GATE Life Sciences (XL) mock tests

GATE Life Sciences (XL) is the national entrance test for M.Tech and M.Sc admission and for PSU recruitment in the life sciences. Chemistry is compulsory for every XL candidate; the rest of the paper comes from optional sections you choose, which is why two candidates can sit XL and answer almost nothing in common.

Conducted by

IISc Bengaluru and the seven zonal IITs, in rotation

The full syllabus is not reproduced here on purpose — the exam body's own copy is the only version that counts, and it changes with every notification.

2 compulsory sections, plus 2 you choose from 5 optionals. Timed at 180 minutes.

Each optional section is worth the same, so the choice is about which subject you answer, not how many marks are on offer.

Qualifying marks for the XL paper — the minimum to earn a GATE scorecard, out of 100. Admission cut-offs at individual institutes are higher and are published separately by each of them.

Detected by comparing each paper with the one before it, within the same post — not from an announcement.

1. GATE XL 2021 → GATE XL 2022

   • Questions 125 → 122
   • Chemistry 15q → 17q
   • Biochemistry 20q → 19q
   • Botany 20q → 19q
   • Microbiology 20q → 19q
   • Zoology 20q → 19q
   • Food Technology 20q → 19q