Three IITians are among the eight young scientists have won the prestigious Scopus award instituted by the National Academy of Sciences and Elsivier, a leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services.

The winners are: Sanjib Senapathi of IIT, Madras, Sagnik Dey of IIT, Delhi, Satyajit Banerjee of IIT, Kanpur, Partha Sarathi Mukherjee of IISc, Bangalore, Prahladh Harsha of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Sundergopal Sridhar of Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, Ritesh Agarwal of P.G. Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, and S.B.Shivachandra of Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar.

The winners were selected from a pool of more than 250 applications from research institutes and universities from across the country.

Speaking at the award function, Elsevier Management Committee Chairman, Youngsuk Chi noted that it was an ``exciting’’ time for Indian researchers. “India is quickly adapting to its role as a world superpower in research and has built up an incredible pool of talented scientists at world class institutions that engage in cutting edge research’’.

While there have been recent developments in undergraduate admissions at Delhi University  (DU) for a Bachelor of medicine, Bachelor of surgery (MBBS) and Bachelor of dental surgery (BDS), a proposal for a change in admission criteria to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other engineering colleges will require class XII students to focus more on the board exams.

Now on, admission to Delhi Universitys (DU) medical and dental colleges will be on the basis of ones rank in the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT). Thus, only students appearing for AIPMT 2012 will be eligible to apply to DU colleges Lady Hardinge Medical College, Maulana Azad Medical College and University College of Medical Sciences for medicine, and the Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences for dentistry.

According to Dinesh Singh, vice-chancellor, DU, the decision to cancel the undergraduate entrance examination for MBBS and BDS at DU will save students from appearing in multiple examinations. We have also written a letter to Vineet Joshi, chairman, CBSE, in this regard, he says.

The AIPMT which will be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will have a preliminary round on April 1 followed by the final round on May 13.

Vineet Joshi says, We have no objection if DU wishes to admit students into its MBBS and BDS colleges based on their AIPMT scores, but the university will have to take permission from the Supreme Court for the same.

The second development is regarding the IITs and other engineering institutes in the country proposing that 40% weighting be given to class XII board exams for engineering college admissions. It has been recommended by the T Ramasami committee, which is working for an all new Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) where the entry of students into IITs or any other engineering institute will be based on one single test along with a specified 40% weighting on what one scores in class XII.

According to an IIT-Delhi official, these recommendations were originally made so that students do not neglect classroom learning and stop depending on coaching classes. This recommendation is also for those families who cannot afford to send their children to coaching classes. As of now, no formal decision has been taken, but will be implemented after the approval of the MHRD.

Joshi adds, Giving specific weighting to class XII scores for admission into engineering colleges will make students attend their classes regularly and fare well in the board exams.

However, a class XII student says, Changing the JEE pattern at the last moment is unfair for all those students who have been preparing for it since the last two years. If a new system is adopted now, students preparing for IITs will suffer. This decision should have been taken much earlier.

The Human Resource Development Ministry is planning to set up a national authority to conduct common entrance test (CET) for admissions to engineering colleges across the country and will draft a bill to give it a statutory status.

Till the statutory body is established, a Centre for Assessment and Evaluation Studies (CAES) will be set up this year to provide support to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in conducting the nation-wide common entrance examination, proposed to be initiated from 2013, a top HRD Ministry official said.

The Centre for Assessment and Evaluation Studies, to be set up here at CBSE headquart­ers, will decide the type and pattern of the questions to be asked in the common entrance test.

“It will recommend the type and pattern of the questions for the common entrance keeping in view the cultural and social diversities of the country so that they are suitable for all students, whether they are from urban or rural background,” the ministry official said.

There is a plan to convert the CAES later into an independent national authority for conducting the common entrance test. “Seeking to give it a statutory status, we would draft a bill,” the official added.

The proposed common entrance test, which is set to be like scholastic aptitude test (SAT), carried out in the United States, will replace the IIT Joint Entrance Examination and the All India Engineering Entrance Examination.

The basic objective is to do away with the multiple entrance tests conducted for admissions to various engineering colleges across the country.

As per the proposal which has received in-principle approval of the HRD Ministry as well as Indian Institutes of Technology and National Institutes of Technology, the test scores will have 60 per cent weightage in deciding admissions; school board marks will have 40 per cent.

Step by step

* HRD?Ministry plans to set up a national authority to conduct CET for entry into the country’s engineering colleges
* Will first set up Centre for Assessment and?Evaluation Studies (CAES), which will be     converted into an independent national authority via a bill
* CAES will provide support to CBSE in conducting nation-wide CET
* Objective is to do away with multiple entrance tests

The first day of Solaris-2012, the sixth international conference on 'Energy Security, Global Warming and Sustainable Climate' began with acquainting common people with the importance and effective utilisation of solar energy followed by three technical sessions on Tuesday at Swatantrata Bhawan, Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

The conference jointly organised by Centre for Energy Studies-Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi, BHU and Bag Energy Research Society (BERS) witnessed some 200 participants, including research scholars, professors, scientists and environmentalists, from over 20 countries of the world.

The day began with acquainting villagers with the food processing technologies by solar energy at solar house (BERS Complex) at Mahamana Nagar followed by tree plantation in the area. According to organising secretary and Prof of IIT-Delhi G N Tiwari, over 20 families from nearby villages of the district were informed about the importance of Sun as a source of energy and its utilisation for the various domestic purposes including day lighting and food processing. Experts from different countries with different climatic conditions discussed the methods of food processing, drying and heating of the spices and other food products with villagers and housewives.

Prof G N Tiwari explained the heating and cooling of a greenhouse as the most energy consuming operation, earth air heat exchanger and thermal modeling. If the experts area to be believed, the increasing demand of electricity in the country and the limitations of conventional fuels, the use of renewable sources of energy has become very important at least 40-50% of energy can be saved if solar energy is used judiciously. The technical sessions however began with an inaugural lecture on 'Prospects of Energy in India' by Prof Lidia Szpyrkowicz, scientific attache, embassy of Italy, New Delhi, followed by discussion on 'Innovations in solar water heating' by Prof Brian Norton, Ireland, 'Solar Drying Technology: Developments and Potentials' by Prof B K Bala of Bangladesh and informative presentations of Prof H N Mishra, IIT Kharagpur on 'Post Harvest Handling and Management of Fruits and Vegetables'. Concept of day lighting, energy efficient designs of domestic and office buildings were discussed under the technical session.

Dr Swapnil Dubey, from Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), National University of Singapore explained at length the comparisons in performances of two different types of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) modules under Singapore climatic conditions. According to him, purpose of a solar photovoltaic module is to convert solar energy into electricity, however very small portion of the incident solar radiation is utilised by photovoltaic (PV) cells and the remaining radiations go in waste by converting itself into heat, photovoltaic thermal module is an alternative way to cool the PV cells. The simultaneous cooling of the PV cells maintains the efficiency of the PV cells and helps better utilising the solar radiation. A very significant and informative discussion on Energy from Lightning by Prof Jagdish Rai, IIT Roorkee was also held. Apart from that Prof B D Tripathi from BHU, Prof K S Reddy, IIT Madras, Prof N N Rao, Prof Christophe also formed an important part of the discussions on energy security, global warming and sustainable climate.

The students of IIT-Kanpur are busy these days in developing a planetarium in the new student activity centre (SAC). The maximum parts are ready but still there are few thing left to be done.

On Sunday, the students had told the ex-IITians of 1977 batch about the planetarium. They had mentioned that a sum of Rs 1.05 lakh had already been spent on it so far and the total expenditure would be Rs 1.80 lakh. For the remaining amount, the students had sought help from the ex-students, who had assured all possible help.

More than twenty BTech students have been working on the construction of the planetarium for past six months. Once the planetarium is ready, it would be first of its kind prepared by the students. Around 50 people would be able to see the Milky Way in one go.

The students have used the telescope, projector and the software to draw the Milky Way on the roof of the structure. In the planetarium, the people would get a real feel of the stars and the planets.

If a research project of the IIT-Madras bears fruit, clean drinking water might just become an affordable commodity for the poor. The project, aimed at coming up with a low-cost, low-maintenance water filtration system to filter water and remove pathogens from it, seems to have achieved just that. What’s more, researchers say their solution is so simple that every household can build its own unit.

And simple it is. The ‘system’ looks like a normal water barrel, one of the blue ones you might be familiar with. What’s inside though, is what makes it special. “There are layers of blue metal (jalli stones), charcoal and sand. We have used a cheap plastic mesh. This can take out anything from particulate matter to dissolved substances to pathogens from the water and deliver water that is up to 98 percent pure,” says Ivo Romauld, a research associate on the project.

The project is being run by a team of three researchers under the Environmental and Water Resources Division of the Department of Civil Engineering at the IIT-Madras, and is funded by International Development Research Centre, through the University of Guelph in Canada.

Though it may look simple, the project has taken over two years to perfect. A plastic kodam(pot) with a tap sticking out from the lower portion is a sign of that. “We first tried to do it with the kodams. Then, we found that their capacity was just not enough. So we moved on to buckets and on to the current barrel configuration. If the capacity isn’t enough, the poor people are not going to use it,” says C Ramprasad, another research associate.

The researchers say the water filter costs about Rs 700 to Rs 800 to make, and is easy to replicate. “We have been trying the filter with slum dwellers at the Mylai Balaji Nagar near Pallikarani, who have no water and end up drinking unprocessed water from the lake. We have given residents of that locality 60 of these units at a highly subsidised rate. They can also make these if they want to because it is very cheap and easy, and can be made anywhere in the country,” says Ramprasad.

The research team has also developed a Rapid Water Testing Kit, which is equipped to run tests across 14 parameters for more than 50 samples. This kit costs less than Rs 4,000 a unit and has been distributed widely across Krishnagiri District.

All the NRI/CIWGC/FN Students who Aspires for Admission in under NON – Resident Indians (NRI) Foreign Nationals (FN) / Children of Indian Workers in Gulf countries (CIWGC) Categories for Under Graduate B.E. / B. Tech. / B.Arch. Degree programmes in Anna University for the Academic year 2012-2013. Students who are interested and Eligible can apply for that.

Eligibility criteria : 

For B.E. / B.Tech. Degree Course (Four years): Aspirants must have passed the qualifying examination, i.e. (10 + 2) of Indian System or its equivalent (completed 12 years of school education). Candidates must have studied in English medium or having proficiency in English language and obtained a pass in the qualifying examination with minimum of 50% of marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics for admission to all programmes including Industrial Bio-Technology.

For B.Arch. Degree (Five Years): The qualifying examination is a pass in 12th Grade or its equivalent examination with mathematics as one of the subjects. In addition, the candidates must have passed the National Aptitude Test (NATA) conducted by the Council of Architecture, India (www.nata.in).

Anna University Applications 2012 for Admissions :  

Issue of Application form for NRI / CIWGC Categories: April to June 2012

Aspirants can Download Anna University Application Forms from the Website: http://www.annauniv.edu/cia/adm.php  

Anna University NRI/CIWGC Admissions 2012 Registration Fee : 

Applicants must Pay Bank Draft DD for US $ 200 drawn in favour of the Director, Centre for International Affairs, Anna University, Chennai, India payable at New York drawn from the Nationalized Banks of India or other International Banks with branches in India should be submitted along with the application. Applicants should check whether the Demand Draft has routing number and seal and is signed by the authorized official.  

NRI / CIWGC / FN categories Intake in Institute wise Category wise :

Fo Intake for the Undergraduate Degree programmes under NRI/CIWGC/FN categories, please visit http://www.annauniv.edu/cia/intakeug.pdf

Selection Procedure:

Selection of the candidates will be done on first come first served basis subject to  availability of vacancies. Applicants has to Submit the Below Mentioned documents at the time of selection for the Candidates.

For NRI / CIWGC Category Students :

Photo copies of the following documents are to be attached along with the application

* Recent NRI status certificate of the parent issued by the Indian Embassy of the respective country.
* Employment certificate of the NRI parent. In the case of self employment, nature of business, annual income and required proof like Income – Tax paid (for the last 3 years), etc.
* NRE/NRI bank account pass Book of the NRI parent.
* Valid Indian Passport of the NRI parent.
* Qualifying Mark / Grade list of the candidate ****.
* School Transfer Certificate or Migration Certificate.

For Foreign Nation Students :

* Proof of Citizenship of the candidate.
* Passport of the candidate.
* Qualifying mark list of the candidate ****.
* Certificate showing that the candidate has proficiency in English language.
* Proof of Financial support.
* Valid Visa / PIO / OCI Card

NOTE : *** If the candidate has studied  in a Non-Indian Government board of education system in abroad or in India,  the eligibility certificate obtained from the Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi or Indian Embassy in abroad, where the candidate has studied should be  submitted.

For details, please visit http://www.annauniv.edu/cia/admission.pdf  

I would like to suggest you to attempt previous year IIT JEE questions to know your position. Work on your weaker areas and also do focus on stronger areas too. Devote equal time for each subject.

The calm and serene landscape surrounding the vicinity of IIT Guwahati  was shaken on Sunday evening as thousands gathered at the institution's open field to headbang to the heavy music of Orphaned Land, a progressive metal band from Israel. The band performed on the last day of Alcheringa, the annual festival of IIT-Guwahati at an event called Juggernaut, which features performances from national and international bands. Sunday's performance saw people, mostly youngsters, enjoying metal music, a rare treat for avid music enthusiasts not only from the city, but from across the region as well.

Formed in 1991, Orphaned Land infuses the genres of death and doom metal together with Jewish and Arabic influences, churning out a progressive, metal and Mideastern folk music which could be dubbed as oriental metal, a rare genre of music coming from one of the most volatile places on earth. The band's music mostly focuses on the meeting and amalgamation of eastern and western philosophies, the merging of the past and the present and the conflict between light and dark and between God and Satan. The band has four studio albums in its kitty and has opened a Metallica show in Israel.

As the concert proceeded, youngsters formed circles like witches in covens casting magic, and with the heavy music blasting from the enormous speaker systems, they began to resemble like the traditional 'deodhani' dancers, violently shaking their heads in tune with the pulsating screeches and growls of the music. "I love metal music and this my way of expressing myself. It is a rare occasion when I can enjoy my kind of music in this region," said Rocky, a student.

"Around 20,000 people had turned up for the show and there was a massive crowd at the venue. Orphaned Land performed for almost two hours and the band members were really pleased by the turnout. They performed from their four studio albums and, overall, the concert gave the people what they wanted - an opportunity to headbang to heavy music. The band will be performing in Delhi later this week. We have had bands like Mother Jane and others but this year we thought about doing different," said Srikanth Jayaraman, convener of Alcheringa. David Koach, from Rock-a-Rolla, a metal music event organiser and a judge at rock band competition Rock-o-Phoenix, said: " I am pleased that for the first time a band from Assam called Dark Carnage won the competition, and later I got a chance to relish Orphaned Land."

The much-touted system allowing students to apply online for Common Entrance Test (CET) will not start this year. Instead, the science students have to apply manually for the test that ranks them for professional courses. Sources in the higher education department told Deccan Chronicle that the delay in issuing the CET notification, technical glitches and poor coordination between the Karnataka Examination Authority, which conducts the test, and the State Informatics Centre have stopped KEA from inviting applications online.

It was part of a KEA decision to overhaul the entire CET exam system. The online application was to be on the lines of AIEEE, CAT etc. Officials had justified the plan, saying it would ensure transparency and will help in distributing seats judiciously. As of now, CET applications are sent to colleges after receiving DDs from students, and the same system will prevail this year too.

“If the state government and KEA had finalised the exam dates and issued notification well in advance we could have opted for online module easily. If KEA opts for online pattern at this juncture, it may create havoc and may have a bad impact on students who are preparing for II PUC and various entrance exams. At many places, there are no facilities available to apply online, where you also have to attack a scanned photograph.

Even informatics center officials had objected to the scheme,” said a senior officer. The government delayed finalising the dates for the CET as confusion prevailed over single medical entrance exam,” he said.

At a time when most universities are blamed for delaying of sessions due to untimely examinations and results, a decision by the Jai Narayan Vyas University to postpone examinations of 5th semester of Engineering III Year to accommodate a youth festival has annoyed the students.

Organised by the NSUI, the youth festival is slated from February 6 to 8 in a "brazen disregard" to the students' academic interest and a wholesome academic atmosphere.

"We had prepared according to the original time table but since examinations have been postponed now, we will have to bear the examination stress for an extended period and that too for the sake of a youth festival", an affected student rued.

Another student said other colleges were already ahead of them in terms of the session and with 10-day delay, which may not seem to be a big difference now, may lead to delay in announcement of results and create disturbance in the plans for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering ( GATE).

Dean (Engineering Faculty), DGM Purohit said the examinations were to start from February 2 but postponed following the directions of the vice-chancellor, who was approached by student union leaders to accommodate the youth festival. "The examinations have now been rescheduled to February 11," Purohit said.

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot is scheduled to inaugurate the festival, which will also be participated by Speaker Deependra Singh Shekhawat.

A lecturer of the university said the student leaders have hardly ever expressed any concern for the academic atmosphere and are always engaged in the fight for supremacy and petty politics.

The BJP-backed ABVP has objected to the festival saying it could be termed as a student union's event. Vice-president of the union Hitesh Vyas (ABVP) said the event is exclusively NSUI's programme and "we have learnt about it only through newspapers. The president's post of the union is held by Pradeep Singh Rathore, who is from the NSUI.

Jai Narayan Vyas University, currently vying for the status of divisional level university, has fallen to grade 'B' from 'A' after the assessment by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council.

The state government on Monday released Rs 1,290 crore to private colleges under the fee reimbursement scheme  with the move serving to abort their strike that was supposed to have been undertaken from Tuesday. The state government assured private engineering, pharmacy, MBA, MCA and B.Ed colleges that the funds will be deposited in their accounts. The government also agreed to release another Rs 1,200 crore by March 31.

The Consortium of Private Professional College Managements' Association had called the strike on the demand that the government clear arrears under the fee reimbursement scheme. According to private colleges, the state government has to release a total of Rs 3,600 crore towards payments outstanding from last year.

The private engineering college managements' body, Consortium of Engineering College Managements' Association (CECMA) has also agreed to put off the strike. The association has decided to wait till Friday for the amount to get credited to their accounts but said that the strike would be taken up if the funds do not get deposited by then.

The state government was also urged to introduce uniform fee structure in engineering colleges. The colleges said that in keeping with a Supreme Court directive, they will submit their annual expenditure details to the Admission and Fee regulatory Council (AFRC) in the coming two days.

"Once we have submitted that, the state government should introduce a uniform fee structure for all colleges," said Rajeswar Reddy, secretary, CECMA.

Extending the duration of the MBBS degree programme would most likely drive meritorious students to engineering colleges, as has been witnessed in the recent past.

In Tamil Nadu, when campus placements were at its peak several students, who had secured admission into premier Government-run medical colleges, had dumped their seat in favour of a BE degree course.

“During the 2007 admission season, more than 100 students who were selected for MBBS had given up the seat and enrolled in engineering colleges including Anna University. The next year too we had nearly two dozen students following suit,” recalled an official associated with the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions.

In 2009 too nearly a dozen MBBS students had joined BE degree courses.

“Why would parents invest their hard earned money to educate their child in a medical college for over six years when there is no guarantee the he or she would start earning after graduation?,” an analyst asks.

“These days one has to necessarily pursue a postgraduate specialisation in medicine to be successful as a doctor. All this is beyond the reach of the middle class,” he adds.

On the contrary, a student, who graduates from a leading engineering college, is picked like a hot cake by Information Technology majors and multinational companies.

“The offer letter is given just as he or she steps into the final year of college. They get a fat pay cheque with annual packages sometimes crossing the `7 lakh mark,” says a placement officer at a private engineering college in Chennai.

Also, campus recruitment is no longer restricted to urban centres. At the beginning of the Millennium, big companies would simply refuse to touch students from the rural colleges irrespective of their talent and merit. “

All that changed with the Tamil Nadu Placement Programme launched by the Anna University during 2004-05. Now even a graduate from the remotest college stands a chance of landing a job in an IT major,” he adds.

Engineering college students are not burdened by mandatory rural internship as is being proposed for the medical courses.

“Students these days want to be self-reliant the moment they enter colleges. You can’t expect them to have the patience to study for six-and-a-half years to get their degree certificate,” points out a career counsellor.

Please clarify your query.

All the Students who aspires for Admission to Various Undergraduate and Post Graduate Programs such as B. Tech, B. Arch, B. Pharm, M.Pharm, MBA, MCA in Private Self Financed and Government Colleges in the Orissa are hereby informed that the Joint Entrance Examination Board of Orissa has announced the Schedule and OJEE 2012 Admission Notification for the Academic year 2012 – 2013.

Students who are interested to get admissions for the courses in the Colleges should appear and qualify in the Entrance Exam Conducted by the JEE Board.

 OJEE Offered Courses

B.Tech, B.Arch, MBBS, BDS, B.Pharm, MCA, MBA, PGDM, PGAT, M.Pharm and Lateral Entry B.Tech, Lateral Entry B.Arch & Lateral Entry B.Pharm.
(A) For admission to Under Graduate programs in

Engineering/Technology Eligibility Criteria :

* Passed or appearing in 2012, 10+2 examination of CHSE, Odisha or equivalent with Physics and Mathematics as compulsory subjects along with one of the subjects from Chemistry / Biotechnology / Biology/ Electronics /Computer Science /Information Technology/ Geology / Statistics.
* The candidate should have passed individual subject and must have obtained at least 45% marks (40% in case of candidate belonging to SC/ST category) in the above subjects taken together.

Architecture Eligibility Criteria:

Passed or appearing in 2012, 10+2 examination of CHSE, Odisha or equivalent with Physics and Mathematics as compulsory subjects along with one of the subjects from Chemistry / Engineering Drawing / Computer Science / Biology.

The candidate should have passed individual subject and must have obtained at least 45% (40% in case of candidate belonging to SC/ST category) marks in the above subjects taken together. The aforesaid admission into 5 year B.Arch. degree course are to be subject to passing NATA conducted by the Council of Architecture and the minimum passing score for NATA is 40% for all categories of candidates. NATAshall be a prerequisite for admission into B.Arch course, but the ranking shall be on the basis of OJEE-2012 ranking and admission to the course is based onthe OJEE-2012 rank.

Pharmacy Eligibility Criteria :

* Passed or appearing in 2012, 10+2 examination of CHSE, Odisha or equivalent with Physics and Chemistry as compulsory subjects along with one of the subjects from Mathematics / Chemistry / Biotechnology / Biology.
* The candidate should have passed individual subject and must have obtained at least 45% marks (40% in case of candidate belonging to SC/ST category) in the above subjects taken together.

MBBS/BDS Eligibility Criteria :

* Passed or appearing in 2012, 10+2 examination of CHSE, Odisha or equivalent, with Physics, Chemistry & Biology (Botany and Zoology) with at least 50% marks in aggregate (Physics, Chemistry & Biology taken together) in the qualifying examination for general category candidates and 40% marks in aggregate for SCI ST candidates.
* The candidates also shall have to obtain a minimum of 50% mark in OJEE-2012 examination for general category candidates and 40% marks for SCI ST candidates for admission into MBBS/BDS course.

(B) For admission to Post Graduate Programs
Masters programs in Computer Application (MCA):

* Passed or appearing in 2012, for the Bachelor’s Degree examination of minimum three years duration in any discipline from any University of Odisha or equivalent recognized University as defined by UGC and must have passed in Mathematics at 1 0+2 level. Business Mathematics at +2 level are not permitted.
* The candidate should have obtained at least 50% (45% in case of candidate belonging to ST/SC category) in the qualifying Examination.

Business Administration (MBA)/ PGDM:

* Passed or appearing in 2012, for the Bachelor’s Degree examination of minimum three years duration in any discipline from any University of Odisha or equivalent recognized University as defined by UGC.
* The candidate should have obtained at least 50% marks (45% in case of candidate belonging to SC/ST category) in the qualifying examination.

OJEE 2012 PGCM Eligibility Criteria :

Passed or appearing in 2012, for the Bachelor’s Degree examination of minimum three years duration in any discipline from any University of Odisha orequivalent recognized University as defined by UGC.
OJEE 2012 PGDM (Executive) Eligibility Criteria :

* Passed or appearing in 2012, for the Bachelor’s Degree examination of minimum three years duration in any discipline from any University of Odisha or equivalent recognized University as defined by UGC and a minimum of 5 years relevant managerial/ supervisory experience.
* The candidate should have obtained at least 50% marks (45% in case of candidate belonging to SC/ST category) in the qualifying examination.

(C) For admission to Lateral Entry Programs (Diploma Holders):

* Passed or appearing in 2012, in diploma examination in Engineering/Technology/Architecture from State Council of Technical Education and Training (SCTE&VT), Odisha or equivalent with at least 45% marks (40% in case of candidates belonging toSC/ST category) in the qualifying examination in appropriate branch of Engineering/ Technology/Architecture for direct admission to the third semester degree courses in Engineering/Technology/Architecture.
* Passed or appearing in 2012 in diploma examination in two years diploma course in Pharmacy with minimum 45% (40% in case of candidate belong to SC / ST category) in the qualifying examination of marks in aggregate from Odisha State Board of Pharmacy (OSBP) or SCTE&VT or equivalent for direct admission to the third semester degree courses in Pharmacy.

(D) For admission to Lateral entry Programs (For B.Sc Graduates) :

Passed or appearing in 2012, for the Bachelor’s Degree examination of three years duration in Science from any University of Odisha or equivalent from a recognized University as defined by UGC, with at least 45% marks (40% in case of candidates belonging to ST/SC category) in aggregate in the qualifying examination and must have passed XII standard with Mathematics as a subject.
(E) PGAT (M.Tech/M.Pharm/M.Arch) for admission to 1st Year Master Degree courses in Engineering/Tech./Architecture/Pharmacy: (Application form can be filled only through online)
Engineering / Technology / Architecture:

* Passed or appearing in 2012 Bachelor’s Degree of examination in the relevant field from any University of Odisha orequivalent recognized University as defined by UGC/AICTE.
* The candidate should have obtained at least 50% marks (45% in case of candidate belonging to SC/ST category) in the qualifying examination.

Pharmacy:

* Passed or appearing in 2012 Bachelor’s Degree of examination in Pharmacy from any University of Odisha orequivalent recognized University as defined by UGC/AICTE.
* The candidate should have obtained at least 50% marks (45% in case of candidate belonging to SC/ST category) in the qualifying examination.

Architecture:

* Passed or appearing in 2012 Bachelor’s Degree of examination in the relevant field in Architecture from any University of Odisha or equivalent recognized University as defined by UGC/AICTE.
* The candidate should have obtained at least 50% marks (45% in case of candidate belonging to SC/ST category) in the qualifying examination.

OJEE 2012 Reservation Details :
OJEE 2012 Reservation for Local Students :

The reservation of seats for the Candidates in different colleges under various categories will be as per the policy of the

Government of Orissa. The percentage of seats to be reserved for different categories is subject to change and the decision of the State Government as on the date of counselling will be applicable.

Reservation for Other State Candidates:
Outside State candidates are not eligible for admission in Govt. Colleges but they are eligible for admission to private colleges except private Medical (MBBS) Colleges as per Orissa Government rule.


Important Dates OJEE 2012
Sale of OJEE 2012 Information Brochure with OJEE 2012 Application Forms/ Online Registration Begins     10.February, 2012.
Last Date for Sale of OJEE 2012 Application Forms/ OJEE 2012 Online Registration     15.03.2012
Last Date for Receipt of OJEE 2012 Application Form at Bank     22.03.2012
Last Date for Receipt of OJEE 2012 Application Form Confirmation Slip and Demand Draft for Online Applicants is 22.03.2012
Dispatch of OJEE 2012 Admit Cards  05.04.2012
OJEE 2012 Entrance Exam Date and Time  06.05.2012
Declaration of OJEE 2012 Results     25.05.2012

Contact Address :
Chairman, OJEE-2012,
JEE Cell, Gandamunda, P.O.
Khandagiri, Bhubaneswar 751030
Phone: 0674-2352456,
Fax: 0674-2352457,
e-mail: contactojee2012@gmail.com,
Website: www.odishajee.com.

 Too many entrance exams may not be the right way to evaluate a student's merit level. Vishakha Sharma reports on the recent changes in the admission criteria for medical and engineering colleges

While there have been recent developments in undergraduate admissions at Delhi University (DU) for a Bachelor of medicine, Bachelor of surgery (MBBS) and Bachelor of dental surgery (BDS), a proposal for a change in admission criteria to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other engineering colleges will require class XII students to focus more on the board exams.

From now on, admission to Delhi University's (DU) medical and dental colleges will be on the basis of one's rank in the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT). Thus, only students appearing for AIPMT 2012 will be eligible to apply to DU colleges - Lady Hardinge Medical College, Maulana Azad Medical College and University College of Medical Sciences - for medicine, and the Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences for dentistry.

According to Dinesh Singh, vice-chancellor , DU, the decision to scrap the undergraduate entrance examination for MBBS and BDS at DU will act as a relief for students. "We have also written a letter to Vineet Joshi, chairman, CBSE, in this regard," he says.

The AIPMT which will be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will have a preliminary round on April 1 followed by the final round on May 13.

Joshi says, "We have no objection if DU wishes to admit students into its MBBS and BDS colleges based on AIPMT scores, but the university will have to take permission from the Supreme Court for the same."

The second development is regarding the IITs and other engineering institutes in the country proposing that 40% weightage be given to class XII board exams for admissions to engineering colleges. It has been recommended by the T Ramasami committee, which is working for an all new Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) where the entry of students into IITs or any other engineering institute will be based on one single test along with a specified 40% weightage on what one scores in class XII.

According to an IIT-Delhi official, these recommendations were originally made so that students do not neglect classroom learning and stop depending on coaching classes. This recommendation is also for those families who cannot afford to send their children to coaching classes. As of now, no formal decision has been taken, but will be implemented after the approval of the MHRD.

Joshi adds, "Giving specific weightage to class XII scores for admission into engineering colleges will make students attend their classes regularly and fare well in the board exams."

However, a class XII student says, "Changing the JEE pattern at the last moment is unfair for all those students who have been preparing for it since the last two years. If a new system is adopted now, students preparing for IITs will suffer. This decision should have been taken much earlier."