GATE Frequently Asked Questions 2023

If you are a candidate appearing for any of the competitive exams, it is only natural to have loads of questions regarding the exams, its conduction, the application process, admit card details, cut-off marks and so on. Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) Exams are no exception. However, candidates appearing for the GATE 2023 need not worry, as we have tried to answer most of the GATE frequently asked questions, here in this article below.

We have tried to give the right answers to all queries and doubts pertaining to the GATE Exams. A few of them include,

Candidates can clear all their doubts before attempting the exams, from here. However, prior to applying for the GATE Exams 2023, candidates are advised to check the eligibility criteria for appearing for the GATE Exams and then to register only if they are eligible. For other queries regarding the GATE FAQs 2023, candidates can browse the respective sections on this page.
FAQ on Eligibility CriteriaFAQ on Application ProcessGeneral FAQ

FAQs on GATE Exams Eligibility Criteria

1. I wish to pursue M.Tech after successful completion of my B. Tech? Am I eligible to apply for GATE Exams?Answer: If you have completed your B. Tech, you can successfully apply for the GATE Exams 2023. But, you are required to upload your degree certificate while submitting the application.
2. If I am pursuing B.SC, will I be eligible to apply for GATE?Answer: Following the changes made by the authorities, from the 2021 Exams onwards, three year graduation is also valid to apply for the GATE Exams.
3. Will I be eligible to apply for the GATE Exams 2023, if I have backlogs in the qualifying exam papers? Answer: You can apply with the help of the mark sheets of the final semester (any one) of your B. Tech graduation but will be required to complete the backlog by the time that the admissions for M. Tech starts.
4. Which are the documents that I may need to apply for the GATE Exams 20233? Answer: According to the eligibility criteria of GATE 2023, any one of the following documents are required to apply for GATE Exams 2023. Make sure you have either the degree certificate, provisional certificate, course completion certificate, professional certificate or membership certificate issued by the society or institute, where you have completed your last education.
5. Do I require any specific cut off marks in your last educational field like the B.Sc. or B. Tech to apply for GATE Exams 2023? Answer: There is no requirement for any specific pass percentage criterion to appear for the GATE 2023 exam. It depends on the institute and the program that you are applying for. Some IITs require 60% and above for admissions to M. Tech programmes, while others do not. IISC Bangalore permits admission into M. Tech for candidates with a second class in their graduation, as long as they have the requisite GATE Scores. Also, some PSUs could ask for 60% or above for recruitment.
6. Are there any restrictions or age limit to applying for the GATE Exams 2023?Answer: No, there are no restrictions on the number of times you can apply for GATE Exams 2023, nor any age limit to apply for it.
7. How can I apply If I do not have my degree or provisional certificate? Answer: In this scenario, you can upload your final mark sheets or a declaration from your college principal or any other competent authority along with the signature and seal.
8. Who all are eligible to apply for the GATE Exams 2023?Answer: Any UG (Undergraduate) student, who is currently pursuing 3rd year or higher years of any government approved program in Engineering/Technology/Architecture/Arts/Commerce/Science is eligible to appear for GATE 2023. You are also eligible if you are currently in 3rd year B.E., but via parallel entry in the 2nd year after finishing Diploma.

FAQs on GATE Exams 2023 Application Process

1. 1. How do I apply online for the GATE Exams 2023?Answer: Application for GATE 2023 must be submitted online (via the GOAPS website) by paying the required application fees. For GATE 2023, all information about the application process is given in the GATE Brochure on the GOAPS website. The photograph, signature, category certificate (SC / ST / PwD) and / or Dyslexic certificate, wherever applicable, have to be uploaded while submitting the online application. Candidates have to enter the valid photo identity (ID) number specified in any one of the following IDs (Aadhaar-UID, Passport, PAN Card, Voter ID, College ID, Employee ID and Driving Licence). The candidates who do not possess any of these identity cards are required to procure any one of them before making the application. Candidates have to produce the same original valid photo ID proof during the examination for verification purposes. In the absence of the same original valid photo ID proof, the candidate will not be allowed to appear for the GATE 2023 examination.
   2. Am I allowed to use one email address to fill multiple application forms? Answer: No, you can use one email address to submit only one application form.
   3. What do I do in case of any power failure or interruption of the internet connection while applying online? Answer: You can log in to the GOAPS website again and continue the application process.
   4. How do I upload my signature? What do I need to check for? Answer: Follow all the instructions and criteria as specified to upload the signature. Also, check the format and the size of the file required. Please do not resize the file.
   5. Can I apply for any of the GATE 2023 Exam papers? Answer: The candidates are expected to appear in any two papers from the given combinations, which is appropriate to the discipline of their qualifying degree. While, the candidates are free to choose any other papers of GATE 2023, it is better to choose a paper in lieu with the eligibility criteria of the institutions/organisations in which they wish to seek admission/job.
   6. Will I need to fill in two application forms to appear for two GATE papers? Answer: Not required. The candidate can select the two papers option based on the given set of combinations in a single application form only.
   7. How do I make the fee payment for the GATE 2023 examination?Answer: A link to the payment gateway is given on the application portal. The candidates can select any of the payment options from the mentioned list. Candidates are liable to bear the additional charges such as service charges, processing fees or bank charges.
   8. How much fee should I pay to appear in two papers of the GATE 2023 examination?Answer: The fee per subject paper for different candidates is given in the tables below.

For two papers the amount of fee is twice that for a single paper.

Meanwhile, for the foreign national candidates who wish to appear for GATE 2023 examination, the application fee per paper is as follows:

Finally,for the Indian National candidates who wish to appear for GATE 2023 examination at international centres, the application fee per paper (irrespective of their category and gender) is as follows:

1. What do I do, if the power or Internet connection fails during an online payment?Answer: When you can get back the connection, log in to the GOAPS website and check the status of the payment. If the payment was received by GATE, then continue the process of printing the application form. However, if the payment was not received by GATE, check the status of the transaction from your bank account. If the fee amount has been debited (deducted) from your bank account, but GOAPS has not acknowledged any fee payment then the money will be credited back to your account. However, this may take a week or more, post the closure of the application process. In this scenario,you can initiate a fresh payment on GOAPS without waiting for the money to be credited back to your account. This will ensure that your application submission is on time (within the deadline).
2. Do I need to send a printout of the Application form? Can we check the status of our application? Answer: The print-out of the application form is not required to be sent to the Organising Institute (IIT Bombay) or any of the other GATE zonal offices. You can check the status of the application on the official GOAPS site.
3. After completion of the online application process and post generating a PDF file, Can I change my application data?Answer: Upon completion of all the steps up to PDF application form generation of the online application process, you can only download the application form and cannot alter or make any changes to the data. Hence, you need to reconfirm the data while entering it.
4. Which Identity Documents (IDs) will be accepted in the application form?Answer: Indian candidates are allowed to upload any of the following valid photo identification documents/cards such as Aadhaar-UID, Passport, PAN Card, Voter ID, College ID, Employee ID and Driving License as ID for the application form. However, for International candidates, only the valid Passport/Government issued ID/College ID/Employee ID will be accepted as the recognised identification.
5. After submission of application, am I permitted to change my GATE Examination Paper?Answer: After the last date for application submission, a request for the change of GATE Examination Paper will be entertained against additional payment till a date specified on the official site. Any request after this date will not be considered.

FAQs on GATE Exams Admit Cards 2023

1. How can I access my GATE Exams Admit Cards 2023? Answer: Admit Card for the current year can only be downloaded from the GOAPS official website once it goes live. Admit Cards will not be sent by post or as an e-mail attachment.
2. Is the Admit Card alone sufficient to gain entry to the examination centre?Answer: Candidates are required to bring a good quality print-out, preferably colour printout of the downloaded Admit Card, to the Examination centre for verification along with the original and valid photo Identity Document (No photocopy/scanned copy/Not an expired document), which was specified during the filling up of the online application. For Indian candidates, only following identification cards such as Aadhaar-UID, Passport, PAN card, Voter ID, College ID, Employee ID and Driving License will be accepted. For International candidates, only a valid Passport/Government issued ID/College ID/Employee ID will be accepted as the recognised identification. The Admit Card is valid if and only if the candidate’s photograph and signature images are clear and legible. The photograph on the Admit Card and that in the valid photo identity document should match with the appearance of the candidate on the day of examination.
3. Is the soft copy of the Admit Card (in mobile phone/tablet/laptop) valid to gain entry to the examination centre?Answer: The soft copy of the Admit Card in a mobile, tablet or laptop is not valid to gain entry to the examination centre. Hard copy, preferably printed in colour of the Admit Card must be brought to the examination centre along with the original (not photocopied/scanned copy) and valid (not expired) photo Identity Document (ID), which was specified during the filling up of the online application.

General FAQs About GATE Exams 2023

1. If a paper is being held in more than one session, can I appear in any of the sessions of that particular paper?Answer: No. Each candidate will be assigned to only one of the multiple sessions of a particular paper which is being held in multiple sessions. Under any circumstances, a candidate will not be allowed to appear in a session in which his/her candidature is not assigned.
2. Does passing the GATE Exams 2023 guarantee the admission / scholarship to the desired M.Tech programme or ensure PSU job?Answer: GATE is not an admission ensuring examination. Qualifying in GATE examination does not guarantee admission / scholarship. Admission to any institute is fully dependent on the admitting institute’s criteria for educational qualification. Similarly, GATE qualification does not assure a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) job, as it depends on the recruitment procedure of the concerned PSU.
3. Can I enter the examination hall at any time during the examination?Answer: Candidates should enter before the starting time of the examination. Delayed entry is permitted such that candidates login not later than 30 minutes from the starting time of the examination. No relaxation is allowed under any circumstances.
4. What items are not permitted to be brought with me inside the examination venue?Answer: Only Admit Card, original valid photo Identification Card and a pen are permitted to be taken inside the examination hall. Mobile phones, physical calculators, wallets, watches of any type, any electronic/communicating devices, books, papers, loose sheets, pen/pencil box/pouch and any other material are NOT permitted inside the examination hall. If a candidate brings any of these items, they have to be kept outside the examination hall at the candidate’s own risk. If the candidate is found to be in possession of these items (even if not using them), he/she will be disqualified and the result will not be declared for the candidate.

General FAQs About GATE Exams for PwD and Dyslexic Candidates

1. What are the details of the guidelines that will be followed about PwD candidates writing GATE 2023 examination?Answer: GATE 2023 will follow the guidelines as mentioned in the government regulations (Appendix A). You can refer to GATE Exams PWD Guidelines.
2. Will the facility of scribe be given to all PwD candidates?Answer: The facility of scribe is meant for only those PwD candidates who are persons with benchmark disability (i.e. not less than 40% disability) and who have physical limitation to write including that of speed. However, provision of scribe shall be allowed on production of a certificate to the effect that the person concerned has physical limitation to write, as given in Appendix-I of Guidelines for Conducting Exam for PwD (which is given in Appendix A of this information brochure). In case of person with benchmark disability (i.e. not less than 40% disability) in the category of blindness, locomotor disability (both arms affected-BA) and cerebral palsy, the facility of scribe shall be allowed on advance request only.
3. Is a “magnified question paper” for visually challenged PwD candidates made available? Answer: Yes. On reaching the examination hall, please contact the GATE Institute Representative via the invigilator in your examination hall and they will do the needful.
4. Is the facility of scribe and/or compensatory (extra) time given to dyslexic candidates?Answer: Yes, dyslexic candidates can avail the services of the scribe provided. Such candidates submit a proper dyslexic certificate issued by the competent authorities (see Appendix A). The scribe will be provided by the GATE authorities or candidates may bring their own scribe. The compensatory (extra) time would be applicable to such dyslexic candidates availing the scribe facility.
5. Will a PwD/dyslexic candidate get compensatory (extra) time? Answer: A person with benchmark disability (i.e. not less than 40% disability), who is allowed to avail the facility of scribe will automatically get an additional one hour compensatory (extra) time for an examination of three hours duration. PwD/dyslexic candidates, with certain benchmark disabilities (that limits the speed of writing) who do not want to avail the scribe assistance, but at the same time request for compensatory time during the time of application, may be considered for an extra time of one hour only if fulfilling the criteria of scribe. On-the-spot request for any compensatory time at the examination hall will not be entertained.
6. Is a person with benchmark disabilities(that limits the speed of writing) given their own scribe? Anwer: Yes, subject to fulfilling criteria of scribe, persons with benchmark disability (i.e. not less than 40% disability) will be allowed to opt for their own scribe, provided the qualification of the scribe is one step below the qualification of the candidate taking the examination. The candidate with benchmark disabilities (i.e. not less than 40% disability) opting for their own scribe should submit details of their own scribe as per proforma at APPENDIX-II of Guidelines for Conducting Exam for PwD, (which is available in Appendix A of this information brochure). Scribe details must include the latest qualification and identity documents. On-the-spot request for arranging scribe at the examination hall will not be entertained.
7. How will I be able to check for my GATE result 2023?Answer: You can check your GATE result by entering your registration ID or enrolment number of GATE and the provided date of birth on the specified section of the portal.
8. How to access the score card of GATE Exams 2023? Answer: You will be able to download the score card of GATE through GOAPS during a certain period. You will have to use your enrollment ID or email address, GOAPS password and captcha provided to view the score card. You are advised to download it and take a print out of the results, if you have qualified in the GATE Exams.