The GATE 2026 Instrumentation Engineering (IN) paper was conducted on February 7th from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM.

The IN paper analysis will be based on the feedback given by candidates, the memory-based paper, and the expert reviews from the different coaching institutes and collegedunia.com.

The Paper Analysis will cover the overall difficulty, subject-wise trends, topic-weightage, good attempts, and cutoff to help candidates check the performance and prepare for the next shifts.

Also Read:

GATE 2026: Subject Wise Instrumentation Engineering Paper Analysis

Based on the previous year's analysis and the expert predictions from various coaching institutes, the Instrumentation Engineering paper is expected to be challenging.

Core subjects are expected to be more on the tougher side. We can expect more questions on signal systems and control systems. Expect Engineering Mathematics questions to be more challenging.

In the GATE 2025 IN paper, students found a significant focus on unexpected topics that are usually considered low-weighted. Students noted that topics like microprocessor and communication had less weightage.

Subjects Expected Difficulty Level ExpectedKey Topics and High Weightage
General Aptitude Easy to moderate Verbal ability, reasoning, spatial aptitude
Engineering Mathematics Moderate Matrix ranks, Eigen values and vectors, probability distributions, and differential equations.
Electricity and magnetism Moderate to tough Electric field intensity, flux density, and Eddy current principles
Signals and systems Moderate Laplace and z-transforms, convolution
Control systems Moderate-tough PID controllers, Dode/Nyquist stability analysis
Analog electronics Moderate Opamps, diode/zener applications, and small signal analysis
Digital electronics Easy-moderate Sequential circuits, multiplexers, boolean minimisation
Measurements Moderate Bridge circuits, error analysis, DVM/DMM
Sensors and industrial instrumentation Moderate LVDT, strain gauge, piezoelectric sensors

Check: What is the rank of 70 marks in GATE?

Expected Good Attempts and Cutoff for GATE 2026 Instrumentation Engineering Paper

GATE Paper Expected Good Attempts Expected Cutoff Marks (General) Expected Cutoff marks (OBC/EWS) Expected Cutoff Marks (SC/ST)
Instrumentation Engineering (IN) 50-55 26-27 23-24 18-19

Also Read