Pleasant surprise for IITs ahead of placement season

For the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), this placement season may be much beyond their expectations. IITs say, given the economic scenario, they expected placements to be a muted affair, but the response from companies has been quite good. 

There is more. Placement cells have recorded an increase of 10-20% in average salary levels. The highest salary offered has seen an increase of around 20-90 per cent as compared to last year. Final placements on IIT campuses begin on December 1.

"Given the slowdown, we wondered if the placements would be as decent as last year but a good number of companies have confirmed participation allaying our fears," said a placement official from IIT Bombay.

A US-based software major has offered the highest salary (so far) of Rs 1.30 crore per annum, to an IIT Bombay student. However, an institute official said this cannot be confirmed till placements begin as the final offer has not been made yet. Last year Samsung (Korea) offered the highest salary at Rs 80 lakh per annum. 

IIT Bombay will see 1,600 students sitting for placements this year and expects around 250-270 companies to participate."Some US companies have doubled the salaries this year against what was offered last year," the placement official added. 

IIT Bombay said this year there is a lot of interest from software companies. Microsoft, Oracle, LinkedIn, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Shell and  Samsung are  a few companies which have confirmed participation so far. 

Even IIT Kanpur and Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) are expecting salaries to be better than last year.  The institutes said IT giants like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo will be visiting the campus during placements next month. 

"There is misleading speculation that none of the US companies are coming to IITs for placements. This is not true. Some of these giants have taken care of their requirements through pre-placement offers (PPOs) which is why they are not coming. However, major IT, consulting, finance and core engineering companies like ITC, Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have confirmed their participation in the placements at IIT-KGP this year," said Sudhir Barai, head - training and placement at IIT-KGP.

For IIT KGP, feedback from recruiters has been "very good". "The number of companies participating at KGP has increased from 180 last year to 220 this year.  The feedback from recruiters have been very good and salaries will be higher than last year," said Barai. The batch size at IIT KGP this year is over 2000 students.

Seconding Barai is Vimal Kumar, chairman - training and placement at IIT Kanpur who said that global firms like Google, Microsoft and Amazon will be visiting its campus.  

"Some companies have dropped out after confirming but it is not alarming. This happens every year. However, salaries will be higher or at least like last year," said Kumar. IIT Kanpur will roughly see 200 firms participating in the placements process for a batch size of over 1000 students.  Other firms likely to participate at IIT Kanpur placements include Oracle, Mitsubishi, Diamond Consulting, Crédit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, among others.

IIT Madras could not be reached for comments. 

HRD sets up panel to screen graft plaints

Faced with regular instances of allegation of corruption and other misdemeanors against the heads of central educational institutions like IITs, IIMs, NITs and central universities, the HRD ministry has set up a committee for initial scrutiny of the complaints against them and other senior functionaries.

The ministry has argued that whenever the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) gets a complaint it directs the ministry to conduct an investigation and give the report usually within 12 weeks. The ministry said its vigilance wing also receive complaints from other sources as well against officials, including certain vice-chancellors of the universities and chairmen of the NITs/IIMs/IITs. It said, "In the absence of any special mechanism in place to look into the allegations investigation is assigned to ministry officials. Some of the heads of the institutions, including vice-chancellors against whom such complaints are lodged and investigation is ordered by the CVC, are renowned academics and a fact finding enquiry against them by an officer of the ministry who are not of sufficient higher level often embarrasses not only the person investigated against but also the officer conducting such an inquiry."

The ministry said it has also been found that many complaints are found to emanate not on merits of the allegations but out of inter-personal academic rivalries.The new committee will conduct a preliminary scrutiny of such complaints and also consider the response on the allegations leveled in the complaints to decide whether a full-fledged inquiry is called for. The panel will consist of people who are still active in the university system and have sufficient experience.In recent times, former director of IIT, Kharagpur and some of its senior professors and director IIT, Patna have been investigated on several charges. There are allegations of corruption against vice-chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi International Hindu University, Wardha, as well as various other central government educational institutions.

No-show by US companies at campus placements, techies worried

American presence at India's campus placements this year will be conspicuous by its absence. Apart from Facebook that isn't visiting any of the IITs, most US companies that do not have operations in India have not registered for placements at the country's tech schools. There's no trace yet of Twitter, which paid big bucks in the last recruitment season. Slot Zero, the promising opening day of campus placements on December 1, has probably never looked less American. 

While most students and faculty members were tight-lipped about the no-show of American companies, several job aspirants said the US visa issue last year was a great concern and many American companies that hire in large numbers—and with big pay packets—had decided to stay away from Indian engineering college campuses now. Last year, the annual quota of 65,000 H1-B work visas were snapped up by job-immigrants even before graduating techies had their first degree in hand, forcing many to take an unpaid vacation to work at the US companies' India offices or fly to another country for a year. 

Smart IITians who fear a similar repeat occurrence this time around are filling up forms and making alternative profile plans, both local and international. 

"There are more Japanese firms coming to IIT-Bombay than companies with operations solely in the USA," said Avijit Chaterjee, chairman of IIT-Bombay's placement cell. Japanese firms like Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Uhuru Software and Sony Japan have made their way to the top slots. 
Apart from that, the bad economy has seen little attrition; most companies said they have fewer vacancies to fill. 

IIT-Madras placement advisor Babu Viswanathan said getting a US visa was a big problem last year but it is too early to say if there will be a "noticeable drop" in students who will be offered a profile in the US this year too. "Also," he cautioned, "companies can have a change of mind and may decide to come anytime during the placement process." 

Sources at IIT-Delhi said, "Two large IT companies with operations in the US are not coming; that is our biggest loss. But there are about five new international companies coming for the first time, including some Japanese ones." 


Comparing notes over dim sum, graduating students at IIT-Kanpur underwent a semester-long language course. Students picked up the Japanese language and a few finer details of Japanese culture so that they are better prepared for interviews. By January, this college will release a placement brochure in Japanese, apart from one in English. 


The placement team in Kanpur has forecast that technology, politics and economic factors will alter the geographical distribution of companies coming on their campus and a multi-lingual placement brochure— with students' profiles in German, French, Japanese and English—will be released from next year. 
Among the American companies that have promised to come this year are gaming company Pocket Gems, Epic Systems, Rocket Fuel and Tower Research. Then there are US firms like Microsoft, Google, Oracle, Schlumberger that have registered; however, they will pick fewer candidates, many for their India offices. "These companies have a good relation with the campuses and they may come and pick a student or two," said a student on the placement committee. 


There was a time when computer science students were high currency; they were plucked by companies that offered them dollar dreams and flew them out no sooner they graduated. This year, with not many greenbacks arriving, candidates from other branches are feeling the heat too. "If CS students are all not going to get absorbed by IT firms, consulting and finance companies are going to fall over each other to bag them. That is going to affect candidates from other branches that are not so popular," said a student. 
Clearly, many things are working to alter the placement landscape. Recruitment season on Indian campuses, said an optimist placement member, is going to get a more global flavour. 

IIT-JEE 2014: Examination fees

Candidates appearing for IIT-JEE 2014 can check the examination fees here.

The fee can be remitted by Debit/Credit Card. Through e-Challan generated after successful submission of online application form. The fee through e-Challan may be deposited in any branch of Syndicate Bank, Canara Bank and ICICI Bank.

	Offline Exam	Online Exam
Paper	Center in India
OBC or General	PwD or ST or SC	OBC or General	PwD or ST or SC
Either JEE Main Paper 1 or JEE Main Paper 2	500 (Girls) 1000 (Boys)	500 (Girls) 500 (Boys)	300 (Girls) 600 (Boys)	300 (Girls) 300 (Boys)
Both JEE Main Paper 1 and Paper 2	900 (Girls) 1800 (Boys)	900 (Girls) 900 (Boys)	700 (Girls) 1400 (Boys)	700 (Girls) 700 (Boys)

Online Application has to be submitted through JEE (Main)-2014 website. The aspiring candidate should furnish all the details and upload scanned image of his/her photograph and signature while filling up the ‘On-line’ application.

Candidates are required to take a print out of the computer generated acknowledgement slip.

After successful submission of data and payment of fees and keep the same in the safe custody for any future reference.

MHRD does not have fund to establish IIT, IIM in Seemandhra during 12th Plan

Establishment of national level higher education institutions such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) or Central University in Seemandhra will be a tough task.

Reportedly, the budgetary allocations being made to the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) every year as part of the ongoing XII Five-Year-Plan (2012-17) will not be sufficient for the purpose.

The current allocations are not adequate to meet the budgetary needs of existing institutions, which are exploring various options such as increase in fees, and cut in scholarships, said a MHRD official.

Officials estimate that nearly Rs 8,500 crore would be required to set up these institutes in Seemandhra, and the XII Plan allocations will have to be increased manifold. More than funds, it’s the amount of time that would take to set up these institutions.

As per official estimates, it requires Rs 1,850 crore to set up an IIT, Rs 1,500 crore for NIT, Rs 900 crore for IIM, Rs 1,080 crore for IISER, Rs 3,000 crore for three Central universities and Rs 75 crore for an IIIT in Seemandhra. All this adds up to Rs 8,405 crore.

As against this, the Centre allotted Rs 16,120 crore for higher education in the 2013-14 budget. Out of the Rs 16,120 crore earmarked for higher education this year, Rs 2,220 crore will go to the existing IITs, Rs 331 crore for IIMs and Rs 5,147 crore to the University Grants Commission (UGC), 

Can virtual classrooms beat face-to-face interaction?

For most students, university is a time for making friends, discovering a new city and making the most of the facilities on campus. But when you are studying online, your living room is your lecture hall and an online chat room is the equivalent of the student bar.

Can a computer screen make up for human interaction, and how can distance learning students avoid isolation?

If you are choosing to study online, chances are you have other commitments – work, children or other caring responsibilities – and you may be studying for purely academic reasons. The benefits of flexible study can outweigh the downside of not meeting people in real life.

But being part of an online community when studying at a distance is important, says Richard Reece, associate vice-president for teaching, learning and students at the University of Manchester.

He says: "Academically, support from other learners is as important on campus as it is off campus. We encourage students who are on campus to form peer-assisted study schemes. We do the same for distance learning students as well."

Online forums, Facebook groups and email lists with the contact details for other students can help online learners connect with their peers and ask questions about their studies.

Reece says: "It really benefits the learners if they have a sense of community rather than feeling like an isolated person tapping away at a computer."

Instead of tutorials or lectures, support from lecturers comes through online forums, email exchanges, phone conversations and Skype.

Tony Priest is course director for the foundation degree in drug and alcohol counselling at the University of Leicester and says his course uses "e-tutors" to support students.

He says: "Each e-tutor has a certain number of students who they follow through their comments on the discussion boards and answer their questions. They'll also contact them if they don't appear for a while and ask if they have problems and how they can help."

It might seem a little impersonal not meeting your tutor in real life, but distance learning students can sometimes have even more support than campus students, says Reece.

He says: "I would say that there are some things that you do need face-to-face interaction for, but our distance learning students do have significant access to teaching staff. In a number of cases they get even greater amounts of contact than students who are on campus and come in for a few scheduled lectures but not much more."

Amy Woodgate, project coordinator of distance education initiative and Moocs at the University of Edinburgh, agrees.

She says: "People tend to think that online learning is very detached and less of a community. It has a remote aspect so people think it is remote. But actually with online earning, students have something in common so build up good relationships."

Distance learning students can use online forums as a chance to meet their peers socially, but it can be difficult to replicate real life interactions.

"One of the biggest challenges for distance learning students is engagement with other peers," says Steve Mills, student president for education welfare at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.

He says: "A big part of the student experience is meeting new people, making friends, joining societies and having social events, but distance learning students don't get to experience that, so it is very academic for them."

Some distance learning courses do include an element of time on campus, and making the most of these moments to meet other students is important.

Forums and social networks are there to help connect students with their peers, but it is important to know that as a distance learning student you still have access to university support too.

"The principal that we try to work on is that the support should be the same for distance learning students as it is for campus students," says Reece. "most of our students are studying abroad though, so obviously they can't just walk into our office and ask for help. But our services are available online and on the phone too."

Students' unions work on behalf of distance learning students too, and getting involved with your union could really help improve your life as an online student.

Mills says: "Our student helpline is there for online students, and we also deal with problems from distance learning students via Facebook and Twitter. And importantly, distance learning students have access to student counsellors via Skype."

You might not be able to walk into a counsellor's office as an online student, but the support is still there, and making the most of it can make all the difference to your experience of online learning.

Original article: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/nov/13/human-interaction-distance-learning

Kuvempu University correspondence courses only in Karnataka

Kuvempu University has decided to restrict its distance education programmes only to students within the state.

The decision was taken by Kuvempu University Directorate of Distance Education (KUDDE) after receiving directions from University Grants Commission (UGC) which asked all universities offering programmes to restrict them to the territorial jurisdiction of their states. 

“No fresh admissions will be offered to students outside the state to any course offered by KUDDE from the current academic year,” V-C S A Bari said.

Bari told Express the KUDDE will abide by the direction and is also committed to protecting the interests of students.

The varsity started its distance programmes in 2002-03. The varsity offered graduate and PG courses not only in social science subjects but also science subjects. However, these courses were recognised only from 2008. Since then, thousands of students pursuing various courses, including MSc, MBA, MHRM besides graduation and diploma courses. 

KUDDE director M Venkateshwaralu told Express: “Ours is a major university that was catering the needs of thousands of students. We had centres not only in the state but also outside, including Delhi.”

In a letter to the university, the UGC directed that no university, whether central, state, private or deemed can offer its programmes through franchising arrangement with private coaching institutions even for the purpose of conducting courses through distance mode.

It directed them to follow UGC’s policy of on territorial jurisdiction, study centres and non-franchising of study centres for offering programmes through distance mode.

HCL Launches Online Education Platform, Learn On Cloud

HCL Learning, the education and talent development division of HCL Infosystems, has launched a new (beta) version of its cloud-based learning initiative, called ‘Learn On Cloud‘ which offers various personalized learning courses in the IT segment to students.

Features: According to the company, these courses will offer virtual labs, assessments, discussion forums, webinars and the ability to ask queries to a mentor. When we checked the portal, we observed that the site currently offers courses in Java programming language, Android application development, and digital integrated circuit designing with plans to offer courses in web designing and English learning courses in the future. The platform is powered by education solution provider IPintentio, which offers a web-based IC (Integrated Chip) design platform.



These courses provide learning material in various modules and users can opt for either an animated or a non-animated presentation depending on their broadband speed. Users can also toggle these presentation modes during the presentation. Going forward, the company says that it will also provide relevant job listings and services like certification on the portal.

Pricing: The portal currently offers both free and paid courses. Users can sign up for these free courses by providing necessary details like name, contact details, college name, and location, while they can purchase the paid courses from the HCL store. Users can pay for this course through various online payment modes like credit card, debit card, net banking and offline payment modes like cheque, demand drafts and direct bank transfers.

Other Players: Sparsha Learning Technologies has a similar platform which allows professors to create and deliver activity based learning content to their students. This platform also features simulated virtual labs to provide a physical hands on experience to students and allows students to generate reports and screenshots of the results. Sparsha works on a subscription based model with pricing starting at $2 per month per lab and is currently available on the Windows platform.

The company had received an angel round of funding from Blume Ventures and TempusCapital in September 2011 and was working on an online assessment platform for IEEE in June 2012. Sparsha had claimed to have sold 12000 licenses till June 2012 and had plans to launch 40 courses in the next four years, open up its authoring platform to professors, diversify to more platforms and introduce its tablet offerings in the future.

Other education businesses include Educomp Solutions Ltd, Pearson, EdServ SoftSystems among others. Earlier in the month, Technium Labs which operates the digital learning platform LurnQ had raised and undisclosed amount of funding from Seedfund, while the eLearning Company LIQVID hadraised $3 Million From SBI Holdings subsidiary.

IIT-Delhi to set up research academy in Mauritius; expansion in Sonepat and Jhajjar

Expansion and improving its global image are twin goals Indian Institute of Technology Delhi is currently focused on. Thirty-eighth amongst 300 institutions in Asia with its electrical and mechanical engineering departments topping the QS World University Rankings, the institution has constituted a four-member committee to work towards improving its global position.

IIT is also setting up a research academy in Mauritius by the end of the current academic year. With land having been allocated for its two extension campuses in Sonepat and Jhajjar, it's also planning a number of centres and executive programmes there.

Speaking about expansion plans and setting its first footprint abroad, IIT Delhi director R K Shevgaonkar said it has formalized setting up an IIT Delhi Research Academy in collaboration with the Mauritius government.

Back home, IIT is planning a number of centres including one on cyber security. "We are coming up with a cyber systems and information assurance centre in collaboration with University of Nebraska. We are also coming up with a policy research centre, partially funded by the department of science and technology," he said.

The IIT is having its 44th convocation on Saturday in which President Pranab Mukherjee will be the chief guest. He will inaugurate an innovation exhibition before conferring the alumni awards. This year, the institute will confer degrees to 1,793 students.

IIT JEE Live coaching from Resonance KOTA

IIT JEE Live coaching from Resonance KOTA

• Specialized result-oriented coaching/training for IIT-JEE by seasoned subject experts with a consistent and proven track record**
• Live Interactive teaching supported by systematic class notes, comprehensive study material and interactive doubt discussion sessions.
• Comprehensive course content that supports students enhanced performance.
• Scientific pedagogy that blends classroom teaching techniques with home assignments
• Periodic assessment of knowledge/learning
• Maintenance of individual files to keep a track record of student progress.

Xcelerate is a unique initiative taken together by Resonance (Kota) and HCL. Under this, Live-Video lectures are delivered to the students at various learning centers across the country. These video lectures will be delivered using state-of–the-art Live Video Learning Technology. The program seeks to leverage the comprehensive course content of Resonance with the HCL Technology enabled learning centers. The Live-Video Classes are taken by the expert faculty of Resonance at Kota, thus bringing in key inputs from Resonance’s subject matter experts, many of whom are themselves ex-IITans. Xcelerate puts to use the tried, tested and trusted teaching methodology of the Kota system, with specialized result-oriented programs by seasoned subject experts with a consistent and proven track record.

The award winning program integrates school learning with specialized competitive coaching for different entrance examinations at the school premises. This saves students precious time that they would otherwise spend commuting to coaching centers. A well-planned and comprehensive course structure ensures that students get a holistic exposure to knowledge, skills, and techniques required for succeeding in competitive examinations.

About Resonance KOTA 

Resonance is Kota(Rajasthan) based leading coaching institute for IIT-JEE and other entrance examinations. Since its inception in 2001, Resonance has demonstrated unprecedented success in terms of results in various competitive examinations and growth in student enrollments by winning the trust of thousands of students and parents across the country.

About the program

• Specialized result-oriented coaching/training for IIT-JEE by seasoned subject experts with a consistent and proven track record**
• Live Interactive teaching supported by systematic class notes, comprehensive study material and interactive doubt discussion sessions.
• Comprehensive course content that supports students enhanced performance.
• Scientific pedagogy that blends classroom teaching techniques with home assignments
• Periodic assessment of knowledge/learning
• Maintenance of individual files to keep a track record of student progress.

** Outstanding performance in IIT-JEE 2011 with 1813 selections. Since 2002, 8741 Resonance students(5627 from classroom contact programs and 3124 from distance learning programs) have cleared the IIT-JEE exam.

IIT JEE Main Application Form 2014 | Exam Date | IIT Main Online Apply

IIT JEE 2014

The IIT JEE exam is one the most largest and reputed exam that is being conducted every year. And for the IIT JEE exam lakhs of the students appear to have the admission at the IIT which is the most largest and the best Technology institute all over India. It is also being noticed that this time even more students are going to appear for the IIT JEE exam then the previous year. To have the admission at the IIT the candidates will have to  clear two exam i.e. IIT JEE Main and IIT JEE Advance only after clearing both these exam the candidates will have the admission at the IIT. Out of all the applicants only 150,00 students will be getting the admission from all over india. As per the news from the IIT the online registration for the IIT JEE exam will be starting from the 15^th November 2013 till 26^th December 2013.

IIT JEE Main Application Form 2014 | Exam Date | IIT Main Online Apply

All the details regarding the IIT JEE Main 2014 exam are being provided below:

Eligibility Criteria

Education Qualification

• The applicants must have passed the 12^th class or its equivalent.
• The candidates passed the 12^th class before 2011 could not appear for the IIT JEE 2014 Exam
• The candidates must have the birth date after 1^st October 1989 with 5 years of relaxation for SC,CT and PWD could have birth year of 1985

Selection Process

The candidates will be selected on the basis of the rank that is being calculated and the marks got in the 12^th class to the ratio of 60:40.

Paper Pattern

Course	Papers	Subjects	Duration	Exam Mode
B.E./B.TECH	Paper-1	Physics,Chemistry,Maths	3 hours	Offline,Online
B.Arcg/B.Planning	Paper-2	Mathematics,Aptitude test,Drawing Test	3 hours	Offline

 Application form 

Offline Exam Fee-: Rs.800 for general category and Rs.400 for SC,ST and other category candidates

Online Exam Fee:-

• For general category-Rs.500
• For other category-Rs.250

IIT JEE 2014 Important dates

Online Application Starts-15^th November 2013

Last date-26^th December 2013

Offline Exam Date

Paper 1-6^th April 2013 9:30 AM-12:30 PM

Paper 2-6^th April 2013 2PM to 5 PM

Online Test

• April 9 2013
• April 11 2013
• April 12 2013
• April 19 2013

IIT, Delhi, forms committee to coordinate with world ranking

As part its efforts to position itself among the top in the global ranking list, IIT, Delhi, has set up a four-member body to coordinate with ranking agencies and provide appropriate information and data sought for. 

The move comes in the backdrop of the HRD Ministry setting up of an 18-member committee to review existing arrangements, develop a strategy and a framework for research evaluation to drive up research activities, the lack of which is hampering Indian institutions from featuring in the global ranking list. 

A group of IIT Delhi professors would be engaged in a more focussed activity, understand the relevant information sought by the ranking bodies and provide inputs in proper format, IIT, Delhi, Director R K Shevgaonkar told reporters here. 

Coordination among the peers, the faculties and alumni is the other objective of the group as providing correct information is important for the rankings, he said. 

According to Times Higher Education's (THE) World University Rankings list 2013-14, IIT, Delhi, along with IIT, Kanpur, IIT, Kharagpur and IIT, Roorkee, are clubbed in the group of institutions between 351-400. 

The QS world university ranking puts IIT, Delhi, at 222. 

Concerns over absence of any of India's institutes among the top has been flagged several times by President Pranab Mukherjee who would be attending IIT Delhi's 44th convocation function tomorrow. 

The institute, considered among the best in the country, would be having a Centre of Policy Studies to evolve policies for science and technology. It would be set up under the Department of Humanities. 

It would also set up a Centre for Cyber Security in collaboration with the University of Nebraska, an MoU for which is expected to be signed early next year. 

"The Centre wanted that we should have research on cyber security given that it is a big challenge in the coming days for national security of the country," the IIT Director said. 

Ministries of Home and HRD are supporting the IIT in this endeavour.

Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MH-CET) scrapped, Maharashtra to use JEE scores for the first time.

The all-India joint entrance examination (JEE-Main) for admissions to first-year engineering courses for the academic year 2014-2015 will be held on April 6, next year.

The entrance test includes those for undergraduate engineering programmes in the National Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other centrally-funded technical institutions.

After scrapping the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MH-CET) earlier this year, Maharashtra will join the JEE for admission purpose for the first time.


The JEE will be conducted in two parts - Main (Paper I) and Advanced (Paper II). For students who wish to secure admissions into engineering colleges within the state, the marks obtained in the main paper will be considered. However, if the student qualifies for the advanced paper, the marks of the second examination will also be considered, a notification issued by DTE said.

While considering standard XII marks, the directorate will take into account marks secured in physics, chemistry and mathematics only. According to the notification, students must have a minimum score of 50% in all three subjects.

The JEE-Main exam will screen the top 1.5 lakh students who can appear for the JEE-Advanced, scheduled on May 25, 2014, for admissions to the IITs.

IIT JEE (Advanced)- 2014: Eligibility, important dates and schedule

JEE (Advanced)- 2014 will be conducted by the seven zonal IITs for the eligible candidates on May 25, 2014.

Only the top 150000 candidates (including all categories) based on their scores in Paper-1 of JEE (Main)- 2014 will be eligible to appear in JEE (Advanced)-2014.

What is JEE-Advanced?

JEE-Advanced is the second round of entrance exam for candidates looking to get admissions into engineering courses in all IITs and ISM Dhanbad.

Candidates who are ranked in the top 150000 in the JEE (Mains)-2014 will be able to take up this second round of exam.

JEE (Main)-2014 will be conducted by CBSE on behalf of the JEE Apex Board during the month of April, 2014 (both online and offline modes).

JEE (Advanced)-2014 will be jointly conducted by IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras and IIT Roorkee.

JEE (Mains)-2014: What candidates need to know 

Eligibility:

- Candidates who wish to write JEE (Advanced) - 2014 must write the Paper-1 of JEE (Main)-2014 in the month of April 2014 and should come in the top 150000 of the merit list out of which 75750 is the number reserved for common merit list and th rest are for reserved classes.

- Other criteria as same as that for the JEE (Mains).

- Admission to IITs and ISM Dhanbad will be based only on category wise All India Rank (AIR) in JEE (Advanced)-2014 and also these candidates should be among the top 20 percent of successful candidates in their Boards exams in respective categories.

Exam Schedule:

The JEE (Advanced)-2014 will be held on Sunday, May 25, 2014 as per the schedule below:

Paper 1	9 am - 12 pm
Paper 2	2 pm - 5 pm

Exam Type:

The questions will be of objective (multiple choice) type, designed to test comprehension, reasoning and analytical ability of candidates. In some sections, incorrect answers may be awarded with negative marks.

Important Dates:

Event	Date
Opening Date for JEE (Mains) online registrations	November 15, 2013
Last Date for JEE (Mains) online registrations	December 26, 2013
JEE (Main)-2014 exam	April 6, 2014
JEE (Main)-2014 results	May 3, 2014
Opening date for eligible candidates to register for JEE (Advanced)	May 4, 2014
Last Date for JEE (Advanced) online registrations	May 9, 2014
JEE (Advanced)-2014 results	June 19, 2014

For more details visit the official website at http://jeeadv.iitkgp.ac.in/

HRD Ministry okays IIT, IIM, 3 central univs for Seemandhra

The HRD Ministry has given its nod for an IIT, an IIM and three central universities among other institutes for the Seemandhra region which has witnessed widespread resentment over the Centre's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.

The Ministry has conveyed its decision to the Home Ministry which had forwarded representations made by different stakeholders to it earlier in response to the GoM on Telangana inviting suggestions on bifurcation of the state.

The decision would be placed before the GoM for consideration, sources in the Ministry said.

The ministry has also cleared an IISER and an IIIT for the region.

The move is aimed at striking a balance between the two regions -- Telangana and Seemandhra -- as far as establishment of premier institutes are concerned, though the end objective is to ensure that students derive maximum benefit, they said.

Rough estimate suggests an investment in the range of Rs 6000 to Rs 7000 crore for establishment of the institutes in the Seemandhra region.

The ministry's decision assumes significance as the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh will leave the Seemandhra region without any of the elite higher educational institutes which are mostly concentrated in Hyderabad in the Telangana region.

HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju represents the Kakinanda constituency in Seemandhra.

In their representation, various stakeholders had suggested that all central institutions in Seemandhra should be backed by a bill and all national parties should sign it.

"Most of the highly developed educational institutions are going to the state of Telangana. The Centre should immediately grant the above said institutions and they should come into operation within a year," the representations said.

Centre May Allocate IIT and IIM To Seemandhra

With an aim of placating people of Seemandhra, Centre may allocate elite educational institutions like IIT, IIM and NIT to the region which has witnessed widespread resentment over its decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.

Highly-placed sources in the HRD Ministry said a decision in this regard could be soon conveyed to the Home Ministry which had forwarded representations made by different stakeholders to it in response to the GoM on Telangana inviting suggestion on bifurcation of the state

The suggestions included establishment of an IIT in Visakhapatnam, an IIM at Vijayawada and conversion of the Andhra Pradesh University in Visakhapatnam into a central university.

The bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh will leave the Seemandhra region without any of these institutes as all of them are concentrated in Hyderabad in the Telangana region.

The representation also states that all central institutions should be backed by a bill and all national parties should sign it.

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Distance Education Degree Equivalent to Regular Degree

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has highlighted that degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded for programmes conducted by the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions recognised by erstwhile Distance Education Council (DEC) be treated equivalent to corresponding awards of traditional universities and institutions of the country.

In a notice issued recently, UGC has highlighted that the ODL education system of the country was contributing to the expansion of higher education and to achieve the target of Gross-Enrollment Ratio (GER) without compromising with the quality.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development, in Decemeber last year, had vested regulatory functions of DEC with UGC, by dissolving the former. UGC is in the process of framing new regulations for distance education.

"Non-recognition and non-equivalence of degrees of ODL institutions for the purpose of promotion, employment and pursuing higher education may prove a deterrent for people and will defeat the purpose of open and distance education," the notification further read.

In May 2004, UGC had issued a circular stating that degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded by open universities be treated equivalent to corresponding awards of traditional universities in the country.

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