GATE 2026 PSU Cutoff vs 2025: Year-on-Year Comparison for BHEL, ONGC and IOCL

GATE 2026 PSU cutoffs for BHEL, ONGC, and IOCL are trending 12–20 points higher than GATE 2025 across core engineering disciplines, continuing a steady upward shift as PSU competition intensifies year on year.

Every year, leading public sector undertakings use GATE scores to shortlist students for engineer and trainee roles. A year-on-year cutoff comparison helps you benchmark your score, identify which PSU is within reach, and understand how the recruitment landscape is shifting for the 2026 batch.

• BHEL recruits Engineer Trainees (ET) via GATE for ME, EE, ECE, CE, and CS disciplines — it typically has the lowest cutoffs of the three PSUs.
• ONGC recruits Graduate Trainees (GT) via GATE; its cutoffs are significantly higher than BHEL’s.
• IOCL (Indian Oil) recruits Engineers and Officers via GATE; Chemical and CS branches command the highest cutoffs.
• All cutoffs below are expressed in GATE Score (0–1000 normalised scale), not raw GATE marks out of 100.
• GATE 2026 was conducted by IIT Guwahati; GATE 2026 scores are valid for PSU recruitment drives in 2026.

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GATE 2026 vs 2025 BHEL Cutoff: Discipline-Wise Comparison

BHEL publishes its Engineer Trainee shortlist after each GATE cycle. The table below compares GATE 2025 and GATE 2026 General category cutoff scores for key disciplines. GATE 2026 figures are expected based on 2025 trends and available shortlist notifications.

OBC cutoffs at BHEL typically run 40–50 points below the General bar; SC cutoffs are 130–150 points lower; ST cutoffs are 160–180 points lower. Among all GATE-recruiting PSUs, BHEL is the most accessible tier — a score of 600+ in most disciplines keeps you competitive for the General category.

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GATE 2026 vs 2025 ONGC Cutoff: Discipline-Wise Comparison

ONGC’s Graduate Trainee (GT) roles attract heavy competition, pushing its GATE score cutoffs well above BHEL’s. ONGC does not recruit for Computer Science or Civil Engineering through GATE.

ONGC’s expected GATE 2026 General cutoff for Mechanical Engineering is approximately 738 — the highest among core branches at ONGC and well above BHEL’s 605 for the same discipline. Students targeting ONGC typically need a top-2,000 AIR in their discipline to stay competitive in the General category.

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GATE 2026 vs 2025 IOCL Cutoff: Discipline-Wise Comparison

IOCL (Indian Oil Corporation Limited) offers among the highest CTC packages for GATE-based PSU roles, drawing a larger and stronger applicant pool and keeping its cutoffs consistently above ONGC in several branches.

IOCL’s CS cutoff of approximately 820 for GATE 2026 is the highest single-discipline cutoff across all three PSUs, reflecting intense competition from CS students who also field offers from top IT firms. Chemical Engineering at 778 leads IOCL’s core-branch scores, driven by IOCL’s refinery-heavy operations and limited annual vacancies in the stream.

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Key Factors That Drive PSU GATE Cutoffs Year on Year

Understanding what shifts cutoffs helps you set realistic targets and read trends correctly.

• Vacancy count: Fewer seats push cutoffs up. BHEL typically announces larger recruitment batches than ONGC or IOCL, which partly explains its lower bar.
• GATE paper difficulty: A harder paper compresses the score distribution; PSU cutoffs may dip slightly in tougher years even when applicant numbers grow.
• Total GATE registrations: GATE 2026 crossed 10 lakh registrations — intensifying competition for a fixed number of PSU seats across all disciplines.
• Multi-session normalisation: When GATE runs across multiple shifts, score normalisation can move your final score by 5–20 points compared to single-session years.
• Category reservations: PSUs follow central government norms — SC, ST, OBC, and EWS cutoffs adjust proportionally with the General cutoff each year.

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Three-Year Cutoff Summary: BHEL vs ONGC vs IOCL (ME, General Category)

The table below tracks the General category GATE score cutoff for Mechanical Engineering — the largest GATE-to-PSU recruitment stream — across GATE 2024, 2025, and 2026 for all three PSUs. GATE 2026 figures are expected based on available shortlist data and 2025 trends.

The data shows a consistent upward drift of 15–20 points per year for ME across all three PSUs. Students targeting BHEL need a GATE score above 600 for the General category; cracking ONGC or IOCL requires clearing the 730–750 mark. For SC category in ME, a GATE score in the 450–610 range keeps you competitive across all three PSUs.

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