Skip to main content
Food Science Daily

Exam resources

GATE Life Sciences (XL) 2027

Notification Out

GATE Life Sciences (XL) is a national entrance examination used for postgraduate admission and some PSU recruitment. Its Life Sciences paper includes Chemistry and discipline-specific sections relevant to food and biological sciences.

Exam date
6 Feb 2027
Previous papers
18
Full mocks
31
Sectionals
49

Syllabus-aligned GATE XL notes, solved questions and practice sets. Preview 20 pages free.

View syllabus & exam pattern

General AptitudeGA295 pages ChemistryXL0317 pages BiochemistryXL1318 pages BotanyXL2336 pages MicrobiologyXL3370 pages Food TechnologyXL5737 pages

Open study materials

GATE Life Sciences (XL) is a national examination used for admission to postgraduate programmes and for recruitment by participating public-sector organisations. Chemistry is compulsory. Candidates also select two optional subject sections, so the questions attempted vary by subject choice.

Conducted by
IISc Bengaluru and the seven zonal IITs, in rotation
GATE 2027 test papers and syllabus (opens on the official site) GATE 2027 information portal (opens on the official site)

Who can apply

Undergraduate students in their third year or later may apply. GATE does not impose a limit on the number of attempts.

  • Currently in the 3rd or a later year of any government-approved bachelor degree, or already holding one
  • Engineering, Technology, Science, Architecture, Commerce, Arts or Humanities all qualify
  • No age limit
  • No cap on the number of attempts

A summary. Confirm the details in the current notice.

Source: GATE 2027 eligibility (IIT Madras) ↗. Checked 2026-09-21.

Based on past papers, not an official scheme. Confirm in the current notice.

2 compulsory sections are followed by 2 chosen from 5 optional sections, and the paper is timed at 180 minutes.

Sections, questions and marks
Section Questions Marks Status
General Aptitude 10 15 Compulsory
Chemistry 17 25 Compulsory
Biochemistry 18 28 Optional
Botany 19 30 Optional
Microbiology 19 30 Optional
Zoology 19 30 Optional
Food Technology 19 30 Optional
Paper total — 100 any 2 optionals

General Aptitude and Chemistry are compulsory. Choose two more.

Marking scheme

A wrong 1-mark MCQ loses 1/3 mark and a wrong 2-mark MCQ loses 2/3 mark. MSQ and NAT answers carry no negative marking. An unanswered question scores zero. Our mocks for this exam are scored the same way.

Source: GATE 2026 question paper pattern, IIT Guwahati ↗

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.

Category-wise cut-off marks by year
Year General OBC-NCL / EWS SC / ST / PwD Source
2026 36.3 32.6 24.1 GATE 2026, IIT Guwahati ↗
2025 31.3 28.1 20.8 GATE 2025, IIT Roorkee ↗
2024 29.3 26.3 19.5 GATE 2024, IISc Bengaluru ↗
2023 25.1 22.5 16.7 GATE 2023 performance report, IIT Kanpur ↗
2022 33.9 30.5 22.5 Reported, Testbook ↗
2021 36.0 32.4 24.0 Reported, Testbook ↗

Compared across past papers. Not an official announcement.

Detected changes between consecutive papers
Change Compared papers Before After What changed
2026 GATE XL 2025 → GATE XL 2026 122 q 190 marks 180 min 7 sections 121 q 188 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 122 → 121 Marks 190 → 188 Section split Biochemistry 19q → 18q
2022 GATE XL 2021 → GATE XL 2022 125 q 190 marks 180 min 7 sections 122 q 190 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 125 → 122 Section split Chemistry 15q → 17q Section split Biochemistry 20q → 19q Section split Botany 20q → 19q Section split Microbiology 20q → 19q Section split Zoology 20q → 19q Section split Food Technology 20q → 19q
2020 GATE XL 2019 → GATE XL 2020 124 q 189 marks 180 min 7 sections 125 q 190 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 124 → 125 Marks 189 → 190 Section split General Aptitude 9q → 10q
2019 GATE XL 2018 → GATE XL 2019 125 q 190 marks 180 min 7 sections 124 q 189 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 125 → 124 Marks 190 → 189 Section split General Aptitude 10q → 9q
2014 GATE XL 2013 → GATE XL 2014 120 q 182 marks 180 min 7 sections 125 q 190 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 120 → 125 Marks 182 → 190 Section split Microbiology 19q → 20q Section split Zoology 18q → 20q Section split Food Technology 18q → 20q
2013 GATE 2012 — Food Technology → GATE XL 2013 22 q 35 marks 40 min 1 section 120 q 182 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 22 → 120 Duration 40 → 180 min Marks 35 → 182 Dropped GATE 2012 Food Technology Added General Aptitude, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Food Technology
2012 GATE 2011 — Food Technology → GATE XL 2012 22 q 35 marks 40 min 1 section 122 q 184 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 22 → 122 Duration 40 → 180 min Marks 35 → 184 Dropped GATE 2011 Food Technology Added General Aptitude, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Food Technology
2012 GATE XL 2012 → GATE 2012 — Food Technology 122 q 184 marks 180 min 7 sections 22 q 35 marks 40 min 1 section
Questions 122 → 22 Duration 180 → 40 min Marks 184 → 35 Dropped General Aptitude, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Food Technology Added GATE 2012 Food Technology
2011 GATE 2010 — Food Technology Practice Set → GATE XL 2011 17 q 28 marks 40 min 1 section 123 q 187 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 17 → 123 Duration 40 → 180 min Marks 28 → 187 Dropped GATE 2010 Food Technology Added General Aptitude, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Food Technology
2011 GATE XL 2011 → GATE 2011 — Food Technology 123 q 187 marks 180 min 7 sections 22 q 35 marks 40 min 1 section
Questions 123 → 22 Duration 180 → 40 min Marks 187 → 35 Dropped General Aptitude, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Food Technology Added GATE 2011 Food Technology
2010 GATE 2009 — Food Technology Practice Set → GATE 2010 — Food Technology Practice Set 21 q 34 marks 50 min 1 section 17 q 28 marks 40 min 1 section
Questions 21 → 17 Duration 50 → 40 min Marks 34 → 28 Dropped GATE 2009 Food Technology Added GATE 2010 Food Technology
2009 GATE 2008 — Food Technology Practice Set → GATE 2009 — Food Technology Practice Set 27 q 47 marks 60 min 1 section 21 q 34 marks 50 min 1 section
Questions 27 → 21 Duration 60 → 50 min Marks 47 → 34 Dropped GATE 2008 Food Technology Added GATE 2009 Food Technology

Free PDFs and recommended books for GATE XL. How we choose

Free PDFs

12 free PDFs

Food chemistry

FSSAI

Manual of Methods of Analysis of Foods — Oils and Fats

Official methods for acid, iodine and saponification values and related tests.

Free PDF · fssai.gov.in

Nutrition

FAO

Human Nutrition in the Developing World (Latham)

A classic free textbook on macro- and micronutrients and deficiency diseases.

Free PDF · fao.org

NCERT

Class 12 Human Ecology & Family Sciences — Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics

A simple introduction to clinical nutrition and dietetics.

Free PDF · ncert.nic.in

Processing & preservation

FSSAI

Manual of Methods of Analysis of Foods — Cereal and Cereal Products (2022)

Official analytical methods for cereals and flours.

Free PDF · fssai.gov.in

NCERT

Class 12 Human Ecology & Family Sciences — Food Processing and Technology

A plain-language overview of preservation and processing.

Free PDF · ncert.nic.in

Food microbiology

Official and open resources

3 resources

Exam-specific preparation

1 resource

GATE guide

GATE Food Technology (XE/XL): The Complete Concept Guide

Exam-oriented concept book for GATE Food Technology sections.

Reading suggestion

Core food science

4 resources

Core food technology

Textbook of Food Science and Technology (ICAR)

Indian food-science baseline for processing, preservation, chemistry.

Reading suggestion

Core food science

Food Science by B. Srilakshmi

Useful for food chemistry, nutrition, preservation.

Reading suggestion

Microbiology

Food Microbiology by M. R. Adams and M. O. Moss

Strong reference for spoilage, pathogens, fermentation.

Reading suggestion

Food engineering

Food Process Engineering and Technology by Zeki Berk

Good engineering reference for heat transfer, dehydration, freezing.

Reading suggestion

Free channels worth following for GATE XL.

YouTube channels

5 channels

University/NPTEL

Fundamentals of Food Process Engineering — IIT Kharagpur (Prof. Jayeeta Mitra)

A full IIT lecture course on rheology, heat and mass transfer.

Watch on YouTube

University/NPTEL

Novel Technologies for Food Processing & Shelf Life Extension — IIT Kharagpur (Prof. H. N. Mishra)

IIT course on food constituents, quality and safety.

Watch on YouTube

Educator

Food Tech 360

Topic-wise food-tech MCQs and concept videos, with playlists for GATE XL/XE.

Watch on YouTube

Educator

Food Tech Online

Previous-year-question videos for ICAR-PG food science, GATE food technology.

Watch on YouTube

Telegram channels

1 channel

Educator

Food Tech 360

Exam notifications, official syllabi, admit-card and date updates.

Open in Telegram

Full topic list and section weightage GATE XL syllabus and exam pattern

Free access

Start with a free sectional test

Sign up and start. No payment details.

Start General Aptitude

Complete series

GATE XL — Complete Test Series

Every test. Free to practice.

30 tests 33h of practice
Free
View tests

Tests for this exam

49 results · page 1 of 5