GATE 2026 exam, organized by IIT Guwahati, has started, and has brought attention to one of India’s largest postgraduate engineering entrance examinations, which is critical for MTech and PSU recruitment. Students who attended the Civil Engineering (CE), Electrical Engineering (EE), and Mechanical Engineering (ME) papers on February 14 are among the first to share feedback, reactions, and unofficial answer keys. They provide guidance to the aspirants to evaluate their attempts, estimate their scores, and prepare better for the subsequent attempts.
GATE 2026 CE, EE & ME Paper Review and Difficulty Analysis
Contents
GATE 2026 Civil Engineering Shift 1 (CE-1) exam started on February 14, 2026, and was followed by Electrical (EE) and Production & Industrial (PI) exams. As per the reviews of the students and the experts, the exam papers had an overall moderate and balanced pattern with 1 or 2 lengthy and relatively difficult conceptual questions.
While the engineering papers are balanced with easy, moderate, and hard questions depending on the discipline, each engineering branch has a different level of difficulty depending on the question distribution.
A more concise description of each branch with respect to this engineering paper is given below.
Civil Engineering (CE-1) Paper Analysis
For this section, CE had the easiest description with the average difficulty level of the CE section paper being comparatively easier in the engineering belt of papers. However, questions in construction engineering and core civil engineering topics were more difficult but manageable in terms of numerical solving. Many questions were lengthy and multi-topic in nature.
Electrical Engineering (EE) Paper Analysis
EE had an average to more-than-average difficulty level. The paper contained a significant number of quantitative and numerical questions. The distribution included approximately:
- 10–15 NAT questions
- 35–40 MCQ questions
- 12–15 MSQ questions
Overall, the EE paper was considered moderate to slightly tough due to calculation-intensive and concept-based problems.
Mechanical Engineering (ME) Paper Analysis
Mechanical Engineering questions were more focused on integration and conceptual clarity. The overall difficulty level was moderate, with a mix of straightforward and conceptually demanding questions. Final feedback suggested that the ME paper maintained a balanced structure but required strong fundamentals across subjects.
GATE 2026 Memory-Based Question Papers
For the other branches, feedback is still coming in. However, unofficial answer keys prepared by coaching institutions and student groups for CE and EE Shift 1 are currently available in memory-based formats. These resources help candidates review attempted questions before the official answer key is released.
Candidates can use these memory-based tools to estimate how many marks they may receive using the GATE marking scheme, which involves negative marking for multiple-choice questions and no negative marking for NATs and MSQs. This gives them an early idea of their potential performance before results are declared.
What’s Next? Official Answer Key and Cut-Off Expectations
The GATE 2026 exams, conducted on 14 February for CE, EE, ME, and other branches, are expected to have their provisional answer key released a few weeks after the exam date. Once the provisional answer key is published, candidates will be given a limited window to raise objections.
After reviewing the objections, the final answer key will be released along with response sheets containing the candidates’ marked answers.
Based on previous trends, the cut-off for core branches such as CE and EE is likely to remain in the 20s to 30s range for the General category, depending on overall paper difficulty and competition level.
GATE 2026 Exam Guidelines
Students who are yet to appear for their shifts must strictly follow the exam guidelines to avoid any complications. Candidates must carry their admit card, a valid ID proof, and ensure that no prohibited items are brought into the examination hall.
Real-time feedback from completed shifts can help remaining candidates plan better time management strategies and improve performance based on the GATE pattern for MCQs, MSQs, and NAT questions.
Paper Analysis and Answer Keys for Score Estimation
Students can estimate their probable scores using unofficial answer keys and memory-based questions by following these steps:
- Compare your responses with the memory-based solutions
- Apply the official marking scheme, including penalties for incorrect MCQs
- Calculate your estimated score
- Analyse subject-wise performance to identify strengths and weaknesses
This analysis helps candidates decide their next steps, whether aiming to improve their GATE score further or preparing for PSU interviews and admission processes.
Updates on answer keys and paper analysis for GATE 2026 CE, EE, and ME provide early insight into the exam conducted on 14 February. With more shifts and analyses yet to come, aspirants should remain calm and use available resources strategically for their academic and career goals.
