Students from NITs can now directly apply for doctorate programmes from IIT Delhi in their last year of B.Tech with an exemption of a relevant GATE score. The new admission policy will come into effect from the upcoming academic session, 2020-21.

As per the news, the concept of granting admission to the NIT Students in the Ph.D. programme is being discussed for the past one year. Only after much deliberation, in the recent meetings of the IIT Council, the initiative was finally taken and the members decided to implement the new admission policy for the upcoming academic sessions.

Eligibility Criteria for NIT Students

• A minimum of 8 point CGPA in graduation degree.
• A minimum of six months for a project with any of the IITs in the last year of graduation.

Note:- CGPA is the average of grade points obtained for all semesters and courses completed up to a given academic term. After that, they will be called to appear for an interview at the IIT Campus.

All 31 NITs will be considered for the admission process. The students will receive a bachelor’s degree from their respective NITs but will be allowed to complete their coursework at IIT Delhi later.

As per the procedure explained by one of the members of the IIT Council, The NIT students, who have a CGPA of 8 and above in their third year and are interested in research will get direct admission in IIT Delhi for completing their final year there. After that, they can continue to pursue their Ph.D. in the institute.

As per the statement given by the registrar of IIT Delhi, Mr. Sandeep Chatterjee, the concept of giving admission to the NIT students in IIT will only aid in improving the research culture of the institute. It will also benefit the NITs as their students can easily get admission to the most prestigious institute of the nation.

The move has been taken in order to bring back the lost interest of the B.tech graduates in the Ph.D. programmes. Students mostly prefer MNC jobs or go for a Masters in Business Administration and avoid taking up the research projects or coursework. But this step taken by the IIT council will surely help in bringing back the decreased interest of students in these courses.

For an Improved Research Culture

Getting NIT undergraduates into IITs has been talked about quite heavily for one complete year. In one of the most recent meetings conducted by the IIT Council, the possibility of this scenario was again discussed, following which IIT-Delhi chose to actualize the new confirmation arrangement. Different IITs are likewise ready to onboard NIT undergraduates soon in this coming academic year. MoUs should be marked among IITs and NITs to encourage this trade of students.

“The thought behind getting NIT understudies into the IIT is to improve the examination culture. We need understudies who have the potential for research to join our establishment. The NITs likewise get profited by this in light of the fact that their understudies get an immediate confirmation in Ph.D.,” said Sandeep Chatterjee, registrar of IIT-Delhi.

Undergraduates will also be required to spend at least half a year or complete a project with the IIT during their last year of B.Tech before they can begin with their Ph.D. programs. There are 31 NITs crosswise over India, which are frequently viewed as a rank lower to the IITs with regards to quality research and framework.

The IIT Director’s Take on the Situation

In order to contest eligibility, students ought to attain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 8. According to V Ramgopal Rao, the Director of IIT Delhi, “Teaching and exam-conducting pattern of IITs and NITs are pretty much on the same level. Thus, the quality and capabilities of the students do not vary drastically. This imposing policy would only help us in attracting the appropriate research talent and benefit the overall research ecosystem of the nation.”

“This move is in a state of harmony with the MHRD’s command to help NITs from all over the nation and also the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship” included Rao. Another explanation for the move is to tap the ‘second-best talent sea of India’ for the diminishing enthusiasm among IIT graduates to seek a Ph.D. programme after their graduation.