GATE 2026 IN Question Paper Analysis OUT: Tough or Easy?

GATE 2026 Instrumentation Engineering (IN) exam was conducted by IIT Guwahati on February 7, 2026. It was Moderate to Difficult, with core technical sections posing significant challenges due to complex numerical and conceptual questions. Check here the detailed analysis of GATE 2026 IN question paper.

Question Paper was Tough or Easy?

The exam body IIT Guwahati successfully conducted the GATE 2026 exam on February 7, 2026 morning shift for IN (Instrumental Engineering) subjects along XE (Engineering Sciences) and Life Sciences (XL). Check here the GATE 2026 IN Question Paper Analysis to know difficulty level, good attempts, and topics from which the questions were asked.

Also read: 

• GATE 2026 XL Question Paper Analysis OUT
• GATE 2026 XE Question Paper Analysis OUT

GATE 2026 IN Question Paper Analysis

Initial student reactions often vary, as each student has a different perspective; however, overall difficulty for core subjects in the morning shift was moderate to tough. Below is the detailed analysis for the GATE 2026 IN question paper - 

• The Instrumentation Engineering (IN) paper was balanced. It was moderate to difficult. 
• However to solve some of the questions it required strong analytical skills 
• The exam covered essential interdisciplinary concepts from electronics, control systems, and measurements. 

• The core technical section was tough, featuring more NAT questions than usual, requiring multiple steps to solve. 
• High weightage was given to Control Systems (specifically PID controllers and stability analysis) along with Engineering Mathematics (Matrix ranks and Eigenvalues). 
• The expected category cutoff for candidates from general category is expected to be 26 marks, with 50–55 marks representing a solid performance and chances for top institutes.

GATE 2026 Shift 1 Difficulty and Expected cut off 

Also check: GATE 2026 exam hall instructions, last-minute guidelines, and reporting time