GATE is conducted for admission to higher study programs where as IES exam is conducted for recruiting candidates to engineering services departments. GATE is conducted by IISc and IIT’s for M.E/M.Tech admissions and IES exam is carried out by UPSC for finding suitable candidates for specific government services like Indian railway service, Indian defense services, Indian Naval Armament Service and Indian Telecommunication services. These two exams also differ in the exam pattern, eligibility requirements and so on.

Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE)

GATE is conducted for aspirants who are interested to join M.E/M. Tech courses. B.E/B.Tech/B.Arch/MCA/Integrated M.Tech/M.E qualification from any of the recognized University is essential to attempt this examination. GATE score is mandatory to have admissions either in IITs/other reputed institutions or to have a trainee level technical job in certain public sector companies like IOCL, NTPC, GAIL and BHEL.

GATE comprises a total of 21 papers out of which candidates need to choose the specific paper as per their specialization stream. A total of 65 questions for 100 marks will be included in this exam, which should be completed within 3 hours. Following are the main type of questions asked in this exam –

• Section I – Multiple Choice questions
• Section II – Common Data questions
• Section III – Linked Answer questions
• Section IV – Numerical Answer questions

The question pattern for this exam will be different as per the specific specialization stream selected by candidates. This will include online test and also an exam mode where in candidates need to mark the correct answer in the OMR sheet provided.

Indian Engineering Services (IES)

IES exam is organized by UPSC to recruit candidates to specific government services like Indian railway service, Indian Ordnance Factories Services, Indian defense services, Indian Naval Armament Service or Indian Telecommunication services. The exam is conducted in the following subject areas.

• Mechanical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Electronics Engineering
• Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering

The higher age limit to apply for this exam is 30 years (35 years for special categories). The syllabus of IES exam include the following sections –

• Section 1 – Objective type questions (General Ability Test)
• Section 2 –Conventional type (as per specialization stream)

The total marks allotted for this exam is 1000 including both the sections.

Key Differences between GATE and IES

B.E/B.Tech/B.Arch/MCA/Integrated M.Tech/M.E qualified candidates can apply for GATE exam. IES can be attended by B.E/B.Tech graduates, in streams like Civil/Mechanical/Electronics/ Electronics and Telecommunication.

Exam pattern of GATE include objective model questions and that of IES include objective and conventional type questions.

GATE exam is undertaken to secure admission for M.E/M.Tech courses. This exam is also undertaken to apply for specific job posts in Public sector companies. IES on the other hand, is organized to select candidates in to various government services (like Indian railway service, Indian Ordnance Factories Services or Indian defense services).