Checked 25 September 2026. Every link was opened and returned a PDF on the date shown. Files are hosted by IIT Madras on the GATE 2027 site; if one moves, the same files are on its Download page.
GATE DA is only three years old, so there are exactly three official papers — 2024, 2025 and 2026 — and all three, with their answer keys, are hosted free on the GATE 2027 website run by IIT Madras. Three papers is not many, which makes each one more valuable and makes how you use them matter more.
Official GATE DA papers and keys
- GATE 2026 (IIT Guwahati) — Question paper · Answer key
- GATE 2025 (IIT Roorkee) — Question paper · Answer key
- GATE 2024 (IISc Bengaluru) — Question paper · Final answer key
In the 2024 key, Q59 (a 2-mark numerical question on a conditional expectation) was marked "MTA" — marks to all. Three multiple-select questions had only one correct option: 2025 Q27, 2026 Q23 and 2026 Q51 — a reminder that an MSQ can have a single answer.
What each paper looked like
| Paper | GA | Subject MCQ / MSQ / NAT | Subject questions: 1-mark / 2-mark | Largest section |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 10 MCQ (15 marks) | 27 / 12 / 16 | 25 (25 marks) / 30 (60 marks) | Programming (20 marks) |
| 2025 | 10 MCQ (15 marks) | 25 / 18 / 12 | 25 (25 marks) / 30 (60 marks) | Probability & Statistics (19) |
| 2026 | 10 MCQ (15 marks) | 23 / 14 / 18 | 25 (25 marks) / 30 (60 marks) | Probability & Statistics (21) |
From the official answer keys. MCQs have fallen every year; in 2026, 32 of 55 subject questions carried no negative marking.
For the full section-by-section breakdown of all three papers, see our GATE DA topic-wise weightage, counted question by question.
Every question, indexed by section
This is the index we built while counting the weightage: every subject question in the three papers, filed under the syllabus section it tests. Use it for the "by topic" pass — open all three PDFs, and work through one row at a time.
| Section | 2024 questions | 2025 questions | 2026 questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probability & Statistics | 11, 12, 34, 36, 56, 57, 58, 59, 65 | 11, 19, 20, 21, 31, 36, 39, 40, 41, 45, 54, 61 | 19, 20, 28, 33, 34, 44, 45, 53, 54, 57, 62, 63, 64 |
| Linear Algebra | 13, 35, 47, 48, 49, 61 | 12, 13, 25, 28, 37, 38, 50, 52 | 21, 22, 46, 52, 65 |
| Calculus & Optimization | 15, 33, 37, 50, 60 | 14, 24, 32, 48, 49, 51, 59 | 27, 29, 35 |
| Programming, DS & Algorithms | 14, 16, 21, 28, 30, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 45, 51, 52 | 18, 23, 27, 29, 47, 58, 63, 64, 65 | 15, 16, 25, 31, 39, 40, 49, 50, 58 |
| DBMS & Warehousing | 26, 27, 31, 46, 55 | 16, 17, 33, 46, 56, 57, 62 | 17, 18, 26, 32, 41, 42, 43, 51, 59, 60, 61 |
| Machine Learning | 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 42, 43, 53, 62, 63 | 22, 30, 34, 35, 42, 53, 55, 60 | 11, 12, 23, 36, 37, 47, 55, 56 |
| AI | 23, 24, 25, 29, 44, 54, 64 | 15, 26, 43, 44 | 13, 14, 24, 30, 38, 48 |
Questions 1–10 in every paper are General Aptitude. A few questions sit on the border between two sections — a probability calculation inside a machine-learning setting, say — and we filed each where the syllabus wording fits best; the weightage guide lists those judgement calls.
What each paper leaned on
2024 (IISc) — programming-heavy
- Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms carried 20 of 85 marks — its highest share in any year — with Python output tracing, sorting passes, binary search and tree traversals.
- Machine Learning (15) and Probability (15) were level; DBMS carried only 7.
- 16 numerical-answer questions, including one marks-to-all (Q59).
2025 (IIT Roorkee) — the mathematical paper
- Probability rose to 19, Linear Algebra to 12 and Calculus to 11 — 42 of 85 marks in the three mathematics sections.
- The most multiple-select questions of the three years: 18.
- Machine Learning dropped to 12; AI to 6.
2026 (IIT Guwahati) — probability and databases
- Probability & Statistics reached 21 and DBMS & Warehousing 18 — together 39 of 85 marks.
- Calculus shrank to 3 marks (three questions), its lowest.
- 18 numerical-answer questions and 23 MCQs, the fewest MCQs so far.
Three organising institutes, three different emphases (largest section by our count). That is why no single past paper is a reliable preview of 2027, and why working all three by section beats taking any one as a mock.
Three papers, used three ways
With only three papers, do not burn them as mock tests in the first week. Use each one twice: once by topic, while you study, and once as a timed paper near the end.
| Stage | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| While studying a section (Oct–Nov) | Pull that section's questions from all three papers and solve them together | Shows exactly how deep each topic is examined |
| First full paper (early Dec) | 2024 paper, timed, 3 hours | The oldest paper — spend it first, while you are still learning pacing |
| Late Dec | 2025 paper, timed | Check your pacing fix; compare section scores |
| January | 2026 paper, timed, as a dress rehearsal | Kept last because it is the most recent — not because it predicts 2027 |
GATE DA previous-paper tracker
Tick each step as you finish it. Saved in this browser.
0 of 10 done
Ticks are saved only in this browser on this device.
Marking yourself honestly
Mark with the real rules: +1 or +2 for a correct answer; −1/3 for a wrong 1-mark MCQ and −2/3 for a wrong 2-mark MCQ; nothing lost on a wrong MSQ or NAT; and an MSQ earns marks only if you chose every correct option and no wrong one. The calculator below shows when a guess is worth taking.
Should you guess? The negative-marking calculator
Pick the question type and how many of the four options you can confidently rule out. The calculator shows your expected marks from answering versus leaving it blank.
The two numbers worth tracking from paper to paper are negative marks lost (a habit you can fix in a week) and "nearly right" MSQs (a precision problem you fix by judging every option on its own). Both are invisible if you only look at the total.
Three mistakes people make with only three papers
- Using all three as mocks in October. By December there is nothing unseen left to rehearse on. Do them by topic first, and keep at least the 2026 paper untouched as a full paper until January.
- Reading the solution after a minute. A past question you gave up on too early is a question wasted; give each one a real attempt and write down where you got stuck before you look.
- Revisiting only the questions you got wrong. Re-solve the ones you got right by luck as well — a correct guess on an MCQ looks exactly like knowledge in the score.
Need more questions? Borrow from GATE CS — carefully
Two DA sections overlap heavily with the GATE Computer Science syllabus: Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms, and Database Management. GATE CS papers going back many years are on the same official Download page and are good extra practice for those sections — with two cautions.
Using CS papers for DA practice
- Good fits: sorting and searching, tree and graph traversal, hashing, stacks and queues, SQL, relational algebra, functional dependencies, normal forms, B+ trees and indexing.
- Skip: C-specific pointer questions (DA programming is in Python), and CS topics outside the DA syllabus such as operating systems, computer networks, compilers and theory of computation.
- Remember: DA adds data-warehousing topics — multidimensional data models (asked as OLAP cubes and cuboids in the papers), concept hierarchies — that CS papers do not cover. Those need DA papers or dedicated practice.
For probability and linear algebra, the official GATE Statistics (ST) and Mathematics (MA) papers on the same Download page contain GATE-level questions — though at a different depth and with topics outside the DA syllabus. For machine learning there is no official substitute, which is one more reason to work those sections of the three DA papers thoroughly.
Practise it, don't just read it
Between papers, topic quizzes give you fresh questions on exactly the areas the papers expose.
The ProSyllabus GATE DA library currently has three topic quizzes: Matrix Rank and Inverse (Section 2, Linear Algebra), Backpropagation in Neural Networks (Section 6, multi-layer perceptrons) and Gradient Descent Variants (optimisation practice for Machine Learning — the syllabus names no gradient methods, though a 2026 question applied an SGD update). Each has ten questions and a worked explanation for every option. Probability, programming and DBMS have no quizzes yet — drill those from the section index of the official papers.
Where can I download GATE DA previous year papers?
The official GATE 2027 website (IIT Madras) hosts the GATE DA question papers and answer keys for 2024, 2025 and 2026 on its Download page, free. Direct links to all six files are on this page.
How many GATE DA previous papers are there?
Three. The Data Science and Artificial Intelligence paper was first held in GATE 2024, so the official papers are 2024 (IISc), 2025 (IIT Roorkee) and 2026 (IIT Guwahati).
Can I use GATE CS papers to prepare for GATE DA?
For programming, data structures, algorithms and databases, yes — those topics overlap. Skip C-pointer questions and CS-only topics such as operating systems, networks, compilers and theory of computation, and practise data-warehousing topics separately.
Is there negative marking in GATE DA?
Only for MCQs: one third of a mark for a wrong 1-mark MCQ and two thirds for a wrong 2-mark MCQ. MSQ and NAT questions carry no negative marking.
How should I use only three GATE DA papers?
Use each twice: first by topic while you study each section, solving that section's questions from all three papers together; then as timed full-length papers in December and January, keeping the 2026 paper for last.
More in this series
- GATE DA topic-wise weightage, counted from 2024–2026 papers
- GATE DA marks vs score vs rank, with calculator
- GATE DA or GATE CS — which paper, and writing both
- GATE DA 2027 week-by-week plan, October to February
- GATE DA without a CS degree
- Probability & Statistics for GATE DA — the heaviest section
- GATE DA cutoffs, rank vs IIT and placements
- GATE DA notice board — official updates
Sources
- official — GATE 2027 Download page — previous papers and keys
- official — GATE 2024 DA question paper (IISc)
- official — GATE 2024 DA final answer key
- official — GATE 2025 DA question paper (IIT Roorkee)
- official — GATE 2025 DA answer key
- official — GATE 2026 DA question paper (IIT Guwahati)
- official — GATE 2026 DA answer key
- official — GATE 2027 question paper pattern
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
