One paper, one 180-minute window, freely navigable — there are no locked sections. General Aptitude is a fixed 15 marks in every GATE paper; Engineering Mathematics contributes about 13; the remaining ~72 marks are core Computer Science. Question-type marks are fixed (30 one-mark and 35 two-mark questions), but the split across core subjects varies year to year, so the per-subject figures below are estimates from past-paper analysis.
General Aptitude15 marks · 15%
A fixed 15 marks in every GATE paper — the only block whose weight is guaranteed. Verbal and quantitative aptitude dominate; the questions are deliberately below engineering level and are the cheapest marks on the paper.
Engineering Mathematics13 marks · 13%
About 13 marks, with Discrete Mathematics the heaviest of the four chapters. Probability and Linear Algebra questions are usually short and computational, which makes them high-yield per minute.
Programming & Data Structures11 marks · 11%
The heaviest core subject. C output questions and pointer-based memory reasoning recur every year, and data structure questions almost always come down to counting or a traversal argument.
Operating Systems9 marks · 9%
Concurrency and deadlock is the single densest area, followed by scheduling numericals and virtual memory arithmetic. Almost every question is computational rather than descriptive.
Algorithms9 marks · 9%
Recurrences, sorting bounds and graph algorithms recur annually. Questions test whether you can bound growth and justify a greedy or dynamic-programming choice, not whether you can code.
Computer Networks9 marks · 9%
Delay arithmetic, sliding-window efficiency, subnetting and TCP congestion window traces are the reliable numericals. The four delay components must be kept separate to score here at all.
Databases8 marks · 8%
Normal forms and candidate keys, B+ tree order computation, and serializability testing via precedence graphs. Nearly every question is mechanical once the right procedure is chosen.
Theory of Computation8 marks · 8%
Closure properties, pumping lemma arguments and decidability classification. This is the most conceptual subject in the paper and rewards precise definitions over memorised results.
Computer Organization & Architecture7 marks · 7%
Pipelining speedup, cache hit-rate arithmetic and addressing modes. Memory hierarchy alone is usually the largest single contributor within this subject.
Digital Logic6 marks · 6%
Number representation, K-map minimisation and sequential circuit analysis. Short, self-contained questions that are among the fastest marks in the core section.
Compiler Design5 marks · 5%
The lightest core subject, and the most predictable: parser classification, first and follow sets, and data-flow analysis classification account for most of what is asked.
