GATE 2026 Paper Analysis: Check Subject-Wise Exam Analysis, Difficulty Level, Cutoff

Registration - 8 Oct '25 - 13 Oct '25

Updated on Oct 9, 2025 10:50 IST

By UPASANA PRADHAN, Assistant Manager- Editorial

GATE 2026 Paper Analysis: Candidates can check the GATE 2026 paper analysis for all exam dates here. This year, IIT Guwahati will conduct the GATE 2026 exam on February 7, 8, 14, and 15 in two shifts. The GATE 2026 exam analysis will cover the difficulty level along with the memory-based GATE questions asked in the exam The result will be announced on March 19. Students can refer to the GATE paper analysis here to check the difficulty level of the GATE exam shift-wise (of previous year's). Read below for more.

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Table of content

GATE 2025 CS, ME, EE, EC, CE, DA, CH, and CY Paper Analysis
GATE 2025 CS Shift 1 and 2 Paper Analysis
GATE 2025 ME Paper Analysis
GATE 2025 EE Paper Analysis
GATE 2025 DA Paper Analysis
GATE 2025 EC Paper Analysis: Shift 2
GATE 2025 CE Paper Analysis: Shift 1
GATE 2026 Answer Key
GATE 2026 Cutoff

GATE 2025 CS, ME, EE, EC, CE, DA, CH, and CY Paper Analysis

IIT Roorkee hosted the GATE 2025 exam for all 30 subject test papers. Candidates can check the complete GATE 2025 exam analysis to analyse their attempts at the GATE 2025 question paper. The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering is a national-level entrance exam conducted to offer admission to MTech/research programs or apply for PSU recruitment.

The GATE 2025 question paper comprises 65 questions (MSQs, NAT, and MCQs) across various subjects for 100 marks. The exam is three hours long, covering questions based on problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Here is an in-depth GATE 2025 paper analysis of CS, ME, CH, CE, DA, CY, EC, EE, IN, and XE papers.

GATE 2025 Branch-Wise Difficulty Level

Subject Paper	Difficulty Level
Computer Science Engineering (CSE)	Moderate
Instrumentation Engineering (IN)	Moderate
Mechanical Engineering (ME)	Moderate
Electrical Engineering (EE)	Moderate
Civil Engineering (CE)	Easy to Moderate
Electronics and Communication (EC)	Moderate
Chemical Engineering (CH)	-
Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DA)	Moderate

Commonly asked questions

Q: Will physical calculator be allowed during the GATE exam?

No, physical calculators will not be allowed in the GATE exam 2026. Candidates will be provided with a virtual calculator on their screen to attempt the questions. Candidates are advised to be well acquainted with the virtual calculator to solve questions with accuracy and speed.

Q: What is the compensatory time given to the candidates availing scribe facility in GATE exam?

Candidates who are availing scribe facility will be given a compensatory time of 60 minutes (one hour) as per the government norms. To opt for scribe assistance, candidates must choose the facility while filling out the GATE 2026 application form, providing the required documents (PwD or dyslexic certificate).

Q: Will GATE 2026 be tougher GATE 2025?

This year, IIT Guwahati is conducting the GATE 2026 exam. IIT Guwahati conducted the GATE exam in 2018. Based on the GATE 2018 and past year paper format, the GATE 2026 is expected to be moderately difficult. The question paper is expected to have higher weightage on concept-based questions, blending numerical and practical analysis. Candidates are advised to practice the previous year's question paper as many times as possible to understand the difficulty level of the question paper.

GATE 2025 CS Shift 1 and 2 Paper Analysis

The GATE 2025 CSE exam was conducted in two shifts on February 1, 2025. Overall, the paper was easy to moderate with balanced-level questions. The GATE 2025 CS question paper was a mix of easy, moderate, and challenging questions. Candidates can check the section-wise difficulty level below -

Section	Difficulty-Level
General aptitude	easy to moderate
Engineering Mathematics	easy to moderate
Core technical subjects	moderate to difficult

GATE 2025 CSE Paper Analysis: Key Topics Asked

The GATE 2025 CSE shift 1 and 2 question paper answer key comprised questions from the following topics -

Boolean algebra
Combinational and sequential circuits
Minimization
Number representations and computer arithmetic (fixed and floating-point)
Computer Organization and Architecture
Programming and Data Structure
Algorithms
Operating Systems
Computer Networks

Read more -

Commonly asked questions

Q: What are the GATE exam shift timings?

There are two shift timings for the GATE exam. Candidates can find the details of the shift timing on the official website. The GATE shift timings are as follows -

Forenoon - 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Afternoon - 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Candidates can also find the exam timing details mentioned in the GATE admit card. Candidates are advised to appear for the GATE 2026 exam on the date prescribed in the hall ticket.

Q: What is the GATE 2026 marking scheme?

Each GATE question either carries one or two mark.

For a one-mark MCQ, 1/3rd mark will be deducted for incorrect responses.
For a two-mark MCQ, 2/3rd mark will be deducted for incorrect responses.
There is no negative marking for MSQs and NATs.
Also, there is no partial marking for any question.

Candidates are advised to check the exam pattern to understand the GATE question paper structure, as they can help in GATE preparation.

GATE 2025 ME Paper Analysis

The GATE 2025 ME exam was conducted on February 2, 2025, in the first shift (9:30 am to 12:30 pm). Based on students' reactions and feedback, the GATE 2025 ME paper had a mix of conceptual and theoretical questions. Some technical questions were tricky in the core subject section. On the other hand, the general aptitude and engineering mathematics section had easy-to-moderate questions. MCQs had higher weightage than MSQs and NATs. Here is a section-wise breakdown of the difficulty level.

Section	Difficulty Level
engineering mathematics	easy to moderate
general aptitude	easy
core subject	moderate to difficult

GATE 2025 ME Paper Analysis: Key Topics Covered

The GATE 2025 Feb 2 ME paper comprised questions from the following topics -

engineering mechanics
strength of materials
machine design
theory of machine
manufacturing process
fluid mechanics
machine design

GATE 2025 ME Paper Analysis shift 1

GATE 2025 EE Paper Analysis

The GATE 2025 EE paper was conducted on Feb 2 in the second shift (2:30 pm to 5:30 pm). Overall, the paper was moderately tricky, with few challenging questions. The majority of the questions were solvable. The GATE EE 2025 question paper had maximum MCQ questions. Aptitude and Engineering mathematics were moderate, and technical subjects were easy to moderate. Candidates can check the section-wise difficulty level below -

Section	Difficulty Level
general aptitude	easy to moderate
engineering mathematics	moderate
core technical subjects	easy to moderate

GATE 2025 EE Paper Analysis: Key Topics Covered

The GATE EE 2025 question paper comprised questions from the following topics -

Signal system
Control system
Electrical machine
Power Electronics
Network Theory
Power System

Read here - GATE 2025 EE paper analysis shift 2

GATE 2025 DA Paper Analysis

The GATE 2025 Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DA) exam was conducted on February 15 in the first shift (9:30 am to 12:30 pm). Overall, the paper was moderate. The question paper was unbalanced for a few students with some challenging questions. Here is a section-wise GATE 2025 DA question paper difficulty level below -

Section	Difficulty Level
General aptitude	easy to moderate
Data Science and AI	moderate

GATE 2025 DA Paper Analysis: Key Topics Covered

The GATE 2025 DA shift 1 question paper covered questions from the following topics -

Probability and statistics
linear algebra
calculus and optimisation
machine learning
artificial intelligence
programming, data structure and algorithm

GATE 2025 EC Paper Analysis: Shift 2

The GATE 2025 electronics and communication (EC) paper was conducted on Feb 15, 2025, in the second shift (2:30 pm to 5:30 pm). Candidates found the paper to be moderately difficult. The technical question had a few questions that were challenging and time-consuming. On the other hand, the general aptitude and mathematics was easy to moderate. Candidates can check the GATE 2025 EC paper section-wise difficulty level below -

Section	Difficulty level
General aptitude	easy to moderate
Mathematics	easy to moderate
Technical section (core subjects)	moderate to difficult

GATE 2025 EC Paper Analysis: Key Topics Covered

The GATE 2025 Feb 15 EC paper comprised questions from the following topics-

Network theory
Digital circuits
Control systems
Analog circuits
Signals and Systems
Communication
Electronic devices

GATE 2025 CE Paper Analysis: Shift 1

The GATE 2025 Civil Engineering (shift 1) exam was conducted on February 16 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. The paper was easy to moderate, with a few challenging questions. A few questions were unconventional and required critical thinking. The general aptitude section was easy to moderate. On the other hand, the core section was moderately difficult. Read here - GATE 2025 CE shift 1 paper analysis

GATE 2026 Answer Key

The GATE 2026 answer key will be released after the completion of the exam (fourth week of February). Candidates can raise objections to provisional GATE answer key 2026 using their enrollment ID and password. After reviewing the answers, the authorities will release the final answer key.

Commonly asked questions

Q: What is GATE answer key?

The GATE answer key is an official document, which is released after the completion of the exam that contains solutions to the questions asked in the exam. The GATE answer key 2026 is usually released a week before the result announcement date.

Q: How to download the GATE 2026 answer key PDF?

The GATE authorities first release the GATE response key along with the question paper and provisional answer key. Candidates can download the GATE answer key at the GOAPS portal using their enrollment ID and password. The steps to download the GATE 2026 answer key PDF are as follows -

Visit the official website of GATE
Log in using the credentials at the GOAPS portal
The answer key will be displayed on the screen.
Check and download PDF

Q: What is the difference between GATE provisional and final answer key?

The GATE provisional and final answer key are different. The GATE provisional answer key is released along with the response sheet. Through the provisional answer key, candidates will be able to raise objections. On the other hand, the final answer key is basically released after the review process, which is used for the GATE score evaluation. Candidates must note that the final answer key cannot be rechecked or raised for objections.

GATE 2026 Cutoff

The GATE cutoff scores and results will be released on March 19. The GATE 2026 cutoff is the minimum score the candidates must score to be eligible for admissions or PSU recruitments. The authorities will release the cutoff for all 30 subjects along with the result. To check the result, candidates must log in using their enrollment ID and password through GOAP portal.

Commonly asked questions

Q: What was the GATE cutoff of computer Science and information technology last year?

The GATE 2025 cutoff of computer Science and information technology (category-wise) can be checked below -

For general - 29.2
OBC-NCL/EWS - 26.2
SC/ST/PwD - 19.4

The cutoff is the minimum mark that is required for all candidates to qualify for the exam. IIT Guwahati will announce the GATE cutoff 2026 after the announcement of results.

Q: Which IIT is conducting the GATE 2026 exam?

The Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, is conducting the GATE 2026 exam. The GATE exam will take place on February 7, 8, 14, and 15 in two shifts. Candidates appearing for the exam must download the admit card at the GOAPS portal using their login credentials.

Q: Which are the most registered papers in GATE examination?

The following are the most registered subjects/papers in the GATE examination -