GATE CCMT 2025 seat matrix?
Candidates can check last year's seat matrix of GATE below. This inlcudes, all NITs, IIITs (all branches, categories, and groups) -
| Category | Total number of seats |
|---|---|
| Open | 5313 |
| Open- PwD | 274 |
| EWS | 1247 |
| EWS-PwD | 61 |
| SC | 1952 |
| SC-PwD | 90 |
| ST | 955 |
| ST-PwD | 44 |
| OBC | 3415 |
| OBC-PwD | 163 |
| Total seats | 12,494 |
Commonly asked questions
The cutoff score in GATE is the minimum mark required to qualify for the exam. The conducting body releases the qualifying cutoff along with result. It determines, whether a candidate is eligible to participate in the counselling round or not.
The cutoff score in GATE varies every year (category-wise), depending on the number of students registered, difficulty level of the question paper, and previous year's trends. The GATE cutoff score are mainly of two types - admission and qualifying cutoff.
You can apply for two GATE papers (maximum). While filling out the GATE application form, you need to select the primary and secondary paper. The GATE secondary paper must be from the subject list prescribed by the GATE authorities. Before adding the paper, go through the subject combination list and GATE paper codes.
Candidates opting for two GATE papers will have to pay double the fees mentioned -
For example,
- If a general category candidate is applying for two GATE papers, then he/she has to pay a fee of INR 4000 (during the regular timeline) and INR 5000 (during the extended period).
- The same applies to the female, SC, ST, and PwD category candidates, INR 2000 (during the regular time period) and INR 3000 (during the extended period).
The details regarding the total number students obtaining full marks in GATE 2026 will be available along with result. Candidates will be able to check complete stats on official website as well as here on this page.
GATE Reservation Criteria: Seats Allocated for Admission
Candidates can check an estimated GATE seat intake (as per reservation criteria) below -
| Category |
Reservation Criteria (%) |
|---|---|
| General (GN) |
40.5% |
| OBC |
27% |
| SC |
15% |
| ST |
7.5% |
| EWS |
10% |
IISc Bangalore GATE 2026 Seat Matrix: Reservation Criteria & Seat Intake of Top Branches
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Commonly asked questions
40 marks in GATE will approximately give a rank between 2000 to 5000 depending on the paper difficulty level and the number of registered candidates in that particular branch. Obtaining 40 marks is mainly considered average, opening chances to a few new IITs (less popular branches) and NITs.
However, rank for 40 marks in the Graduate Aptitude in Engineering can give a different rank value for different branches and disciplines. For example, 40 marks in GATE CSE can correspond to 9000 to 10000 rank. On the other hand, 40 marks in GATE ME, can correspond to 6000 - 7100 rank.
Advice to students who secured 40 marks in GATE exam: Better to apply in some state-level colleges or new NITs.
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.
Indian Institute of Technology will release GATE cutoff 2026 soon. The IITG GATE 2026 result has been declared. The conducting body releases the exam result and cutoff for all 30 subjects. The cutoff for GATE 2026 will be available category-wise. Candidates securing the minimum cutoff will be eligible to participate in counselling.
Note: The minimum qualifying cutoff will be different for all subjects.
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Commonly asked questions
IIT Guwahati has released GATE cutoff 2026 mark for all 30 papers. This year, for many papers, the general cutoff is mainly 25-30 marks. Candidates can check GATE passing mark here.
Yes, it is expected that the GATE 2026 cutoff may increase compared to last year, for the following reasons -
Increase in the number of registered applicants.
Difficulty level of the question paper
Inclination towards newer branches, such as Data Science, Machine Learning, Quantum Tech, etc.
Due to the introduction of new and innovative programmes, there can be slight increase in the cutoff trend, especially for CSE, EE, EC, DA, CE and ME
A GATE score of 500 can be roughly around 40 to 50 raw scores out of 100 marks. However, it can vary depending for each engineering discipline. For example, for CSE it can be around 45 to 56 marks, for mechanical engineering it can correspond around 46 - 55, and for ECE it can roughly correspond around 50 to 60 marks depending on the paper difficulty level.
The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore has started GATE 2026 MTech and MDes admission process. In addition, the institute has also released GATE 2026 seat matrix for its counselling and seat allotment process. Online registrations are open and the last date to submit application form is March 23. Candidates can check IISc Bangalore GATE cutoff and selection process to analyse and make their decisions before COAP counselling begins.
Also read:
- GATE normalisation process: marks vs rank, how rank is calculated
- IIT Gandhinagar Early MTech admission process without GATE score
- What is good rank in GATE 2026?
GATE 2026 IISc Bangalore Seat Intake for Popular Branches
| Discipline |
GATE 2026 total seat intake |
Category -wise seat intake |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science (CSE) |
62 |
Gen - 25 | OBC - 17 | SC- 9 | ST - 5 | EWS - 6 |
| ECE |
19 |
Gen - 8 | OBC - 5 | SC- 3 | ST - 1 | EWS - 2 |
| EE |
24 |
Gen - 10 | OBC - 6 | SC- 4 | ST - 2 | EWS - 2 |
| CE |
32 |
Gen - 13 | OBC - 9 | SC- 5 | ST - 2 | EWS - 3 |
| ME |
21 |
Gen - 9 | OBC - 6 | SC- 3 | ST - 2 | EWS - 1 |
As the GATE COAP/CCMT counselling 2026 will begin soon, candidates are advised to keep their documents ready along with GATE scorecard. The seat availability fluctuates every year and expected to remain vacant after round 3 of CCMT and often provide special round, allowing students with low GATE scores to get admission to top MTech colleges in India.
Also read:
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 days ago
This year, 10,11,719 candidates registered for Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, and 797434 candidates appeared for the GATE. The number of qualified students list will be available once statistical report is released.
S
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 days ago
Yes, COAP is only for M.Tech and PhD admissions at IITs and IISc Bangalore. The portal also updates job offers for some PSUs. Overall, around 23+ IITs participate in GATE COAP counselling every year.
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
With a GATE EC 2026 score of 609 and EWS category rank, you are well within the cutoff range for M.Tech in VLSI/Microelectronics at several IITs (like IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Roorkee) and top NITs (like NIT Trichy, NIT Warangal, NIT Calicut). Your score is strong enough to target premier in
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, you can join NIT Puducherry without GATE, but only through specific alternative admission channels such as the Self-Support M.Tech program, Sponsored/QIP (Quality Improvement Program), or DASA (Direct Admission of Students Abroad). Regular M.Tech seats are primarily filled via GATE and CCMT cou
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
The GATE exam is conducted in the month of February. Registrations can be done on respective website. The application forms are generally out in last week of August. The application fee is INR 1,000 (female/SC/ST/PWD) and INR 2,000 (Male/General/OBC/EWS). Students have to register separately on univ
B
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
No, Indian students don't need JEE, NEET, or GATE exam score to get a seat at Imperial College. However, programs like MBBS (UCAT), MBA (GMAT), and some STEM programs (ESAT, TMUA, GRE) do ask for additional test scores.
Make sure to check entry requirements for desired course before applying at Impe
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, you can get admission in M.Tech without GATE exam at MIT College of Management and Computer Application. In that case, you can appear for PERA CET or MIT-WPU CET exam and get a valid score for admission.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
| Target Performance | Desired Score | Approx. Questions to Attempt | Reasoning |
| Top IITs / PSUs | 70 - 85+ | 55 - 60 Questions | High attempts with near-perfect accuracy are required to compete for the top 500 ranks. |
| Old IITs / Top NITs | 55 - 70 | 45 - 52 Questions | A safe zone where you focus on high-weightage topics and core subjects. |
| Qualification / New NITs | 30 - 45 | 35 - 40 Questions | Focus on General Aptitude, Mathematics, and your the strongest 3–4 technical subjects. |
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The GATE 2026 results were officially released by IIT Guwahati on March 19, 2026, at approximately 3:00 PM IST.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
| Category | Potential Branches | Admission Chance |
| General | Interdisciplinary branches (Biomedical, Earth System Science, Aquacultural Engineering) | Moderate |
| OBC | Chemical, Cryogenic, or Functional Materials | Moderate to High |
| SC / ST | Core branches (Mechanical, Communication, Structural) | Very High |
S
Contributor-Level 10
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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