GATE 2026 Instrumentation Engineering (IN) Paper Analysis: Difficulty & Cutoffs
Detailed Subject Weightage, NAT/MSQ Trends, and Expected Admission Scores for Top IITs.
Updated: just now
GATE 2026 Instrumentation Engineering (IN) Analysis
Exam Review: February 7, 2026 | Analysis by Experts & Students
Overall Difficulty Level
The GATE 2026 IN paper was rated Moderate to Difficult. The paper was highly analytical, with a significant shift toward Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions that required precise multi-step calculations. While General Aptitude was scoring, the core technical subjects like Control Systems and Sensors tested deep conceptual clarity.
Topic-wise Weightage Analysis
| Subject Domain | Marks (Approx) | Key Focus Topics in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Control Systems | 10-12 Marks | PID Controllers, Stability (Nyquist/Bode), State-space. |
| Sensors & Transducers | 12-14 Marks | Piezoelectric, Hall Effect, LVDT, Signal Conditioning. |
| Analog & Digital Electronics | 15-18 Marks | Op-Amps, ADC/DAC Resolution, MUX, Microcontrollers. |
| Measurements | 8-10 Marks | Bridge Circuits, Error Analysis, PMMC, True RMS. |
| Engineering Mathematics | 11-13 Marks | Eigenvalues, Matrix Rank, Differential Equations. |
Expected Qualifying Cutoff 2026
Due to the analytical depth of the paper, the expected qualifying marks for 2026 are projected to be slightly lower than some previous years but consistent with the 2025 cycle.
| Category | 2026 (Expected) | 2025 (Actual) | 2024 (Actual) |
|---|---|---|---|
| General (GEN) | 26.0 - 28.5 | 25.6 | 32.7 |
| OBC-NCL / EWS | 23.4 - 25.5 | 23.0 | 29.4 |
| SC / ST / PwD | 17.2 - 19.0 | 17.0 | 21.8 |
Safe Score for IIT & PSU Admissions
For admission into premier institutes like IISc or IIT Bombay, raw marks above 55 are generally considered a strong performance for the General category.
IISc / IIT Bombay
Score: 750+ | Marks: 65+
IIT Madras / Delhi
Score: 700+ | Marks: 58+
PSU Recruitment
Score: 820+ | Marks: 72+
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