The expected cutoff for the GATE DA 2026 exam is 29-32 marks for general category. The GATE 2026 DA exam is considered moderate to tough, with a focus on mathematics, probability, DBMS, Python/ML topics.
- The expected cutoff for reserved categories is below. For OBC-NCL/EWS 26-29, and for SC/ST/PwD around 19-21 marks.
- For admission into IITs/NITs and PSUs, you need 50-70+ marks in GATE 2026 DA. It can vary for different categories.
This article will help you with detailed information about the expected cutoff of GATE 2026 DA, previous year cutoff trends, factors that influence the cutoff, and a safe score for good opportunities.
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GATE DA Expected Cutoff for 2026
Expectation can vary slightly due to the exam difficulty and number of candidate appeared in the exam.
| Category | GATE 2026 DA Expected Cutoff |
|---|---|
| General | 29-32 |
| OBC-NCL/EWS | 26-29 |
| SC/ST/PwD | 19-21 |
Ques: When will the official GATE 2026 DA cutoff be released?
Ans: The GATE 2026 DA cutoff will be expected to release on 19 March, 2026 along with result on the official website gate2026.iitg.ac.in of IIT Guwahati.
GATE DA Past Year Cutoff Trends
The GATE Data Science and Artificial Intelligence(DA) paper was first introduced in 2024. So we have past year cutoff trends for 2024 and 2025.
- Last year cutoff released by IIT Roorkee, for General was 29, for OBC/NCL/EWS was 26.1, and for SC/ST/PwD was 19.3.
- For first time conducted by IISc Banglore, cutoff for general was 37.1, for OBC/NCL/EWS 33.3, and for SC/ST/PwD 24.7.
| Year | Organizing Institute | General | OBC-NCL/EWS | SC/ST/PwD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | IIT Roorkee | 29 | 26.1 | 19.3 |
| 2024 | IISc Bangalore | 37.1 | 33.3 | 24.7 |
Ques: What is the GATE DA cutoff for 2023?
Ans: In Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering(GATE) exam for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence(DA) was first introduced in 2024. Before 2023 students appear for GATE CS exam for similar fields.
Ques: Why did GATE DA cutoff decreased form last year?
Ans: The drop is primarily in 2025 dure to higher difficulty level of the exam. The difficulty level of GATE 2026 DA exam is considered moderate to difficult, so expected cutoff is 29-32 for general category. It is slight below for reserved categories.
Factors Influencing GATE 2026 DA Cutoff
There are some key factors on which cutoff heavily depends. From the past year trends cutoff slightly changed due to increasing competition.
| Factors Influencing GATE 2026 Cutoff |
|---|
| Paper difficulty level, moderate to tough with heavy maths and conceptual questions in ML/AI/DA |
| Number of candidates and candidates performance |
| Rising popularity of DA paper as students have high interest in AI/ML fields. |
Ques: How much the rising interest influence the GATE 2026 DA Cutoff?
Ans: Due to booming in AI and ML, GATE DA paper is rising popularity. In 2024 around 39,000 candidates and for 2025 around 57,000 candidates registered and appeared in the exam. As the number of candidates increases the performance also increases.
GATE 2026 DA Safe Marks for IITs and NITs Admission
For getting into top colleges you need to score much higher marks than qualifying marks. IITs and NITs have high cutoff for their postgraduate DA programmes because of high competition.
- For top IITs such as IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras you need a score of 70 to 80+ if you belongs to general category, for OBC-NCL it should be 60 to 70+, and for SC/ST/PwD you should target 50 to 60+ marks in GATE 2026 DA.
- For good and mid-tier IITs such as IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Roorke and other, you should target in range 50-70+ for general, for OBC-NCL/EWS 40-60+, and for SC/ST/PwD 40-50+.
- You can target top NITs at a score of 40-50+ in general category, 35-40+ for OBC-NCL/EWS, and 30-40+ for SC/ST/PwD category.
| IITs and NITs(AI/DS/ML Programms) | Expected Marks for General | Expected Marks for OBC-NCL/EWS | Expected Marks for SC/ST/PwD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top IITs: IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, IISc Bangalore | 70-80+ | 60-70+ | 50-60+ |
| Good IITs: IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Guwahati | 60-70+ | 50-60+ | 45-50+ |
| Mid Tier IITs: IIT Roorkee, IIT Indore, IIT BHU | 50-60+ | 40-50+ | 40-45+ |
| Top NITs: NIT Trichy, NIT Warangal, NIT Surathkal, NIT Rourkela | 40-50+ | 35-40+ | 30-40+ |
Related Links:
- IIT GATE Cutoff 2026, Previous Year Category-wise Opening and Closing Ranks for IIT
- GATE NIT Cutoff 2026- Check Previous Year Opening and Closing score (2025-2021)
- GATE College Predictor 2026: Predict your Admission Chances at IIT, NIT
Checkout this YouTube video by GeeksforGeeks GATE youtube channel for GATE 2026 DA Expected Cutoff and Safe Score for IIT, NIT & PSU
GATE 2026 DA Safe Marks for PSUs
As the exam is introduced in 2024, However many PSUs recruit for Data Science related field giving high salaries arranging from 12 to 20+ LPA with different perks like HRA, DA, and medical.
- For top PSUs such as ONGC, IOCL, NTPC, HPCL, GAIL you need a score of 65 to 80+ if you belongs to general category, for OBC-NCL it should be 60 to 75+, and for SC/ST/PwD you should target 50 to 65+ marks in GATE 2026 DA.
- For good and mid-tier PSUs such as BHEL, PGCIL, NALCO, NPCIL for smart manufacturing, you should target in range 55-70+ for general, for OBC-NCL/EWS 50-60+, and for SC/ST/PwD 45-60+.
- You can target CIL, SAIL, BEL(limited but possible for data projects) at a score of 50-65+ in general category, 45-60+ for OBC-NCL/EWS, and 40-55+ for SC/ST/PwD category.
| PSUs | Expected Marks for General | Expected Marks for OBC-NCL/EWS | Expected Marks for SC/ST/PwD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top PSUs: ONGC, IOCL, NTPC, HPCL, GAIL(for data analytics, optimization, AI in energy/oil) | 65-80+ | 60-75+ | 50-65+ |
| Good/Mid-Tier PSUs: BHEL, PGCIL, NALCO, NPCIL for smart manufacturing, grid analytics, power data) | 55-70+ | 50-65+ | 45-60+ |
| CIL, SAIL, BEL (limited but possible for data projects) | 50-65+ | 45-60+ | 40-55+ |
Related Links:
- PSU GATE Cutoff 2026: Check Branch & Category-Wise Cutoff, and Previous Year Cutoff
- GATE PSU Predictor 2026: Predict your PSU Chances through GATE score
- GATE 2026 DA Answer Key: Check GATE DA Question Paper with Answer Key
- GATE Marks Calculator using Response Sheet
- How to Calculate GATE 2026 Rank from Marks?
- GATE 2026 Marks vs Rank vs Cutoff: How Qualifying Marks Affect Your Rank
- GATE 2026 Minimum Score for Scorecard: Cutoff vs Actual Qualifying Explained
GATE 2026 DA Expected Cutoff FAQs
Ques: What is the safe score to qualify is GATE 2026 DA Exam?
Ans: A score of 35+(out of 100) is generally considered a safe score to qualify GATE 2026 DA exam including all the categories. For reserved categories you can expect slight below it. But you are advised to target more than it for safe side.
Ques: How is the expected cutoff from the previous year of GATE DA Exam?
Ans: Last year cutoff for General category was 29 to 37.1, for this year it is expected to be 29 to 32 after analysing the exam. For OBC-NCL/EWS is expected to 26 to 29, and for SC/ST/PwD 19-21.
Ques: Which PSUs mostly recruit through GATE 2026 DA score?
Ans: As DA paper is introduced in 2024, traditional PSUs like ONGC, IOCL, NTPC, HPCL, GAIL, BHEL, PGCIL, NPCIL are increasingly considering for their data roles such as Data Analyst/ Data Scientist and AI/ML role for energy optimization.
Ques: Why GATE 2026 DA expected cutoff is lower than GATE 2024 DA cutoff?
Ans: The cutoff for GATE DA is dropped due to increase in difficulty level of the exam as it emphasizes on conceptual mathematics, probability and ML foundation. In 2024 is was 37.1 for general category which is dropped to 29 for 2025. Now it is expected to 29 to 32.
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