The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering or GATE as it is commonly known is a national level entrance exam which is governed and carried out in cooperation by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore along with the 7 IIT’s in India. In India there are mainly 8 zones for GATE, where each of the zones is administered and looked over by the respective institution. The Zones include Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT Bombay, IIT Guwahati etc. The other zones that overlook GATE include IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras and IIT Roorkee, IIT Delhi etc.

GATE exam is the initial step from where the candidates can enter in to the world of research

On a yearly basis, any one of these institution will be chosen in order to carry out the GATE exam. There are many Government institutions also which consider the GATE qualification a basic requirement as for candidates to even apply for different fellowship programs. Qualifying in the GATE exam is the initial step from where the candidates can enter in to the world of research in science and also in various engineering subjects in high-notch institutions like the IIS and the IIT’s.

Possible options after GATE

GATE qualification is an unavoidable factor when it comes to higher studies in engineering and science subjects. By clearing GATE exam a candidate will get various prestigious offers. Some of them include a further entrance to postgraduate programs with scholarships. Candidates can also join into an assistantships post in engineering colleges and many more. Most of the universities and institution is open to those who succeed in GATE examination.

As to appear in GATE, a candidate needs to have a B.Tech, or B.Arch or even a Master’s degree in any division of science, arithmetic, statistics and even computer applications. The GATE qualified candidates with a B.Tech or M.Sc is eligible to submit an application to any of the Master’s degree programs in engineering and technology, or architecture or even for Doctoral Programs like M.Phil or Ph.D in significant branches of science.

Meritorious candidates will get admission to any of the above mentioned courses with a scholarship or even assistantships. To benefit the scholarship or assistantship, the applicants have got to secure a seat into a postgraduate program, followed by the existing practice of a particular institution. Though there are certain institutions which offer a candidate with M.Tech admittance to a doctoral program with scholarship or assistantship devoid of appearing in the GATE exam.

Eligibility for GATE

In the previous year’s GATE entrance exam was considered as a stipulation for eligibility or scholarships in M.Pharm programs. But recently this has been separated and another entrance exam called GPAT or the Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test is carried out by the AICTE for pharmacy graduates. Now the B.Pharm students are not considered for the GATE exam.

B.Tech and M.Sc students who are in their pre-final year are also eligible to appear in the GATE exam. The candidates who have a professional membership from AMIE or AMIETE etc, which are acknowledged by UPSC or the AICTE as an equivalent eligibility in lieu of B.Tech degree, are also qualified to apply for the GATE.

Courses available under the GATE

An applicant is allowed to submit an application to any one of the 21 papers given below:-

• Aerospace engineering
• Agricultural engineering
• Architecture and planning
• Biotechnology Chemical engineering
• Chemistry
• Civil engineering
• Computer Science and Information Technology
• Electrical engineering
• Electronics and Communication Engineering
• Engineering sciences
• Geology and Geophysics Instrumentation Engineering
• Life Sciences
• Mathematics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Metallurgical Engineering
• Mining Engineering
• Physics
• Production and Industrial Engineering
• Textile Engineering and Fiber Science

Selection of Paper in GATE

In the GATE exam the candidate are given entire freedom to select a paper. But he choice should be in a similar topic in relation to the qualifying degree. While selecting a subject the candidate must keep in mind the eligibility criterion of the institution where in which he/she wishes to get admission later on. The candidate must be very care full while selecting the topic as once it is selected, permission won’t be provided to alter.

Subdivisions of subjects in Engineering

The selection of subjects provided for the students from engineering background includes Engineering mathematics which is a compulsory subjects, Fluid mechanics, and Materials science, Solid mechanics etc. Other subjects in the engineering section include Thermodynamics, Polymer science and engineering along with Food technology.

Subdivisions of subjects in life sciences

The selection of subjects provided for the students from Life Sciences includes Chemistry as a compulsory subject along with Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology and also Food technology.

Pattern of GATE examination

The GATE exam will encompass of a sole paper and is carried out for three hours. In the exam there will be 65 objective questions with 4 answer choices. The maximum marks a candidate can score in this will be 100 marks. There will be another 30 questions which will carry 1 mark each and the remaining 35 questions will be of 2 marks each, adding up a total of 100 marks. In the GATE exam for each wrong answer there will be a deduction of 1/4th of marks of that question.

There will be a slight change in the Aerospace and Textile papers. These papers will have 60 questions of multiple options and also another 5 questions will be of arithmetic type. There will be no minus marking for the arithmetic section. The GATE examination for the Aerospace, Geology, Mining, and Textile is to be carried out through online examination. Each year the GATE committee will come to a decision with regard to the qualifying scores.

Norms for Master’s and Doctoral with MHRD scholarship or assistantship

There are few pre-set norms for the selection of candidates in various PG programs like Master’s and Doctoral by means of MHRD scholarship or assistantship. The score of the candidates in the GATE entrance exam is one of the main important criterions. If the candidate is selected in the course of interview then at least 70 % weight age is allotted to the performance of the applicant in GATE. The remaining 30 % is allotted to the candidate’s earlier academic records and the performance in the interview.

The candidate who has opted for the engineering sciences or life sciences paper possibly will get further scrutinized through personnel interview or even a written test as to get an admission to certain institution. In similar occurrence the weight for performance in GATE must not be reduced any further than 70 per cent. A candidate who has been declared as a GATE qualified candidate at the time of admission is obligated for a MHRD fellowship for only 24 months. After this time period the candidate will lose the declaration due to poor performance.

JRF

For the GATE qualified candidate the CSIR awards research fellowship as to pursue Ph.D. This is allotted to the candidates with B.E, B.Tech or B.Arch. This facility is very commonly known to be as the “GATE qualified Junior Research Fellowship” (JRF-GATE).

The candidates who have been selected within this scheme will get an excellent chance to work alongside with CSIR scientists in a state-of-the-art research and development facility and in the course get hold of a Ph.D. degree. These fellowships are to be had only at CSIR laboratories.

Selection

The selection process of GATE qualified JRF is carried out by the Director of the CSIR laboratories. M.Tech candidates with B.Tech or with M.Sc are not considered entitled for this fellowship. They have been provided with a separate prospect for direct Senior Research Fellowship through interview.