Explore: GATE CS hub · Syllabus & pattern · GATE CS 2026 · Topic-wise vs year-wise
Answer first
We tagged all 715 questions from 11 official GATE CS papers (2016–2026, one set per year) by subject and concept. Across those papers the heaviest technical subjects were Programming & Data Structures (10.7 marks a year), Operating Systems (8.8 marks a year), Discrete Mathematics (8.6 marks a year). General Aptitude is a fixed 15 marks.
Marks by subject and year
Marks each subject carried in each paper. Select a year for that paper’s page, or a subject for every question it asked.
| Subject | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GA | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15.0 |
| Engg Maths | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 7.2 |
| Discrete Maths | 7 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8.6 |
| Digital Logic | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6.4 |
| COA | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 7.4 |
| Prog & DS | 12 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 10.7 |
| Algorithms | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 6.8 |
| TOC | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 7.8 |
| Compilers | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6.1 |
| OS | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 8.8 |
| DBMS | 6 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7.0 |
| CN | 8 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8.2 |
Subjects ranked by average marks
- Programming & Data Structures: 10.7 marks a year (8–13); most repeated: C Programming, Recursion
- Operating Systems: 8.8 marks a year (6–10); most repeated: Paging & Virtual Memory, CPU Scheduling
- Discrete Mathematics: 8.6 marks a year (6–13); most repeated: Graph Theory, Combinatorics
- Computer Networks: 8.2 marks a year (6–10); most repeated: TCP, Application Layer
- Theory of Computation: 7.8 marks a year (5–10); most repeated: Context-Free Languages, Regular Languages
- Computer Organization & Architecture: 7.4 marks a year (4–10); most repeated: Cache Memory, Pipelining
- Engineering Mathematics: 7.2 marks a year (5–9); most repeated: Linear Algebra, Calculus
- Databases (DBMS): 7 marks a year (5–8); most repeated: Normalisation, Relational Algebra
- Algorithms: 6.8 marks a year (3–10); most repeated: Minimum Spanning Tree, Asymptotic Complexity
- Digital Logic: 6.4 marks a year (3–8); most repeated: Number Representation, Sequential Circuits
- Compiler Design: 6.1 marks a year (4–8); most repeated: Parsing, Syntax-Directed Translation
Plus General Aptitude: 15 marks a year.
How the tagging works
- Source: the official GATE CS question paper for each year, as hosted on the year pages. Where GATE CS ran two sessions (2016, 2017, 2021, 2024, 2025, 2026), we used set 1.
- Marks, type, key: taken from the official answer key, not estimated.
- Subject and concept: one subject per question, following the official syllabus headings. Questions that span two subjects are tagged with the one they mainly test.
- Scanned papers (2017, 2020, 2021) were read from page images and checked against the official key.
FAQ
Which GATE CS subjects carry the most marks?
Averaged over the official papers from 2016–2026: Programming & Data Structures (10.7 marks a year), Operating Systems (8.8 marks a year), Discrete Mathematics (8.6 marks a year). Engineering Maths, GA and the core subjects together make up 100 marks.
How were the GATE CS questions tagged?
We read every question in one official set per year and tagged it with one subject and one concept. Type, marks and key come from the official answer key, so the counts add up to each paper’s 65 questions and 100 marks.
Should I practise GATE CS topic-wise or year-wise?
Both. Use these topic pages to repair weak subjects, then sit full year papers under time to train MSQ/NAT choices and stamina.