Students targeting 55+ marks in GATE DA 2027 should prioritise 25 high-weightage topics. Topics carrying the highest weightage in GATE DA 2027 include DBMS, Python programming, machine learning, probability, and General Aptitude, which together carried 76 of the 100 marks in the GATE 2026 DA paper.
- Programming, DS and Algorithms carry 18-22 marks in the GATE 2027 DA question paper, and Calculus & Optimization carry around 8-9 marks.
- You can expect 13-15 marks from Probability & Statistics, and 8-9 marks from Linear Algebra.
- Machine Learning will carry around 15-16 marks, and DBMS & Data Warehousing will carry around 12-15 marks in the GATE DA question paper.
- 8-10 marks weightage is given to Artificial Intelligence in the GATE DA question Paper.
An expert from “GeeksforGeeks GATE English” on a YouTube video shared a list of GATE 2027 topics that can help students score 55+ marks. You can watch the video below to know the high weightage topics for GATE DA 2027.
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Key Summary
- GATE DA question paper weightage will be distributed between General Aptitude, Mathematics, and Data Science subjects.
- 15 marks will be asked from General Aptitude, and 85 marks will be asked from Mathematics and the core DA paper.
- Programming, DS, and Algorithms cover 18-22 marks in the GATE DA question paper, the highest among other subjects.
- Linear Algebra carries 8-9 marks, the lowest among high-weightage chapters in GATE DA.
25 High Weightage Topics for GATE DA 2027
Top 25 high-weightage topics in GATE DA include Eigenvalues, Eigenvectors & Matrix Powers carry 5-6 marks, the highest among all topics in GATE DA.
- Topics carrying 4-5 marks in GATE DA include Sorting & Recurrence Relations, Gradient Descent, SGD & Regularization Objectives, Normal, t, Chi-square, Exponential, Poisson distributions, etc.
- Topics carrying 3-4 marks in GATE DA include Python Output Tracing, Graphs BFS, DFS, Reachability, Maxima, Minima, Sequence and Series, Bayes Theorem, Matrices & Validation, Precision, Recall, LOOCV, and so on.
| Chapter | Topics | Weightage |
|---|---|---|
| Programming, DS and Algorithms | Sorting & Recurrence Relations | 4-5 |
| Python Output Tracing | 3-4 | |
| Graphs BFS, DFS, Reachability | 3-4 | |
| Trees, Traversals, BST, Heaps | 2-3 | |
| Recursion and Call Counting | 2-3 | |
| Binary Search and Time Complexity | 1-2 | |
| Calculus and Optimization | Gradient Descent, SGD & Regularization Objectives | 4-5 |
| Maxima, Minima, Sequence and Series | 3-4 | |
| Probability and Statistics | Normal, t, Chi-square, Exponential, Poisson distributions | 4-5 |
| Bayes Theorem & Conditional Probability | 3-4 | |
| Variance, Covariance & Correlation | 2-3 | |
| PDF/CDF Properties | 2-3 | |
| Counting & Combinatorics | 1-2 | |
| Linear Algebra | Eigenvalues, Eigenvectors & Matrix Powers | 5-6 |
| Projection, Idempotent & Centering Matrices | 3-4 | |
| Vector Spaces, Subspaces and Quadratic Forms | 2-3 | |
| Machine Learning | Linear and Logistic Regression, Ridge/Lasso | 4-5 |
| Matrices & Validation Precision, Recall, LOOCV | 3-4 | |
| Clustering & PCA, k-medoids, Hierarchical | 2-3 | |
| Neural Nets MLP Parameters, Bias-Variance | 2-3 | |
| DBMS and Data Warehousing | B+ Trees Order, Insertion, Splits, Pointers | 5-6 |
| SQL, Relational Algebra & Tuple Relational Calculus | 3-4 | |
| FDs, Candidate Keys, Normalization, ER & OLAP | 2-3 | |
| Artificial Intelligence | Search, BFS, DFS, UCS, A+, Minimax, Alpha-Beta | 4-5 |
| Propositional & First-Order Logic, Entailment | 2-3 |
Source: YouTube
Also Check:
Ques. Are CNNs, RNNs, or Reinforcement Learning in the GATE DA 2027 syllabus?
Ans. No. The syllabus covers the multi-layer perceptron and feed-forward networks only. Deep architectures, NLP, and reinforcement learning are outside the syllabus.
GATE DA 2027: Subject-Wise Marks from the 2026 PYQ
DBMS and Data Warehousing was the highest weighted subject in GATE DA 2026 with 18 marks, followed by PDSA and Machine Learning at 16 marks each.
- Half the paper came from DBMS, PDSA, and Machine Learning, so these three subjects decide whether you cross 55 marks.
- The math core of Probability and Statistics, Calculus, and Linear Algebra added about 27 to 28 marks.
- General Aptitude is a fixed 15 marks and is the lowest-scoring section.
| Subject | 1-Mark Questions | 2-Mark Questions | Marks in GATE DA 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DBMS and Data Warehousing | 4 | 7 | 18 |
| Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms | 4 | 6 | 16 |
| Machine Learning | 4 | 6 | 16 |
| General Aptitude | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| Probability and Statistics | 4 | 3 | 10 – 11 |
| Calculus and Optimization | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Linear Algebra | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Artificial Intelligence | 4 | 2 | 8 |
Ques. Which subject has the highest weightage in GATE DA?
Ans. DBMS and Data Warehousing led the 2026 paper with 18 marks. Weightage shifts every year, so treat the three-subject block of DBMS, PDSA and Machine Learning as the stable high-yield core.
How to Score 55+ Marks in GATE DA 2027
A score of 55+ marks needs steady accuracy in the core subjects and near-full marks in General Aptitude, rather than perfection in every topic.
- Master DBMS first. SQL and B+ Trees can be drilled to near-complete accuracy.
- Trace code by hand daily for PDSA, because questions ask for outputs and call counts, not definitions.
- Make ML numerical. Practise computing precision and recall, counting MLP parameters and running one SGD step.
- Attempt every NAT and MSQ question, as neither carries negative marking. Mark MCQs only when confident.
The split below is an illustrative target adding up to 56 marks, not an official benchmark.
| Subject | Marks in 2026 Paper | Illustrative Target for 55+ |
|---|---|---|
| General Aptitude | 15 | 12 |
| DBMS and Data Warehousing | 18 | 12 |
| PDSA | 16 | 10 |
| Machine Learning | 16 | 9 |
| Probability and Statistics | 10 – 11 | 5 |
| Linear Algebra | 8 | 3 |
| Calculus and Optimization | 9 | 3 |
| Artificial Intelligence | 8 | 2 |
| Total | 100 | 56 |
GATE DA Previous Years’ Question Papers
Students can solve the official GATE DA papers from the links below to test these 25 topics.
| GATE Exam Year | Question Paper PDF |
|---|---|
| GATE 2026 | Download PDF |
| GATE 2025 | Download PDF |
| GATE 2024 | Download PDF |
| GATE 2023 | Download PDF |
| GATE 2022 | Download PDF |
| GATE 2021 | Download PDF |
| GATE 2020 | Download PDF |
Read More:
Ques. Is 55 marks a good score in GATE DA?
Ans. Yes. Portal estimates place 50 to 60 marks in the good band and 55 to 65 marks as a safe range for top NITs. The final rank depends on the difficulty of the paper and normalisation.
Ques. Will the GATE DA 2027 syllabus change?
Ans. No. IIT Madras revised several GATE papers for 2027, but the DA syllabus remains the same as 2026.
Ques. Which topics should be revised last?
Ans. Lower-priority areas such as OLAP, CLT and hypothesis tests, SVD, and Taylor series can wait until the Very High and High priority topics are secure.
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