IIT Madras NPTEL-GATE Portal providing free resources for GATE Exam preparation

Ø An initiative by IITs and IISc to provide free resources for GATE preparation, it offers video solutions, tips, tricks & content mapped to GATE syllabus Ø The NPTEL-GATE portal has received over 50,700 registrations and seen high participation in mock tests, previous years' questions and live preparation sessions. Ø it helps democratize access to resources for excelling in the competitive GATE exam taken by over 10 lakh students yearly

CHENNAI : Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) NPTEL – GATE portal (gate.nptel.ac.in) – has emerged as an important platform for aspirants aiming to ace this competitive examination.

The NPTEL-GATE portal has received over 50,700 registrations. It also provides access to previous years’ questions (PYQs) from 2007-2022, covering more than 16 years of GATE exam topics. The portal has seen a significant increase in student participation in its comprehensive exam preparation programs over the past year.

The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) is a joint initiative of various IITs including IIT Madras and IISc, Bengaluru. This GATE portal is also being sponsored by Amadeus Labs Bengaluru and was launched on August 2022.

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is a prestigious National-level exam that assesses candidates for comprehensive understanding in various undergraduate-level subjects in Engineering, Technology, Science, Architecture, and Humanities. Candidates who qualify in GATE can seek admission with possible financial assistance to Master’s programs and direct Doctoral programs.

Every year, about 7 to 10 lakh students in India take the GATE examination. In 2023, approximately 7 lakh students registered for the GATE exam, of which around one lakh students successfully qualified.

Elaborating on the impact of the NPTEL-GATE Portal, Prof. Andrew Thangaraj, Coordinator, NPTEL-IIT Madras, said, “The high participation of students in mock tests and live sessions demonstrates their commitment to adequate GATE exam preparation using the portal’s expansive resources. The NPTEL-GATE portal provides a lot of benefits for GATE aspirants and offers all these features for free, democratizing access to high-quality educational content.”

To achieve an exceptional GATE rank, students often commence their preparations at least one year in advance, with many opting for coaching from private institutions and online platforms, incurring significant costs.

The NPTEL-GATE Portal provides access to previous years’ questions (PYQs) from 2007-2022, covering 16+ years of GATE exam topics. From August 2022 to February 2023, students completed 115 mock tests across six key subjects – Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electronics and Communication, Physics, and Chemistry.

The current semester, which started on 15th October 2023, has seen 19 mock tests completed already across seven subjects, including the six previous ones and Biotechnology.

Live preparation sessions have been top-rated, with 3,975 students participating in 521 Phase I sessions and 3,321 students in 367 Phase II sessions. Phase III live sessions are currently ongoing. These interactive lessons cover essential GATE topics in various fields.

Mr. Ram Balaji, the #1 GATE rank holder in 2022, speaks highly of the NPTEL-GATE portal for its video solutions, tips, tricks, and precise content mapping to the syllabus. He found the sorting feature helpful in preparing for the exam based on topics and past year papers.

Shantanu Dhara, GATE Rank 318, found it helpful for conceptual study and question-solving. Gaurav Bholanath Mungekar, a student from Maharashtra, with GATE Rank 894, commended the portal for its in-depth explanations of previous years’ questions and motivating assignments.