The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all-India examination administered and conducted in eight zones across the country by the GATE Committee comprising faculty from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and seven Indian Institutes of Technology on behalf of the National Coordinating Board - GATE, Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), Government of India.

The zones and the corresponding administrative institutes are

Zone 1 - Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
Zone 2 - Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Zone 3 - Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Zone 4 - Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Zone 5 - Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Zone 6 - Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Zone 7 - Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Zone 8 - Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

The overall coordination and responsibility lies with Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore designated as the Organizing Institute for GATE 2008.

Admission to post graduate programmes with MHRD and some other government scholarship/assistantship at engineering colleges/institutes in the country are open to those who qualify through GATE. GATE qualified candidates with Bachelor degree in Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture/ Pharmacy or Master degree in any branch of Science/Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Applications are eligible for Master/Doctoral programmes in Engineering/ Technology/Architecture/Pharmacy as well as for Doctoral programmes in relevant branches of Science. To avail the scholarship, the candidate must additionally secure admission to such a postgraduate programme, as per the prevailing procedure of the admitting institution. GATE qualification, however, is not required for candidates with Master degree in Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture/ Pharmacy who may be seeking scholarship/assistantship for relevant doctoral programmes.

Some institutions specify GATE as the mandatory qualification even for admission of self-financing students to postgraduate programmes. GATE qualified candidates in Engineering disciplines are also eligible for the award of Junior Research Fellowship in CSIR Laboratories. Some government organizations prescribe GATE qualification as a requirement for applying to the post of a Scientist/Engineer.