GATE has been a pivotal exam for advanced studies in engineering and technology. Last year, the GATE DA paper was introduced, establishing Data Science and AI as distinct fields, separate from Computer Science. GATE DA 2025 builds on this initiative, offering specialized opportunities in Data Science, AI, and Big Data. Let’s explore everything about GATE DA 2025, including important dates, previous year cutoffs, and more.

Overview of GATE DA

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is a pivotal examination in India, serving as a gateway for postgraduate studies and recruitment in technical fields. In 2024, recognizing the distinct and growing importance of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI), GATE introduced a dedicated paper for these disciplines, separating them from the traditional Computer Science (CS) paper.

Understanding GATE DA and CS

• Computer Science (CS): This paper encompasses a broad spectrum of topics, including algorithms, programming languages, computer architecture, and operating systems. It provides a comprehensive foundation in computing principles.
• Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DA): Introduced to address the specialized nature of data analysis and intelligent system development, this paper focuses on areas such as machine learning, statistical methods, data handling, and AI techniques.

Key Differences

• Scope: While CS covers a wide range of computing topics, DA zeroes in on data-centric and AI-driven methodologies.
• Skill Set: CS emphasizes programming, system design, and theoretical computer science. In contrast, DA requires proficiency in data analysis, statistical modeling, and machine learning algorithms.

Important Dates

The dates to remember if you are interested in GATE 2025 are:

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DA) exam, candidates must meet specific criteria:

1. Educational Qualification: Candidates should have a Bachelor’s degree in Science (Post-Diploma/4 years after 10+2) or B.Sc. (Research) / B.S. in a relevant field. This includes degrees in Science and Engineering.
2. Currently Enrolled: Candidates should be currently in the 3rd year or higher of their qualifying Bachelor’s degree program in the specified fields.
3. Post-Diploma Candidates: Candidates with a Bachelor’s degree in Science (Post-Diploma) are also eligible.
4. Age Limit: No age limit is defined for applying for the GATE exam.
5. Nationality: Indian citizens can take the GATE exam, and international students meeting the necessary educational qualifications can also apply. Candidates must note that there are no international exam centres for foreign nationals. 
6. GATE International Students: Candidates from Nepal, Bangladesh, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates can apply for GATE 2025.

GATE Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Exam Pattern

As mentioned, the examiners will divide 100 marks into two sections to test their abilities. They will categorize the questions into two types based on the answering method and the knowledge.

Exam Mode

GATE DA 2025 is a Computer-Based Test (CBT) where students must go to their respective examination centres.

Duration

The exam is 3 hours (180 minutes).

Sections

There are 2 sections: General Aptitude (GA) and Candidate’s Selected Subject.

Question Type Based on Answering Method

• Multiple Choice Questions or MCQs: You must select one correct option among the present options. 
• Multiple Select Questions or MSQs: You must select all the appropriate answers from the available options. 
• Numerical Answer Type or NAT: You will not have any option. You will have to enter the numerical digits as the answer. 

Number of Questions

The test will include 10 questions from GA and 55 questions specific to the candidate’s chosen subject. Thus, the total number of questions is 15 + 85 = 100.

Marking Scheme

The questions can carry either 1 or 2 marks. Furthermore, there is a negative marking for incorrect answer choices. But no marks will be deducted if you leave the answer blank.

The negative marking goes like this:

• A ‘1-mark MCQ’ will be deducted with ⅓ mark for a wrong answer. 
• A ‘2-mark MCQ’ will be deducted with a ⅔ mark for the wrong answer. 
• Candidates must note no negative marking for Numerical Answer Type or NAT questions. 

Also, partial marks will not be awarded in MSQ or Multiple Select Questions. 

Skills Tested in GATE DA 2025

• Recall: The examiners will test candidates’ memory-based knowledge, including principles, formulas, laws, and facts.
• Comprehension: The examiners will assess candidates’ inference and concluding abilities based on the provided information. It can be a scenario or experiment or similar other comprehensive questions. 
• Application: These questions will test the candidate’s ability to utilize the application skills of the obtained knowledge. It simply tests practical abilities. 
• Analysis and Synthesis: The candidates must analyze the question thoroughly and use their imagination and drawing skills to conclude. Rough flow charts or images will be helpful here. 

GATE 2025 Exam Dates

The exam date according to the papers.

GATE 2025 Exam Day and Date	Timings	GATE 2025 Test Papers
February 1, 2025 (Saturday)	9:30 AM to 12:30 PM	CS1, AG, MA
	2:30 PM to 5:30 pm	CS2, NM, MT, TF, IN
February 2, 2025 (Sunday)	9:30 AM to 12:30 PM	ME, PE, AR
	2:30 PM to 5:30 PM	EE
February 15, 2025 (Saturday)	9:30 AM to 12:30 PM	CY, AE, DA, ES, PI
	2:30 PM to 5:30 PM	EC, GE, XH, BM, EY
February 16, 2025 (Sunday)	9:30 AM to 12:30 PM	CE1, GG, CH, PH, BT
	2:30 PM to 5:30 PM	CE2, ST, XE, XL, MN

GATE DA 2025 Syllabus

The GATE 2025 DA syllabus encompasses diverse subjects; these topics encapsulate the fundamental knowledge required to excel in data science and AI. Lets have a look at the prescribed syllabus:

Subjects	Subtopics
Probability and Statistics	Counting (Permutations and Combinations) Probability Axioms Sample Space Events Independent Events Mutually Exclusive Events Marginal, Conditional, and Joint Probability Bayes’ Theorem Conditional Expectation and Variance Mean, Median, Mode, and Standard Deviation Correlation and Covariance Random Variables Discrete Random Variables and Probability Mass Functions (Uniform, Bernoulli, and Binomial Distribution) Continuous Random Variables and Probability Distribution Functions (Uniform, Exponential, Poisson, Normal, Standard Normal, t-Distribution, Chi-Squared Distributions) Cumulative Distribution Function Conditional Probability Density Function Central Limit Theorem Confidence Interval z-Test t-Test Chi-Squared Test
Linear Algebra	Vector Space Subspaces Linear Dependence and Independence of Vectors Matrices Projection Matrix Orthogonal Matrix Idempotent Matrix Partition Matrix and Their Properties Quadratic Forms Systems of Linear Equations and Solutions Gaussian Elimination Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors Determinant Rank Nullity Projections LU Decomposition Singular Value Decomposition
Calculus and Optimization	Functions of a Single Variable Limit Continuity and Differentiability Taylor Series Maxima and Minima Optimization Involving a Single Variable
Programming, Data Structures, and Algorithms	Programming in Python Basic Data Structures: Stacks, Queues, Linked Lists, Trees, and Hash Tables Search Algorithms: Linear Search and Binary Search Basic Sorting Algorithms: Selection Sort, Bubble Sort, Insertion Sort Divide and Conquer Techniques: Mergesort, Quicksort Introduction to Graph Theory Basic Graph Algorithms: Traversals and the Shortest Path
Database Management and Warehousing	ER-Model (Entity-Relationship Model) Relational Model: Relational Algebra, Tuple Calculus SQL (Structured Query Language) Integrity Constraints Normal Form File Organization Indexing Data Types Data Transformation: Normalization, Discretization, Sampling, and Compression Data Warehouse Modeling: Schema for Multidimensional Data Models Concept Hierarchies Measures: Categorization and Computations
Machine Learning	Supervised and Unsupervised Learning Regression and Classification Problems Simple Linear Regression Multiple Linear Regression Ridge Regression Logistic Regression k-Nearest Neighbors Naive Bayes Classifier Linear Discriminant Analysis Support Vector Machine Decision Trees Bias-Variance Trade-off Cross-validation Methods: Leave-One-Out (LOO) Cross-validation, k-Folds Cross-validation Multi-layer Perceptron Feed-forward Neural Network Clustering Algorithms k-Means and k-Medoid Clustering Hierarchical Clustering Dimensionality Reduction Principal Component Analysis (PCA)
Artificial Intelligence (AI)	Search: Informed Search, Uninformed Search, Adversarial Search Logic: Propositional Logic, Predicate Logic Reasoning under Uncertainty Topics Conditional Independence Representation Exact Inference through Variable Elimination Approximate Inference through Sampling

Here is the link for the elaborate syllabus.

Gate DA Previous Year Cut-off

• General: 37.1
• OBC-NCL/EWS: 33.3
• SC/ST/PwD: 24.7

Registration and Application Process

Candidates must first register on the website and fill in the application form. 

Step 1: Click on the link (https://gate2025.iisc.ac.in/), scroll down, and click on the ‘login’ button. 

Step 2: Once redirected, scroll down to ‘register here’ again. Alternatively, you can visit the link directly (https://goaps.iitr.ac.in/login). 

Step 3: Fill in your details and click on ‘confirm.’ You will get a confirmation message displayed. Cross-check the name spelling and go ahead. 

Step 4: Further blank columns will open to fill in the details like email address, phone number, password, and captcha code. Click on the ‘register’ option.

Step 5: You will get a confirmation message. Now, receive credentials on email and mobile number. Move ahead to log in and fill in the details. 

Step 6: Once you log in, check the declaration box. Tick the box after reviewing the information brochure and click ‘Start filling out the GATE 2025 application form’. 

Step 7: Fill in all the details for the exhibited sections, followed by paying the timely fees to be eligible for appearing for the exam. 

Colleges Accepting GATE DA

GATE DA has been recognized by several premier institutions in India for their postgraduate programs. Here’s an overview of some top colleges accepting GATE DA:

• IIT Madras
• IIT Delhi
• IIT Bombay
• IIT Kanpur
• IIT Kharagpur
• IIT Roorkee
• IIT Guwahati
• IIT Hyderabad
• NIT Trichy
• NIT Surathkal
• NIT Warangal
• NIT Calicut
• IISc Bangalore
• IIITs
• Private Universities (e.g., BITS Pilani, VIT Vellore, SRM University)

Conclusion

As we move forward in this data-driven era, GATE DA 2025 stands as a beacon of opportunity for those who aspire to shape the future through Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. It offers a platform to embark on a rewarding academic and professional journey, unlocking doors to exciting careers in these rapidly evolving fields. Analytics Vidhya’s blog and Free Courses cover many topics in the GATE DA syllabus.

All the best!

A 23-year-old, pursuing her Master’s in English, an avid reader, and a melophile. My all-time favorite quote is by Albus Dumbledore – “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one remembers to turn on the light.”

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