GATE Mechanical preparation
The route into BHEL, NTPC, IOCL, ONGC and the M.Tech gate — 65 questions, 100 marks, 3 hours.
Where GATE ME leads
- GATE ME → BHEL, NTPC, IOCL, ONGC, GAIL, SAIL, PGCIL, NHAI (score-based shortlisting, then GD/GT + interview)
- M.Tech at IITs/NITs/IISc via COAP
- GATE score valid for three years
How placd prepares you
- Subject banks with explanations and an AI tutor on every question
- Year-wise pattern sets — timed, scored exactly as the paper scores
- A three-member selection-board mock interview, scored
GATE 2027 — schedule & eligibility
Source: gate2027.iitm.ac.in · verified 14 Sept 2026- Conducted by
- IIT Madras (organising institute for GATE 2027)
- Notification
- Not announced yet
- Applications open
- 2 Sept 2026
- Last date to apply
- 27 Sept 2026
- With late fee
- 5 Oct 2026
- Exam date
- 6 Feb 2027, 7 Feb 2027, 13 Feb 2027, 14 Feb 2027, 20 Feb 2027, 21 Feb 2027
- Result
- 19 Mar 2027
- Fee
- ₹2,000 per paper (₹2,500 in the extended window) (reserved categories ₹1,000 per paper for female, SC, ST and PwD candidates (₹1,500 extended))
- Degree
- Studying in the 3rd or a higher year of any undergraduate degree programme, or already holding a government-approved degree in Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Science, Commerce, Arts or Humanities
- Final year
- Can apply
- Age limit
- No age limit is stated
- Attempts
- No limit is stated
- Nationality
- Foreign nationals may appear at the full fee and must choose an exam city in India
- Also
- A candidate may take one paper or an allowed two-paper combination
How to apply
- Register on the GATE Online Application Processing System (GOAPS) linked from gate2027.iitm.ac.in
- Choose your paper, or an allowed two-paper combination, and three exam cities
- Upload the photograph, signature and any category or PwD certificate in the stated formats
- Pay the fee online; the extended window carries the late fee
- Use the application rectification window (14–21 Oct 2026) for corrections; city allotment is announced 4 Jan 2027
The Important Dates page lists revised opening and closing dates; the latest published values are shown here and the page itself says all dates are liable to change.
The subjects
Mechanical Core
SOM, thermo, fluids, HT, manufacturing, design
Engineering mechanics, strength of materials, theory of machines, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, manufacturing, machine design, materials, IC engines, RAC and industrial engineering — the campus technical round and GATE/PSU interview spine.
Mechanical Design
CAD, GD&T, FEA, machine elements, codes
CAD modelling (SolidWorks, CATIA, Creo, NX), GD&T per ASME Y14.5, FEA/CAE, machine elements, fits & tolerances, heat treatment, DFM/DFA, ASME/IS/API codes, DFMEA & validation, PLM, pressure vessels and automotive design — the design-engineer and experienced-hire layer.
Engineering Mathematics
The GATE common section, ~15% of every paper
Linear algebra, calculus, vector calculus, differential equations, complex variables, probability & statistics, numerical methods and transforms — the Engineering Mathematics section shared by every GATE paper and PSU written test, in all three GATE question types: MCQ, multiple-select (MSQ) and Numerical Answer Type, scored the way the paper scores them.
Aptitude
Clear the first filter
Quant, logical reasoning, and verbal with timed mock tests modelled on AMCAT, eLitmus, CoCubes and company aptitude rounds.
Past papers, year by year
Verified 15 Sept 2026 against the official sitePublished by IIT Guwahati as a public PDF. placd links to each year’s official paper and describes it — pattern, weightage, cutoffs — and never reproduces its text. The practise column is placd’s own set for that year: original questions assembled to the year’s distribution, scored the way the paper scores.
| Year | Paper | Official | Cutoff (Gen) | Practise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · MSQ · NAT | Official PDF | 25.2 | 2026 pattern set · Pro |
| 2025 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · MSQ · NAT | Official PDF | 35.8 | 2025 pattern set · Pro |
| 2024 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · MSQ · NAT | Official PDF | 28.6 | 2024 pattern set · Pro |
| 2023 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · MSQ · NAT | Official PDF | 28.4 | 2023 pattern set · Pro |
| 2022 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · MSQ · NAT | Official PDF | 28.1 | 2022 pattern set · Pro |
| 2021 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · MSQ · NAT | Official PDF | 33 | 2021 pattern set · Pro |
| 2020 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · NAT | Official PDF | 34 | 2020 pattern set · Pro |
| 2019 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · NAT | Official PDF | 34.1 | 2019 pattern set · Pro |
What a GATE ME pattern set looks like
GATE ME 2026 pattern set: 65 questions · 100 marks · 180 minutes — an original set written to the paper’s distribution, scored the way the paper scores. The sample is free for every placd account; the year sets are part of Pro.
- General Aptitude10 questions · 15 marks
- Engineering Mathematics9 questions · 13 marks
- Mechanical Core25 questions · 39 marks
- Mechanical Design21 questions · 33 marks
Divide ₹1395 between A and B in the ratio 3 : 2. Find A's share.
- •₹937.44
- •₹1037.88
- •₹837
- •₹736.56
What is Instantaneous centre of rotation?
- •ratio of relative velocity of separation to relative velocity of approach along the line of impact, 1 for perfectly elastic and 0 for perfectly plastic collisions
- •three concurrent coplanar forces in equilibrium are each proportional to the sine of the angle between the other two
- •point about which a rigid body in plane motion has zero velocity at that instant, found where perpendiculars to any two point velocities intersect
- •truss analysis that cuts through at most three members and applies equilibrium to one part to find those member forces directly
What is Flexure formula?
- •the deflection at a point in the direction of a load equals the partial derivative of the total strain energy with respect to that load
- •M/I = σ/y = E/R relates bending moment, second moment of area, bending stress at distance y and radius of curvature of a beam
- •circumferential stress pd/2t in a pressurised thin shell, twice the longitudinal stress and hence the governing design stress
- •the ratio of the second moment of area to the distance of the extreme fibre, so that bending stress is simply the moment divided by it
Frequently asked
- What does placd cover for GATE ME?
- Mechanical Core, Mechanical Design, Engineering Mathematics, Aptitude — the paper's sections, as practice banks with explanations and an AI tutor, plus a selection-board mock interview.
- Are GATE ME practice papers the real previous-year papers?
- No. placd's year-wise sets are original pattern sets authored to each year's real distribution — section split, question types, mark weighting and duration — with our own detailed solutions. Past-paper text is not reproduced.
- Where can I find GATE ME previous-year question papers?
- The year-by-year table above links each year's official paper where the conducting body publishes one (it does, as public PDFs), with the year's pattern, weightage and cutoff. placd never reproduces past-paper text.
- Where do I apply for GATE ME?
- Only on the conducting body's official site — placd links to it in the schedule section above and never hosts an application form. The dates and eligibility shown are read from that site and carry the date they were verified.
- How is a GATE ME practice set scored?
- As the exam scores it: negative marking of one-third of the marks for a wrong objective answer, no negative marking on MSQ or NAT.