Maha Kumbh 2025: GATE, JAM exam centres moved from Prayagraj to Lucknow

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) and the Joint Admission Test (JAM) centres have been moved from Prayagraj in view of Maha Kumbh 2025, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) officials on Tuesday, January 28. This means that the candidates who were to appear at exam centres in Prayagraj will now have to travel to Lucknow to sit for their exams.

While GATE is scheduled on February 1 and 2, JAM 2025 is scheduled on February 2. All exam centres that were scheduled to hold the GATE and JAM exams in Prayagraj will now be held in Lucknow. GATE and IIT-JAM are postgraduate entrance exams, with GATE focusing on Technology, Engineering, Architecture, and Science, while IIT-JAM is specifically for M.Sc. programs.

In a joint statement, GATE Organising Institute IIT Roorkee and JAM Organising Institute IIT Delhi, said, “Representations have been received from several candidates expressing their difficulty in reaching the examination centres in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, because of the huge congregation of devotees expected in the Mahakumbh on February 1 and 2, 2025.”

“Therefore, the examination scheduled at centres in Prayagraj has been shifted to centres in Lucknow on the respective GATE and JAM examination days (1st and 2nd February 2025 for GATE and 2nd February 2025 for JAM),” it said.

The Maha Kumbh 2025 has so far witnessed over 15 crore pilgrims taking a holy dip. Over 4.80 crore devotees took the snan on Tuesday alone – even more than that of Amrit Snan’ on Makar Sankranti (3.5 crore), the Uttar Pradesh government said. On Wednesday, January 29, the ‘Amrit Snan’ on ‘Mauni Amavasya’ eis xpected to draw around 10 crore pilgrims to the Maha Kumbh.

The Maha Kumbh, being held after 12 years, kicked off on January 13 and will continue till February 26. The Uttar Pradesh government, which is hosting the mega event, expects a footfall between 40 and 45 crore during the period.