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Updated By Tiyasa Khanra on 08 Feb, 2026 21:58
The NIFT Entrance Exam 2026 paper analysis provides insights into the exam’s difficulty level, section-wise weightage, and type of questions asked in CAT and GAT. This analysis helps candidates evaluate their performance, estimate expected scores, and understand trends for upcoming sessions to refine their preparation strategy effectively.
Predict your Percentile based on your NIFT Entrance Exam performance
Predict RankNIFT Entrance Exam 2026 has been conducted on February 8, 2026. Both NIFT 2026 Shift 1 (GAT - CBT) and Shift 2 (CAT - PBT) exams have concluded. The overall difficulty level of the NIFT GAT 2026 exam ranged from easy to moderate. However, it was observed to be a bit lengthy. Questions were asked on vocabulary, percentage, pie chart, mensuration, time and speed. There were 25 questions from GK and current affairs.CAT was a bit challenging since the creative tasks were time-consuming. They evaluated your ability to observe everyday objects and develop new ideas over perfect sketching. The tasks were lengthy and required high speed.
Shift 1 was conducted from 10 AM to 1 PM and Shift 2 was scheduled from 3 PM to 6 PM. This page will provide you with live, shift-wise NIFT 2026 paper analysis, covering section-wise difficulty level, NIFT Entrance Exam 2026 exam pattern, and real-time student reactions as they exit the exam centres.
| Exam Shift | Test Type | Timing | Duration | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shift 1 | General Ability Test (GAT) | 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM* | 120-180 minutes | CBT (Online) |
| Shift 2 | Creative Ability Test (CAT) | 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM | 180 minutes | PBT (Offline) |
Live Status: Shift 1 and Shift 2 exams concluded
*Note: GAT duration is 120 minutes for B.Des/M.Des and 180 minutes for B.F.Tech/MFM/M.F.Tech.
Shift-wise analyses have been added since both the shifts have been concluded, starting with Shift 1, followed by Shift 2. Since the written exam is just the first step, you should also start planning for the NIFT Situation Test 2026. You can dive into our expert guides on the top skills needed to crack the Situation Test.
NIFT 2026 Entrance Exam has been conducted by NTA for admission across 19 participating NIFTs. This section provides real-time insights into the General Ability Test (GAT) and the Creative Ability Test (CAT) as the day unfolds.
Our analysts are evaluating the weightage and complexity of each segment based on the 2026 exam pattern.
| Test Component | Section | Difficulty Level | High-Weightage Topics |
| Shift 1 (GAT) | Quantitative Ability | Moderate & Lengthy | Percentage, Arithmetic, Pie Chart, Mensuration, Time & Speed, Pipe & Cistern, Ratio, Profit & Loss, Geometry, Simple Interest, etc. |
| Communication & English | Moderate & Lengthy | Grammar, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Idioms, Complete the Paragraphs, Rearrange, Match the Column, Email Formatting | |
| Analytical & Logical | Moderate & Lengthy | Syllogism, Number Series, Direction, Diagram, Logical, Direction, Alpha Numeric, Order & Rating | |
| General Knowledge | Moderate & Lengthy | brands, logos, regional art, painting, craft, architecture | |
| Shift 2 (CAT) | Drawing & Sketching | Moderate to Difficult | Drawing Aptitude |
| Design Innovation | Moderate to Difficult | Design Aptitude, Product Design |
While we wait for the official NTA answer key, we’ve compiled these questions reported by students immediately after the exam. This section is updated live as more aspirants share their experiences.
The exam for Shift 1 has concluded at 1 PM. The GAT paper today featured a mix of traditional arithmetic and contemporary fashion awareness.
What students said after the exam:
Student 1: GK felt tougher than I expected. There were a lot of questions from sustainability and awards. I didn’t see many direct ones. — Ananya, Delhi Centre |
|---|
Student 2: Quant wasn’t very tough. But time went really fast. One series question took too long. — Rahul, B.FTech aspirant |
The exam for Shift 2 concluded at 6 PM. The CAT prompts this year moved away from pure sketching and toward "Problem Solving through Design."
What students said after the exam:
Student 1: "CAT made me think, but I liked it" |
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Student 2: "Out real-world observation and concept building were tested through the tasks. It was fair but unpredictable." |
A variety of skills, including creativity, analytical ability, and general awareness are tested in the NIFT exam. The overall topic wise analysis for NIFT exam 2026 have been provided below.
English Comprehension & Communication Skills
Topic | Number of Questions | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar | 15 | Moderate |
| Vocabulary | 9 | Easy |
| Reading Comprehension | 5 | Moderate |
| Idioms | 2 | Moderate |
| Complete the Paragraphs | 3 | Moderate |
| Rearrange | 4 | Moderate |
| Match the Column | 1 | Moderate |
| Email Formatting | 1 | Moderate |
Quantitative Ability
Topic | Number of Questions | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage | 2 | Easy |
| Arithmetic | 3 | Moderate |
| Pie Chart | 2 | Moderate |
| Mensuration | 2 | Moderate |
| Time & Speed | 2 | Moderate |
Pipe & Cistern | 1 | Easy |
| Ratio | 1 | Easy |
| Age | 1 | Easy |
| Profit & Loss | 1 | Moderate |
| Geometry | 1 | Moderate |
| Simple Interest | 1 | Moderate |
| Permutation & Combination | 2 | Moderate |
| Median | 1 | Moderate |
Analytical and Logical Ability
Topic | Number of Questions | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| Diagram | 9 | Easy |
| Logical | 2 | Moderate |
| Direction | 1 | Easy |
| Alpha Numeric | 1 | Easy |
| Syllogism | 1 | Easy |
| Order & Rating | 1 | Easy to Moderate |
Current Affairs & General Knowledge
Topic | Number of Questions | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| Current Affairs | 7 | Moderate |
| Static (Logo, Architecture, paintings, Regional craft) | 18 | Moderate |
Topic | Number of Questions | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
Design Aptitude | 1 | Easy to Moderate |
Drawing Aptitude | 1 | Easy |
Product Design | 1 | Easy to Moderate |
Based on the sectional difficulty of the GAT (Shift 1), we have mapped the predicted "Safe Scores" and ranking trends. These estimates will help you gauge your standing before the official results are declared. For a deep-dive into specific category requirements, refer to the resources below:
| Expected Cutoff for NIFT BFTech 2026 General Category | Expected Cutoff for NIFT BFTech 2026 OBC-NCL Category |
|---|---|
| Expected Cutoff for NIFT BFTech 2026 SC, ST Category (Live Shortly) | NIFT BFTech 2026 OBC, SC, ST, EWS Merit Rank System (Live Shortly) |
While the analysis suggests that a score above 82+ out of 100 generally secures a top-3 NIFT for B.Des, B.FTech students must monitor the GAT performance closely as it is their sole qualifier. If today's paper was "Hard," your rank might actually be much higher than your raw marks suggest!
The exam structure for NIFT B.Des and B.F Tech. programmes have been provided below.
Programme | Paper Name | Language of Written Test | Test Duration (minutes) | No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
B. Des |
| English/ Hindi | 120 + 180 | 100 + 3 |
B.F. Tech | GAT - Section A (CBT) | English/ Hindi | 120 | 100 |
GAT - Section B (CBT) | English/ Hindi | 60 | 50 | |
B.F. Tech & B. Des. |
| English/ Hindi | 180 + 180 | 150 + 3 |
The pattern for NIFT M.Des and MFM has been provided below.
M.Des. |
|
|
|---|---|---|
M.F.M. | General Ability Test (GAT) |
|
M.F.M & M. Des. |
| Separate Common Merit Ranks (CMRs) will be generated for:
|
Find the NIFTEE 2026 exam pattern for M.F.Tech., MFM and M. Des programmes below.
Paper Name | Language of Written Test | Test Duration (Minutes) | No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
GAT | English/ Hindi | 180 | 150 |
Section | No. of Questions |
|---|---|
Communication Ability and English Comprehension | 45 |
Case Study | 25 |
Quantitative Ability | 30 |
Analytical and Logical Ability | 25 |
General Knowledge and Current Affairs | 25 |
Total | 150 |
Check out the structure for NIFT MFM and M.Des.
Program | Name of Paper | Test Duration (minutes) | No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
MFM | GAT (CBT) | 180 (3 hours) | 150 |
M. Des | GAT (CBT) + CAT (3 hrs.) | 120 (2 hours) | 120 |
MFM & M. Des | Section-A (2 hrs.) + Section-B (1 hr.) + CAT (3 hrs.) | 180 (3 hours) + 180 | 150 + 3 |
Section | No. of Questions (M.F.M.) | No. of Questions (M. Des.) |
|---|---|---|
Communication Ability and English Comprehension | 50 | 50 |
Quantitative Ability | 20 | 20 |
Analytical and Logical Ability | 25 | 25 |
General Knowledge and Current Affairs | 25 | 25 |
Case Study | 30 | NA |
Total | 150 | 120 |
If you are planning to appear for the NIFT 2026 exam, then it is very important to check out the paper analysis for all sections of the exam. We will provide the detailed paper analysis here. Meanwhile, you can check the NIFT paper analysis for 2025 here:
Name of the Sections | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|
Reasoning | Easy |
Quantitative Analytics | Moderate |
Communication Ability & English Comprehension | Easy |
GK | Tough |
| Overall | Moderate |
The NIFT 2025 CAT section was easy in terms of overall difficulty. The overall question paper was doable and students were able to exercise effective time management.
Note: The NIFT entrance exam 2025 is conducted in two shifts, namely Shift 1 and Shift 2. For the former, it deals with the GAT (General Ability Test), and the latter includes CAT (Creative Ability Test).
As can be concluded from the mixed reactions of test takers, the NIFT 2024 GAT paper was moderately difficult. The overall difficulty level for most students was moderate, however, the Maths section was difficult. On the other hand, English, GK, and Reasoning sections were deemed easy by most candidates. Refer to the following sections to learn about the detailed NIFT 2024 exam analysis for BDes and MDes.
Student 1: Maths was a really difficult paper, however, the English and GK sections were uncomplicated.
Student 2: The test was simple. Maths was the most challenging subject, while the reasoning section was easier. The degree of difficulty was moderate overall.
Student 3: It was a moderate exam. The GK section was challenging because the questions were primarily historical.
Student 4: The NIFT 2024 exam was moderate to extremely challenging overall.
Student 5: The exam's average level of difficulty was moderate. The GK aspect was challenging, but the Maths and English sections were easy.
Student 6: The GK section was challenging, but the English section was easy to do, the overall difficulty level of the paper was moderate.
Student 7: The NIFT 2024 GAT BDes paper was of moderate difficulty. Around 90% of the questions were doable.
Student 1: The NIFT 2024 GAT exam paper for MDes was difficult yet manageable, taking a lot of time. The overall difficulty ranged from moderate to difficult. The Quant and Analytical Ability sections proved to be somewhat challenging for them.
Student 2: The overall difficulty of the question paper was easy to moderate. The Quant was time-consuming, while the English, Communication, and GK sections were uncomplicated. The level of analytical ability was moderate.
Student 3: While the English comprehension was simple, the quantitative and analytical abilities required a bit of practice. On the other hand, the GK section was simple and doable.
Student 1: The NIFT 2024 CAT exam paper for BDes was easy yet time-consuming as it incorporated colouring. The questions were a bit surprising and unexpected to test the potential applicant’s power of observation, intuition skills, and design abilities.
Student 2: The overall difficulty level of the NIFT CAT 2024 question paper was easy. Thus, the cutoff for MDes NIFT 2024 cutoff rank could estimated to be high i.e., between 60 and 75.
Student 1: The sketching part was easy and questions on the formation of artificial products were a bit tricky but easily doable.
Student 2: The sketching part was easy and manageable. There were some unconventional questions and questions on futuristic designs.
As discussed, the difficulty level of the NIFT 2024 question paper was easier than expected and the cutoff for this year could be high. The following are some questions that were asked in the NIFT CAT 2024 exam for BDes and MDes courses:
Q1. Choose among the three — Roman numbers, English numbers, or Hindi numbers — and create a scene such as a public path, playing group, or play school.
Q2. What could be the non-conventional creative usage of a broken cup of tea, an unrepairable clock, or four pairs of CD drives?
Q3. Produce an artificial futuristic design of an insect, bird, or fruit.
Q4. Provide four creative uses of a given object.
Q5. Create a design about how future artificial products will be.
The NIFT 2023 GAT paper was very difficult and challenging. However, NIFT GAT 2023 was not difficult for some students, although there were more paragraph-based questions. More English questions were included in the paper, as well as a few GK questions. The Math portion was difficult for some, but the overall difficulty level of the NIFT 2023 exam was moderate. The NIFT CAT 2023 was pretty easy for every student and not at all lengthy.
Check out the detailed NIFT 2024 paper analysis below:
For some students, NIFT GAT 2023 was not difficult, though there were more paragraph-based questions. The paper included more English questions as well as a few GK questions. The math portion was challenging for some but the exam's overall difficulty level was moderate.
Detailed Exam Analysis of NIFT CAT 2023will be provided here after the exam.
OR
Q2. Redesign five currencies in terms of appearance and design. Explain why you decided to make these changes.
Q3. Make a comic strip. According to the story, a cell phone and a charger from the year 2023 time travelled to the 1950s and ended up in the hands of a group of friends. Create a storyboard based on this, using the given dialogues and improvising some by the end. Finish the storyboarding.
Q1. Based on memory drawing, random lines were given that either make
Choose any one of the following options and answer the question.
Q2. Comic-Strip Question: Covid Lockdown was the title for this comic strip using the angle/point of view of the following options to create a comic strip.
Q3. Based on the product design. Using the basic given shapes like circles, hexagons, triangles, right-angled triangles, rectangles and a “teardrop” make one of the following options.
Also, write the reason to make this product. Why did you choose to make this? What inspired you to make this product?
Please note: This year it was instructed to not use colour in the comic strip.
The difficulty level of the exam was moderate. According to the feedback from students, the exam was a bit tricky and time-consuming. NIFT CAT 2022 was easier than NIFT GAT 2022. The entire analysis of NIFT 2022 is given below.
The exam analysis of NIFT 2022 and memory-based question paper of NIFT 2022 are provided below:
NIFT Entrance Exam 2022 Question Paper Analysis: Difficulty Level, Weightage | NIFT 2022 Question Paper - Download PDF of Memory-Based Questions |
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Know best colleges you can get with your score
If you have applied for admission to the course of B.F.Tech at NIFT, you will have to answer a total of 150 questions in the NIFT GAT Entrance Examination.
For the programme of M.Des, a total of 120 questions are included in the question paper of NIFT GAT Entrance Exam.
A total of 100 questions were asked in the NIFT GAT Entrance Exam 2020 for admission to the course of B.Des.
Some sections of NIFT CAT 2019 were said to be easier than those of NIFT GAT 2019. The sections of General Knowledge and English were said to be easier in NIFT CAT 2019.
The level of difficulty of NIFT Entrance Exam 2020 was moderate. The questions were fairly balanced between easy and tricky.
If the difficulty level of the NIFT Entrance Exam is higher, the cut-off score of that year is kept relatively lower than other years. On the contrary, for an easy exam of NIFT, the cut-off marks are higher.
The difficulty level of the NIFT entrance exam can vary each year. While the overall pattern remains consistent, factors like question difficulty, sectional weightage, and competition can fluctuate. Some years might have tougher creative or aptitude sections, while others may focus on analytical skills. Staying updated with past trends and practising across all sections can help you adapt, regardless of variations in the exam's difficulty level.
The level of the NIFT Entrance Exam has not remained the same after 2021. Usually, GAT, which includes a mix of logical reasoning, quantitative and English, comes moderately. However, CAT questions do test your creative and original self, hence appearing tougher sometimes for a candidate. Though it was overall feasible if prepared well, some years the questions had come a little bit harder, especially for reasoning and designing.
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