GATE 2026 Chemical Engineering (CH) Paper Analysis: Difficulty, Weightage & Cutoffs
Detailed Subject-wise Review, NAT/MSQ Distribution, and Expected IIT/PSU Admission Scores.
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GATE 2026 Chemical Engineering (CH) Detailed Analysis
Analysis of the Exam held on Feb 7, 2026 | Afternoon Session
Overall Paper Difficulty
The GATE 2026 CH paper maintained a Moderate difficulty profile. Students reported that the paper was more application-oriented than theoretical. The Chemical Reaction Engineering and Thermodynamics sections were conceptually deep, while Process Calculations involved lengthy NAT (Numerical Answer Type) questions.
Subject-Wise Marks Weightage
| Subject Domain | Marks (Approx) | Key Focus Topics in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical Reaction Eng. (CRE) | 10-12 Marks | Non-ideal Reactors, Catalyst Deactivation, RTD. |
| Mass Transfer | 8-10 Marks | Distillation (McCabe-Thiele), Absorption, Drying. |
| Heat Transfer | 8 Marks | LMTD, Effectiveness-NTU, Radiation Shields. |
| Thermodynamics | 8-10 Marks | VLE (Raoult’s Law), Fugacity, Solution Thermo. |
| Fluid Mechanics | 7-9 Marks | Bernoulli’s Eq, Pipe Flow (Friction), Pumps. |
| Instrumentation & Control | 6-8 Marks | Transfer Functions, PID Controllers, Stability. |
Expected Qualifying Cutoff 2026
Based on the paper's difficulty and the 2025 cutoff (27.7 for General), the 2026 qualifying marks are expected to be in a similar range.
| Category | 2026 (Expected) | 2025 (Actual) | 2024 (Actual) |
|---|---|---|---|
| General (GEN) | 25.0 - 28.0 | 27.7 | 25.2 |
| OBC-NCL / EWS | 22.5 - 25.0 | 24.9 | 22.6 |
| SC / ST / PwD | 16.5 - 19.0 | 18.4 | 16.7 |
IIT & PSU Admission Thresholds
Chemical Engineering remains a top choice for PSUs like IOCL, ONGC, and BPCL. Safe scores for 2026 admissions and recruitment are:
Top IITs (M.Tech)
Score: 650+ | Marks: 55-65
PSU Recruitment
Marks: 75+ | Rank: Under 150
NITs (Top Tier)
Score: 550+ | Marks: 45-52
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