GATE results announced; 17.82% of candidates qualify

The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) announced the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) results, conducted between February 6 and 14.

According to figures shared by IIT-B, the exam organizing institute, 913,000 candidates had registered for the exam, of which 711,000 turned up.

"Of these, around 126,000 (17.82%) candidates have qualified. The percentage of qualified candidates in individual papers varies from 8.42% to 29.54%," a statement released by IITB read.

Of the total qualified candidates, 98,732 are men, while 28,081 are women, the statement added.

GATE is an entrance examination taken by undergraduate and graduate students for admission to masters and doctoral programs of institutes of technology such as IIT and the Indian Institutes of Sciences (IISc). The GATE score is also a qualifier for placements in public sector companies. Scoring on the exam is mandatory to seek financial aid from the Ministry of Education (MoE) and other government scholarships/assistantships.

There is no upper age limit for the exam. However, only those who have completed at least their third year of graduation can apply.

An 88-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh and a 15-year-old university student from Rajasthan had registered to take the exam this year, making them the oldest and youngest candidates, respectively, for the competitive exam.

Previously, the oldest candidate was 75 years old. This was also the first year that the IITs opened the entrance exam to candidates with a humanities background.