Over 23,000 candidates appearing for the GATE examination in February have joined a petition demanding that the exam be postponed given the third wave of COVID-19.

"Several studies, including the one done by IIT Kanpur, predict that the peak of the third wave is expected in early February and the wave will end by April. Therefore, the peak is most likely to coincide with the usual exam dates of GATE," the petition read.

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an examination that primarily tests the comprehensive understanding of various undergraduate subjects in Engineering and Science for admission to the master's programme and recruitment by some public sector companies.

This year, the exam will be held by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur from February 4 to 13. The result of the exam will be declared on March 17. "If the exam dates are not postponed, the candidates appearing for GATE 2022 run an imminent risk of getting infected and spreading it further," the petition read.