Will anyone get enough time to prepare for the GATE IES while doing an MTech in thermal from IIT Bhubaneswar?

If you plan ahead and manage your time accordingly it is possible, although it will be quite difficult. The course work for M.Tech Thermal from IIT Bhubaneswar will take up a lot of time. First-year of the course can be very time consuming as you have to adapt to the course and lab work and the second year requires completing a project. The project itself requires a lot of time. Also, GATE IES requires rigorous preparation, students preparing for GATE spend on average 6-8 hours per day. Although the time required to prepare may vary depending on the student. With proper time management, it can be done.

So, practically it’s your call. Preferably, you should go for a drop year as preparing for GATE while pursuing M.Tech will be tough.