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Updated By Vandana Thakur on 22 Dec, 2025 11:49
The NID DAT 2026 exam has been conducted by the National Institute of Design and the exam paper was of moderate to difficult levels to solve for students on the exam day.
Predict your Percentile based on your NID DAT performance
Predict RankThe NID DAT 2026 exam paper was of moderate to difficult to solve for students. In the exam paper, parts A and B had 100% weightage for both B.Des & M.Des exams. The NID DAT 2026 exam was conducted on November 21, 2025, at the exam centres. The NID DAT exam was held from 10 am to 1 pm, while students had to report at the NID DAT exam centres 2026 by 9.30 am before the gate closed. The NID DAT 2026 exam centres reporting began at 8.30 am in the morning and students needed to carry the NID DAT 2026 admit card along with the other required documents. Students eager to know more about the NID DAT 2026 exam analysis can go through the detailed analysis, review, etc.
The NID DAT 2026 exam was moderate to difficult to solve for students during the exam. The questions asked in the exam were very lengthy, according to students, and students didn't find enough time to detail the sketches. Below is the NID DAT exam analysis detailed overview for students.
Parameter | B.Des 2026 Paper Analysis | M.Des 2026 Paper Analysis |
|---|---|---|
Difficulty Level | Moderate | Moderate |
| Paper Length | Slightly Lengthy | Lengthy |
Major Weightage Areas | GAT: No aptitude questions CAT: Problem-solving + Creativity + Innovation | GAT: No aptitude questions CAT: Discipline-related questions |
Part B - Drawing | Moderate level questions on problem solving and sketching. | Moderate number of concept-heavy questions (Fewer, explanation-based). |
Part A - Aptitude/Reasoning/GK | No aptitude, GK, or reasoning questions were asked in the NID 2026 Question Paper for B.Des | No aptitude, GK, or reasoning questions were asked in the NID 2026 Question Paper for M.Des |
| Common Student Feedback | Manageable but time pressure in CAT | Conceptually demanding & time-intensive. |
Here’s a brief overview of the NID DAT entrance exam for better understanding:
Particular | Details |
|---|---|
NID DAT Exam Date 2025 | January 5, 2025 |
NID DAT Timings |
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NID Official Website 2025 | admissions.nid.edu |
Unofficial NID DAT Answer Key 2025 Date | January 5, 2025 |
NID DAT Result Date |
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The NID DAT 2025 Prelims exam consists of two distinct sections. Here's a detailed breakdown and section-wise exam analysis to give you a clear idea of what to expect in NID DAT 2025 Prelims results and cutoffs.
Part | Difficulty Level | Good Attempts |
|---|---|---|
Part I (Aptitude) | Moderately Difficult | To be updated |
Part II (Drawing) | Moderate to Challenging | To be updated |
Overall | Moderately Difficult | To be updated |
According to the exam analysis of NID DAT 2024, the overall difficulty level of the exam was considered moderate. The NID DAT 2024 Prelims exam comprised two parts, with Part A lasting for 15 minutes and Part B allocated 135 minutes, which included 9 questions. The total marks for the Aptitude and Drawing sections were 25 and 75 respectively. The table presented below explains the sectional and overall difficulty levels of the NID DAT 2024 exam:
Part | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|
Part I (Aptitude) | Very Easy |
Part II (Drawing) | Moderate |
Overall | Easy to Moderate |
According to feedback from students who took the NID DAT 2024 exam, there have been changes to the NID exam pattern. The revised NID exam pattern for 2024 indicates an increase in the proportion of the drawing section and a decrease in the aptitude section. Students also indicated that self-preparation is sufficient for success in the NID DAT exam.
As per the instructions mentioned on the admit card, candidates are strictly prohibited from carrying the NID DAT question paper 2024 booklet outside the exam hall. Any attempt to do so may result in criminal proceedings.
The NID DAT 2023 prelims exam, held on January 8, 2023, presented a moderately challenging level of difficulty overall. While some sections were considered easier than others, the exam comprehensively assessed candidates' design aptitude and problem-solving skills.
Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
The number of question | 36 |
Maximum marks allotted | 100 |
Types of the question |
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Number of questions in each section |
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Marks allotted in each question |
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The NID DAT prelims exam 2023 was considered moderately challenging by experts and students alike. The exam, which is conducted for over 125+ seats, presented a mix of subjective and objective questions, with a total duration of 3 hours and a maximum of 26 questions. Most students found the pictorials and diagrams section to be tricky, while the GK section ranged from easy to moderate in difficulty. One student commented that the English section was easy, but the pictorial and diagrams section had some challenging questions.
Here's a breakdown of the NID DAT 2023 exam analysis:
Part | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|
Part I | Easy |
Part II | Moderate |
Overall | Easy |
NID DAT 2022 Prelims was successfully conducted on January 02, 2022. Candidates can look at the NID DAT 2022 exam analysis below to know all about the questions that were asked in the exam, the difficulty level of the exam, the weightage given to each topic etc.
NID DAT 2022 Prelims Question Paper Analysis (Out), Answer Key and Solutions |
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NID DAT 2021 was conducted on March 14 from 10 am-1 pm in pen and paper mode. NID DAT 2021 exam analysis has been given below. The paper had 36 questions and the overall difficulty level of the exam was moderately difficult. It included both MCQ and Subjective type questions.
NID DAT 2021 Prelims Exam and Question Paper Analysis, Answer Key and Solutions |
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According to CollegeDekho's NID DAT 2021 exam analysis, the general knowledge section was challenging, but non-verbal and logical questions were manageable. Candidates completed the exam within the given time. The NID DAT Prelim paper comprises two parts: Part 1 with multiple-choice questions totalling 30 marks, and Part 2 with subjective questions, including two 15-mark questions and four others with marks 10, 12, 13, and 5. Part 1 focused on general and history questions, while Part 2 followed a specific pattern.
Parts | Pattern | Question Numbers | Marks Per Question | Total Marks Allotted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Part I | Multiple Choice Questions | 1 to 22 |
| 30 marks |
Part 2 | Subjective type questions | 23 to 26 |
| 70 marks |
Given here is the detailed paper analysis of NID DAT (prelims) 2020 exam which was conducted on December 29th for B.Des and M.Des programmes offered at all the three campuses of NID. The exam was conducted to assess the creative instinct of the test-takers, which is a must-have in design aspirants to pursue their dream design programme from any of the three NID campuses - NID Ahmedabad (Main Campus), NID Gandhinagar and NID Bengaluru. The following section will provide in-depth analysis of the NID DAT prelims exam which was conducted during the last week of December 2019.
As per the latest exam pattern of NID DAT, the prelims paper was divided into two segments - Segment I comprising of a total of 21 questions for a maximum mark of 30 and Segment II comprising of a total of 07 questions for a maximum mark of 70. Let us learn more about both the segments of the NID DAT 2020 prelims exam.
There were a total of 21 questions in this segment which were in MCQ format
Questions in Segment-I of NID DAT 2020 (Prelims) exam were observation-based questions, general & aesthetic-awareness questions, reasoning-type questions and a quantitative question
One of the questions in this section asked for the name of 2019 Nobel winner in Economics
The maximum mark of this segment was 70
This segment comprised of six questions in total
This segment was comparatively lengthier than the NID DAT 2020 (Prelims) segment-II
The aim of this section was to gauge certain skills of the test-takers like technical drawing skills, creative visualizations, social responsibility, critical thinking and ability to comprehend
Question Number | Marks Carried by the Question | Details |
|---|---|---|
Question 1 | 05 | Redrawing of the given pattern in a 3-D cube structure |
Question 2 | 12 | Redrawing of the given sketch of a kitchen |
Question 3 | 13 | Three-frame illustration of a narrated story. Illustrations had to be done in Black & White colours only |
Question 4 | 15 | Fused bulb’s five creative uses had to be illustrated |
Question 5 | 15 | Five possible defence mechanism that can be developed by a tree to protect themselves from being cut down |
Question 6 | 10 | Interpretation of Tagore’s classic lines - Where the mind is without fear along with an illustrated poster |
With the help of the pre-exam analysis of the NID DAT 2020 mains exam, the candidates will be able to gear themselves up for the upcoming challenge. The mains exam of NID DAT 2020 will be taken by those candidates who will qualify the prelims exam with the minimum cutoff scores.
The NID DAT 2020 mains exam will be conducted for 100 marks and will comprise of group discussions, studio set up sketching/drawing, presentations or hand-made model making. English will be the medium of instruction of the 2020 NID DAT mains exam. The exam will be conducted over a time duration of two days. The difficulty level of the mains exam of NID DAT 2020 is expected to remain between moderate and difficult if the previous year stats are taken into consideration.
Want to know more about NID DAT
No, there is no negative marking in the NID DAT 2026 exam. This applies to both the NID DAT Prelims and NID DAT Mains stages of the exam.
The National Institute of Design or NID DAT is widely known as one of the toughest design entrance exams in India. It is viewed as being of medium to high order, as it poses creativity and emphasizes more on design thinking and problem-solving capacities.
The NID DAT 2026 exam analysis is now available after the exam was successfully held in January 2026. You can find the detailed NID DAT exam analysis 2026 and student reactions above on CollegeDekho.com.
The NID DAT creative aptitude section evaluates the candidate's ability in the use of visual communication, problem-solving skills, creativity, observation skills, and design thinking. It tests their ability to communicate ideas visually, data analysis, and generating new solutions.
NID DAT Mains is conducted over a span of two days.
NID DAT Prelims was conducted on December 29th, 2019 for the year 2020.
In the NID DAT Prelims 2020, Segment II had the highest marks. 7 subjective questions were asked in the test and the maximum marks for the section were 70. Segment-I was only of 30 marks and had objective type questions.
Yes, NID DAT 2020 was a little tougher than NID DAT 2019.
The difficulty level of NID DAT 2019 was moderate. There were some unexpected questions in the test while few were quite easy to attempt.
In the NID DAT Mains, group discussions, studio setup sketching/drawing, presentations or hand-made model making are conducted.
Seven questions were asked in the Segment-II of the NID DAT Prelims 2020.
The difficulty level of the NID DAT 2020 exam was between moderate to difficult.
In the Segment-I of NID DAT Prelims 2020, a total of 21 questions were asked and all followed the MCQ format.
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