IIT Bombay has released the tentative dates of GATE 2021 recently. The tentative exam dates will be between 5-7 Feb & 12-14 Feb in the year 2021. We have witnessed an extension of the exam for a long duration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Along, with the dates, 2 New Subjects are announced as well, which is a welcome development as per many education experts. These subjects are named Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) and Humanities & Social Sciences (XH). Thus, the number of subjects for aspirants to study increases to 27 from 25 (Current Year). The exam timings are now declared as well, which will happen in two phases. The 1st phase will start at 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, and the second phase at 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.
Other than this there are few other changes in GATE 2021 exam which is released by IIT Bombay. Along with the release of dates, the exam authorities have also declared that the eligibility criteria GATE 2021 will have some relaxation. Candidates in their 3rd Year of Graduation can apply for the GATE 2021 exam now. The Exam Pattern is similar for all other subjects except that of Humanities & Social Sciences. There will be 25 marks allotted for Reasoning & Comprehension, 15 marks allotted for General Aptitude, and 60 marks for the paper. Another update from the organizing authorities states that aspirants can sit for a maximum of 2 documents at a time in 2021. They can choose 2 papers/subjects from a pre-decided list of combinations. This decision is taken to strengthen interdisciplinary studies. Previously candidates could only apply for 1 paper.
GATE 2021 Exam Pattern of New Subject XH
As per the official notification, 2 new subjects are included in the GATE 2021 exam. The exam pattern of Environmental Science & Engineering will be like other papers. But the pattern of XH subject is different from the others. Candidates appearing for the XH subject must attempt Reasoning & Comprehension (B1) and General Aptitude papers. The first one will be of 25 marks and the second one will be of 15 marks. In addition to this, one must sit for 60 marks for the subject paper. Let us take a look at the exam pattern of XH subject below:
Compulsory Sections –
| General Aptitude (GA) | 15 marks |
| Reasoning and Comprehension (B1) | 25 marks |
Candidates must select one of the below-mentioned subjects which will have 60 marks allotted-
- Economics
- English
- Linguistics
- Philosophy
- Psychology
- Sociology
Overall Exam Pattern for GATE 2021
- Number of Questions to be asked – 65 MCQs
- Marking of Exam – 1 or 2 marks to be awarded for each correct answer depending on the section. 1/3rd negative marking for 1-mark question and 2/3rd for two marks question. No negative marking will be there for numerical based questions.
- Total Marks & Time Duration – Total marks will be 100 spanning for 3 hours.
Updates on GATE 2021 New Syllabus
The exam authorities will release the GATE 2021 syllabus soon along with the official brochure. Aspirants can check the syllabus in detail after that on the official website. The section of general aptitude will have a similar syllabus for all the 27 papers. If an aspirant chooses any of the two subjects from Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Food Technology then, in that case, Chemistry will be the compulsory subject.
Adding to this, the set of combinations list for the 2nd paper option which will be available for this year will be entirely based on the infrastructure availability and dates. Some of the branches may not get the option for a second paper.
Tentative Dates of GATE 2021
| Availability of Official Website | July 16 2020 |
| GATE 2021 Application Window | 14 September – 30 September 2020 7 October 2020 (with late fee) |
| Last Date for accepting requests for change of Examination City | 13 November 2020 |
| Issuance of GATE Admit Card will begin from | 8 January 2021 Onwards |
| Exam Date | February 5-7 & February 12-14, 2021 |
| Official Answer Key Releasing | 10 days after the exam is over |
| Declaration of Results | 22 March 2021 |
| Start of Counselling | April 2021 |
Relaxation in the GATE 2021 Eligibility Criteria
There are significant changes in the eligibility criteria of GATE 2021; these changes are mentioned below:
- Aspirants from 2021 onwards will become eligible to apply for two subjects. The eligibility requirements also say that students in their third year of graduation can apply for GATE.
- The eligibility requirements for GATE 2021 will now be changed from a 10 + 2 + 4 to a minimum of 10 + 2 + 3.
- This is a welcome change which helps the third year of their undergraduate students to appear for the exam. According to IIT Bombay, this move will be like an incentive for students to improve their performance to obtain better career outcomes.
- Arts & Commerce Graduates will be able to now apply for GATE and be a part of the rich IIT Alumni.
These are what the GATE 2021 notifications suggest for now. The introduction of two new subjects will allow students from General Streams to apply. Aspirants now should start putting efforts to prepare for the exam and must focus on their health too. Also, students must stay updated with new changes because of the COVID-19 impact on current as well as future exams
