success mantras of gate toppers for gate 2016

8/16/2019 Success Mantras of GATE Toppers for GATE 2016

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GATE 2016

SUCCESS MANTRAS OF

GATE TOPPERS FOR


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SUCCESS MANTRAS OF GATE TOPPERS FOR GATE 2016

GATE 2016

CORRESPONDENCE

PROGRAM PREMIUM

Contents

Foreword 3

Ravi Shankar Mishra AIR 1 in Computer Science Engineering! 4

Pradeep Seervi AIR 1 in Electrical Engineering 10

Saurav Gupta AIR 5 in Electronics and Communication Engineering 14

Aditya Narayan Nanda AIR 10 In Instrumentation Engineering 18

Souradeep Sinha AIR 9 In Chemical Engineering 22

Sharada Prasad Panda AIR 6 in Biotechnology 25

GATE Expert Opinion 28

Useful Links for GATE 2016 29

GATE 2016 Correspondence Program Premium 31

Complete GATE Online Test Series 32

https://www.mycareers360.com/product/gate-2016-correspondence-program-premiumhttps://www.mycareers360.com/product/gate-2016-correspondence-program-premiumhttps://www.mycareers360.com/product/gate-2016-correspondence-program-premiumhttps://www.mycareers360.com/product/gate-2016-correspondence-program-premium


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G ATE 2016 will be held on January 30 & 31, 2016 as well as February 6 & 7, 2016

in multiple sessions of two per day. Some of the most popular branches which

have the maximum number of aspirants like CSE, ME, ECE and such will be

held in two to three sessions while others with a lesser number of applicants

may have just one session.

Careers360 has endeavoured to bring all aspects of GATE preparation to the hands of

all aspirants over the past few years. One of them has been a series of interviews with the

GATE toppers each year. We have tried to delve into the preparation efforts, study sched-

ules, books, and mind-sets of these toppers to bring all future GATE aspirants an idea of

the effort behind success in GATE.

Each year, there have been some new surprising elements to these interviews with some

aspirants being more inspiring than many. One such topper that comes to mind and whom

we have talked to in his book is Ravi Shankar Mishra who being a mechanical engineering

graduate planned and prepared his way to top the GATE 2015 exam for Computer Sci-

ence. There are many such students who have beaten the odds and worked success into

their favour.

The one common thing that has been a consistent factor in these candidates is their

never say die attitude combined with tremendous hard work, smart planning and plenty

of practice.

A small step taken in the right direction will be the key to success!

Start your preparation now, take a leaf out of the books of these toppers and work your way to crack the GATE 2016 exam successfully. We hope to see many more of you in our

future books sharing your inspiring stories with other hopeful future aspirants of GATE.

All the Best!

Team Careers360

Foreword



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R avi Shankar Mishra who secured AIR 1 in Com-

puter Science Engineering in GATE 2015 is a

Mechanical Engineer of the 2014 batch from IIT

Kanpur. Driven by a passion for computers, he

opted to appear for GATE 2015 in CSE to secure admis-

sion in M.Tech at one of the reputed Indian colleges. With a

determined and dedicated approach, Ravi Shankar Mishra

prepared with a single minded focus on scoring well and

ended up securing AIR 1 for Computer Science Engineering

in GATE 2015.

Careers360: Tell us something about yourself; where

have you done your engineering from and in which

branch?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: My name is Ravi Shankar Mishra.

I belong to a middle class family from Bokaro Steel City,

Jharkhand. My father is an Ex-Airman, my mother a house-

wife and my elder sister is an employee of Konylabs Soft-

ware Company, Hyderabad. I have completed my B Tech in

Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in the year 2014.

Ravi Shankar MishraAIR 1 in Computer Science Engineering

Careers360: what was the GATE Paper you appeared

in? What rank did you get in GATE 2015? What is your

GATE score and how many marks did you secure out of

100 in GATE paper?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: I appeared for Computer Science

and Information Technology (CS) paper and secured AIR-1

in GATE 2015. My score is 1000, normalized mark is 85.85

and actual mark is 79.00.

Careers360: What was the reason you appeared for

GATE 2015? PSU or further studies? Please elaborateRavi Shankar Mishra: I wanted to make a career in Com-

puter Science but my Bachelor’s degree is in Mechanical

Engineering, so I appeared for GATE 2015 with an intention

of doing M.Tech in CSE from a reputed Indian college.

Careers360: Have you also applied to any PSUs and

which ones?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: Right now, I have no intention to

join a PSU. I am passionate about pursuing my Masters in

Computer Science now that I have scored well.



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Careers360: When did you start your preparation?How did you prepare? How many hours did you put in

per day as per the stage of preparation?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: My preparation started 150 days

before the GATE exam. I planned my preparation in three

major phases and followed it to a tee, I am elaborating the

plan in details phase wise:

1. Phase 1 (15 days, 5 hours/day) – Understanding the

GATE Syllabus, Preparation Plan, Books

This phase started when I decided to appear for the

GATE 2015 examination in CSE. The first thing I did

was to go through the blogs written by previous year

GATE toppers. I tried to gauge a pattern in their prepa-

ration and to understand the bare minimum preparation

techniques they did correctly to be successful. I found

a repetitive theme in their preparation -most of them

followed standard books, solved previous year GATE

papers, planned their study well, did proper revision in

last months and enrolled in some good online Test Series.

After this my quest for good standard books started.

Some criteria I followed here are:

l The book should be simple enough so that a

Mechanical graduate can understand them

l It must be broad enough to cover the entire GATE

syllabus.

l Fortunately, I did get some good books which I have

listed below. Next, I planned the order in which I

should study the given topics and the time I needed

to devote for each topic.

2. Phase 2 (105 days, 12 hours/day) - Studying Books &

Solving previous year papers:

I listed the chapters covered in GATE Syllabus and allot-

ted time to each accordingly.

Important Topics with heavy weightage like Data Struc-

tures and Algorithm got around 14 days for preparation

while lesser important topics like Digital Logic got 6

days.

My focus was to study all the relevant topics from all the

books I had chosen such that no question could escape

me. I also did the relevant exercises from each chapter

for better practice.

My study schedule went like – study a particular topic

and attempt the past 10 years question papers for that

topic only.

Here I must say that I used the question bank from

MadeEasy but trust me, there is no book in the market

which doesn’t have some errors and therefore, the inter-

net is your only friend. I found solutions at the GATEO-

verflow website to be very good.

Most important - I didn’t leave any topic untouched in

the prescribed GATE syllabus. I even studied for Soft-

ware Engineering, Web Technology and Verbal ability.

3. Phase 3 (30 days, 14 hours/day) - Revision & Test

Series:

This is a crucial phase which I used to recall what I hadlearnt in the last four months and to push my score fur-

ther by 5-10 marks.

But I found myself in big trouble. The reason was that I

did not make any notes during my self-study. That was

because of two reasons. First, I don’t know the art of mak-

ing good notes and second, if I had made notes, I would

have required 2 more months to study the book chapters.



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Three things came to my rescue here and they not only

gave me revision but also introduced me to some sub-

topics that I unintentionally skipped - Made Easy study

material, Ankur Gupta Notes and Standard book power

point slides. I hurried through all of them.

Next was the turn of Test Series and I appeared for four

full length tests by MadeEasy.

Careers360: Have you taken any coaching? If yes-

From where? How did it help?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: No, I have not taken any formal

coaching but I took the correspondence course of MadeEasy.

The study material that they provided helped me to filter out

unnecessary book chapters and it was also useful for revi-

sion in the final stage of my preparation as I hadn’t made any

notes of my own during my self-study.

Careers360: GATE 2015 saw a substantial amount of

numerical questions asked when compared to previous

years. Were you prepared for this eventuality? How did

you prepare for the numerical questions consideringthat they require speed in calculating the solutions?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: I feel the reason for introducing

large number of numerical questions in GATE is to discour-

age the guessing tendency of students. One bad thing about

this question type is that it requires very high accuracy. One

small calculation mistake and you lose your marks as well

as precious time in the exam. The good thing is that these

questions come with no negative marks, so you can answer

them no matter what. There was no special preparation for

numerical questions. The only thing that I made sure was not

to commit any silly mistake while attempting them.

Careers360: Can you share any preparation strategies

with our readers? How to schedule study time and make

timetables?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: I kept my preparation strategy as

simple as possible. It was just five steps:

(1) Plan

(2) Study Books

(3) Solve previous year papers

(4) Revise

(5) Give Mock Test.

I feel that the major stress comes during step-2 and that

required quite a lot of planning and time on my end. I am

sharing my 105 days’ timetable with the future GATE aspir-

ants. I would advise them to scale it according to the time that

is available to them.

The order in which I covered GATE topics was inspired

by two factors- one was the weightage of the topics and

other was the pre-requisite subject to be studied before the

advanced subject part.

I have given the order in which I studied the topics along

with average weightage (from years 2010-2015) and days

devoted in the table.

GATE Syllabus Topics Weightage

(marks)

Days Devoted

by meEngineering Mathematics 15 20

Digital Logic 5 6

Programming 5 3

Data Structures and

Algorithms14 14

Theory of Computation 7 7



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Careers360: How should one schedule answering the

GATE exam – which section to attempt first and which

next?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: Start with the easiest section as

this will give you confidence and help you shed away your

nervousness.

I attempted the paper in following order:

1) Numerical ability

2) One mark CS questions

3) Verbal ability

4) Two marks CS question.

I attempted the verbal ability section late as I was not very

confident about it.

One crucial point to keep in mind is to never get stuck on

one question for too long. If a question has a lengthy descrip-

tion or is taking more than 2 minutes, skip it and come back

to it later.

Careers360: Name some important Topics that you feelare a must read for any student attempting GATE exam

in Computer Science Engineering?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: The must read topics are the one

with weightage 5 marks or above. Not so important topics

that students generally skip are Compiler Design, Software

Engineering, Web technology and Verbal Ability. But I would

recommend that aspirants read them also if they have time.

GATE 2015 paper was a little bit of surprise as these neglect-

ed topics were given considerable weightage.

Careers360: Since all the GATE exams are online now,

how mandatory is it for students to practice online and

how frequently?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: It is very important to appear for

some online mock tests so that a student gets comfortable

with the GATE exam interface and instructions that will be

useful to save valuable time in the actual GATE exam. I will

recommend appearing for at least 3 full length mock tests.

Careers360: What did you feel was a tough thing in the

GATE exam?Ravi Shankar Mishra: A tough thing about GATE 2015

CS paper was that many questions were asked from uncon-

ventional topics that students generally skip during their

preparation. I was surprised that in session-1 paper, ques-

tions were asked from software engineering (alpha testing),

compiler design (viable prefix, live variable, static single

assignment), html/xml and LU decomposition.

GATE Syllabus Topics Weightage(marks)

Days Devotedby me

Computer Networks 8 10

Computer Organization and

Architecture9 5

Operating System 9 14

Databases 7 12

Compiler Design 4 6

Software Engineering &

Web Technologies2 4

Verbal/Numerical Ability 15 4

Total 100 105



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The second thing - I found the two marks CS question to

be lengthy, I never took more than 135 minutes during mock

tests to complete my paper but in the actual exam it took me

160 minutes, so keep this fact in mind while you plan for the

time required for attempting various sections of the GATE

paper.

Careers360: How important do you feel mock tests are

and why? Is it true that if one solves the previous year

question papers, there is a good chance of cracking the

exam successfully?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: Mock tests serve three important

purposes:-

(1) Introduces you to the interface and instructions of the

GATE exam, this will be crucial to save time in actual

exam as you already know basic navigation and answer-

ing methods.

(2) Teaches you time management. Without proper time

management, there is no way that you can put up a good

performance. You must learn where to save time and

where to use it.

(3) Helps you identify your weak areas and recurring mis-takes. This is crucial to help you to fill the loopholes in

your preparation and also to teach you how to avoid silly

mistakes in the actual exam.

Please note that the rank you get in mock tests do not

reflect your actual gate rank. So don’t feel disappointed or

less confident about your abilities. I never got in the Top10

ranks in any of the mock tests I appeared for and I never let

it undermine my confidence.

Solving previous year papers is a very important phase and

a must for getting a good rank in the GATE exam. It gives

three benefits:-

(1) Since, most questions come from similar topics year

after year in the GATE exam; you will get acquainted with

common gate questions

(2) You will feel confident that you can crack GATE.

(3) You will able to gauge whether you have completed all

the sub-topics given in the GATE syllabus

I would like to point out that solving only GATE papers is

not going to help. The actual study plan should comprise of -

Read Topic, Solve Gate Questions,Analyze your problematic

areas and then Re-Read the topic. Also read the left-over

sub-topics.

Careers360: Which books did you follow for GATE

preparation?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: I have listed below the book name,

author name, edition and relevant chapters of the books that

I followed. The edition of books are the latest ones (updated

till Dec. 2014) and freely downloadable on the internet. I would recommend all the future GATE aspirants to read

only the latest edition of the books.



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Careers360: .Any advice for the future aspirants?

Ravi Shankar Mishra: Believe in yourself. Don’t let

anyone tell you what you can achieve and what you can’t.Nobody thought that I could even get a rank in the Top 500 in

the GATE 2015 CS paper as I was a Mechanical Engineering

graduate but I backed myself.

Just think that if a guy with zero knowledge of computer

science with just 5 months of dedicated study and deter-

mination could bring his knowledge up to the level of the

GATE exam and go on to score the First Rank, why can’t

you? All of you who will appear for GATE 2016 will have

even more time than what I had. Forget about everything

and just dedicate quality time over your preparation. Don’t

worry about what the others think about you; you are notdoing this for them. You are doing this for yourself and your

family. It is your dream, go get it! Nobody is stopping you

except yourself.

GATE Syllabus Book Name Author Name Ed. Relevant Chapters

Engineering Mathematics Discrete Mathematics and Its

Applications

Kenneth Rosen 7 1,2,6-11

Digital Logic Digital Design Morris Mano 5 1-6

Programming The C Programming language Dennis Richie 2 1-6

Data Structures and

Algorithms

Introduction to Algorithms Cormen 3 1-4, 6-8, 10-12, 15, 16,

22-24, 34

Theory of Computation An Introduction to Formal Languages

and Automata

Peter Linz 3 1-12

Computer Networks Computer Networking: A Top-Down

Approach

Kurose & Ross 6 1-5,8

Computer Organization

and Architecture

Computer Organization and

Embedded systems

Carl Hamacher 6 1-3,5,6,8,9

Operating System Operating System Concepts Galvin 9 1-15

Databases Database System Concepts Korth 6 1-4,6-8,10,11,14,15

Compiler Design Compilers: Principles, Techniques andTools Aho& Ullman 2 1-9

Software Engineering Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s

Approach

Pressman 7 Read slides only

Web technologies w3schools (html/xml tutorial) Website Link



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G ATE 2015 Topper Interview- Pradeep Seervi

who is studying his B.Tech at IIT Mandi has suc-

cessfully cracked the GATE 2015 exam securing

an All India Rank of 1 in Electrical Engineering.

Talking to Careers360, Pradeep elaborates on his GATE

2015 preparation and Examination Strategies that he used

to taste success in GATE 2015..

Careers360: Tell us something about yourself; Where


branch?Pradeep Seervi: My name is Pradeep Seervi. I am cur-

rently studying at IIT Mandi and am in the final year of

B.Tech in Electrical Engineering.


in? What rank did you get in GATE 2015?

Pradeep Seervi: I appeared in Electrical Engineering

paper and secured AIR 1 in GATE 2015. My score is 1000

and my marks are 75.96

Pradeep SeerviAIR 1 in Electrical Engineering


GATE 2015?

Pradeep Seervi: I have always wanted to work in some

core electrical company and PSUs are the best options for

that. So I decided to appear for GATE 2015.

Careers360: Which PSUs have you applied for?

Pradeep Seervi: I have applied to PGCIL, NTPC, BPCL,

IOCL and HPCL but I am most interested in joining PGCIL.



Pradeep Seervi: I started my preparations after the third

year of my engineering. I prepared a rough study plan which

gave sufficient time for each subject and then tried to strictly

follow it.



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I could not set any fixed time for preparation. As I was in

still in my final year of college, I had to find time for GATE

amidst all the assignments, projects and quizzes. But I tried

to strictly follow my study plan. I studied with full concentra-

tion whenever I got time to get the most out of it.

I actually started in August 2014 with my GATE study. I

merged both my GATE preparation and college work till

December 2014 depending upon the need of the hour. But I

completely devoted all my time during the months of Decem-

ber and January for GATE 2015 Preparation.



Pradeep Seervi: No, I didn’t take proper coaching or such.

Instead, I joined an online program Krash 2015 by Krea-

tryx. The K-notes and the questions provided by Kreatryx

were really very good and helped me during the final stages

of my preparation. This was a crash course to fine tune my

initial preparation

I also joined the online test series of MADE EASY. The

test series helped me a lot in planning the correct strategy

for attempting the GATE exam. It also helped me identify

sections where I was weak and improved my problem solv-

ing ability.




you prepare for the numerical questions considering

that they require speed in calculating the solutions?

Pradeep Seervi: Yes I was prepared for the numerical

questions. Actually it is a myth that the numerical questions

are hard or so. Numerical questions require speed and accu-

racy which can be enhanced by practicing as many questions

as possible. I improved my speed by giving a lot of online

tests. Solving questions within a certain time limit definitely

improved my problem solving speed.

The formulas are pretty basic. If you are conversant with

them, calculate carefully, you are good to go. The key is a cool

head with practice and more practice.



timetables?

Pradeep Seervi: The first step is to get to know the exact

syllabus of GATE. By this I mean, what exactly you should

study, which topics to focus more on and so on. Time is

always a crucial factor for GATE so it is imperative that we

should be clear about what we will have to study and how. To

know the GATE syllabus for preparation, I would suggest

checking the syllabus prescribed by many coaching centres

and the GATE exam papers for the past 10 years. We can then

be clear about the topics and subjects to focus on.

The second step is to prepare a rough study schedule basedthus and try to strictly adhere to it. The basic requirement is

to complete the theory part and then start with the tests. This

way you have covered the syllabus and now you just need to

practice and fine tune your preparation. An important part

is to prepare short notes for each subject. These will be very

useful to revise the subject.



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Start with each subject wise test. Analyse after you are done

with it. Revise to cover your problem areas and prepare to

strengthen your weak points. Once you are fine with each

subject/topic, start with the full GATE tests. Focus on giving

as many tests as you can. Getting familiarized with a variety

of questions attempted during mock tests will definitely help

you during your GATE exam.

Last, Revise your short notes in the week before the exam



next?

Pradeep Seervi: I feel this depends upon the student

himself. One can attempt the paper in any way one likes. But

it is important to finalize a good strategy before the exam

like how much time must be devoted to each section. This

strategy can only be built by giving several mock tests. When

you do so many tests, you realize the strategy that works for

you best.

Careers360: Name some important Topics that you feelare a must read for any student attempting GATE exam

in Electrical Engineering?

Pradeep Seervi: All topics are important but I feel the

following ones carry more weightage and one should com-

pulsorily cover them.

l Control System

l Network Theory

l Power system

l Electrical Machines

l Analog and Digital electronics



how frequently?

Pradeep Seervi: It is really important to practice onlinefor GATE. It will help you track your performance and

improve your time management skills. One must solve as

many online tests as possible. If you depends only on theory

and don’t appear for any online test, your chances for crack-

ing GATE greatly reduces.


GATE 2015 exam?

Pradeep Seervi: Some of the theory questions were really

tough. Some of the numerical questions were very easy but

too lengthy. When it comes to numerical questions, I strong-

ly feel that one must solve them with great care. Avoid mak-

ing silly mistakes in calculation and try reading the question

properly. Normally many mistakes are made by not reading

and understanding the question properly. One must attempt

the paper with a calm mind.




exam successfully?Pradeep Seervi: I would say that mock tests are very

important. One gets familiar with the GATE online plat-

form by solving as many mock tests as possible. It also helps

improve your problem solving skills and speed.



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Saurav Gupta, a final year student of Electronics and

Telecommunication Engineering at Jadavpur Uni-

versity, Kolkata has secured AIR 5 in EC in GATE

2015. Speaking to Careers360, Saurav elaborates

on his Preparation Strategies for GATE 2015 and discuss

how he managed to taste success in GATE while juggling his

final year studies.

Careers360: Tell us something about yourself; where

are you doing your engineering from and in which

branch?

Saurav Gupta: I come from a middle class family from a

small town, Naihati, in West Bengal. My father is a business-

man while my mother is a housewife and I have an elder

brother who is a doctor. I am a 4th year student at Jadavpur

University, Kolkata, currently pursuing my B.E degree in

Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering.

Saurav Gupta

AIR 5 in Electronics and Communication Engineering




100 in GATE paper?

Saurav Gupta: I appeared for EC in GATE 2015. I got an

All India Rank of 5. My GATE Score is 1000 and GATE

Marks are 82.21 (normalized).


GATE 2015?

Saurav Gupta: I wanted to pursue M. Tech at one of the

premier institutions of our country so that I can get a deeper

insight of the subjects especially VLSI and Communication

related ones. B.E provides comparatively superficial knowl-

edge in these subjects and hence I feel that a Master degree

is a must to succeed in these fields



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Careers360: When did you start your preparation?

How did you prepare? How many hours did you put in


Saurav Gupta: Though there was no specific timeline, the

preparations were started mainly after 2nd year during the

semester break. Since GATE syllabus is a subset of our aca-

demic course, I didn’t have to dedicate extra time to it during

my semesters. However, I kept doing my revisions at regular

intervals at the end of every semester during the summer and

winter vacations, along with some extra portions which were

missed during the semester course.

I have a habit of making notes of every subject I study and

this proved to be very helpful during revisions. The sub-

jects that were common in GATE and my academic course

however received extra impetus and attention. As I have

mentioned already, I used to prepare especially during the

semester breaks when I used to allocate around 3-4 hours on

an average. But after the first semester exam of my 4th year

was over, I had only 45 days left before the D Day. So I put

in extra efforts then there by increasing my study hours to 8 hours a day. During this period, I had prepared a gist of all the

important formulas, tips and tricks which reduced the entire

syllabus to around 50 pages and with its help I started giving

online Mock Tests regularly.



Saurav Gupta: No. I haven’t taken any coaching. But I

had enrolled myself into THE GATE ACADEMY’s Online

Mock Tests.






Saurav Gupta: No it was not much of an obstacle as my

basic concepts were clear. Rather, it was a blessing in disguise

as I believe that some MCQs sometimes tend to be quite

ambiguous thereby confusing the student. Numerical ques-

tions, on the other hand, have a definite answer and hence are

more deterministic.

As I had already said that I had prepared a gist of formu-

las, tips and tricks which came in handy in reducing time.

Besides, I feel there is no special preparation required for

numerical type questions as long as you have a clear concept

of the subjects.



timetables?

Saurav Gupta: Everyone should make their own notes

from the standard books and this will aid them during revi-

sions. Moreover, if you make your own notes, remembering

and understanding things becomes much easier.

I believe that every student has his/her own pace of learn-

ing and thus the number of hours that they put in does not

matter much as long as they ensure that the time spent is

qualitative rather than quantitative. Summer and winter

breaks should however be utilized efficiently as it will not

mess with their semester studies.



next?

Saurav Gupta: One should always start with the sections

that they are more comfortable with. The first few minutes

are very crucial from the psychological point of view as it

might either boost your confidence or even ruin it complete-

ly. Moreover, if one is stuck at some question, one should

learn to let it go rather than wasting time on it.



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Careers360: Name some important Topics that you feel

are a must read for any student attempting GATE exam

in Electronics and Communications Engineering?

Saurav Gupta: There is no such important topic. All top-

ics are equally important. However one should go through

GATE syllabus thoroughly and solve all the previous year

papers which will give a fair idea of what kind of questions

are asked.



how frequently?

Saurav Gupta: Enrolling in any standard Online Mock

Test series will suffice. Once a unit is completed, one should

give the corresponding Unit Test to find out one’s strengths

and weaknesses.


GATE exam?

Saurav Gupta: The syllabus of GATE is quite huge com-

pared to most other competitive exams. However, there is

sufficient time if one can manage it along with his/her aca-

demic coursework.




exam successfully?

Saurav Gupta: Giving Mock Tests is the key thing in any

entrance exam. It will expose the areas in which you are

weak, thereby needing extra attention. It will also improve

your speed.Solving previous year question papers will give

you a fair idea of the GATE exam pattern but there will

always be some surprises. Moreover, GATE exams are

organized by different IITs/IISC each year so it will not be a

good idea to rely completely on previous year patterns.


preparation?

Saurav Gupta: One should follow the books prescribed in

their coursework. However the books which I followed are

as follows:

Topics Books

Electronic Devices 1. Semiconductor Physics And Devices by Donald A. Neamen

2. Solid state electronic devices by Ben G. Streetman and Sanjay Banerjee

3. Electronic Devices and Circuits by Millman & Halkias

Analog Circuits 1. Microelectronics Circuits by Sedra & Smith

2. Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory by Robert L Boylestad & Nashelsky

3. Pulse and Digital Electronics by Millman and Taub

Control System 1. Control Systems by Nagarath and Gopal

2. NPTEL Video lectures by M. Gopal

Digital System 1. Digita l circuits and design by Sal ivahanan or Fundamentals of digital systems by Anandkumar

2. Digital Logic and Computer Design by M.Morris Mano



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GATE 2016

CORRESPONDENCE

PROGRAM PREMIUM

Careers360: .Any advice for the future aspirants?

Saurav Gupta: GATE exams are a golden opportunity even

for an average student to shine. So don’t be disheartened if

you have fairly low CGPA. Personally, even I was an average

student with a rank of around 30 in my class (part of which

can also be attributed to the tough competition in Jadavpur

University, ETCE dept), but I was determined enough to

come out with flying colors, thereby making full use of thisopportunity.

Topics Books

Communication System 1. Analog and Digital Communication System by Simon Haykin

2. Principle of Communication System by Taub& Schillings

3. Modern digital and analog Communications system by BP Lathi

4. Electronic Communication Systems by Kennedy and Davis (just the Noise chapter)

Electromagnetics 1. Elements of Electromagnetics by Matthew N.O. Sadiku

2. Network lines and fields by J.D ryder (Transmission lines part)

3. Electromagnetic waves and Radiating Systems by Jordon and ballmain

4. Antenna Theory by Balanis

5. NPTEL Lectures by Prof. R. Shevgaonkar

Network 1. Circuit Theory by A.Chakraborty

2. Network Analysis by Van Valkenburg

Signal Systems 1. Modern digital and analog Communications system by BP Lathi

2. Digital Signal Processing by S.K Mitra

Maths Higher Engineering mathematics by Dr. B.S Grewal

General Aptitude 1. Quantitative Aptitude by R.S Agarwal

2. Quantitative Aptitude by CAT by Arun Sharma

MCQ book Gate ECE by R.K Kanodia



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GATE 2016

CORRESPONDENCE

PROGRAM PREMIUM

A ditya Narayan Nanda who secured AIT 10 in

GATE 2015 in Instrumentation Engineering did

his B.Tech in Instrumentation and Electronics

Engineering from CET, Bhubaneswar. Currently

employed with NTPC, Aditya shares his GATE 2015 Prepa-

ration Strategies with the GATE aspirants in this article and

credits his success to hard work, practice and the blessings

from his elders.

Careers360: Tell us something about yourself; wherehave you done your engineering from and in which

branch?

Aditya Narayan Nanda: My name is Aditya Narayan

Nanda. I am from Bhubaneswar, Odisha and I have com-

pleted my BTech in Instrumentation and Electronics Engi-

neering from CET, Bhubaneswar in 2015.




100 in GATE paper?

Aditya Narayan Nanda: I appeared GATE-2015 in

Instrumentation (IN) paper and secured AIR 10. My GATE

score was 871 and my GATE marks were 67.


GATE 2015? PSU or further studies? Pls elaborate yourreasons.

Aditya Narayan Nanda: Actually I was confused about

whether to join a PSU or do M.Tech. I didn’t keep that in

mind though and therefore during my GATE 2015 prepara-

tion my only focus was to get a good rank.

Aditya Narayan NandaAIR 10 In Instrumentation Engineering



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An important Thing I would like to tell all aspirants is that

CGPA plays an important role in PSU selection procedure.

So don’t neglect your semester exams.

Careers360: If PSU, have you applied to any and which

ones?

Aditya Narayan Nanda: Yes I had applied to NTPC,

IOCL, ONGC, HPCL, BPCL, BARC and OPGC.



Aditya Narayan Nanda: I started my preparation during

my 7th semester. I used to follow standard text books for all

the subjects and make short notes for each subject. As I was

in my final year and we had many projects, seminars, semes-

ter exams etc. to cope up with, I opted to devote 3-4 hrs every

day for GATE. In addition to that, I used to study for 6-7 hrs

and revise the short notes on holidays



Aditya Narayan Nanda: Yes I took Classroom coaching

from MADEEASY, Bhubaneswar. Apart from that I also

took postal coaching from ACE and GATEFORUM. I used

to solve MCQs whenever possible. I believe that solving

questions from materials of different coaching institutes

increases your speed, accuracy while allowing you access to

a wide range of questions and question papers.

Careers360: GATE 2015 saw a substantial amount ofnumerical questions asked when compared to previous




Aditya Narayan Nanda: Mock tests and Online Tests

helped me a lot to prepare for numerical questions. What

I found in in the actual GATE 2015 exam was that numeri-

cal type questions were relatively easier than the 2 marks

MCQs.



timetables?

Aditya Narayan Nanda: I sum them up below:

l Always follow standard text books and make short notes.

l Choose 2 subjects every day,

l 1st subject should be your favourite and 2nd may be a less

favourite one.

l Practice a lot of questions and try to solve the problems

yourself, don’t jump to the solution section directly.

l I considered GA part as a very easy topic and did not

practice it, so in GATE I scored only 3 out of 15 in

General Aptitude section.. So don’t neglect even GA,

Instead practice GA for at least 10-15 mins everyday.


GATE exam – which section to attempt first and whichnext?

Aditya Narayan Nanda: I think answering questions in

a serial order saves time. You can mark the difficult ques-

tions for review and always came back later to solve it. Never

waste your valuable time in solving difficult questions. You

can learn time management skills and attempt plans during

mock tests.



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GATE 2016

CORRESPONDENCE

PROGRAM PREMIUM


are a must read for any student attempting GATE exam?

Aditya Narayan Nanda: If you really want to get into good

colleges and any PSUs then you need a good rank. And for a

good rank you have to study everything. Every topic is impor-

tant and matters. GATE is unpredictable so you can’t take a

chance. Study every topic in the syllabus and create interest

in the topics which seems dry and boring to you.



how frequently?

Aditya Narayan Nanda: Yes, online test practice is a must.

In the paper based tests you can solve on the given diagrams

(e.g. circuits etc. which takes additional time) but in online

exams you have to draw it on your rough paper. Sometimes

you have to think of a smart approach. So speed is the most

important factor in the online exam.

Therefore practice with online tests as much as possible

especially during the last months of preparation.


GATE exam?

Aditya Narayan Nanda: As I pointed out earlier, I hadn’t

concentrated and prepared well for the General Aptitude

section. So General Aptitude questions seemed really dif-

ficult to me. Hence, my suggestion is that one should cover

each and every topic during preparation.




exam successfully?

Aditya Narayan Nanda: The fact is that you can actually

get almost all important concepts from previous year ques-

tions. I feel that solving previous year questions helps you to

understand the level of questions asked in the GATE exam.

But you can’t guarantee a good rank just by solving previ-

ous papers. It is important to be prepared for unexpected

questions and rarely asked topics too. My advice - Solve

new questions from standard text books then only you can

exercise your grey matter and be prepared to face some

unexpected and new questions in the GATE exam if asked.



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GATE 2016

CORRESPONDENCE

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preparation?

Aditya Narayan Nanda: Some books I have followed are:

SNo Subject Books and Author

1 Mathematics Advanced Engineering Mathematics by Erwin Kreyszig Gate Engineering

Mathematics by MADE EASY

2 Network Theory Engineering Circuit Analysis by Steven M. Durbin , Jack E. Kemmerly , William

H. Hayt

3 Analog Electronics Fundamentals of Microelectronics by BEHZAD RAZAVI (Must Read

Recommended by Aditya) GATE - Electronics & Communication (Analog Circuits

Volume 5 Of 10) by R K Kanodia

4 Digital Electronics Solved previous year questions from EC and IN streams

5 Signals and Systems Signals And Systems (Schaum’s Outline Series) by H P HSU Signals & Systems

by Alan V. Oppenheim

6 Communication Systems Modern Digital and Analog Communication System by B P LATHI

7 Electrical and Electronic Measurements A Course In Electrical And Electronic Measurements And Instrumentation by A

K SAWHNEY

8 Control System Automatic Control Systems by B C KUO

9 Process Control Process Control: Modeling, Design, And Simulation by B. Wayne Bequette

10 Transducers Introduction to Measurements and Instrumentation by ARUN K GHOSH

Careers360:.Any advice for the future aspirants?

Aditya Narayan Nanda: Be positive and dream big.

Always help others and share your knowledge in that pro-

cess you can amplify your knowledge. Respect your parents

and elders as their blessings can bring miracles in your life.

All the best!



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GATE 2016

CORRESPONDENCE

PROGRAM PREMIUM

Souradeep Sinha who scored an all India Rank of 9 in

GATE 2015 Chemical Engineering his preparation

strategies for GATE exam. A Chemical Engineer-

ing graduate from Jadavpur University, Kolkata,

Souradeep believes that his hard working nature and proper

time management skills have contributed to his success in

GATE 2015.


have you done your engineering from and in which branch?

Souradeep Sinha: I have pursued my bachelor's degree in

Chemical Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

I am a hard working independent individual knowing well

enough how to manage time between family duties, leisure

and assigned work. I believe completing the assigned work

on time with honesty and dedication is the need of the hour.

Careers360: What was the GATE Paper you appeared



100 in GATE paper?

Souradeep Sinha: I appeared for GATE 2015 in Chemi-

cal Engineering where I secured the 9th position. My GATE

score and marks were 895 and 62.33/100 respectively.


GATE 2015? PSU or further studies? Pls elaborate yourreasons.

Souradeep Sinha: My first choice was always to be in a

profession connected with the course I study currently. By

giving GATE, one stands a chance to be part of the prestig-

ious IITs or IISC for research-oriented activities that helps

develop almost all the things we use in our daily life. GATE

provides a platform to be in touch with the institutes where

a part of the world's best innovative research is done with

Souradeep SinhaAIR 9 In Chemical Engineering



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Souradeep Sinha: Mass Transfer, Heat Transfer, Fluid

Dynamics, Thermodynamics, Process Control, Chemical

Industries, Mathematics.



how frequently?

Souradeep Sinha: From 2015, GATE authorities have

allowed scientific calculators. So, as of now one doesn’t need

much of an online practice session. It however depends on

the individual. If you feel better having practiced online, do

so by all means. I didn’t feel the need for it though.


GATE exam?

Souradeep Sinha: Numerical Type Questions. They con-

stituted 60% of the papers and require accuracy in calcula-

tions. One needs to be highly alert for this.




exam successfully?

Souradeep Sinha: Mock tests are an important part as

they help us in practicing new types of question. However,

for Chemical Engineering, there are no good test series avail-

able.

One can certainly say that solving previous years question

papers will not make it easier for you to crack GATE as no

question is repeated. You have to try various new types of

questions and increase your diverse problem solving abili-

ties.


preparation?

Souradeep Sinha: Notes given by Dr. Debasish Sarkar.

They were enough to enhance and hone my preparation.

Careers360: Any advice for the future aspirants?

Souradeep Sinha: Strengthen your basics and practice

a lot. Manage your time well – an important aspect to take

care of. All the Best!



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GATE 2016

CORRESPONDENCE

PROGRAM PREMIUM

S harada Prasad Panda has secured an AIR 6 in Bio-

technology in GATE 2015. Sharada Prasad shares

his preparation experiences here and states that lots

of practice, hard work and self-confidence are some

of the keys to success in GATE.



branch?

Sharada Prasad Panda: My name is, Sharada PrasadPanda and I belong to Bhubaneswar, Odisha. I did my B.Tech

in Biotechnology from College of Engineering and Technol-

ogy, Bhubaneswar.

Careers360: What was the GATE Paper you appeared



100 in GATE paper?

Sharada Prasad Panda: I appeared in GATE BT paper in

2015.I got an AIR of 6 in general category.My gate score was

863 and I secured 58.67 marks out of 100.


GATE 2015? PSU or further studies? Pls elaborate your

reasons.

Sharada Prasad Panda: I appeared GATE for pursuing

higher studies namely my masters. I want to work only after

doing masters.

Careers360: When did you start your preparation?

How did you prepare? How many hours did you put in


Sharada Prasad Panda: I started my preparation from

7th semester. I tried to solve the previous year papers. I

bought GATE preparation books and tried to solve chapter

wise questions. I divided subjects into weeks. Every week I

Sharada Prasad PandaAIR 6 in Biotechnology



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would focus on one subject and once the week was over, I

would do problems pertaining to what I learnt. I would focus

on what I knew and tried to solidify the concepts rather than

trying to learn new things. Initially (the first 2 months) I used

to put in approximately 3-4 hours per day. Later I studied

approximately 5-6 hours every day till the day of exam.



Sharada Prasad Panda: No, I just took an online testseries of GATEFORUM. The tests helped me with speed

management during exam and also in showing the areas in

which I was weak.






Sharada Prasad Panda: Actually, I was prepared for this.

A good way to remember formulae for the numerical ques-

tions is to write the formulae again and again. And every

week practise the numerical questions. Mark the difficult one

and practise them again and again regularly till you get them

right. The test series helped with speed. I also gave many

mock tests and part tests. The level of questions in these

mock tests is a bit harder than GATE, so trying to solve them

helped. In GATE paper, I first attempted simple numerical

questions which required simple application of formulae.

Difficult numerical questions I attempted later.



timetables?

Sharada Prasad Panda: Set aside time every day for

preparing for GATE besides the regular studies. Initially

have a look at the previous year papers to get an idea of the

distribution of marks by subject in the paper. Then focus on

the important subjects from which a majority of questions

may come. Study each subject for a week and then the next

subject in the next week. After all the subjects are done once,

revise them again starting from the first subject, and go on

like this in cycles. Take breaks in between.



next?

Sharada Prasad Panda: Attempt the aptitude section

first. Then go through the paper in the subject section and

mark the level of difficulty of questions. Answer all the easy

questions first, then attempt the harder questions later. This

was my strategy for GATE 2015.



Sharada Prasad Panda: I feel that we should concentrate

on the General Aptitude and Engineering Maths sections in

addition to our chosen subject. These sections if done well

allow us to score better thus increasing our overall marks.

For BT, I fell all topics are important and one study study the

whole syllabus. For the others:

1. General aptitude: Problems on Time and Distance, Alli-

gations and mixtures, Time and work are must

2. Engineering Maths: Matrices and Determinants, Prob-

ability, System of linear equations, Permutations and

combinations are must



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how frequently?

Sharada Prasad Panda: It is important. Online environ-

ment is much different than offline exams .I think giving

online test series is enough for any student. Give mock tests

every two weeks and subject tests twice/thrice every week.

If you are completely new to the online testing environment,

then it will take some time to get accustomed to it. With

practice you can avoid the surprise element on the day of

the actual exam. The more you practise giving online tests,

the more your speed will increase as the crux is to solve the

paper in a limited time frame. You will also get clear about

your time management while solving the questions. This will

definitely help during GATE exam.


GATE exam?

Sharada Prasad Panda: The numerical questions seemed

a bit tough. They require careful calculations and even if

we don’t have negative marking for these, getting the right

answer is important in a limited time.




exam successfully?

Sharada Prasad Panda: Mock tests are important

because they help with getting you accustomed to the online

environment and teach you time management. Yes, it is true

that if one solves the previous year papers then there is a good

chance of cracking the exam. Previous year papers allow usto have an idea about the most important topics and subjects

that carry a good amount of questions. We get a morale boost

when we are able to solve some questions knowing that there

is a good chance of answering more questions if the prepara-

tion is right.

Careers360: Which books did you follow for GATEpreparation?

Sharada Prasad Panda: These books helped a lot:

l GK Publishers- GATE Biotechnology, GATE General

Aptitude and Mathematics,

l Pathfinder publications: Life Science part 1 and 2.

Careers360: Any advice for the GATE 2016 aspirants?

Sharada Prasad Panda: Dont lose hope when you find

the questions tough at the beginning of your preparation.

Just keep practising. Even when you attempt the test series

don’t be disheartened if you don’t do well. Instead look at

your weak points to improve and score well the next time.

If you get good results, then don’t be too overconfident. Be

happy that you are improving. It will seem difficult at first,

but it is not that tough. Trust yourself, work hard and leave

the rest to god....... :)



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Expert Opinion

GATE 2016 Expert Interview –Mr. Aniruddh Pratap Singh(Faculty, Made Easy Group)

GATE 216 Expert Interview –Mr. B.Singh (CMD, Made Easy Group)

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CORRESPONDENCE

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Useful Links for GATE 2016

GATE 2016 What’s New in GATE GATE 2016 Syllabus

GATE 2016Changes in Syllabus

IIT M.Tech Admissions 2016

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GATE 2016 Mock Test PSU RecruitmentThrough GATE 2016

GATE 2016

Official Website

Follow us on Facebook for

all the latest updates

GATE 2016Sample Papers



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GATE 2016

CORRESPONDENCE

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GATE 2016 Correspondence Program Premium A Complete GATE Preparation Package for your success in GATE

Highlights of the Package:

Ü Study Material Package:

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success mantras of gate toppers for gate 2016

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