Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), the all India examination that primarily tests the comprehensive understanding of various Undergraduate subjects in Engineering and Technology, conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science and seven IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee), on behalf of the National Coordination Board-GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India will be held in January/ February, 2013.

GATE score of a candidate is expected to reflect the relative performance level of a candidate. The score is used for admissions to various Post-Graduate Programmes (M.E, M.Tech, direct Ph.D etc.) in higher education institutes in India, with financial assistance provided by MHRD and other Government agencies.  The score may also be used by Public sector units for employment screening purposes.

A valid GATE score is essential for obtaining a financial assistance during Masters Programmes and in some cases during direct Doctoral Programmes in Engineering/Technology/Architecture and Doctoral Programmes in relevant branches of Science in an Institution supported by the MHRD or other Government organizations.  To avail the financial assistance (scholarship), the candidate must first secure admission to a Programme in one of these Institutes, by a procedure that could be different for each institute.Qualification in GATE is also a minimum requirement to apply for various fellowships awarded by many Government organizations.

However, candidates with a Master’s Degree in Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture may seek admission to relevant Doctoral Programmes with scholarship/assistantship without appearing in the GATE examination.

GATE is conducted through the constitution of eight zones. The zones and the corresponding administrative institutes are:
Zone-1: Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Zone-2: Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Zone-3: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Zone-4: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Zone-5: Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Zone-6: Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Zone-7: Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Zone-8: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

The overall coordination and responsibility of conducting GATE 2013 is with Indian Institute of Technology Bombay which is designated as the Organizing Institute for GATE 2013.

Eligibility for GATE: Only the following categories of candidates are eligible to appear for GATE 2013. Necessary supporting documents must be submitted ONLINE or by Post during the submission of the application form for the exam.

Applicant should have completed or should be in the 4th year of Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture (4 years after 10+2/Post B.Sc/Post-Diploma) with year of Qualification not later than 2013 OR should hold or should be in the final year of MSc/M.A/MCA -Master’s Degree in any branch of Science / Mathematics / Statistics /Computer Applications or equivalent, with year of Qualification not later than 2013 OR should have completed or should be in the 4th/5th year of Integrated Master’s Degree Programs or Dual Degree Programme in Engineering /Technology (Five year Programme)  with year of qualification not later than 2014 OR should have completed or should be in the 2nd/3rd/4th year of  Post-BSc Integrated Master’s Degree Programme in Engineering / Technology (Four year Programme) with year of qualification not later than 2015 OR  should have completed Section A or equivalent of Professional courses of Professional Societies, recognized by MHRD/UPSC/AICTE (e.g. AMIE by Institution of Engineers-India, AMICE by the Institute of Civil Engineers-India) as equivalent B.E/B.Tech.

Details related to the Copies of Certificates to be submitted by those completing the course in 2012 or passed earlier and for those who expect to complete the course by 2013 or later permissible period, are given on Page 9 of the Brochure that can be downloaded from www.gate.iitb.ac.in/gate2013/ .

Accordingly, those who have to submit a certificate from their Principal, have to obtain a signature from their Principal on a certificate that will be printed on the application PDF file provided after completion of online application submission.

Those who have appeared in the final semester/year exam in 2012, but with a backlog (arrears/failed subjects) in any of the papers in their qualifying degree should submit (i) A copy of any one of the marks sheets of the final year OR (ii) a letter from the Principal indicating that the student has a backlog from an earlier semester/year to be cleared, and therefore cannot produce a course completion certificate now. This certificate will also be present in the last portion of the PDF application form provided after submitting application online.

GATE Papers and Code: The GATE examination consists of a single paper of 3 hours duration that contains 65 questions carrying a maximum of 100 marks. The question paper will consist of only objective questions. The pattern of question papers is discussed separately in detail in Section 4.3 of the Brochure.

GATE 2013 will be conducted in Aerospace Engineering (Paper Code-AE); Agricultural Engineering (AG); Architecture and Planning (AR); Biotechnology (BT); Civil Engineering (CE); Chemical Engineering (CH); Computer Science and Information Technology (CS); Chemistry (CY); Electronics and Communication Engineering (EC); Engineering Sciences (XE); Electrical Engineering (EE); Life Sciences (XL); Geology and Geophysics (GG); Instrumentation Engineering (IN); Mathematics (MA); Mechanical Engineering (ME); Mining Engineering (MN); Metallurgical Engineering (MT); Physics (PH) Production and Industrial Engineering (PI); Textile Engineering and Fibre Science (TF).

XE Paper will have different sections including Engineering Mathematics (Compulsory) (Code A); Fluid Mechanics (B); Materials Science (C); Solid Mechanics (D); Thermodynamics (E); Polymer Science and Engineering (F); Food Technology (G). A candidate appearing in the XE paper has to answer Section A-Engineering Mathematics, GA-General Aptitude and any two of XE sections B to G. The choice of two out of the sections B to G can be made at the time of appearing for the exam after viewing the questions. Only two optional sections can be answered at a time. A candidate wishing to change from one optional to another optional section during the exam must first choose to deselect one of the previously chosen optional sections (B to G).

XL Paper has sections, Chemistry (Compulsory) (H); Biochemistry (I); Botany (J); Microbiology (K); Zoology (L); Food Technology (M). A candidate appearing in the XL paper has to answer Section H-Chemistry, GA-General Aptitude and any two of XL sections, I to M. The choice of two out of the sections I to M can be made at the time of appearing for the exam after viewing the questions. Only two optional sections can be answered at a time. A candidate wishing to change from one optional to another optional section during the exam must first choose to deselect one of the previously chosen optional sections (I to M).

Examination for AR, CE, GG, MA, MT, PH, and TF will be online and will be held from 9 am to 12 noon on 20th January 2013 (Sunday). Examination for AE, AG, BT, CH, CY, MN, XE and XL will also be online and will be held from 2 pm to 5 pm on 20th January, 2012 (Sunday). In the online examination, candidates will be shown the questions in a random sequence on a computer screen and are required to enter the answer for each question using a mouse (keyboards will be disabled). They will be provided with blank paper sheets for rough work. At the end of the three hour window, the computer will automatically close the screen from further actions.

Only Offline examination will be held for CS, ME and PI from 9 am to 12 noon on 10th February 2013 (Sunday). The examination to be held Offline for EC, EE and IN will be from 2 pm to 5pm on 10th February 2013 (Sunday). For the offline examination, the candidates will be given the questions printed on a paper and they have to mark the correct choice on an Optical Response Sheet (ORS) by darkening the appropriate bubble against each question using a black ink ball point pen.

All the papers will have few questions that test the General Aptitude (Language and Analytical Skills), apart from the core subject of the paper. More details about the examination and the syllabus can be had from the Brochure or the website of GATE.

Examination Centres: The centers for online exam papers are different from the centers for offline exam papers. The list of Centres is given in the Brochure. Applicant should first determine if the paper of his/her choice is being conducted online or offline and check for a city in the state of his/her choice. The Zonal Administration Institute Office (Either of the IITs or IISc), decided based on the Test cities will be the point of contact for any enquiries regarding the exam center and the same is given on Page 13 of the Brochure.

Fees: Female Candidates are exempted from payment of Application Fees. The application fee for General/OBC-NC (Male Candidates) is Rs. 1200/-. The fee is Rs.600/- for SC / ST / PD (Male Candidates).

Application: Application can be submitted only online. Online Application Interface (website) can be accessed from the GATE website www.gate.iitb.ac.in/gate2013/ from 00.00 hrs on September 1, 2012 (Saturday). The last date for submission of online application will be 23.00 hrs on 30th September 2012 (Sunday) after which the website will be closed.

The GATE Online Applicant Interface allows one to enter data, ‘save’, partially filled form, ‘logout’, and resume filling in by logging in again. Before making payment, applicant will be shown a ‘Preview’ of his/her application. Errors will have to be checked at this time point. Once application is submitted with payment, no further changes to the application can be made by the candidate.

Applicant must first register, by providing a valid email address. All communications to applicant from the GATE offices will be sent to this mail id only. On registration, an email will be sent with a link and a one time password (OTP). Applicant has to click on the link and enter the password. Password will have to be changed after the first login.

Next an application form to be filled in will be displayed. For completing this part, the following information must be kept ready:
(i) Personal information
(ii) Communication Address with PIN Code
(iii) Eligibility Degree Details (College address, PIN Code of College)
(iv) GATE paper, Choice of GATE examination cities
(v) High quality image of photograph conforming to the requirements
(vi) Good quality image of signature (in .jpeg format) conforming to requirements similar to photograph
(vii) Optional: PDF files of supporting documents (Eligibility & Category Certificates) (max file size: per file 0.5 MB).
(viii) Optional: Netbanking details to make the application fee payment (only for Male candidates).

Necessary data may be filled in the online application form as per the instructions given there. The soft copies of photo and signature are to be uploaded. Applicant may upload pdf files of supporting documents conforming to the eligibility (except Principal’s certificate) and category requirements. One of the payment options will have to be selected, the details of which are given in Section 3.5.3 of the Brochure.

Online Net banking Payment: If this option is chosen, the applicant will be redirected to a bank chosen. Applicant will have to login with the Bank’s Net banking (or Internet Banking) user ID and password. The fee amount and bank charges will be shown and the same has to be confirmed. Applicant will be redirected back to the GATE Online Application Interface to continue the process of online application.

Offline Challan Payment: If this mode is chosen, a copy of the challan in triplicate (PDF file) with applicant’s details filled in will be provided. This has to be printed on an A4 paper and few more details such as date and signature will have to be filled in the printout. Applicant should wait for at least 48 hours after generation of application pdf online and only then take filled challan to Canara Bank or SBI for payment. Applicant need not have an account in that branch

Those who have selected challan payment option should directly proceed to the next step. A link to ‘Print Application Form’ will be displayed.

Applicant will have to download a PDF file from this link and print it. It will contain four pages as mentioned below
(i) Page 1: Instructions and Address slip where you need to send hard copy
(ii) Page 2-3: Two copies of application form with bottom part showing certificate to be signed by Principal (if there is a need for that)
(iii) Page 4: Optional page for candidates who select ‘Bank challan’ mode of payment. This page will contain 3 copies of challan to be processed with bank

Applicants have an option to upload supporting documents online. In such cases, the maximum file size permitted per file is 0.5 MB. For scanning the documents the setting used should be (i) Resolution: 200 dpi (ii) Color mode: 256 colors (iii) File format: PDF or JPEG.

Out of the printed pages, one copy of application form (page 2) may be retained by the applicant for reference purpose. In the other copy, applicant has to paste a color photograph in the space provided and sign the application in the box provided. This photograph and signature should exactly match the one in the photograph file uploaded electronically to the GATE Online Interface. If not, application is liable to be rejected. Applicant should not pin, sign or attest the photograph. In case Principal’s certificate is the proof of eligibility, the whole page (without cutting it) should be submitted to the College Principal’s office.

Bottom portion of the form contains the part that the college Principal has to certify. The form with Principal’s signature and stamp obtained has to accompany the application packet to be sent. If application fee s paid by challan, bank would have returned a stamped GATE copy of challan. It has to be kept ready to go in application packet to be sent. Half page of instruction and half page address slip will also be there. This address slip, which contains the address of the Zonal office (along with application bar code), where the application form needs to be mailed should be cut.

Applicant should arrange to mail the documents as per the Check list in the Brochure, in an A4 sized envelope. Application should not be folded and the documents sent should not be stapled or pinned to the application.

The application packet has to be preferably sent Speed Post or by Registered Post to the address mentioned so as to reach the respective GATE offices on or before 8th October, 2012 (Monday). It can also be handed over personally to the respective Zonal GATE Office on or before 8th October, 2012 (Monday).

If the supporting documents have been uploaded online, only the application form page (with Principal’s certification if applicable), need be posted. There is no need to post the paper copies of other documents. Current status of application will be updated after receipt and scrutinizing of the application by respective GATE offices. This status can be checked anytime by logging onto the GATE Online Applicant Interface.

Requests for change of examination city will be accepted till 20th November, 2012 with a fee of 400/- to be paid in the form of a Demand Draft in favour of ‘Chairman GATE 2013’, payable at Mumbai. Request along with DD should reach the Zonal office where the application form was sent, latest by 20th November 2012 (Tuesday).

Admit card will be available for downloading, at the Online Application Interface by 5th December, 2012 (Wednesday).  Results will be announced at the Online Applicant Interface at 10 am on 15th March 2013 (Friday). GATE 2013 score is valid for 2 years from the date of announcement of the results.

Scorecard will be mailed to the correspondence address given in the application to all the candidates for a paper whose marks are equal to or above the qualifying marks of SC/ST/PD candidates in that paper. There is no provision for issue of additional GATE scorecards.