Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur is scheduled to begin the online application process for the Graduate Aptitude Test for Engineering (GATE) 2022 exam from August 30, 2021. Candidates will get less than a month’s time to complete the registration formalities on the official website gate.iitkgp.ac.in. The online application portal will close on September 24, 2021. However, with late fee charges, candidates can still apply for the exam latest by October 01, 2021. As of now, GATE 2022 exam dates are yet to be disclosed. However, with a month’s time to prepare for the exam, here are 5 important details which candidates must know before applying for the GATE 2022 exam.
#1 New papers added to GATE 2022 examination
Two new papers have been recently added to the ambit of the GATE 2022 exam. These papers are – Geomatrics Engineering (GE) and Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (NM). In case of GE, the paper shall comprise of two sections – 1. General Aptitude (GA) of 15 marks and 2. Part A of 55 marks and Part B of 30 marks. The first part will be compulsory for all candidates while the second part will have internal choices.
In case of NM, the paper will be divided into two sections – 1. GA of 15 marks and 2. The remaining paper of 85 marks covering the subject-specific syllabus.
#2 Combination of two subject papers
This year, candidates have been permitted to appear in TWO subject papers. IIT Kharagpur has also released a list of subject combinations allowed for GATE 2022. This list has been published on the official website gate.iikgp.ac.in for candidates to view and make a decision. However, all candidates appearing for combination papers must have a default/primary choice of paper. Accordingly, the second choice of paper must be selected from the list of allowed combinations. Therefore, combinations other than those mentioned in the list will not be permitted.
#3 Candidates must fill only ONE application form
Candidates have been given a choice to appear for combination papers as per the list released by IIT Kharagpur. Therefore, during the registration process, they must only fill one application form. Candidates are not required to fill a separate application form for each paper. In case multiple applications are found, authorities are liable to cancel the candidature of such aspirants.
#4 Exam centre for combination papers may differ
Candidates applying for combination papers must bear in mind that the exam centre for the second paper may differ from that of the first paper. While the exam centre may differ, the exam city will remain the same. This is squarely a decision taken by authorities due to infrastructural and scheduling constraints.
#5 New paper pattern in Architecture and Planning (AR)
This year, authorities have also introduced certain changes in the paper pattern in the AR paper. Accordingly, the paper will comprise of two sections – 1. General Aptitude for 15 marks and 2. Subject-specific section for 85 marks.
The second section will comprise of two parts: Part A for 60 marks and Part B for 25 marks. While Part A is compulsory for all candidates, Part B will have internal choices based on the candidate’s course preference. Therefore, Part B1 will have Architecture-related questions. Similarly, Part B2 will have questions pertaining to Planning. Candidates have to choose and solve any one of these sections during the GATE 2022 exam.
