Check the expected GATE Cutoff 2026 for IITs and NITs based on previous year trends. Understand the score ranges required for top branches and institutes, along with changing competition levels. Plan your M.Tech application strategy with confidence and informed expectations.
Table of Contents
- GATE (Expected) Cutoff 2026 Category-wise
- What are the different types of GATE Cutoff?
- The "Marks vs. Score" Concept
- Understanding the Normalization Process
- Previous Years GATE Cutoff (2025, 2024, 2023)
- GATE Cutoff for Top Institutes (IITs & NITs)
- GATE PSU Cutoff Scores (Expected)
- How to Check GATE 2026 Cutoff?
The GATE 2026 cut-off is expected to range between 28-34 marks for popular branches like Computer Science Engineering, and 25-30 marks for core branches like EEE and ECE. To get into a top IIT, you'll likely need around 60–75+ marks, and for PSUs, a score around 70–85+ is needed.
The GATE Exam 2026 concluded on Feb 15, 2026. The GATE cutoff will be released soon after the release of the GATE result 2026. This article will provide you with a detailed breakdown of the GATE Exam Cutoff 2026, including expected cutoffs, previous year trends, college-wise cutoffs, and factors affecting them.
GATE (Expected) Cutoff 2026 Category-wise
The GATE 2026 cutoff will be released after the GATE results are released. The expected GATE 2026 cutoff has been added below for your reference, based on previous year’s trends.
|
Paper |
General |
OBC-NCL/EWS |
SC/ST/PwD |
|
Computer Science (CS) |
27–30 |
24–27 |
18–21 |
|
Mechanical (ME) |
29–32 |
26–29 |
19–22 |
|
Electrical (EE) |
25–28 |
22–25 |
17–20 |
|
Civil (CE) |
26–29 |
23–26 |
18–21 |
|
Electronics (EC) |
28–31 |
25–28 |
19–22 |
|
Chemical (CH) |
31–34 |
28–31 |
21–24 |
|
Instrumentation (IN) |
32–35 |
29–32 |
22–25 |
|
Physics (PH) |
33–36 |
30–33 |
23–26 |
|
Mathematics (MA) |
26–29 |
23–26 |
18–21 |
|
Life Sciences (XL) |
35–38 |
31–34 |
25–28 |
What are the different types of GATE Cutoff?
The GATE Cutoff is divided into 3 types of cutoffs, i.e., qualifying cutoff, Admission cutoff, and PSU cutoff. The detailed version of all trees has been added to the table below:
|
Type |
Declared By |
Purpose |
Basis |
|
Qualifying Cutoff |
Conducting IIT (e.g., IIT Roorkee for 2026) |
To determine if a candidate has qualified for GATE |
Depends on exam difficulty and normalization |
|
Admission Cutoff |
IITs, NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs |
For admission to postgraduate courses |
Depends on seats, applications, and branch demand |
|
PSU Cutoff |
Individual PSUs (like ONGC, NTPC, BHEL) |
For shortlisting candidates for interviews |
Based on the job role and the number of applicants |
The "Marks vs. Score" Concept
GATE marks and scores are two different aspects of marking. The GATE marks are the raw or normalised score based on correct or incorrect answers, whereas the score is a relative rank calculated using the formula provided by the IITs for multi-session paper variations. The GATE marks are calculated out of 100, whereas the GATE score is calculated out of 1000.
In popular branches like Civil and Mechanical, 75 marks can lead to a score around 800. In less popular streams like Ecology, the same 75 marks can result in a score above 950.
Understanding the Normalization Process
As the gate exam is conducted in multiple sessions to ensure fairness the authorities have released a normalisation formula, this formula helps in adjusting the variations in the difficulty level of the question paper across all the gate sessions that means if you appeared in a tough exam shift your raw marks might be increased using the normalisation formula to match the easier shift of that exam the gate normalisation formula is as follows:
M̂ij = Mgt + [(Mij − Mtq) / (Mti − Mtq)] × (Mgt − Mgq)
Where:
M̂ij = Normalized marks of the jth candidate in the ith session
Mij = Actual marks obtained by the candidate
Mgt = Average marks of the top 0.1% candidates across all sessions
Mtq = Mean + Standard deviation of marks across all sessions
Mti = Average marks of the top 0.1% candidates in that session
Mgq = Mean + Standard deviation of marks of that particular session
Previous Years GATE Cutoff (2025, 2024, 2023)
The Previous year's GATE cutoff has been added below. This will help you in analyzing and figuring out the graph of the cutoff during the previous years and the expected cutoff.
|
Paper |
Year |
General Cutoff |
Reserved Category Cutoff (OBC-NCL/EWS/SC/ST/PwD) |
|
CS |
2025 |
28.4 |
25.5 – 19.0 |
|
ME |
29.1 |
26.2 – 19.5 |
|
|
EE |
2024 |
26.0 |
23.4 – 17.3 |
|
CE |
27.2 |
24.3 – 18.1 |
|
|
EC |
2023 |
25.0 |
22.5 – 16.6 |
|
IN |
31.0 |
28.0 – 21.0 |
|
|
CH |
32.1 |
29.0 – 22.0 |
GATE Cutoff for Top Institutes (IITs & NITs)
The expected GATE Cutoff for Top Institutes is as follows:
-
IITs Admission Cutoff (Expected)
|
Institute |
Branch |
Cutoff (GATE Score) |
|
IIT Bombay |
Computer Science |
780–850 |
|
IIT Delhi |
Mechanical Engineering |
750–810 |
|
IIT Madras |
Electrical Engineering |
720–780 |
|
IIT Kharagpur |
Civil Engineering |
680–740 |
|
IIT Kanpur |
Chemical Engineering |
700–760 |
|
IIT Roorkee |
Electronics & Communication |
710–770 |
-
NITs Admission Cutoff (Expected)
|
NIT |
Branch |
Cutoff (GATE Score) |
|
NIT Trichy |
Computer Science |
660–720 |
|
NIT Surathkal |
Mechanical Engineering |
620–690 |
|
NIT Warangal |
Electrical Engineering |
630–700 |
|
NIT Calicut |
Civil Engineering |
600–670 |
|
NIT Rourkela |
Electronics Engineering |
610–680 |
Relevant articles related to GATE
| GATE Counselling | GATE Seat Allotment 2026 |
| GATE Marks Vs Rank | GATE Qualifying Marks 2026 |
GATE PSU Cutoff Scores (Expected)
The PSU Cutoff scores will be released along with the results. The expected PSU cutoff is as follows:
|
PSU |
Branch |
General Cutoff (GATE Score) |
|
ONGC |
Mechanical |
830–860 |
|
NTPC |
Electrical |
780–820 |
|
IOCL |
Chemical |
700–750 |
|
HPCL |
Civil |
720–760 |
|
BHEL |
Electrical |
760–810 |
|
PowerGrid |
Electronics |
780–820 |
How to Check GATE 2026 Cutoff?
Once the GATE 2026 result is released, you can check their cutoff:
- Visit https://gate.iit.ac.in.
- Log in using Enrollment ID and Password.
- View your GATE Scorecard, which shows:
- Marks out of 100
- GATE Score (normalized)
- Qualifying Marks for your category
- All India Rank (AIR)
Understanding the GATE Cutoff 2026 helps you in setting realistic preparation goals and targets. The cutoff will tell you if you have qualified for the exam, been admitted into the master's getting a job in PSU. While qualifying marks show the minimum eligibility to clear the exam, admission cutoffs for IITs, NITs, and PSUs are significantly higher. So, try focusing on the GATE preparation strategy and planning to get the marks above the GATE cutoff. Try aiming well above the cutoff to keep every opportunity open from top IIT admissions to PSU roles.
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