GATE 2026 Environmental Science (ES) Paper Analysis: Difficulty & Cutoffs
Subject-wise Weightage, Expected Qualifying Marks, and IIT M.Tech Admission Trends.
Updated: just now
Categories: GATE 2026, Paper Analysis, Environmental Engineering.
GATE 2026 Environmental Science & Engineering (ES) Analysis
Overall Difficulty Level
The GATE 2026 ES paper was rated Moderate. While the Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology questions were conceptual and scoring, the Water Resources and Treatment sections featured complex NAT (Numerical Answer Type) questions involving multi-step calculations.
Conceptual: 40%
Numerical: 60%
Topic-wise Weightage Analysis
| Subject / Domain | Approx. Marks | High-Priority Topics in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Water & Wastewater Treatment | 22-25 Marks | BOD/COD Calculations, Sedimentation, Activated Sludge. |
| Environmental Chemistry | 12-14 Marks | pH-pE Diagrams, Chemical Equilibrium, Buffers. |
| Air & Noise Pollution | 10-12 Marks | Gaussian Plume Model, Lapse Rate, Sound Intensity. |
| Solid & Hazardous Waste | 8-10 Marks | Landfill Design, Incineration, Pyrolysis. |
| Math & Aptitude | 28 Marks | Calculus, Probability, Verbal Ability. |
Expected Qualifying Cutoff 2026
Given that the 2026 paper was slightly more technical than the 2025 session, the cutoffs are expected to remain consistent with previous years' trends.
| Category | 2026 (Expected) | 2025 (Actual) | 2024 (Actual) |
|---|---|---|---|
| General (GEN) | 37.0 - 39.5 | 36.5 | 38.9 |
| OBC-NCL / EWS | 33.3 - 35.5 | 32.8 | 35.0 |
| SC / ST / PwD | 24.6 - 26.2 | 24.3 | 25.9 |
Top IIT Admissions Score (Expected)
IIT Bombay / IIT Delhi
GEN Score: 720+ | Rank Range: Top 150
IIT Kharagpur / IIT Kanpur
GEN Score: 680+ | Rank Range: Top 300
NIT Tier-1 (W/S/T)
GEN Score: 580+ | Rank Range: Top 600
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