GATE Exam Pattern 2025: Paper-wise Marking Scheme, Pattern for XE, XH, & XL.

The GATE 2025 exam will consist of 65 questions in total, per the exam pattern that IIT Kanpur has released. There will be two categories for these 65 questions: Core Subjects and General Aptitude (GA).

Abhishek AroraUpdated on : Dec 10 2024 12:22 IST

GATE Exam Pattern 2025

GATE 2025 Exam Pattern: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has released the GATE exam pattern for the year 2025. Aspirants appearing for the exam this year must be aware of the GATE pattern and changes made by the conducting authority (if any).

According to the paper pattern for GATE 2025 exam released by IIT Roorkee, the question paper will have a total of 65 questions. These 65 questions will be divided into two sections: General Aptitude (GA) and Core Subjects. The General Aptitude section will have 10 questions, while the Core Subject section will have 55 questions.

The GATE question paper includes three types of questions: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), Multiple Select Questions (MSQs), and Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions.

Also Read:

GATE Preparation 2025

GATE 2025 Syllabus

According to the GATE Marking Scheme, the Multiple Select Questions and Numerical Answer Type questions will carry no negative marking. Each question asked in the GATE paper will be either 1 or 2 marks with total marks being 100.

GATE Exam Pattern 2025

Understanding exam pattern is crucial to cover the GATE syllabus comprehensively. Recall, Comprehension, Application, and Analysis & Synthesis are abilities that would be tested through GATE exam 2025.

Below are the highlights of the GATE exam pattern 2025 released by IIT Kanpur:

Particulars	Details
Mode of Exam	Computer Based Test
Duration of Exam	3 Hours*
Number of Subjects	30
Sections	General Aptitude (GA) + Candidate’s Selected Subject(s) (Core Subject)
Question Types	Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) and/or Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions
Questions for testing these abilities	Recall Comprehension Application Analysis & Synthesis
Number of Questions	10 (GA) + 55 (subject) = 65 Questions
Distribution of Marks in all Papers EXCEPT papers AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH, ST, XH and XL	General Aptitude: 15 Marks + Engineering Mathematics: 13 Marks + Subject Questions: 72 Marks = Total: 100 Marks (XE includes Engineering Mathematics section XE-A of 15 Marks)
Distribution of Marks in papers AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH, ST, XH and XL	General Aptitude: 15 Marks + Subject Questions: 85 Marks = Total: 100 Marks
Marking Scheme	Questions carry 1 or 2 marks
Negative Marking	For a wrong answer chosen in a MCQ, there will be negative marking. For 1-mark MCQ, 1/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. Likewise, For 2-mark MCQ, 2/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. No negative marking for Incorrect answers to MSQ or NAT questions.

GATE Marking Scheme: Paper-Wise

Interested candidates can check the paper-wise marking scheme of GATE exam:

Paper Code	General Aptitude (GA) Marks	Subject Marks	Total Marks	Total Time (Minutes)
AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, CY, EC, EE, ES, EY, IN, MA, ME, MN, MT, NM, PE, PH, PI, ST, TF	15	85	100	180
AR [Part A + Part B1 or B2 (B1: Architecture or B2: Planning)] B1 or B2 can be selected during Exam.	15	60 + 25	100	180
GE [Part A + Part B1 or B2 (B1 - Surveying and Mapping or B2 -Image Processing and Analysis)] B1 or B2 can be selected during the Exam.	15	55 + 30	100	180
GG [Part A + Part B] (Section 1: Geology or Section 2: Geophysics)	15	25 + 60	100	180
XE (Section A + Any TWO Sections) Sections can be selected during Exam.	15	15 + (2 x 35)	100	180
XH (Section B1 + Any ONE Section)	15	25 + 60	100	180
XL (Section P + Any TWO Sections) Sections can be selected during Exam.	15	25 + (2 x 30)	100	180

GATE Paper Codes

GATE Paper	Code	GATE Paper	Code
Aerospace Engineering	AE	Instrumentation Engineering	IN
Agricultural Engineering	AG	Mathematics	MA
Architecture and Planning	AR	Mechanical Engineering	ME
Biomedical Engineering	BM	Mining Engineering	MN
Biotechnology	BT	Metallurgical Engineering	MT
Civil Engineering	CE	Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering	NM
Chemical Engineering	CH	Petroleum Engineering	PE
Computer Science and Information Technology	CS	Physics	PH
Chemistry	CY	Production and Industrial Engineering	PI
Electronics and Communication Engineering	EC	Statistics	ST
Electrical Engineering	EE	Textile Engineering and Fibre Science	TF
Environmental Science & Engineering	ES	Engineering Sciences	XE
Ecology and Evolution	EY	Humanities & Social Sciences	XH
Geomatics Engineering	GE	Life Sciences	XL
Geology and Geophysics	GG

GATE Exam Pattern for XE

There are three components of the GATE XE exam. Sections A (Engineering Mathematics) and General Aptitude are mandatory, and aspirants must select TWO sections from Sections B-H of the GATE XE paper.

XE Paper Sections	Code
Engineering Mathematics (Compulsory) (15 marks)	A
Any TWO optional Sections (2x35 = 70 marks)
Fluid Mechanics	B
Materials Science	C
Solid Mechanics	D
Thermodynamics	E
Polymer Science and Engineering	F
Food Technology	G
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences	H

General Aptitude will have 10 questions carrying 15 marks.
Engineering Mathematics will have 11 questions carrying 15 marks.
Two sections from B-H will have 44 questions (22 questions each) carrying 70 marks in total (35 marks each).

GATE Exam Pattern for XH

Students with a background in the humanities can now apply for GATE due to the GATE XH paper, which was introduced in 2021. The paper is divided into three segments. The portions of General Aptitude and B1 (Reasoning and Comprehension) are mandatory, and candidates must select ONE out of C1-C6. The subjects listed under C1-C6 are:

XH Paper Sections	Code
Reasoning and Comprehension (Compulsory) (25 marks)	B1
Any ONE optional Section (60 marks)
Economics	C1
English	C2
Linguistics	C3
Philosophy	C4
Psychology	C5
Sociology	C6

The General Aptitude section will have 10 questions of total 15 marks
The B1 Section (Reasoning & Comprehension) will have 15 questions of a total 25 marks.
The optional section will have 40 questions of a total 60 marks.

GATE Exam Pattern for XL

There are three sections in the GATE XL paper. Candidates must attempt Section P (Chemistry) and General Aptitude, and they must select TWO sections from Sections Q-U.

XL Paper Sections	Code
Chemistry (Compulsory) (25 marks)	P
Any TWO optional Sections (2x30 = 60 marks)
Biochemistry	Q
Botany	R
Microbiology	S
Zoology	T
Food Technology	U

The General Aptitude section will have 10 questions (Total Marks: 15)
The Chemistry Section will have 15 questions (Total Marks: 25).
The TWO optional sections will have 40 questions (20 questions each) worth 60 marks (30 marks each).

GATE Combination of Two Papers

The combination of two Papers is Acceptable for GATE 2025 (subject to availability of infrastructure and schedule)

Code of the First (Primary) Paper	Codes of Papers Allowed as The Second Paper	Code of the First (Primary) Paper	Codes of Papers Allowed as The Second Paper
AE	CE, ME, XE	GG	GE
AG	CE	IN	BM, EC, EE, ME
AR	CE, GE	MA	CS, PH, ST
BM	BT, IN	ME	AE, IN, NM, PI, XE
BT	BM, XL	MT	XE
CE	AE, AG, AR, ES, GE, NM, XE	NM	CE, ME
CH	ES, PE, XE	PE	CH
CS	EC, GE, MA, PH, ST	PH	CS, EC, EE, MA, XE
CY	XE, XL	PI	ME, XE
EC	CS, EE, IN, PH	ST	CS, MA, XH
EE	EC, IN, PH	XE	AE, CE, CH, CY, ME, MT, PH, PI
ES	CE, CH, GE	XH	ST
EY	XL	XL	BT, CY, EY
GE	AR, CE, CS, ES, GG

Note: Candidates who want to take TWO subject exams are required to have a default choice of paper which is their first option. The second option must be selected from the list of permissible combinations in the table above. Combinations not included on the list ARE NOT acceptable.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Has the GATE pattern changed?

The GATE exam pattern for 2023 has been announced publicly, and it is the same as last year's.

Is there a negative marking in the GATE 2025 exam?

Yes, there is a negative marking in the GATE 2025 exam. However, negative marking applies to only Multiple Choice questions and not to Multiple Select Questions and Numerical Answer Type questions.

What is the negative marking to 1-mark and 2-mark questions?

There is a negative marking of 1/3rd to both 1-mark and 2-mark questions. Hence, upon giving wrong answers to both 1-mark and 2-mark questions, ⅓ and ⅔ marks will be deducted, respectively.