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GATE Mechanical Engineering (ME)

Evidence status: 🟢 official. The facts below were cross-checked against the official GATE 2027 notification on 2026-09-27. Always read the current notice before you apply or pay a fee.

GATE Mechanical Engineering decides M.Tech/ME/PhD admission and is the recruitment filter for many PSUs. It is used by many PSUs (NTPC, IOCL, ONGC, BHEL and others) and for M.Tech admission.

At a glance
Conducted by IISc Bengaluru and seven IITs for NCB-GATE (IIT Madras organises GATE 2027)
Exam dates (announced) 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21 February 2027; paper-wise schedule on the official site
Who can apply Students in the 3rd year or higher of a UG programme, and graduates; no age limit
Score validity 3 years

Official sources

Exam pattern

Section Questions Marks
General Aptitude (common to all papers) 10 15
Engineering Mathematics - 13
Mechanical Engineering - 72
Total 65 100
  • Question types: MCQ (one correct), MSQ (one or more correct, no partial credit), NAT (numerical).
  • Negative marking for MCQ only: −1/3 (1-mark) and −2/3 (2-mark). MSQ and NAT have none.
  • 3 hours, computer-based, virtual scientific calculator only.

Syllabus

Sections (a topic summary; the official syllabus PDF is the authority):

  1. Engineering Mathematics.
  2. Applied Mechanics and Design: engineering mechanics, mechanics of materials, theory of machines, vibrations, machine design.
  3. Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences: fluid mechanics, heat transfer, thermodynamics, applications (power plants, IC engines, refrigeration).
  4. Materials, Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering: engineering materials, casting, forming, joining, machining, metrology, CIM, production planning, inventory, operations research.

How to prepare (free, in order)

  1. Thermodynamics and strength of materials first: several other subjects build on them.
  2. Solve the official papers of past years (the organising IIT's site publishes them with answer keys: https://gate2027.iitm.ac.in/download).

Free resources