GATE 2026 Qualifying Marks: Expected Cutoff & Previous Year Trends

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• Updated on 14 Feb, 2026, 9:10 PM, by Ishita Tanwar

The GATE 2026 exam, conducted by IIT Guwahati, saw candidates appear across all 30 papers for admissions into M.Tech programs, NITs, and PSU recruitment. Candidates can check the expected qualifying marks and previous year trends to gauge their performance.

The GATE 2026 exam, conducted by IIT Guwahati, saw candidates appear across all 30 papers for admissions into M.Tech programs, NITs, and PSU recruitment. Candidates can check the expected qualifying marks and previous year trends to gauge their performance. The expected GATE 2026 cutoff varies by branch and category. For the General category, it is likely to range from 28–37 marks, while for OBC/EWS, it may fall between 26–28.3 marks, and for SC/ST, around 27–31 marks. PSU recruitment generally requires an estimated GATE score of 700–800, depending on the role and branch.

GATE 2026 Expected Cutoff: General Category

GATE Paper

Expected Qualifying Marks (GEN)

Aerospace Engineering (AE)

28–34

Agricultural Engineering (AG)

24–29

Architecture & Planning (AR)

40–43

Biomedical Engineering (BM)

25–29

Biotechnology (BT)

28–31

Civil Engineering (CE)

30–33

Chemical Engineering (CH)

24–27.5

Computer Science & IT (CSE)

30–34

Electronics & Communication (EC)

24–27

Electrical Engineering (EE)

25–28

Mechanical Engineering (ME)

36–40

Engineering Sciences (XE)

34–36.7

Life Sciences (XL)

28–33

GATE 2026 Marks vs Rank Analysis

Candidates can estimate their All India Rank (AIR) based on marks scored, using previous years’ trends:

GATE Marks (out of 100)

Expected AIR

85–90

1–10

82–87

10–50

80–85

50–100

78–83

100–200

76–81

200–500

74–79

500–1000

72–77

1000–2000

70–75

2000–5000

60–65

5000–10000

For top IIT admissions, a GATE score above 900 (roughly 85–90 marks) is often required. For NITs, a safe score is around 650–750, while PSU recruitment typically demands 700–900+ marks depending on branch and popularity.

GATE 2026 Previous Year Trends

GATE 2025 EE cutoff: General 25, OBC 22.5, SC/ST 16.6
GATE 2024 EE cutoff: General 25.7, OBC 23.1, SC/ST 17.1
Cutoffs vary each year depending on paper difficulty, number of candidates, and category-wise performance.

Important Points About GATE Qualifying Marks

Qualifying marks are minimum marks to pass the exam.
Branch-wise cutoff differs for General, OBC-NCL/EWS, and SC/ST/PwD categories.
Meeting qualifying marks makes candidates eligible for counselling, but does not guarantee admission.
Admission cutoffs are set by individual institutes during counselling (CCMT/COAP).
GATE scorecards will be available for free download from March 27 to May 31, 2026, and later till December 31, 2026, for a fee of INR 500.

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