GATE 2023 Computer Science and Information Technology Exam Pattern

GATE EXAM PATTERN

GATE exam is a computer-based 3-hour online test that consists of a total of 65 questions including objective and numerical answer type (NAT) questions. The overall score for the exam is 100 and this is divided into 3 sections including – General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics, and Subject-Specific Questions.

Candidates who are preparing for GATE are supposed to answer the general aptitude section (common for the majority of the disciplines). In the case of numerical answer type section, there is no negative marking; for unanswered questions – no marks will be deducted. Note that all major disciplines in GATE exam include 3 sections and this is not applicable for AR, CY, GG, EY, XL, PH, and MA.

The paper code for Computer Science and Information Technology is CS and given below is the marks distribution for each section.

1. General Aptitude – 15% of the total marks

2. Engineering Mathematics – 15% of the total marks

3. Subject Questions (Computer Science and Information Technology) – 70% of the total marks

TYPES OF QUESTIONS

As mentioned earlier, for the GATE exam – the first 2 sections include multiple choice and numerical answer type questions. The multiple-choice questions consist of 4 options, out of which only one is correct. In the case of numerical type questions, candidates need to enter a numerical value as the answer. Candidates must use the mouse and virtual keyboard to answer these kinds of questions.

Below are the various types of questions candidates are expected to answer:

1. Recall: These questions are based on known facts, principles, formulae or laws of the civil engineering discipline. Candidates are expected to answer either by recollecting from his/her memory or from a one-line computation.

2. Comprehension: These questions are included to test the candidate’s understanding of the civil engineering discipline. In this section, candidates are expected to derive simple conclusions from fundamental ideas.

3. Application: In this section, candidates are expected to apply their knowledge either through logical reasoning or by computation.

4. Analysis and Synthesis: These questions can be in a linked format, where the answer to the 1st question of the pair is mandatory in order to answer its sequence or successor question. Candidates can also expect common data questions, where two questions share the same data but are independent of each other.

5. Common Data Questions: Here multiple questions would be linked to a common data problem or a passage. Based on the given data, 2 or 3 questions can be formed. Each question is independent and solution for each question can be derived separately. In this section, each question carries 2 marks.

6. Linked Answer Questions: Questions in this section are of a problem-solving type. Candidates can find a problem statement followed by which they need to answer 2 questions. These questions are linked to each other, meaning the second question depends on the solution for the first question. In this section, each question carries 2 marks.

PAPER WEIGHTAGE

General Aptitude

Topics	Paper 2019 (Weightage)		Paper 2018 (Weightage)		Paper 2017 (Weightage)
	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Set 1	Set 2	Average Weightage
English Grammar	5 (2+3)	8	2+0	2	4	4	4
Sentence Completion
Verbal Analogies
Word Groups
Instructions
Critical Reasoning and Verbal Deduction

Numerical Ability

Topics	Paper 2019 (Weightage)		Paper 2018 (Weightage)		Paper 2017 (Weightage)
	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Set 1	Set 2	Average Weightage
Numerical Computation	5 (3+2)	7	3+5	13	11	11	11
Numerical Estimation
Numerical Reasoning and Data Interpretation

SECTION 1: Engineering Mathematics

Topics	Paper 2019 (Weightage)		Paper 2018 (Weightage)		Paper 2017 (Weightage)
	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Set 1	Set 2	Average Weightage
Propositional and First-Order Logic	8 (5+3)	11	2+5	7	3	5	4
Sets, Relations
Functions
Partial Orders and Lattices
Groups
Graphs: Connectivity, Matching, Coloring
Combinatorics: Counting, Recurrence Relations, Generating Functions

SECTION 2: Digital Logic

Topics	Paper 2019 (Weightage)		Paper 2018 (Weightage)		Paper 2017 (Weightage)
	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Set 1	Set 2	Average Weightage
Number representations and computer arithmetic (fixed and floating point)	4 (2+2)	6	2+1	3	4	11	7
Combinational and sequential circuits
Boolean Algebra
Minimization

SECTION 3: Computer Organization and Architecture

Topics	Paper 2019 (Weightage)		Paper 2018 (Weightage)		Paper 2017 (Weightage)
	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Set 1	Set 2	Average Weightage
Machine instructions and addressing modes	3 (2+1)	4	3+4	7	11	6	9.5
ALU
Data-path and control unit
Instruction pipelining
Memory hierarchy: cache
Main memory
Secondary storage
I/O interface (Interrupt and DMA mode)

SECTION 4: Programming and Data Structures

Topics	Paper 2019 (Weightage)		Paper 2018 (Weightage)		Paper 2017 (Weightage)
	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Set 1	Set 2	Average Weightage
Programming in C	9 (4+5)	14	3+3	6	11	4	12.5
Recursion
Arrays
Stacks
Queues
Linked Lists
Trees
Binary search trees
Binary Heaps
Graphs

SECTION 5: Algorithms

Topics	Paper 2019 (Weightage)		Paper 2018 (Weightage)		Paper 2017 (Weightage)
	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Set 1	Set 2	Average Weightage
Searching, sorting, hashing	4 (2+2)	6	1+3	4	4	7	5.5
Asymptotic worst-case time and space complexity
Algorithm design techniques: greedy, dynamic programming and divide-and-conquer
Graph Search
Minimum spanning trees
Shortest paths

SECTION 6: Theory of Computation

Topics	Paper 2019 (Weightage)		Paper 2018 (Weightage)		Paper 2017 (Weightage)
	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Set 1	Set 2	Average Weightage
Regular expressions and finite automata	4 (2+2)	6	1+2	3	8	9	8
Context-free grammars and pushdown automata
Regular and context-free languages
Pumping lemma
Turing machines
Undecidability

SECTION 7: Compiler Design

Topics	Paper 2019 (Weightage)		Paper 2018 (Weightage)		Paper 2017 (Weightage)
	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Set 1	Set 2	Average Weightage
Lexical analysis	3 (1+2)	5	2+2	4	6	4	4.5
Parsing
Syntax-directed translation
Runtime Environments
Intermediate code generation

SECTION 8: Operating System

Topics	Paper 2019 (Weightage)		Paper 2018 (Weightage)		Paper 2017 (Weightage)
	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Set 1	Set 2	Average Weightage
Processes	5 (2+3)	8	4+3	7	6	6	6
Threads
Inter-process communication
Concurrency and synchronization
Deadlock
CPU Scheduling
Memory management and virtual memory
File systems

SECTION 9: Databases

Topics	Paper 2019 (Weightage)		Paper 2018 (Weightage)		Paper 2017 (Weightage)
	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Set 1	Set 2	Average Weightage
ER-model	5 (1+4)	9	1+2	3	8	8	8
Relational model: relational algebra, tuple calculus, SQL
Integrity constraints, normal forms
File organization, indexing (e.g., B and B+ trees)
Transactions and concurrency control

SECTION 10: Computer Networks

Topics	Paper 2019 (Weightage)		Paper 2018 (Weightage)		Paper 2017 (Weightage)
	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Marks (1 Mark + 2 Marks)	Total Weightage	Set 1	Set 2	Average Weightage
Concept of layering	5 (1+4)	9	1+2	3	8	8	8
LAN technologies (Ethernet)
Flow and error control techniques, switching
IPv4/IPv6, routers and routing algorithms (distance vector, link state)
TCP/UDP and sockets, congestion control
Application layer protocols (DNS, SMTP, POP, FTP, HTTP)
Basic of Wi-Fi
Network security: authentication, basics of the public and private key cryptography, digital signatures and certificates, firewall

MARKING SCHEME

Stream	Subject	No. of Question	Marks
Computer Science and Information Technology (CS)	Engineering Mathematics	10	15
	General Aptitude	10	15
	CS Subjects	45	70
	Total	65	100

In Objective Type questions:

1 & 2 marks for each correct answer according to the assigned marks.
-1/3 & -2/3 mark for each incorrect answer according to the assigned marks.

There is no negative marking for Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions.

Exam Pattern for GATE Computer Science and Information Technology

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