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Previous year questions occupy a uniquely important place in GATE DA preparation. For an established paper like GATE CS, candidates have access to 30+ years of questions, which means high-frequency patterns are well-documented and extensively analyzed. For GATE DA, introduced in 2023, the PYQ bank is smaller — but that actually makes each available question more valuable, not less. With only three years of actual GATE DA papers available, every question is a high-signal data point about what the GATE committee considers worth testing.
Candidates who work through the GATE DA PYQ bank multiple times, treat each question as a conceptual lesson rather than just a mark-seeking exercise, and systematically build on the patterns they observe will have a significant advantage over those who rely only on textbooks and coaching notes.
This page provides access to all available GATE DA PYQs organized by year and topic, with guidance on how to use them most effectively for GATE DA preparation.
For the full exam overview, visit the GATE DA Complete Guide. For the complete syllabus with topic-level detail, refer to the GATE DA Syllabus.
The most recent GATE DA paper and the highest-priority PYQ resource for current preparation. The 2026 paper reflects the current state of the GATE DA syllabus after three years of evolution, making it the most accurate predictor of what the next exam will look like.
Key highlights from GATE DA 2026:
Every candidate should solve the 2026 paper at least twice: once subject-by-subject for concept reinforcement, and once as a full timed mock to simulate the actual exam experience.
The second year of GATE DA saw the paper settle into a more consistent pattern after the initial introduction in 2023. The 2025 paper is valuable for understanding how questions are framed across all sections and for building familiarity with the question style before attempting the most recent papers.
Key highlights from GATE DA 2025:
Candidates who solve the 2025 paper after completing each subject can gauge whether their preparation is at the right depth before moving to 2026 paper questions.
The first full year of GATE DA after its introduction. The 2024 paper is important both as a PYQ resource and as a historical reference for understanding how the paper was designed when it first launched. Some question styles that appeared in 2024 have reappeared in subsequent years, making them useful pattern indicators.
Key highlights from GATE DA 2024:
Solving the 2024 paper gives candidates a baseline understanding of the paper's foundational expectations before progressing to more recent, evolved versions.
For a unified, searchable view of all GATE DA questions across all available years, the GATE DA PYQ Master Bank on AspirantMitraa is the most efficient resource.
Features of the PYQ Master Bank:
The Master Bank is the most efficient way to do topic-wise PYQ practice. Instead of manually searching through full papers for questions on a specific topic (e.g., all SVM questions across all years), the filter system surfaces them instantly.
With 30+ years of GATE CS papers available, candidates often treat older PYQs as less relevant and focus only on recent years. In GATE DA, this problem does not exist. With only three years of papers available, every question in the bank must be treated with the same priority as the most recent paper.
Here is what makes each PYQ question particularly valuable in GATE DA:
Concept validation: Each question confirms that a specific concept is within the GATE DA testing scope. If eigenvalue computation for PCA applications appeared in 2024, it is likely to appear in some form in future years as well.
Question style familiarization: GATE questions are phrased in a specific way that rewards careful reading. The style of how a hypothesis testing question or a gradient descent NAT question is framed is consistent across years. Early exposure to this style through PYQs prevents confusion in the actual exam.
Difficulty calibration: PYQs show the exact level of mathematical computation required. This prevents both under-preparation (thinking conceptual knowledge is enough when calculation depth is needed) and over-preparation (spending days on topics that GATE tests only superficially).
NAT-type practice: NAT questions require precise numerical answers with no options to help. The only way to build confidence and speed for NAT questions is to practice them from actual papers. The PYQ bank provides this specific practice.
The most effective way to use GATE DA PYQs during the learning phase is topic by topic, not year by year. Here is a structured approach:
After completing the probability and statistics section from the GATE DA Syllabus, solve all tagged statistics questions from the GATE DA PYQ Master Bank.
What to look for in Probability PYQs:
Common mistakes in Probability PYQs:
ML questions in GATE DA require both theoretical knowledge and mathematical computation. After completing the ML section, practice all available ML PYQs.
What to look for in ML PYQs:
Common mistakes in ML PYQs:
Linear algebra questions appear both in the dedicated section and embedded within ML questions about PCA, covariance, and matrix operations.
What to look for:
These questions typically test algorithm output prediction, time complexity analysis, or data structure operations.
What to look for:
Optimization questions are directly connected to ML model training concepts.
What to look for:
Database questions in GATE DA follow a similar pattern to GATE CS database questions and can be cross-practiced with GATE CS PYQs on SQL and normalization.
What to look for:
AI questions tend to be more conceptual and cover search algorithms and logic.
What to look for:
| Year Overall Difficulty Dominant Sections Qualifying Cutoff (General) | |||
| 2026 | Moderate | ML, Probability, Linear Algebra | ~29 to 31 marks |
| 2025 | Moderate | Probability, DSA, Databases | ~27 to 30 marks |
| 2024 | Moderate | ML, Linear Algebra, Probability | ~25 to 28 marks |
The pattern across three years shows that GATE DA consistently tests Probability, Linear Algebra, and Machine Learning as the dominant sections. Candidates who invest heavily in these three areas consistently score well.
For detailed exam analysis covering difficulty assessment, topic distribution, and expected cutoff predictions, visit the GATE DA Exam Analysis page.
As each topic from the GATE DA Syllabus is completed, immediately practice all PYQs tagged to that topic. Use the GATE DA PYQ Master Bank for filtered topic access.
Mark a topic as "PYQ-tested" in the GATE DA Syllabus Tracker only after solving PYQs from that topic with satisfactory accuracy. This creates a meaningful completion standard.
Once the entire syllabus is covered, solve each year's paper as a timed 3-hour full mock. Start with 2024 (oldest available), then 2025, then 2026. This progression allows confidence to build before the most relevant recent paper.
Recommended timing:
In the final month before the exam, do not attempt new PYQs as if seeing them for the first time. Instead, revisit the questions that were previously solved incorrectly, re-attempt them from memory, and confirm that the underlying concept is now understood correctly.
Compile a personal list of "high-error concepts" — topics where mistakes appeared across multiple PYQ years — and review those specifically.
Because GATE DA is a young paper with a limited PYQ bank, candidates can supplement with GATE CS PYQs on topics where the syllabi overlap:
This supplementary practice significantly expands the available practice question pool. Access GATE CS PYQs on these topics through the AspirantMitraa PYQ bank.
PYQ practice and mock testing serve complementary purposes. PYQs provide exposure to real exam-level questions and reveal topic-specific depth requirements. Mock tests in the GATE DA Test Series simulate the full exam experience — timing pressure, negative marking psychology, and section-switching strategy.
The ideal preparation rhythm in the final 3 months:
This rhythm ensures that both knowledge depth (PYQs) and exam-day readiness (mock tests) develop in parallel.
Q. How many years of GATE DA PYQ are available? GATE DA was introduced in 2023. Papers are available for 2024, 2025, and 2026. All three papers are available on AspirantMitraa at GATE DA PYQ Master Bank.
Q. Should GATE CS PYQs also be practiced for GATE DA preparation? Yes, selectively. GATE CS PYQs on Programming, DSA, Databases, Linear Algebra, and Probability are directly relevant and greatly expand the available practice question pool given the limited GATE DA PYQ history.
Q. How many times should each GATE DA paper be solved? Each year-wise paper should be solved at minimum twice: once topic-by-topic for concept reinforcement and once as a full timed mock. The most recent paper (2026) can be solved a third time as a final benchmark.
Q. Are GATE DA PYQ solutions available on AspirantMitraa? Yes. Every question in the GATE DA PYQ Master Bank includes a detailed solution with concept explanation and step-by-step working for NAT questions.
Q. Are there enough PYQs to judge whether preparation is complete? With only 3 years of PYQ, the bank is smaller than established papers. This is why supplementing with the GATE DA Test Series mock tests is especially important for GATE DA — it provides additional exam-level questions beyond what the PYQ bank alone can offer.
More questions answered on the GATE DA FAQ page.
GATE DA PYQs from 2024, 2025, and 2026 are available year-wise at:
All questions are also available in one searchable interface at the GATE DA PYQ Master Bank with topic filters, difficulty tags, and complete solutions.
Use PYQs in combination with the GATE DA Syllabus Tracker for topic-wise completion tracking and the GATE DA Test Series for full-exam-level timed practice.
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