ABOUT GATE

SOME BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT GATE 2014

Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all India examination that primarily tests a comprehensive understanding of various undergraduate subjects in Engineering and Technology. The GATE score of a candidate reflects a relative performance level in a particular paper in the exam across several years. The score is used for admissions to post-graduate engineering programmes (eg. M.E., M.Tech, direct Ph.D.) in Indian higher education institutes

with financial assistance provided by MHRD and other Government agencies. The score may also be used by Public sector units for employment screening purposes.

GATE SCORE IS ESSENTIAL FOR OBTAINING  ASSISTANCE IN FINANCIAL DURING  ME/M.Tech & DIRECT PhD 

                  A valid GATE score is essential for obtaining a financial assistance during Masters programmes and direct Doctoral programmes in Engineering/Technology/Architecture, and Doctoral programs in relevant branches of Science in an Institution supported by the MHRD or other Government assistantship. As per the directives of the MHRD, the following procedure is to be adopted for admission to the postgraduate programmes (Master and Doctoral) with MHRD scholarship/assistantship. The performance of the candidate in GATE will be considered for admission. 

                 If the candidate is to be selected through interview for postgraduate programmes, minimum 70% weightage is to be given to the performance in GATE. The remaining weightage (30% maximum) may be given to the candidate’s academic record or performance in interview. The admitting institution could however prescribe minimum passing percentage of marks in the interview. Some colleges/institutes specify GATE qualification as the mandatory requirement even for admission without MHRD scholarship/assistantship. To avail the financial assistance (scholarship), the candidate must first secure admission to a programme in these Institutes, by a procedure that could be different for each institute. Qualification in GATE is also a minimum requirement to apply for various fellowships awarded by many Government organizations. 

          Candidates are advised to seek details of admission procedures and availability of MHRD scholarship/assistantship from the concerned admitting institution. The criteria for postgraduate admission with scholarship/assistantship are different for different admitting institutions. The management of the postgraduate scholarship/assistantship is also the responsibility of the admitting institution. Similarly, reservation of seats under different categories is as per the policies and norms prevailing at the admitting institution and Government of India rules. 

           

           GATE offices will not entertain any enquiry about admission, reservation of seats or award of scholarship/assistantship Nevertheless, candidates with Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology/Architecture may seek admission to relevant Doctoral programmes with scholarship/assistantship without appearing in the GATE examination.

ADMINISTRATION

GATE is administered and conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science and seven Indian Institutes of Technology on behalf of the National Coordination Board (NCB) – GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India. The GATE Committee, which comprises of representatives from the administering institutes, is the sole authority for regulating the examination and declaring the results. GATE is conducted through the constitution of eight zones. The zones and the corresponding

Administrative institutes are:

Zone-1: Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Zone-2: Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Zone-3: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Zone-4: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

Zone-5: Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Zone-6: Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Zone-7: Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Zone-8: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

       

      The overall coordination and responsibility of conducting GATE 2014 lies with Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur  and is designated as the Organizing Institute for GATE 2014.

Structure of GATE

A candidate can apply for only ONE of the 21 papers listed in Table given below. The syllabus for each of the papers is given separately. Making a choice of the appropriate paper during GATE application is the responsibility of the candidate. Some guidelines in this respect are suggested below. The candidate is expected to appear in a paper appropriate to the discipline of his/her qualifying degree. The candidate is, however, free to choose any paper according to his/her admission plan, keeping in mind the eligibility criteria of the institutions in which he/she wishes to seek admission. 

Table: List of GATE papers and corresponding codes

Sl.No	Paper	Code		Sl.No	Paper	Code
1	Aerospace Engineering	AE		12	Instrumentation Engineering	IN
2	Agricultural Engineering	AG		13	Mathematics	MA
3	Architecture and Planning	AR		14	Mechanical Engineering	ME
4	Biotechnology	BT		15	Mining Engineering	MN
5	Civil Engineering	CE		16	Metallurgical Engineering	MT
6	Chemical Engineering	CH		17	Physics	PH
7	Computer Science and Information Technology	CS		18	Production and Industrial Engineering	PI
8	Chemistry	CY		19	Textile Engineering and Fibre Science	TF
9	Electronics and Communication Engineering	EC		20	Engineering Sciences	XE*
10	Electrical Engineering	EE		21	Life Sciences	XL*
11	Geology and Geophysics	GG
	XE Paper Sections	Code			XL Paper Sections	Code
	Engineering Mathematics (Compulsory)	A			Chemistry (Compulsory)	H
	Fluid Mechanics	B			Biochemistry	I
	Materials Science	C			Botany	J
	Solid Mechanics	D			Microbiology	K
	Thermodynamics	E			Zoology	L
	Polymer Science and Engineering	F			Food Technology	M
	Food Technology	G

* XE (Engineering Sciences) and XL (Life Sciences) papers are of general nature and will comprise of the sections listed in the above table.  See further explanation below.

Duration and Exam Type

The GATE examination consists of a single paper of 3 hours duration which contains 65 questions carrying a maximum of 100 marks. The question paper will consist of only objective questions. The pattern of question papers is discussed separately in detail.
The examination for the papers with codes AE, AG, AR, BT, CE, CH, CY, GG, PH, MA, MN, MT, TF, XE, and XL will be carried out as ONLINE  computer based test where the candidates will be shown the questions in a random sequence on a computer screen. The candidates are required to enter the answer for each question using a mouse  (keyboards will be disabled).  Candidates will be provided with blank paper sheets for rough work. At the end of the three hour window, the computer will automatically close the screen from further actions.
For all other papers (CS, EC, EE, IN, ME, and PI), the candidates will be given the questions printed on a paper, and they have to mark the correct choice on an Optical Response Sheet (ORS) by darkening the appropriate bubble against each question using a black ink ball point pen.

General Aptitude Questions

All the papers will contain few questions that test the General Aptitude (Language and Analytical Skills), apart from the core subject of the paper.

XE Paper

A candidate appearing in the XE paper has to answer the following

1. Section A – Engineering Mathematics (compulsory)
2. GA – General Aptitude (compulsory)
3. Any two of XE sections B to G

The choice of two out of the sections B to G can be made at the time of appearing for the exam after viewing the questions.  Only two optional sections can be answered at a time. A candidate wishing to change from one optional section to another optional section during the exam must first choose to deselect one of the previously chosen optional sections (B to G).

XL Paper

A candidate appearing in the XL paper has to answer the following

1. Section H – Chemistry (compulsory)
2. GA – General Aptitude (compulsory)
3. Any two of XL sections I to M

The choice of two out of the sections I to M can be made at the time of appearing for the exam after viewing the questions. Only two optional sections can be answered at a time. A candidate wishing to change from one optional section to another optional section during the exam must first choose to deselect one of the previously chosen optional sections (I to M).

Pattern of Question Papers and Marking Scheme

GATE would contain questions in different types in various papers:

(i) Multiple choice questions carrying 1 or 2 marks each; Each of  the multiple choice objective questions in all papers and sections will contain four answers,  of which one correct answer is to be marked.

(ii) Common data questions (which are also multiple choice questions), where two successive questions use the same set of input data;

Example
Statement for Common Data Questions, for instance, for Questions 48 and 49 in Main Paper: 

Let X and Y be jointly distributed random variables such that the conditional distribution of Y, given X=x, is uniform on the interval (x-1,x+1). Suppose E(X)=1 and Var(X)=5/3.

First question using common data:
Q.48 The mean of the random variable Y is
(A) 1/2  (B) 1  (C) 3/2  (D) 2

Second question using common data:
Q.49 The variance of the random variable Y is
(A) 1/2  (B) 2/3  (C) 1  (D) 2

(iii) Linked answer questions (which are also multiple choice questions), where the answer to the first question in the pair is required to answer its successor;

Example: Statement for Linked Answer Questions, for instance, for Questions 52 and 53 in Main Paper: 

An E. coli cell of volume 10-12 cm3 contains 60 molecules of lac-repressor. The repressor has a binding affinity (Kd) of 10-8 M and 10-9 M with and without lactose respectively, in the medium.

First question of the pair:

Q.52 The molar concentration of the repressor in the cell is
(A) 0.1 nM (B) 1 nM (C) 10 nM (D) 100 nM

Second question of the pair:

Q.53 Therefore the lac-operon is
(A) repressed and can only be induced with lactose.
(B) repressed and cannot be induced with lactose.
(C) not repressed.
(D) expressed only when glucose and lactose are present.

Marking Scheme

For 1 mark multiple choice questions, 1/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. Likewise, for 2 marks multiple choice questions, 2/3  mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. However, for the linked answer question pair, where each question carries 2 marks, 2/3  mark will be deducted for a wrong answer to the first question only. There is no negative marking for wrong answer to the second question of the linked answer question pair. If the first question in the linked pair is wrongly answered or is unattempted, then the answer to the second question in the pair will not be evaluated. There is no negative marking for numerical answer type questions (numerical answer type questions will appear only in the papers for which the exam is ONLINE only).