gate exam preparation

what is gate ?

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an All-India examination administered and conducted in eight zones across the country by the GATE Committee comprising of Faculty members from IISc, Bangalore and other seven IIT’s on behalf of the National Coordinating Board, Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development. The GATE score/rank is used for admissions to Post Graduate Programmes (ME, M.Tech, MS, Direct Ph.D.) in institutes like IITs and IISc etc with financial assistance offered by MHRD. PSUs too use the GATE scores for recruiting candidates for various prestigious jobs with attractive remuneration.

In GATE examination, candidates can apply for only one of the 23 papers listed in the table given below. Candidates are expected to appear in a paper appropriate to the discipline of their qualifying degree. However, candidates are free to choose any paper according to their admission plan, keeping in mind the eligibility criteria of the institutions in which they wish to seek admission. For more details regarding the admission criteria in any particular institute, candidates are advised to refer to the websites of that particular institute.

PAPER	CODE	PAPER	CODE
Aerospace Engineering	AE	Geology and Geophysics	GG
Agricultural Engineering	AG	Instrumentation Engineering	IN
Architecture and Planning	AR	Life Sciences	XL
Biotechnology	BT	Mathematics	MA
Civil Engineering	CE	Mechanical Engineering	ME
Chemical Engineering	CH	Mining Engineering	MN
Computer Science & Information Technology	CS	Metallurgical Engineering	MT
Chemistry	CY	Physics	PH
Electronics and Communication Engineering	EC	Production and Industrial Engineering	PI
Electrical Engineering	EE	Textile Engineering & Fibre Science	TF
Engineering Sciences	XE	Ecology and Evolution	EY
Petrolium Engineering	PE

Why GATE 2017?

GATE is considered to be the standard examination conducted not only for post graduation admissions but also to open the gates for lucrative opportunities in several public sector enterprises and research organizations. Based on the score achieved in GATE, admissions are offered in IITs, IISc, and NITs, and abundant opportunities for campus placements with salary packages ranging from Rs. 6 lakh to 30 lakh. Candidates on qualifying GATE, get a financial aid of 8000/- pm in the form of UGC scholarship.

Students interested in management can swing in the management line by pursuing a PG Diploma of 2 years in Industrial Engineering. Some institutes in India also offer admissions in the post Graduate programmes on the basis of GATE score.

GATE exam is important because of below mentioned factors:

• M.Tech - Campus placements in National and International private or public companies
• Several reputed PSUs and research organizations recruits on basis of GATE Score. i.e. IOCL, NTPC, BHEL, PGCIL, BARC etc.
• Teaching: Professor, Asst. Professor at IITs, NITs, reputed educational institutes etc.
• Junior Research Fellow: ISRO, DRDO, BARC, CSIR, IITs etc.
• Senior Research Fellow: ISRO, DRDO, BARC, CSIR, IITs etc.
• Junior Research Associates/ Senior Project Associates
• Scientists “C” grade jobs
• Career in Research & Development
• Technical value addition
• Expertise in subject/domain specialization

GATE 2017 Eligibility

The eligibility to appear for GATE exam is as follows:

• Bachelor's degree holders in Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture (4 years after 10+2) and those who are pursuing the final year of such program.
• Bachelor's degree holders in Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture (Post-B.Sc./Post-Diploma) and those who are in the final year of such programs.
• Master's degree holders in any branch of Science/ Mathematics/ Statistics/ Computer Applications or equivalent and those who are in the final year of such programs.
• Candidates in the second or higher year of the Four-year Integrated Master's degree programme (Post-B.Sc.) in Engineering/Technology.
• Candidates in the fourth or higher year of Five-year Integrated Master's degree programme or Dual Degree programme in Engineering/Technology.
• Candidates with qualifications obtained through examinations conducted by professional societies recognized by UPSC/AICTE (e.g. AMIE by Institute of Engineers (India); AMICE by Institute of Civil Engineers (India)) as equivalent to B.E. /B. Tech. Those who have completed section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.

GATE 2017 Exam Pattern

Section	Question No.		No. of Questions		Marks Per Question	Total Marks
General Aptitude	1 to 5		5		1	5
Technical + Engineering Mathematics	1 to 25		25		1	25
	26 to 55		30		2	60
Total Questions : 65		Total Marks : 100		Total Duration : 3 hours
Technical Section :  70 marks		General Aptitude: 15 marks		Engineering Mathematics : 15 marks
25 marks to 40 marks will allotted to Numeric Answer Type Questions

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

These questions are objective in nature and each question will have choice of four answers, out of which the candidate has to mark the correct answer. Each question carries 1 or 2 marks questions in all the sections.

Numerical Answer Questions

There will be no choices available for these types of questions. A Numeric Answer question carries 1 or 2 marks questions in all sections. The answer for these questions is a real number to be entered by using mouse and virtual keypad displayed on the monitor. No negative marking for these questions.

Negative Marking
Questions Type	Marks	Negative Marking
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)	1 mark	0.33
	2 marks	0.66
Numerical Answer Questions	1 mark	Nil
	2 marks	Nil

GATE 2017 Exam Schedule

Date & Day	Session No.			Time	Test Paper Code
4th February 2017 (Saturday)	1			09:00 – 12.00 Hrs. (Forenoon)	ME
	2			2:00 – 5:00 Hrs. (Afternoon)	ME
5th February 2017 (Sunday)	3			09:00 – 12.00 Hrs. (Forenoon)	EC, PI
	4			2:00 – 5:00 Hrs. (Afternoon)	EC
11th February 2017 (Saturday)	5			09:00 – 12.00 Hrs. (Forenoon)	CS, EE
	6			2:00 – 5:00 Hrs. (Afternoon)	CS, EE
12th February 2017 (Sunday)	7			09:00 – 12.00 Hrs. (Forenoon)	CE
	8			2:00 – 5:00 Hrs.  (Afternoon)	CE, IN

Last Date for Request for Change in the Choice of Examination City via GOAPS login	November 16, 2016 (Wednesday)
Availability of Admit Card on the Online Application Interface for printing	January 5, 2017 (Thursday)
Announcement of Results on the Online Application Website	March 27, 2017 (Monday)

Subject Specialization Priority

Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering

• VLSI Design Tool Technology
• Integrated Electronics & Circuits
• Micro Electronics
• Microwave Engineering
• Communication Engg
• Telecommunication Technology & Management
• Optoelectronics & Optical Communication
• Nanotechnology
• Digital Signal Processing
• Control & Automation

Electrical Engineering

• Power Electronics
• Machines & Drives
• Power Systems
• Control & Automation
• Digital Signal Processing
• Instrumentation Technology

Mechanical Engineering

• Design of Mechanical Equipment or Machine Design
• Thermal Engineering
• Manufacturing Science & Engineering
• Production Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Material Science & management

Civil Engineering

• Structural Engineering
• Geotechnical Engineering
• Construction Engineering &Management
• Transportation Engineering
• Environmental Engineering
• Earthquake Engineering
• Water Resources Engineering
• Rock Engineering & Underground Structure

Computer Science and Engineering & Information Technology

• Computer Science
• Information Technology
• Information Security
• Software Engineering
• Distributed Computing
• Image Processing
• Computer Systems and Hardware
• Database and Information Systems
• Programming languages
• Computer Networks and Distributed Systems
• Artificial Intelligence
• Advanced Computing

How to prepare for GATE 2017?

• GATE examination consists only of multiple and numerical answer type questions, hence only correct answer fetches marks.
• Practice previous year question papers and analyze the weak topics and concentrate more on those topics. Candidates must try to solve the papers in a given time limit to obtain an idea as to how many questions are solved within the allotted time.
• Impart equal emphasis on both theory and numerical problems. 
• Browse through the GATE syllabus for topics allotted more weightage and prepare them.
• Group Study is an effective way to brush up knowledge about technical topics with fellow partners and also helps to explore new techniques and methods to better understand the topics.
• Do not make wild guess as there is negative marking associated with the questions. 
• Prepare the list of important definitions, equations, derivations, theorems, laws in every subject.
• Pay more attention while attempting linked and common data questions.