GATE past cutoffs (2018-2026): qualifying marks & M.Tech closing scores

GATE cutoffs come in two flavours. The qualifying cutoff is the per-paper raw-mark floor set by the conducting body each year (roughly 25 for General, 90% of that for OBC-NCL, two-thirds for SC / ST / PwD) - clear it and you are GATE-qualified for PSU shortlists. The M.Tech admission cutoff is the closing GATE score (out of 1000) at IIT Bombay / Madras / Delhi / Kanpur / KGP for COAP counselling and at NIT Trichy / Surathkal / Warangal for CCMT - much higher and CS-paper-driven. Both shown below with CS-branch detail.

The qualifying cutoff is set per paper by the conducting body each year. Falling below it means you're not GATE-qualified, so your scorecard is not eligible for PSU recruitment. The M.Tech closing score (via COAP for IITs, CCMT for NITs) is much higher and drifts year-on-year.

What raw mark do you need to qualify in each paper?

What GATE score closes an IIT M.Tech seat at the older IITs?

Numbers are GATE scores (out of 1000), indicative closing GATE scores at the popular M.Tech specialisation for each branch. Specialisations like AI / ML at IIT Bombay or IIT Madras run ~30-50 GATE-score points higher than the general branch closing.

NIT M.Tech closing GATE scores (CCMT 2025, indicative)

What GATE score do central PSUs typically shortlist at?

Major PSUs (IOCL, ONGC, NTPC, BHEL, GAIL, BPCL, HPCL, IndianOil, Coal India, etc.) use GATE scores for engineering officer recruitment. Indicative GATE-score cutoffs for shortlisting:

• IOCL / ONGC / GAIL: 750+ for ME / EE / EC; 800+ for CS-related roles.
• NTPC / BHEL / Power Grid: 720+ for ME / EE; 750+ for CE / IN.
• Coal India / IRCON / RVNL: 680+ for ME / EE / CE.

How the qualifying cutoff is actually decided

The qualifying cutoff is not a fixed threshold. The conducting institute computes it per paper using a formula that hinges on two anchors. The General-category cutoff is the maximum of 25 (raw marks) and (mu + sigma), where mu is the mean raw mark of all candidates in that paper and sigma is the standard deviation. That means: in a year where the CS paper is genuinely easier across the cohort, the mean drifts up and the qualifying cutoff drifts up with it. The numbers in the table above are indicative based on past trend; the actual 2027 number is published by the conducting body in mid-March with the result. Treat any number you see (here or elsewhere) as a planning estimate, not a guarantee, and consult the official IISc / IIT data when it is released.

The reservation factor on the qualifying cutoff is rule-based: OBC-NCL cutoff is 90% of the General cutoff (rounded), SC / ST / PwD cutoff is two-thirds of the General cutoff (rounded). EWS is treated equivalent to General for the qualifying-cutoff calculation by most papers, though the M.Tech admission cutoff at IITs / NITs does honour EWS as a separate reserved bucket via COAP / CCMT.

M.Tech closing scores: how to read the numbers

The numbers in the COAP and CCMT tables above are indicative closing GATE scores for the popular specialisation in each branch. They vary year on year by 30 to 60 points based on (a) the cohort distribution that cycle, (b) the conducting institute's normalisation, and (c) the specific specialisation - an AI / ML or Data Science specialisation at IIT Bombay typically closes ~30 to 50 points higher than the general CS programme at the same IIT.

• Closing vs opening: The number shown is the closing - the lowest GATE score that received an offer in the last COAP round. The opening is typically 80 to 120 points higher.
• Round-to-round drift: Closing scores drift down across the rounds as higher-scoring candidates freeze offers. A score that was 30 points below the round-1 closing can land an offer by round 5.
• Spot round: Several IITs run a spot round in June for unfilled seats. Closing scores in the spot round are ~40 to 80 points below the regular closing.
• Reserved categories: OBC-NCL, SC, ST and EWS each have a separate closing per branch per institute. The gap between General and OBC-NCL closing is typically 50 to 80 points; the gap to SC / ST is typically 150 to 250 points.

PSU GATE recruitment: how the cutoff stacks up against M.Tech

PSU recruitment cutoffs are broadly higher than the IIT M.Tech closing GATE scores because the PSU shortlists are competing for far fewer seats. A typical PSU notification (IOCL, ONGC, GAIL) invites 1:5 ratio of shortlisted candidates to posts; the M.Tech intake at an IIT for a single CS branch can be 10 to 30 seats, but the PSU is hiring 4 to 6 ME engineers per zone. The numerator on the offer side is much smaller, so the GATE-score bar at PSU is correspondingly higher.

Read the indicative numbers below as broadly directional, year-to-year variable, and dependent on the PSU's annual hiring plan. Always consult the live PSU notification when it is released.

These numbers are GATE-score ranges (out of 1000) at which the shortlist for the interview / GD round has historically closed. Falling outside the range does not mean you cannot apply - it means your name is unlikely to make the shortlist for that notification cycle. PSU recruitment cycles run twice a year for some PSUs and once a year for others; a score that misses one cycle's shortlist may well clear the next.

Reservation factors at the M.Tech admission stage

Beyond the qualifying-cutoff rule, the M.Tech admission process honours the same reservation buckets as undergraduate admissions at the central institutes. Approximate seat-distribution percentages at IITs and NITs:

• General (UR): ~40% of seats.
• EWS: ~10% of seats.
• OBC-NCL: ~27% of seats.
• SC: ~15% of seats.
• ST: ~7.5% of seats.
• PwD horizontal: 5% horizontal reservation cutting across the above categories.

The closing GATE score for a reserved-category seat varies institute by institute. At the older IITs (Bombay, Madras, Delhi) the gap between General and OBC-NCL closing is the narrowest (50 to 70 points); at IIT Guwahati / Roorkee the gap can widen to 90 to 130 points. SC / ST closings are typically 200 to 300 points below General; these gaps are consistent with the qualifying-cutoff factor of two-thirds and the lower applicant volume in the reserved buckets.