Where GATE EE's marks have come from
Based on IAE's count of past papers. What it cannot tell you is at the end.
Nine published study subjects, mapped against the seven GATE EE papers of 2018, 2020 and 2022–2026, show where the 85-mark subject component's marks have landed, subject by subject and year by year. The same counts, ranked by average marks per paper, turn into an order for deciding what to open first.
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This post counts where GATE EE's marks have shown up across nine published study subjects, using IAE's own subject tags on the seven GATE EE papers — 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. It is written for a GATE EE candidate weighing which subject to open first. The GATE 2027 Information Brochure (printed page 4) fixes every paper at 65 questions and 100 marks, and on every paper except AR, CY, DA, EY, GE, GG, MA, PH, RA, ST, XH and XL splits them as General Aptitude 15, Engineering Mathematics 13 and the remaining subject questions 72. Engineering Mathematics and the other subject questions together make an 85-mark subject component; General Aptitude's 15 marks sit outside it and are common to every paper.
Where GATE EE's 85 subject marks have come from, paper by paper
Marks per GATE EE paper under each published study subject, seven papers: 2018, 2020, 2022–2026, with the average per paper
| Subject | 2018 | 2020 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Average per paper |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Mathematics | 15 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 14.0 |
| Networks (Electric Circuits) | 13 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 10.1 |
| Electrical Machines | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9.4 |
| Control Systems | 8 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 8.7 |
| Signals and Systems | 7 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 8.6 |
| Analog Electronics | 3 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5.1 |
| Electromagnetics | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5.0 |
| Digital Electronics | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3.6 |
| Electrical and Electronic Measurements | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2.1 |
| Not in a library subject yet | 17 | 16 | 20 | 14 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 18.3 |
| Subject component (fixed by the brochure) | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 |
Source: the official GATE EE papers and answer keys for 2018, 2020 and 2022–2026. 2019 and 2021 are left out: the copies IAE hosts are image scans without the answer key. We placed each question under a subject ourselves; the exam paper does not label subjects. These are counts of past papers, not a forecast. The 85-mark subject component is from the GATE 2027 Information Brochure (printed page 4). Data as of 27 Sep 2026.
The rows show how many marks of each paper's 85-mark subject component we placed under each published subject, year by year. Engineering Mathematics runs from 12 marks (2020) to 17 (2026) across the seven papers, averaging 14.0. That range straddles the brochure's fixed 13: below it in 2020, level with it in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and above it in 2018, 2022 and 2026. We placed each question ourselves, so these are not the paper's own section boundaries. The last data row, 'Not in a library subject yet', runs from 14 marks (2023) to 21 (2024 and 2026), averaging 18.3 marks a paper. These are marks on questions that are not under any published subject. That includes the sections not in the study library yet and can also include a question from a covered section that we did not place.
GATE EE subjects in order of average marks per paper
| Order | Subject | Average marks per paper | Lowest–highest in one paper | Papers it appeared in (of 7) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engineering Mathematics | 14.0 | 12–17 | 7 |
| 2 | Networks (Electric Circuits) | 10.1 | 7–13 | 7 |
| 3 | Electrical Machines | 9.4 | 8–11 | 7 |
| 4 | Control Systems | 8.7 | 6–11 | 7 |
| 5 | Signals and Systems | 8.6 | 5–11 | 7 |
| 6 | Analog Electronics | 5.1 | 3–7 | 7 |
| 7 | Electromagnetics | 5.0 | 4–6 | 7 |
| 8 | Digital Electronics | 3.6 | 2–6 | 7 |
| 9 | Electrical and Electronic Measurements | 2.1 | 0–5 | 6 |
Source: Computed from the table above. General Aptitude is not in this list: it is a fixed 15 marks outside the 85-mark subject component, with its own common syllabus. Data as of 27 Sep 2026. Subjects with the same average (to one decimal place) share a place, marked =.
By average marks per paper across the seven papers, the order runs Engineering Mathematics at 14.0, then Networks (Electric Circuits) at 10.1, Electrical Machines at 9.4, Control Systems at 8.7, Signals and Systems at 8.6, Analog Electronics at 5.1, Electromagnetics at 5.0, Digital Electronics at 3.6, and Electrical and Electronic Measurements at 2.1. None of these nine averages match another at one decimal place, so the order carries no shared places. A plan that follows the marks would take Engineering Mathematics first, 3.9 marks a paper clear of Networks next in line. From there the drop-off is gradual rather than a single clear break: Networks leads Electrical Machines by 0.7, and Electrical Machines leads Control Systems by the same 0.7. Control Systems and Signals and Systems follow within a tenth of a mark of each other; Analog Electronics and Electromagnetics sit close together lower down; Digital Electronics and Measurements close the list, with Measurements the only one of the nine absent from one of the seven papers. It carried 0 marks in 2023.
The GATE EE syllabus, section by section, against the study library
| Syllabus section | Title | Study library subject |
|---|---|---|
| Section 1 | Engineering Mathematics | Engineering Mathematics |
| Section 2 | Electric circuits | Networks (Electric Circuits) |
| Section 3 | Electromagnetic Fields | Electromagnetics |
| Section 4 | Signals and Systems | Signals and Systems |
| Section 5 | Electrical Machines | Electrical Machines |
| Section 6 | Power Systems | Not in the library yet |
| Section 7 | Control Systems | Control Systems |
| Section 8 | Electrical and Electronic Measurements | Electrical and Electronic Measurements |
| Section 9 | Analog and Digital Electronics | Analog Electronics, Digital Electronics |
| Section 10 | Power Electronics | Not in the library yet |
Source: official GATE 2027 EE syllabus PDF (IIT Madras), 27 Sep 2026. Subjects are those in IAE's study library.
Two sections of the printed GATE EE syllabus have no matching study subject yet: Power Systems (Section 6) and Power Electronics (Section 10). These are real marks in the paper. The syllabus prints them as full sections alongside Electrical Machines and Control Systems, and the study library has not solved them yet. The 'Not in a library subject yet' row above includes marks from these two sections, and can also include a question from a covered section that we did not place. The row does not separate the two.
WHAT THIS CANNOT TELL YOU
Seven papers only: 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. GATE EE 2019 and 2021 are left out because the copies IAE hosts are image scans without the answer key. We placed each question under a subject ourselves; the exam paper does not label subjects. The 'Not in a library subject yet' marks are marks on questions that are not under any published subject. This includes the two uncovered sections (Power Systems and Power Electronics) and can also include a question from a covered section that we did not place. The row does not separate the two. These are counts of past papers, not a forecast of the GATE 2027 paper.
Data as of 27 Sep 2026.
From the Resource Centre
GATE EE previous-year papers 2018–2026, except 2019
GATE Electrical Engineering question papers from 2018 to 2026, except 2019, as the organising institutes published them. Learn the pattern, target the high-weightage subjects, and sharpen your speed. The 2018, 2020 and 2022 papers include the organising institute’s own answer key.
ANY GATE YEARGATE 2027 Official Syllabus — All Papers
The official GATE 2027 syllabus, all 30 papers. Know the exact topics, sections and weightage before you plan a single day of prep. The new Robotics and Automation (RA) paper is not in this set yet.
GATE 2027Common questions
Which seven papers does this cover, and why not all nine?+
Is Engineering Mathematics really worth more than the brochure's 13 marks?+
What does 'Not in a library subject yet' mean?+
Does this order predict the GATE 2027 paper?+
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