GATE Qualifying Marks, 2024–2026
In GATE 2026 the General-category qualifying mark — the minimum to be declared qualified — was 26.4 out of 100 in EC and DA, 27.7 in EE, 39.8 in IN, 30 in CS, 25.8 in BT and 28.7 in CE. OBC-NCL/EWS and SC/ST/PwD candidates qualify at about nine-tenths and two-thirds of it. Each year's figure is computed from that year's marks, and it is not an admission cut-off.
Updated 4 October 2026 · Valid until 19 March 2027
| Paper | General | OBC-NCL / EWS | SC / ST / PwD | Average mark (all who appeared) | Standard deviation (all who appeared) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC — Electronics and Communication Engineering | 26.4 | 23.7 | 17.5 | 14.68 | 11.81 |
| EE — Electrical Engineering | 27.7 | 24.9 | 18.4 | 16.62 | 11.16 |
| IN — Instrumentation Engineering | 39.8 | 35.8 | 26.5 | 23.93 | 15.87 |
| CS — Computer Science and Information Technology | 30 | 27 | 20 | 18.51 | 11.58 |
| DA — Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | 26.4 | 23.7 | 17.5 | 15.45 | 11 |
| BT — Biotechnology | 25.8 | 23.2 | 17.2 | 15.67 | 10.19 |
| CE — Civil Engineering | 28.7 | 25.8 | 19.1 | 16.32 | 12.41 |
Source: Table 2 of the GATE 2026 Statistical and Performance Report published by IIT Guwahati (https://gate2026.iitg.ac.in/doc/report/GATE%202026%20Statistical%20And%20Performance%20Report%20Web%20Version.pdf), as on 4 October 2026. The General figure is the paper's average mark plus its standard deviation, held between 25 and 40; the brochure says the other categories' marks may be calculated at 9/10 (OBC-NCL/EWS) and 2/3 (SC/ST/PwD) of it (GATE 2027 brochure, printed page 28). The reports print each mark to one decimal, cut rather than rounded, from unrounded averages, so adding the printed average and standard deviation, or applying the ratios to the printed General figure, can come out up to 0.1 higher than the printed mark; the printed figure is the official one. Each paper links to its course page at IAE.
| Paper | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EC — Electronics and Communication Engineering | 25 | 25 | 26.4 |
| EE — Electrical Engineering | 25.7 | 25 | 27.7 |
| IN — Instrumentation Engineering | 32.7 | 25.6 | 39.8 |
| CS — Computer Science and Information Technology | 27.6 | 29.2 | 30 |
| DA — Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | 37.1 | 29 | 26.4 |
| BT — Biotechnology | 38.9 | 28 | 25.8 |
| CE — Civil Engineering | 28.3 | 29.2 | 28.7 |
Source: Table 2 of each year's Statistical and Performance Report (2024: IISc Bengaluru (https://gate2024.iisc.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GATE2024StatisticalAndPerformanceReportWebVersion.pdf); 2025: IIT Roorkee (https://gate2025.iitr.ac.in/doc/download/GATE2025StatisticalAndPerformanceReportWebVersion.pdf); 2026: IIT Guwahati (https://gate2026.iitg.ac.in/doc/report/GATE%202026%20Statistical%20And%20Performance%20Report%20Web%20Version.pdf)), as on 4 October 2026. Marks out of 100, General category only: a 25 is the brochure's floor, not a computed value. The OBC/EWS and SC/ST/PwD figures for every year, at about 9/10 and 2/3 of these, are in the per-year tables below.
| Paper | Year | Registered | Appeared | Qualified | Qualified, as a share of those who appeared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC — Electronics and Communication Engineering | 2026 | 1,15,448 | 95,752 | 17,392 | 18.2% |
| EC — Electronics and Communication Engineering | 2025 | 97,394 | 81,475 | 14,112 | 17.3% |
| EC — Electronics and Communication Engineering | 2024 | 78,157 | 63,092 | 13,260 | 21.0% |
| EE — Electrical Engineering | 2026 | 81,947 | 65,801 | 13,726 | 20.9% |
| EE — Electrical Engineering | 2025 | 83,355 | 67,701 | 11,902 | 17.6% |
| EE — Electrical Engineering | 2024 | 73,728 | 59,599 | 12,596 | 21.1% |
| IN — Instrumentation Engineering | 2026 | 15,608 | 12,424 | 2,823 | 22.7% |
| IN — Instrumentation Engineering | 2025 | 14,680 | 11,935 | 2,570 | 21.5% |
| IN — Instrumentation Engineering | 2024 | 12,451 | 9,900 | 1,978 | 20.0% |
| CS — Computer Science and Information Technology | 2026 | 2,59,922 | 2,11,020 | 40,661 | 19.3% |
| CS — Computer Science and Information Technology | 2025 | 2,07,851 | 1,70,825 | 27,518 | 16.1% |
| CS — Computer Science and Information Technology | 2024 | 1,52,652 | 1,23,967 | 21,949 | 17.7% |
| DA — Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | 2026 | 91,764 | 69,242 | 12,849 | 18.6% |
| DA — Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | 2025 | 75,854 | 57,054 | 11,007 | 19.3% |
| DA — Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | 2024 | 52,493 | 39,210 | 8,377 | 21.4% |
| BT — Biotechnology | 2026 | 26,808 | 21,513 | 4,124 | 19.2% |
| BT — Biotechnology | 2025 | 24,927 | 20,048 | 4,417 | 22.0% |
| BT — Biotechnology | 2024 | 21,210 | 17,078 | 3,894 | 22.8% |
| CE — Civil Engineering | 2026 | 97,486 | 76,385 | 13,949 | 18.3% |
| CE — Civil Engineering | 2025 | 1,01,596 | 79,951 | 15,108 | 18.9% |
| CE — Civil Engineering | 2024 | 1,08,136 | 85,869 | 16,604 | 19.3% |
Source: Table 2 of each year's Statistical and Performance Report (2024: IISc Bengaluru; 2025: IIT Roorkee; 2026: IIT Guwahati), as on 4 October 2026. "Registered" is the reports' own term for candidates issued an admit card. The last column is IAE's arithmetic: everyone who qualified as a share of everyone who appeared in the paper, not anyone's personal chance.
| Year | Registered | Appeared | Qualified | Qualified, as a share of those who appeared |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 10,11,719 | 7,97,434 | 1,56,318 | 19.6% |
| 2025 | 9,36,019 | 7,47,319 | 1,41,802 | 19.0% |
| 2024 | 8,26,239 | 6,53,292 | 1,29,268 | 19.8% |
Source: 2024: the Total row of Table 2 of the GATE 2024 report (IISc Bengaluru). 2025 and 2026: IAE's sum of the paper rows of Table 2 of each report (IIT Roorkee; IIT Guwahati), which print no all-paper total in that table. As on 4 October 2026. Table 2 counts candidates paper by paper, so a candidate who took two papers appears in two rows: these totals count paper entries, not individual candidates. The last column is IAE's arithmetic.
| Paper | Registered | Appeared | Qualified | General | OBC-NCL / EWS | SC / ST / PwD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AE — Aerospace Engineering | 8,444 | 6,591 | 1,188 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| AG — Agricultural Engineering | 2,985 | 2,545 | 325 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| AR — Architecture and Planning | 10,673 | 8,415 | 2,747 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| BM — Biomedical Engineering | 3,756 | 3,041 | 643 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| BT — Biotechnology | 26,808 | 21,513 | 4,124 | 25.8 | 23.2 | 17.2 |
| CE — Civil Engineering | 97,486 | 76,385 | 13,949 | 28.7 | 25.8 | 19.1 |
| CH — Chemical Engineering | 17,416 | 14,077 | 2,555 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| CS — Computer Science and Information Technology | 2,59,922 | 2,11,020 | 40,661 | 30 | 27 | 20 |
| CY — Chemistry | 30,775 | 22,457 | 2,203 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| DA — Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | 91,764 | 69,242 | 12,849 | 26.4 | 23.7 | 17.5 |
| EC — Electronics and Communication Engineering | 1,15,448 | 95,752 | 17,392 | 26.4 | 23.7 | 17.5 |
| EE — Electrical Engineering | 81,947 | 65,801 | 13,726 | 27.7 | 24.9 | 18.4 |
| ES — Environmental Science & Engineering | 7,341 | 5,107 | 1,136 | 30 | 27 | 20 |
| EY — Ecology and Evolution | 3,659 | 2,601 | 1,029 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| GE — Geomatics Engineering | 3,582 | 2,592 | 446 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| GG-1 — Geology and Geophysics: Geology | 5,647 | 4,336 | 1,038 | 39.3 | 35.3 | 26.1 |
| GG-2 — Geology and Geophysics: Geophysics | 668 | 519 | 125 | 37.1 | 33.3 | 24.7 |
| IN — Instrumentation Engineering | 15,608 | 12,424 | 2,823 | 39.8 | 35.8 | 26.5 |
| MA — Mathematics | 16,272 | 11,561 | 2,559 | 34.7 | 31.2 | 23.1 |
| ME — Mechanical Engineering | 76,823 | 59,612 | 10,970 | 25.2 | 22.6 | 16.7 |
| MN — Mining Engineering | 8,415 | 6,732 | 1,597 | 29.5 | 26.5 | 19.6 |
| MT — Metallurgical Engineering | 4,794 | 3,908 | 1,228 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| NM — Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering | 548 | 419 | 96 | 33.7 | 30.3 | 22.4 |
| PE — Petroleum Engineering | 1,428 | 1,137 | 317 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| PH — Physics | 24,225 | 18,055 | 3,588 | 25.5 | 22.9 | 17 |
| PI — Production and Industrial Engineering | 4,849 | 3,673 | 805 | 36 | 32.4 | 24 |
| ST — Statistics | 3,333 | 2,087 | 414 | 30.4 | 27.3 | 20.2 |
| TF — Textile Engineering and Fibre Science | 1,549 | 1,183 | 251 | 31.5 | 28.3 | 21 |
| XE — Engineering Sciences | 12,622 | 9,099 | 1,838 | 35.2 | 31.6 | 23.4 |
| XH-C1 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Economics | 4,166 | 2,952 | 572 | 35.7 | 32.1 | 23.8 |
| XH-C2 — Humanities & Social Sciences: English | 5,350 | 3,711 | 1,691 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XH-C3 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Linguistics | 383 | 285 | 58 | 37.4 | 33.6 | 24.9 |
| XH-C4 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Philosophy | 800 | 570 | 130 | 38.3 | 34.4 | 25.5 |
| XH-C5 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Psychology | 8,858 | 6,178 | 1,410 | 39.3 | 35.3 | 26.1 |
| XH-C6 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Sociology | 2,643 | 1,819 | 562 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XL — Life Sciences | 50,732 | 40,035 | 9,273 | 36.3 | 32.6 | 24.1 |
| All papers (IAE's sum of the rows above) | 10,11,719 | 7,97,434 | 1,56,318 | — | — | — |
Source: Table 2 of the GATE 2026 Statistical and Performance Report published by IIT Guwahati (https://gate2026.iitg.ac.in/doc/report/GATE%202026%20Statistical%20And%20Performance%20Report%20Web%20Version.pdf), as on 4 October 2026. Marks out of 100; the category column is headed as the report heads it ("OBC-NCL/EWS"). Geology and Geophysics is two rows, Geology (GG-1) and Geophysics (GG-2), as the report names them; Humanities and Social Sciences is six sections, XH-C1 to XH-C6, labelled with the section names the GATE 2027 brochure lists (printed page 12). The report prints no all-paper total in this table; the last row is IAE's sum. Table 2 counts candidates paper by paper, so the last row counts paper entries, not individual candidates.
| Paper | Registered | Appeared | Qualified | General | OBC / EWS | SC / ST / PwD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AE — Aerospace Engineering | 7,576 | 6,009 | 1,074 | 28.9 | 26 | 19.2 |
| AG — Agricultural Engineering | 3,095 | 2,624 | 308 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| AR — Architecture and Planning | 10,898 | 8,501 | 2,837 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| BM — Biomedical Engineering | 2,682 | 2,165 | 436 | 29.2 | 26.2 | 19.4 |
| BT — Biotechnology | 24,927 | 20,048 | 4,417 | 28 | 25.2 | 18.6 |
| CE — Civil Engineering | 1,01,596 | 79,951 | 15,108 | 29.2 | 26.2 | 19.4 |
| CH — Chemical Engineering | 18,009 | 14,843 | 3,002 | 27.7 | 24.9 | 18.4 |
| CS — Computer Science and Information Technology | 2,07,851 | 1,70,825 | 27,518 | 29.2 | 26.2 | 19.4 |
| CY — Chemistry | 33,058 | 25,698 | 4,315 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| DA — Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | 75,854 | 57,054 | 11,007 | 29 | 26.1 | 19.3 |
| EC — Electronics and Communication Engineering | 97,394 | 81,475 | 14,112 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| EE — Electrical Engineering | 83,355 | 67,701 | 11,902 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| ES — Environmental Science & Engineering | 9,073 | 6,631 | 1,481 | 26.1 | 23.4 | 17.4 |
| EY — Ecology and Evolution | 3,509 | 2,713 | 596 | 39.5 | 35.5 | 26.3 |
| GE — Geomatics Engineering | 3,616 | 2,726 | 571 | 25.7 | 23.1 | 17.1 |
| GG-1 — Geology and Geophysics: Geology | 6,837 | 5,352 | 1,260 | 38.4 | 34.5 | 25.5 |
| GG-2 — Geology and Geophysics: Geophysics | 917 | 684 | 268 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| IN — Instrumentation Engineering | 14,680 | 11,935 | 2,570 | 25.6 | 23 | 17 |
| MA — Mathematics | 16,953 | 13,171 | 1,357 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| ME — Mechanical Engineering | 79,830 | 62,015 | 10,664 | 35.8 | 32.2 | 23.8 |
| MN — Mining Engineering | 8,881 | 7,438 | 1,769 | 30.6 | 27.5 | 20.4 |
| MT — Metallurgical Engineering | 4,420 | 3,571 | 929 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| NM — Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering | 538 | 395 | 85 | 25.1 | 22.5 | 16.7 |
| PE — Petroleum Engineering | 1,731 | 1,320 | 274 | 31.1 | 27.9 | 20.7 |
| PH — Physics | 24,747 | 19,225 | 3,917 | 26.8 | 24.1 | 17.8 |
| PI — Production and Industrial Engineering | 4,791 | 3,547 | 729 | 35.6 | 32 | 23.7 |
| ST — Statistics | 3,063 | 1,967 | 410 | 30.2 | 27.1 | 20.1 |
| TF — Textile Engineering and Fibre Science | 2,355 | 1,889 | 406 | 34.7 | 31.2 | 23.1 |
| XE — Engineering Sciences | 14,937 | 11,156 | 2,292 | 35.4 | 31.8 | 23.5 |
| XH-C1 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Economics | 4,161 | 2,973 | 1,532 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XH-C2 — Humanities & Social Sciences: English | 5,665 | 4,132 | 1,249 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XH-C3 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Linguistics | 378 | 297 | 126 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XH-C4 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Philosophy | 702 | 531 | 233 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XH-C5 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Psychology | 5,709 | 4,125 | 3,289 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XH-C6 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Sociology | 2,147 | 1,546 | 998 | 40 | 36 | 26.6 |
| XL — Life Sciences | 50,084 | 41,086 | 8,761 | 31.3 | 28.1 | 20.8 |
| All papers (IAE's sum of the rows above) | 9,36,019 | 7,47,319 | 1,41,802 | — | — | — |
Source: Table 2 of the GATE 2025 Statistical and Performance Report published by IIT Roorkee (https://gate2025.iitr.ac.in/doc/download/GATE2025StatisticalAndPerformanceReportWebVersion.pdf), as on 4 October 2026. Marks out of 100; the category column is headed as the report heads it ("OBC/EWS"). Geology and Geophysics is two rows, Geology (GG-1) and Geophysics (GG-2), as the report names them (printed GG1 and GG2 in this report); Humanities and Social Sciences is six sections, XH-C1 to XH-C6, labelled with the section names the GATE 2027 brochure lists (printed page 12). The report prints no all-paper total in this table; the last row is IAE's sum. Table 2 counts candidates paper by paper, so the last row counts paper entries, not individual candidates.
| Paper | Registered | Appeared | Qualified | General | OBC / EWS | SC / ST / PwD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AE — Aerospace Engineering | 6,931 | 5,255 | 1,010 | 33.3 | 29.9 | 22.1 |
| AG — Agricultural Engineering | 2,777 | 2,362 | 417 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| AR — Architecture and Planning | 11,450 | 9,080 | 2,049 | 41.5 | 37.3 | 27.6 |
| BM — Biomedical Engineering | 2,345 | 1,860 | 124 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| BT — Biotechnology | 21,210 | 17,078 | 3,894 | 38.9 | 35 | 25.9 |
| CE — Civil Engineering | 1,08,136 | 85,869 | 16,604 | 28.3 | 25.4 | 18.8 |
| CH — Chemical Engineering | 16,930 | 13,937 | 1,933 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| CS — Computer Science and Information Technology | 1,52,652 | 1,23,967 | 21,949 | 27.6 | 24.8 | 18.4 |
| CY — Chemistry | 35,382 | 26,825 | 5,428 | 25.2 | 22.6 | 16.7 |
| DA — Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | 52,493 | 39,210 | 8,377 | 37.1 | 33.3 | 24.7 |
| EC — Electronics and Communication Engineering | 78,157 | 63,092 | 13,260 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| EE — Electrical Engineering | 73,728 | 59,599 | 12,596 | 25.7 | 23.1 | 17.1 |
| ES — Environmental Science & Engineering | 8,847 | 6,445 | 1,514 | 37.9 | 34.1 | 25.2 |
| EY — Ecology and Evolution | 3,336 | 2,359 | 487 | 35.8 | 32.2 | 23.8 |
| GE — Geomatics Engineering | 3,238 | 2,491 | 569 | 41.1 | 36.9 | 27.4 |
| GG-1 — Geology and Geophysics: Geology | 7,154 | 5,574 | 1,377 | 42 | 37.8 | 28 |
| GG-2 — Geology and Geophysics: Geophysics | 1,037 | 822 | 252 | 49 | 44.1 | 32.6 |
| IN — Instrumentation Engineering | 12,451 | 9,900 | 1,978 | 32.7 | 29.4 | 21.8 |
| MA — Mathematics | 17,617 | 13,425 | 2,397 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| ME — Mechanical Engineering | 83,114 | 65,546 | 11,922 | 28.6 | 25.7 | 19 |
| MN — Mining Engineering | 8,515 | 7,046 | 1,344 | 25 | 22.5 | 16.6 |
| MT — Metallurgical Engineering | 3,858 | 3,111 | 723 | 41 | 36.9 | 27.3 |
| NM — Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering | 517 | 361 | 70 | 25.1 | 22.5 | 16.7 |
| PE — Petroleum Engineering | 2,146 | 1,770 | 386 | 42.6 | 38.3 | 28.4 |
| PH — Physics | 26,475 | 20,258 | 4,431 | 32 | 28.8 | 21.3 |
| PI — Production and Industrial Engineering | 4,915 | 3,725 | 748 | 30.5 | 27.4 | 20.3 |
| ST — Statistics | 2,663 | 1,694 | 339 | 26.6 | 23.9 | 17.7 |
| TF — Textile Engineering and Fibre Science | 1,765 | 1,422 | 278 | 28.1 | 25.2 | 18.7 |
| XE — Engineering Sciences | 14,941 | 11,261 | 2,379 | 36.2 | 32.5 | 24.1 |
| XH-C1 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Economics | 3,748 | 2,721 | 548 | 37 | 33.3 | 24.6 |
| XH-C2 — Humanities & Social Sciences: English | 5,488 | 3,900 | 880 | 48 | 43.2 | 32 |
| XH-C3 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Linguistics | 368 | 277 | 59 | 49.7 | 44.7 | 33.1 |
| XH-C4 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Philosophy | 513 | 340 | 84 | 39.3 | 35.3 | 26.1 |
| XH-C5 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Psychology | 4,872 | 3,415 | 809 | 52.7 | 47.4 | 35.1 |
| XH-C6 — Humanities & Social Sciences: Sociology | 1,566 | 1,020 | 266 | 36 | 32.4 | 24 |
| XL — Life Sciences | 44,904 | 36,275 | 7,787 | 29.3 | 26.3 | 19.5 |
| All papers (the report's Total row) | 8,26,239 | 6,53,292 | 1,29,268 | — | — | — |
Source: Table 2 of the GATE 2024 Statistical and Performance Report published by IISc Bengaluru (https://gate2024.iisc.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GATE2024StatisticalAndPerformanceReportWebVersion.pdf), as on 4 October 2026. Marks out of 100; the category column is headed as the report heads it ("OBC/EWS"). Geology and Geophysics is two rows, Geology (GG-1) and Geophysics (GG-2), as the report names them (printed GG1 and GG2 in this report); Humanities and Social Sciences is six sections, XH-C1 to XH-C6, labelled with the section names the GATE 2027 brochure lists (printed page 12). Table 2 counts candidates paper by paper, so the last row counts paper entries, not individual candidates.
About this resource
Each GATE year, the organising institute publishes a Statistical and Performance Report. Its Table 2 gives, paper by paper, how many candidates registered, appeared and qualified, the average mark and the standard deviation, and the qualifying marks by category. This page reproduces those figures for GATE 2024 (IISc Bengaluru), 2025 (IIT Roorkee) and 2026 (IIT Guwahati): the seven papers IAE Academy teaches first, then every paper, year by year.
The rule is printed in the GATE 2027 Information Brochure (page 28): “Qualifying marks for GENERAL category = max(25,min(40,μ+σ))”, where μ is the mean and σ the standard deviation of the marks of all the candidates who appeared for the paper. The brochure adds that the other categories' marks “may be calculated as per the standard ratio”: 9/10 of the General figure for OBC-NCL/EWS and 2/3 for SC/ST/PwD. The 2025 and 2026 reports print figures that follow this arithmetic to within 0.1. The reports print each mark to one decimal, cut rather than rounded, from unrounded averages, so adding the printed average and standard deviation, or applying the ratios to the printed General figure, can come out up to 0.1 higher than the printed mark; the printed figure is the official one. The 2024 report holds the floor of 25 but prints nine rows (papers or sections) above 40, the highest 52.7 for XH-C5 (Psychology); it does not say why, and for GATE 2027 the brochure's rule, with its cap of 40, is the one that applies.
A qualifying mark is the minimum to be declared qualified in that paper in that year, and qualified candidates can download a GATE scorecard; the GATE 2027 brochure says a GATE 2027 scorecard is valid for three years from the results (page 28). It is often called the GATE cut-off, but it is the cut-off for qualifying, not for admission. Institutes that admit through GATE set their own cut-offs and selection rules. IISc, for one, publishes the GATE score above which it says applicants should have been called for an interview or test, and the scores at which it made M.Tech offers, GATE scores, not marks out of 100: on the brochure's score scale, the General qualifying mark is a score of 350. IAE Academy's IISc guide collects them for the seven papers IAE teaches. Nor does one year's figure predict the next: in Instrumentation (IN), the General figure was 32.7 in 2024, 25.6 in 2025 and 39.8 in 2026.
"Registered" is the reports' own term for candidates issued an admit card. Table 2 counts candidates paper by paper, so a candidate who took two papers appears in two rows, and the all-paper totals count paper entries rather than individual candidates. For a paper held in more than one session, the brochure converts raw marks into normalised marks and uses those to compute the score (page 27); the reports do not say whether their figures for such papers are raw or normalised marks. The figures are the organisers'; the shares of candidates who qualified, and the all-paper totals for 2025 and 2026, are IAE's arithmetic on them.
What's included
- ✓The GATE 2026 qualifying marks for EC, EE, IN, CS, DA, BT and CE, by category, with each paper's average mark and standard deviation
- ✓How the General qualifying mark moved from 2024 to 2026 in those seven papers
- ✓How many registered, appeared and qualified in those papers each year, and the share of those who appeared who qualified
- ✓The same figures for every GATE paper, one table per year
- ✓The brochure's rule for the qualifying mark, quoted, and what a qualifying mark does and does not get you
How to use this resource
Find your paper in the first table: the General figure, then the OBC-NCL/EWS and SC/ST/PwD figures beside it. Use the printed figures; your own arithmetic on them can differ by 0.1.
Read the three years together. They show how far the qualifying mark has moved for your paper; they do not predict 2027's.
Treat the qualifying mark as the floor, not the goal. For admission, read the cut-offs the institutes themselves publish; IISc's, for one, are GATE scores, not marks.
To see how a mark becomes a GATE score, read the GATE Guide's post on how the score is calculated.
Frequently asked questions
What were the GATE 2026 qualifying marks for EC, EE, IN, CS, DA, BT and CE?+
Out of 100, General / OBC-NCL and EWS / SC, ST and PwD: EC 26.4 / 23.7 / 17.5; EE 27.7 / 24.9 / 18.4; IN 39.8 / 35.8 / 26.5; CS 30 / 27 / 20; DA 26.4 / 23.7 / 17.5; BT 25.8 / 23.2 / 17.2; CE 28.7 / 25.8 / 19.1. These are from the GATE 2026 Statistical and Performance Report (IIT Guwahati), Table 2.
Is the GATE qualifying mark the cut-off for M.Tech or PhD admission?+
No. Reaching the qualifying mark makes you GATE-qualified in that paper. Institutes that admit through GATE set their own cut-offs and selection rules on top of it. IISc, for one, publishes the GATE score above which it says applicants should have been called for an interview or test, and the scores at which it made M.Tech offers; those are GATE scores, not marks out of 100 (on the brochure's score scale, the General qualifying mark is a score of 350), and IAE Academy's IISc guide collects them.
How is the GATE qualifying mark calculated?+
The GATE 2027 brochure (page 28) sets the General figure as max(25, min(40, μ + σ)): the mean of all the marks in the paper plus one standard deviation, never below 25 or above 40. It adds that the other categories' marks may be calculated at the standard ratio: 9/10 of it for OBC-NCL/EWS and 2/3 for SC/ST/PwD. In GATE 2026 Instrumentation (IN), the average mark was 23.93 and the standard deviation 15.87; they add up to 39.8, the General mark printed, with 35.8 for OBC-NCL/EWS and 26.5 for SC/ST/PwD. The reports print one decimal, cut rather than rounded, so the sum can sit just above the printed mark: in Computer Science (CS), 18.51 + 11.58 = 30.09, printed as 30.
Will the GATE 2027 qualifying marks be the same as 2026?+
Not necessarily. Each year's figure is computed from the marks of that year's candidates, so a past figure is not a target. For Computer Science (CS) the General figure was 27.6 in 2024, 29.2 in 2025 and 30 in 2026; for Instrumentation (IN) it was 32.7, 25.6 and 39.8.
What share of candidates qualify in GATE?+
It differs by paper. In GATE 2026 Computer Science (CS), 40,661 of the 2,11,020 who appeared qualified (19.3%). Across all papers, Table 2's rows add up to 7,97,434 appearances and 1,56,318 qualifications (19.6%); because the table counts candidates paper by paper, a candidate who took two papers is counted twice.
Want guidance beyond free papers?
Our GATE programmes come with mentor support, 1:1 sessions, and a structured curriculum, not just a PDF.