GATE Answer Key – Important Dates, Process, Marking Scheme

IIT Bombay will release the GATE 2021 answer key through online mode after the conduct of the exam. The conducting body for the GATE exam releases the answer key for all 25 GATE papers. Using the GATE answer key, the candidates will be able to calculate their probable GATE scores prior to result declaration. Aspirants will be required to follow the official marking scheme in order to calculate their GATE scores. Also, along with the GATE answer key, the candidates can also access their respective response sheets for calculation of the marks. 

It must be noted that the authority will release the provisional answer key for GATE 2021 in the third week of February 2021, tentatively. If in case any candidate has any objection with the answers released in the answer key, they will have the provision to raise their objections. After the rectification of all the objections, the authorities will release the final GATE answer key. Candidates must note that they will be required to pay INR 500 (per answer) in lieu of their objection in the provisional answer key. Go through the complete article for more information on GATE Answer Key 2021.

GATE Answer KEY – Important Dates

We have given the tentative dates for the release of the GATE 2021 answer key for the reference of the aspiring candidates in the below table. As soon as the official dates are announced, we will update this table. 

GATE Important Dates 2021:

Dates	Event
First week of February, 2021	GATE 2021
Third week of February, 2021	Release of provisional GATE 2021 answer key
Third week of February, 2021	Availability of objection window
Second week of March, 2021	Release of GATE final answer key 2021
Second week of March, 2021	Declaration of Result

How can I access the GATE Answer Key 2021?

As discussed above, the answer key for GATE 2021 will be made available in online mode on the official website by IIT Bombay. In order to access the GATE answer key (to be made available in PDF file), the candidates will be required to follow the below mentioned steps-

1. Visit the official website of IIT Bombay for GATE 2021.
2. Go to the direct link given to access the answer key.
3. After clicking on the direct link, the candidates will be redirected to the answer key window.
4. Aspirants are advised to download the GATE answer key along with the corresponding question paper. 

Or, the candidates can also click on the direct links given below to download the answer key and question papers for GATE 2021. 

*The links will be uploaded here when the answer keys will be released officially for GATE 2021.

Paper Code	Question Paper	Answer Key
Aerospace Engineering (AE)	Click here	Click here
Agricultural Engineering (AG)	Click here	Click here
Architecture and Planning (AR)	Click here	Click here
Biotechnology (BT)	Click here	Click here
Chemical Engineering (CH)	Click here	Click here
Chemistry (CY)	Click here	Click here
Civil Engineering Session 1(CE)	Click here	Click here
Civil Engineering Session 2 (CE)	Click here	Click here
Computer Science and Information Technology (CS)	Click here	Click here
Ecology and Evolution (EY)	Click here	Click here
Electrical Engineering (EE)	Click here	Click here
Electronics and Communication Engineering (EC)	Click here	Click here
Geology and Geophysics (GG)	Click here	Click here
Instrumentation Engineering (IN)	Click here	Click here
Mathematics (MA)	Click here	Click here
Mechanical Engineering Session 1 (ME)	Click here	Click here
Mechanical Engineering Session 2 (ME)	Click here	Click here
Metallurgical Engineering (MT)	Click here	Click here
Mining Engineering (MN)	Click here	Click here
Petroleum Engineering (PE)	Click here	Click here
Physics (PH)	Click here	Click here
Production and Industrial Engineering (PI)	Click here	Click here
Statistics (ST)	Click here	Click here
Textile Engineering and Fibre Science (TF)	Click here	Click here
XE-A: Engineering Mathematics	Click here	Click here
XE-B: Fluid Mechanics
XE-C: Materials Science
XE-D: Solid Mechanics
XE-E: Thermodynamics
XE-F: Polymer Science and Engineering
XE-G: Food Technology
XE-H: Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
XL-P: Chemistry	Click here	Click here
XL-Q: Biochemistry
XL-R: Botany
XL-S: Microbiology
XL-T: Zoology
XL-U: Food Technology

How can we calculate the scores using GATE Answer Key 2021?

The GATE answer key encompasses the correct answers for the questions asked in the exam. By using the GATE answer key and by following the official marking scheme for GATE exam, the candidates can calculate their probable scores. The marking scheme for GATE exam is as follows – 

GATE Marking Scheme:

As per the marking scheme for GATE exam:

1. For MCQs carrying 1 mark each, 1 mark will be rewarded for every correct answer and 1/3 mark will be deducted for every wrong answer.
2. For MCQs carrying 2 marks each, 2/3 marks will be deducted for every incorrect response.
3. For NAT (Numerical Answer Type) questions there is no negative marking.

Formula to calculate the probable scores:

For MCQs with 1 mark –

(Total number of correct answers x 1) – (Total number of incorrect answers x 1/3)

For MCQs with 2 marks –

(Total number of correct answers x 2) – (Total number of incorrect answers x 2/3)

For NAT questions:

(Total number of correct answers x 1) + (Total number of correct answers x 2) – (Total number of incorrect answers x 0)

How can we raise objections on GATE Answer Key 2021?

If in case any candidate finds any discrepancy or has an objection with the answers released in the GATE answer key, he/she can raise objections against the same. After rectifying all the objections, the authorities will then release the final answer key for GATE 2021. No objections are entertained in the final answer key. In order to raise objection against GATE answer key, the candidates should follow the below mentioned steps- 

1. Visit the official GATE Online Application Processing System (GOAPS).
2. Click on the “Contest Answer Key” tab.
3. Before proceeding with raising the objections, the candidates will be required to make the payment of INR 500 per challenge (US $10 for NRI candidates).
4. After successful payment, the candidates will be required to enter the question number they wish to challenge along with the supporting documents and justification for the challenge.

GATE Response Sheet 2021

Along with the GATE question paper and answer key, the response sheet is also imperative for the examinees in estimating the scores. The GATE response sheet would be individually issued to each test-taker and it consists of the answers marked by them while taking the exam. Candidates can easily download the GATE response sheet from GOAPS portal following the below steps:

1. Login to the GATE Online Application Processing System (GOAPS) portal
2. Click on ‘view response sheet’ tab on the screen
3. PDF of response sheet will open up on the screen 
4. Save it as PDF or web page in your system 

Events to Check after Release of GATE Answer Key 

IIT Bombay is expected to release the GATE result 2021 by the third week of March, which is the most awaited event after the GATE answer key release. GATE result includes the crucial details regarding exam such as:

1. Candidate’s score out of 100
2. Qualifying marks for GATE paper 
3. AIR (All India Rank) of candidate    

Test-takers need to keep their GATE enrolment ID ready to login to GOAPS portal and to check their GATE result. The raw score of the candidates in their respective paper has been normalized by the authority if the paper is conducted in multiple sessions.

GATE Cutoff 2021 

Once the candidates predict their GATE score, they can also predict their exam qualifying status by referring to the previous year’s GATE qualifying cut off. It includes the category-wise qualifying marks of each GATE paper. We have made the GATE cut off 2020 easily accessible to the candidates in the table below: 

Score-wise GATE Qualifying Cut Off 2020

GATE Paper	General	OBC (NCL)	SC/ST/PwD
Aerospace Engineering	27.2	24.4	18.1
Agricultural Engineering	26.3	23.6	17.5
Architecture and Planning	34.8	31,3	23.2
Biotechnology	30.7	27.6	20.4
Biomedical	25	22.5	16.6
Civil Engineering	32.9	29.6	21.9
Computer Science and Information Technology	28.5	25.6	19
Chemistry	26.7	24	17.8
Chemical Engineering	35.7	32.1	23.8
Ecology and Evolution	42.2	37.9	28.1
Electrical Engineering	33.4	30	22.2
Electronics and Communication Engineering	28.8	25.9	19.2
Geology	38.4	34.5	25.6
Geophysics	51.9	46.7	34.6
Instrumentation Engineering	34.6	31.1	23
Mathematics	25	22.5	16.6
Mining Engineering	32.7	29.4	21.8
Metallurgical Engineering	49.2	44.2	32.8
Mechanical Engineering	34	30.6	22.6
Petroleum Engineering	39.8	35.8	26.5
Physics	37.2	33.4	24.8
Production and Industrial Engineering	36.6	32.9	24.4
Statistics	25	22.5	16.6
Textile Engineering and Fiber Science	37.1	33.3	24.7
Engineering Sciences	26	23.4	17.3
Life Sciences	31.7	28.5	21.1

GATE Answer Key – FAQs

Q. When will the authority release the answer key for GATE 2021?

IIT Bombay will release the GATE 2021 answer key in the third week of February 2021, tentatively.

Q. What is the fee to challenge the GATE answer key?

The fee to challenge the GATE answer key is INR 500 per challenge (US $10 for NRI candidates).

Q. Can I challenge the final answer key of GATE 2021?

No. The final answer key of GATE 2021 will be released after considering all the objections filed by the candidates in provisional answer key. Hence, no challenges are considered once the final answer key is released.

Q. What is the benefit of the GATE answer key?

The major benefit of the GATE answer key is that the candidates are able to calculate their probable scores. By following the official marking scheme and using the answer key, the candidates can easily calculate their probable scores.

Q. How can we access the answer key for GATE?

In this article above, we have given the direct links to download and access the answer key (links will be updated when official answer keys will be released by the authorities). The candidates can also visit the official website for the same.

Stay tuned to Buddy4Study to get the latest updates and news on GATE Exam 2021.