A review of the GATE Computer Science and Information Technology (CS) Set 1 and Set 2 question papers for 2024, 2025 and 2026 shows that candidates have faced a substantial number of Multiple Select Questions (MSQs) and Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions in each cycle.
For this analysis, the two CS papers conducted in each year were considered together. Since each paper contains 65 questions, the two CS papers account for 130 questions per year. The 20 General Aptitude questions across the two papers are MCQs, so the MSQ/NAT analysis effectively covers the 110 CS subject questions.
The question papers referred to for the analysis include the two sets for each of the three years. The official answer-key format also classifies questions separately as MCQ, MSQ and NAT.
| GATE year | MSQs | NAT questions | MSQ + NAT | Share of 110 subject questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 38 | 31 | 69 | 62.70% |
| 2025 | 33 | 34 | 67 | 60.90% |
| 2026 | 35 | 32 | 67 | 60.90% |
The numbers show that MSQs have remained consistently high, although they moved from 38 in 2024 to 33 in 2025 before rising to 35 in 2026.
NAT questions have been relatively stable as well, moving from 31 in 2024 to 34 in 2025 and 32 in 2026.
In other words, in all three years, roughly three out of every five CS subject questions were either MSQs or NATs.
The shift-wise distribution also varied considerably:
| Year | CS Set | MSQs | NATs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | CS1 | 20 | 16 |
| 2024 | CS2 | 18 | 15 |
| 2025 | CS1 | 16 | 19 |
| 2025 | CS2 | 17 | 15 |
| 2026 | CS1 | 24 | 13 |
| 2026 | CS2 | 11 | 19 |
This means candidates could encounter a markedly different balance depending on the CS session.
For example, GATE 2026 CS1 had 24 MSQs, while CS2 had only 11. At the same time, CS2 had 19 NAT questions, compared with 13 in CS1. The official 2026 keys confirm the different MSQ/NAT blocks in the two papers.
2024 had the highest combined MSQ count
The 38 MSQs in 2024 represent the highest combined count across the three years analysed.
The official 2024 CS1 key, for instance, identifies MSQs in the one-mark section as well as another block of two-mark MSQs, while the NAT questions form separate blocks. The CS2 key similarly identifies MSQs and NATs across both the one- and two-mark portions.
This is important because simply looking at the number of questions does not tell the entire story. A two-mark MSQ has a different weight in the paper from a one-mark MSQ.
What about Numerical questions?
The NAT count has stayed remarkably consistent:
2024: 31 NATs
2025: 34 NATs
2026: 32 NATs
Therefore, candidates preparing for GATE CS cannot treat numerical questions as a small component of the paper. Across the three years, NATs alone accounted for approximately 28–31% of the CS subject questions.
The official GATE pattern confirms that NAT is one of the three question formats, alongside MCQ and MSQ, and that NAT and MSQ questions do not carry negative marking.
So, while the exact composition changes from year to year and between CS1 and CS2, the broader pattern is fairly steady: around 60% of the CS subject questions have required candidates to go beyond the conventional single-correct MCQ format.
For students preparing for GATE 2027, this makes MSQ and NAT practice particularly relevant—not simply as separate question types, but as formats that test whether a candidate can apply concepts rather than depend only on option elimination.