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GATE 2025 Data Science and AI (DA) paper analysis

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 4 min read

The GATE 2025 Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DA) paper was held on the forenoon of Saturday 15 February 2025, with 65 questions for 100 marks. We read the official paper and key and tallied each question by subject and type. The maths subjects dominated: Probability and Statistics (19 marks), Linear Algebra (12) and Calculus and Optimization (9) together made up 40 of the 85 subject marks, and 18 questions were multiple-select.

Paper facts

DA ran in one session, so scores were computed from raw marks. The paper was introduced in 2024 and has no separate Engineering Mathematics block: all 85 subject marks fall in seven DA sections.

Subject-wise tally

The paper has no subject labels, so this is our own classification. A few questions sit between sections (a covariance and eigenvalue question was counted under Machine Learning, a propositional-equivalence question under Artificial Intelligence), so read each count as accurate to about one question.

Question types

Forty-eight marks sat in MSQ and NAT questions, so there was no penalty for attempting them. The risk in MSQ is the opposite: all correct options or nothing.

What stood out (our reading)

• Multiple-select clustered in maths and ML. Half of Linear Algebra (4 of 8), 3 of 6 Calculus and 4 of 9 Machine Learning questions were MSQ, while 9 of the 12 Probability and Statistics questions were single-answer MCQs.
• Linear Algebra was about structure, not arithmetic. The questions covered orthonormal sets and the matrix built from them, a matrix with rows summing to one, a matrix satisfying A cubed equals A, a Gram matrix of independent vectors and a norm-preserving matrix, plus the cost of Gaussian elimination.
• Calculus tested reasoning. Topics were a high-order derivative from a Taylor series, differentiability, a limit, a maximum on an interval, convexity from a positive second derivative and a function whose differences are bounded by a square.
• Probability leaned on distributions. Two questions started from a CDF, others used the exponential distribution, the square and floor of a random variable, 100 dice, a sum of Bernoulli variables and a coin-toss estimator.
• Programming mixed Python and pseudocode. Three Python snippets (lists, sets and recursion) came with a stack-based pseudocode question, hashing, binary search, insertion sort and two graph questions.
• Difficulty is our reading, not an official rating. Most one-mark questions were direct. The 2-mark MSQs in Linear Algebra and Machine Learning required checking every option, because one wrong choice scores zero.

What it means for GATE 2027 preparation

1. Keep the maths subjects first. Probability, Linear Algebra and Calculus made up 40 marks, and they underpin Machine Learning.
2. Learn properties, not just procedures. Many questions asked what must always be true of a matrix or function.
3. Practise option-by-option checking. With 18 MSQs, build the habit of testing each option separately.
4. Compare with 2026. Between 2025 and 2026, Calculus and Optimization fell from 9 marks to 2, Linear Algebra from 12 to 8, and Database Management and Warehousing rose from 11 to 18. Programming and Machine Learning stayed at 14 each. See the 2026 DA analysis.

GATE 2027 revised every syllabus. The DA preparation guide lists the sections, and the engineering mathematics guide covers the topics shared with other branches. For a pass-by-pass way to use old papers, read the previous year papers guide.

Using the tally with PrepMatic

If you are stronger in programming than in maths, the table shows what to fix first. PrepMatic's free assessment (about 15 multiple-choice questions, no timer) lists your weakest subjects, and the results of each mock show subject-wise accuracy and your speed per question. Mocks can be focused on those weak subjects. PrepMatic's questions are AI-generated, so use the official paper linked below for the real thing.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions were in the GATE 2025 DA paper?

There were 65 questions for 100 marks: 10 in General Aptitude (15 marks) and 55 in the subject (85 marks). Thirty-five were MCQs, 18 MSQs and 12 NATs.

What was the qualifying mark for GATE 2025 DA?

The official General-category qualifying mark was 29.0. The OBC-NCL and EWS mark was 26.1, and the SC, ST and PwD mark was 19.3.

Which DA subject had the most marks in 2025?

By our tally, Probability and Statistics with 12 questions worth 19 marks, followed by Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms and Machine Learning with 14 marks each.

Official sources

• DA question paper and answer key.
• GATE 2025 examination schedule and cut-off marks.
• GATE 2027 downloads page for all past papers.

Counts above are our own tally from the official paper and key. Confirm any figure you rely on against the official files. For the full exam guide, start from the GATE guide; more analyses are in the paper analysis index.

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