GATE 2027 in Varanasi: IIT Kanpur Zone, Bihar Trap and Institutes
Varanasi is in the IIT Kanpur zone for GATE 2027, while Patna and Bihar are IIT Guwahati zone. Pick six same-zone cities and plan exam day.
Updated 4 November 2026 · GATEiit Team
Varanasi or Patna: the choice to make first
If your family lives across the border in Bihar, your first decision is which zone, before which six cities.
On the official GATE 2027 list, Varanasi sits under Uttar Pradesh in the IIT Kanpur zone. Bihar's four exam cities, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Patna and Purnea, are in the IIT Guwahati zone. All six choices on a form must be from the same zone, so you cannot keep Varanasi as first choice and Patna as a fallback.
Distance does not help here. The Varanasi district administration gives road distances of 246 km to Patna, 286 km to Lucknow and 330 km to Kanpur. Patna is nearer than either, and still cannot go on your form.
So ask where you will be on the exam weekends. If you will be in your Varanasi hostel or room, build an IIT Kanpur-zone list. If you will be home in Bihar, build an IIT Guwahati-zone list instead and read the Patna page. Choosing one zone and then wishing you had chosen the other is the mistake to avoid.
Six choices that start with Varanasi
The IIT Kanpur zone has these exam cities:
| State | Cities |
|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh | Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Sagar, Satna |
Prayagraj is the closest of these by the district's road figures, at 128 km, so it is the natural second choice. A list built for someone based in Varanasi might read:
- Varanasi
- Prayagraj
- Gorakhpur
- Lucknow
- Kanpur
- Satna or Jabalpur
Move Gorakhpur up if your family is in eastern UP, or put Jabalpur or Satna higher if you are from Madhya Pradesh. Agra and Bhopal are in the zone too, but at 565 km and 791 km by road they are back-ups only if you have somewhere to stay there.
The list is tentative. GATE 2027 can add or remove a city and can allot one outside your six, and the exam is held only in India.
The UP cities that are not in your zone
Uttar Pradesh is split across three zones, which matters if you have been working or studying in the west of the state:
- IIT Roorkee zone: Ghaziabad, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar and NOIDA.
- IIT Delhi zone: Greater NOIDA and Mathura.
None of these can be combined with Varanasi. Agra and Mathura are a pair that often gets mixed up: Agra is in your zone, Mathura is not. Jharkhand is also split, with Dhanbad and Bokaro Steel City in the IIT Guwahati zone and Ranchi in the IIT Kharagpur zone; neither works with Varanasi.
Who to write to about your exam city
The coordinating institute for the zone is IIT Kanpur. As listed on the official page:
- IIT Kanpur, Kanpur 208 016: gate@iitk.ac.in, 0512-2596962, 0512-2596963
Write from your registered email ID and quote your enrolment ID. Questions about the application portal or the papers go to the organising institute, IIT Madras (helpdesk@gate.iitm.ac.in, 044-22578200). The application data correction window is still TBA on the important dates page.
If you picked the IIT Guwahati zone for Bihar, your zone office is IIT Guwahati instead (gate@iitg.ac.in, 0361-2582751).
Getting to your centre in and around Varanasi
The city allotment notification is due on 4 January 2027, and the admit card, with your centre and reporting time, has no date yet. Every exam day is a Saturday or Sunday.
Two things from the district's own travel page are worth knowing on exam morning. Some routes in the old city's temple and market areas run one way, and autorickshaws and larger vehicles are not allowed on them, so if your centre or your room is in that part of town, leave a margin. And if family is coming in from outside, Varanasi Cantt is the city's main railway station, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction is 16 km away, and LBS Airport at Babatpur is 22 km from the city.
Sitting DA and CS together is an allowed combination. GATE says the second paper's centre may differ from the first but will be in the same city.
Carry the printed admit card, the original photo ID you entered on the form and anything else the admit card names. Results are due on 19 March 2027.
IIT (BHU) and preparing from here
IIT (BHU) Varanasi is in the city, and its GATEiit page explains its GATE routes for DA and CSE candidates. Within Uttar Pradesh, MNNIT Allahabad and IIIT Allahabad in Prayagraj and IIT Kanpur also have pages, as do IIT Patna and NIT Patna in Bihar. Where you write the exam plays no part in admission to any of them.
GATEiit is an online site with no centre or office in Varanasi, and its resources are free. Start on the paper page, GATE DA or GATE CSE, which has the syllabus and the WhatsApp group link. Solve past papers on /pyq and topic-wise questions on /practice, and follow the GATE DA 2027 guide or GATE CSE 2027 guide. Other guides are on /guides; national dates are on /gate-2027, and nearby city pages include Prayagraj, Lucknow and Kanpur.
Institutes near Varanasi that admit through GATE
Frequently asked questions
Which GATE 2027 zone is Varanasi in?
The IIT Kanpur zone. Contact gate@iitk.ac.in or 0512-2596962 / 0512-2596963 about exam cities.
Can I choose Varanasi first and Patna as a back-up?
No. Patna is in the IIT Guwahati zone, and all six choices must be from one zone. The same applies to Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and Purnea.
Which city should I put second after Varanasi?
Prayagraj is the nearest same-zone city by the district's road figures. Gorakhpur, Lucknow and Kanpur are the other usual choices.
I am from Bihar but study in Varanasi. Which zone should I pick?
The one where you will be on the exam weekends. Varanasi means the IIT Kanpur zone; Patna or another Bihar city means the IIT Guwahati zone. You cannot mix them.
Can I add NOIDA or Ghaziabad to a Varanasi list?
No. Both are in the IIT Roorkee zone. Greater NOIDA and Mathura are in the IIT Delhi zone, so they cannot be added either.
Will I get a centre in Varanasi if I list it first?
It is not guaranteed. GATE may allot a city outside your options. The allotment notification is due on 4 January 2027.
Does writing GATE in Varanasi help with IIT (BHU) admission?
No. The institute admits on your GATE score and its own process. The exam city has no role.
Sources
Checked on against these official pages. Admission rules and exam cities can change, so confirm on the official site before you act.