Didnt get through this years CAT? Take heart, the ministry of human resources development plans to increase the intake of students at all levels in IIMs as well as IITs. In a new action plan prepared to give a boost to higher education in the coming academic year, the HRD ministry wants to increase the number of students at the undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and post-doctoral levels. It is for the IITs and the IIMs to specify the additional seats. We have told them that the intake has been increased to meet the demands of the market, said a senior ministry official. The new courses, the official added, would bring more revenue to the IITs and the IIMs. At present, there are about 23,000 students in seven IITs and about 10,000 students in IIMs. But the institutes lose money on each student because of the high input costs. For example, an IIT spends Rs 1.90 lakh on a student every year whereas the money recovered from the student is only Rs 30,000. More students will help to bridge the gap, the official commented. Though the opening of new IITs has been ruled out, the ministry wants these premier institutes to open study centre in the far-flung areas of the country One such centre of IIT-Kanpur has been opened in Amethi. Each IIT should have at least one centre, an official said. The ministry has already decided to upgrade seven institutes to the level of IITs. Officials estimate that the up gradation will require additional funds of Rs 1,000-1,500 crore depending on the final report of the expert committee which is constituted to study the vision documents of the seven institutions. We have asked for Rs 21 crore for the next financial year when the basic work will start. The money will be allocated once the committee submits its report by mid-January the up gradation will commence from 2007-08, the official said.
Date: 3rd Jan 2006.
Source: Hindustan Times

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Roadshows and a 78-country promotional campaign worth Rs 20 lakh later, admissions for the much-awaited post-graduate programme in management for executives (PGPX) at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) have finally come through. A course that looks at raising the equity of the IIMS in the global market, PGPX was launched in January last year as a programme meant to enhance skills of working professionals, particularly of international origin. For the first batch starting April 2006, the institute has currently admitted 67 students. We had decided for an initial intake of 50 students, but increased our offers to 71 of 770 applicants that came by of them, 67 accepted our offer, said director, IIM-A, bakul Dholakia. The institute plans to further expand its 2007 intake to 120 students. New faculty is also being recruited to meet the demand. While the curriculum promises to provide that extra edge to international participants, what seems to be the prime factor in pulling international students to IIM-A is the cost factor. While other international B-schools charge anything between $35,000 and $50,000 (Rs 15 lakh to 22.1akh), PGPX will cost $19,000 (a little over Rs 8 lakh), said Prof G Raghuram, chairperson, PGPX. Though the institute plans to increase the fees to around Rs 10 lakh for the second batch, it still will remain considerably less than its international counterparts. The profile of the first batch of 67 PGPX students comprises four foreign nationals and five permanent residents. About 40 per cent of them are residing outside India. Most are from the US, but overall they are spread over 10 countries, said Dholakia. Eligibility criteria include a GMAT exam and work experience. The average work experience of the 67 candidates is 110 months as of October 2005, GMAT score 700 and average age 32 years. STUDENTS RESPOND TO IIM-A ROADSHOW NEW MGMT COURSE FROM JUNE

Roadshows and a 78-country promotional campaign worth Rs 20 lakh later, admissions for the much-awaited post-graduate programme in management for executives (PGPX) at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) have finally come through. A course that looks at raising the equity of the IIMs in the global market, PGPX was launched in January last year as a programme meant to enhance skills of working professionals, particularly of international origin. For the first batch starting April 2006, the institute has currently admitted 67 students. We had decided for an initial intake of 50 students, but increased our offers to 71 of 770 applicants that came by of them, 67 accepted our offer, said director, IIM-A, Bakul Dholakia. The institute plans to further expand its 2007 intake to 120 students. New faculty is also being recruited to meet the demand. While the curriculum promises to provide that extra edge to international participants, what seems to be the prime factor in pulling international students to IIM-A is the cost factor. While other international B-schools charge anything between $35,000 and $50,000 (Rs 15 lakh to 22.1akh), PGPX will cost $19,000 (a little over Rs 8 lakh), said Prof G Raghuram, chairperson, PGPX. Though the institute plans to increase the fees to around Rs 10 lakh for the second batch, it still will remain considerably less than its international counterparts. The profile of the first batch of 67 PGPX students comprises four foreign nationals and five permanent residents. About 40 per cent of them are residing outside India. Most are from the US, but overall they are spread over 10 countries, said Dholakia. Eligibility criteria include a GMAT exam and work experience. The average work experience of the 67 candidates is 110 months as of October 2005, GMAT score 700 and average age 32 years.

News of IIM-A

IIM Ahmedabad has crossed the first barrier towards becoming an international business school with the first batch of its residential executive management programme enrolling about 40 per cent overseas students. of the 67 students joining the one-year Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives in April 2006,26 are from abroad. Barring one student from Malaysia, the other overseas executives are from the US and the UK. Many of them also plan to work in India, said Prof. Raghuram, who headed the committee that designed -the curriculum for middle-and senior-level executives with international exposure and work experience. Designed by IIMA professors with the help of corporate leaders, the programme has received such an overwhelming response that the institute has started planning for the second year. There will be 25 per cent fee hike (from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 10 lakh) for the second batch and the number of students will double, he said. IIMA director Bakul Dholakia said on an average, the students would be 32-year-old executives with a work experience of over nine years and a GMAT score of 700. Having cleared GMAT, he pointed out, these students could have joined any reputed B-school abroad, but they chose India. Students coming from abroad to study in India is the beginning of the process of reversal, Dholakica said.

News of IIM Ahmedabad

If you are aspiring for a medical or dental seat next year then make sure you prepare well for the entrance test. Marks scored in the entrance test is likely to be the sole criterion for assigning ranks and drawing the merit list for admission to medical and dental courses from next year, while performance in II PU will be only an eligibility parameter. As for engineering courses, the government is likely to continue with the earlier pattern of giving equal weightage to PU and CET marks. While private managements have been following this rule to fill up their quota of seats, the state government, following a recent High Court order on eligibility for MBBS course, is also likely to adopt the same pattern for admission to government quota medical and dental seats through the CET Cell. Furthermore, a candidate will be assigned a medical/dental rank only if he or she scores 50 per cent and above (40 per cent for SC/STs) in Physics, Chemistry and Biology combination in the CET; higher education department sources said.

Equal weightage

Hitherto, the CET Cell gave equal weightage to marks scored in the entrance test and also qualifying examination (core subjects) to determine merit. There were no minimum cut-off marks in the CET and students who fared poorly in the entrance test were assigned ranks. However, admissions made by the CET Cell for medical courses was drawn into a controversy this year with a section of colleges refusing to admit students who had secured below 50 per cent in the entrance test. The colleges termed that the admissions violated the guidelines stipulated by the Medical Council of India.

HC order as a relief

An order passed by the Karnataka High Court came as a relief for as many as 238 students admitted to the MBBS course, who otherwise would have lost their seats. However, the court also made it clear that it was only a one time measure. We do not want to take chances next year and will follow all the guidelines set by the MCI and also the Dental Council of India (DCI). These include considering only entrance test marks to determine merit and assigning ranks only to candidates who have scored more than 50 per cent in the CET. Any candidate who scores below 50 per cent in the CET will not be included in the rank list irrespective of the score in the qualifying examination, the sources said. As per the draft rules prepared by the government, a candidate will only need to score the minimum 50 per cent marks in physics, chemistry and biology taken together in the qualifying examination (II PU for state board students and CBSE/ISC for central board students) to fulfill the eligibility requirements for MBBS and BDS admissions. In other words, a candidates score in the qualifying examination will not count, even if it is as high as 90 per cent, when it comes to admissions to MBBS and BDS.

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After resisting a fee hike this year, (IIM-B) has decided to effect a 10% increase in fee for post-graduate programme (PGP) in management from 2006. IIM-B is first among the big three IIMS to go in for a fee hike. From the current Rs 1.5 lakh a year, the two-year PGP would come with a fee tag of Rs 1.65 lakh per annum. The decision was conveyed by IIM-B director Prakash G APTE, in the board of governors meeting last month the last chaired by outgoing chairman SM Datta. The hike, he told members, is to bridge the deficit since the programme is subsidized and more seats are being added to the programme. This year, only IIMS at Indore, Kozhikode and Lucknow increased the fee for PGPM marginally, while the IIMS at Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta agreed to retain last years fee structure. All IIM directors have agreed to move towards a uniform fee structure as desired by the HRD ministry Though the Board suggested that IIM-B should enhance its image by having international faculty and international students, the director advised caution. Offering admission to foreign students in a liberal manner is not desirable as it will mean compromising with the rig our and quality of the programme. The institute has an extensive student exchange programme involving as many as 46 foreign universities. Exclusive executive education programmes conducted for foreign companies have been greatly successful and the demand for such programmes is growing, he told the meeting. After IIM-A, IIM-B is set to launch an executive MBA programme. A faculty committee has been constituted to work out the plan, and also look at possible collaboration with leading foreign universities

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The (NIFT) would soon open a branch in Lucknow. The state government has accorded its approval to the proposal. NIFT would open its centre at Paryatan Bhawan in Gomti Nagar. The government has also sanctioned a grant of Rs 5 crore for the NIFT project. This proposal was approved by the state Cabinet which met here on 18 October 05. The government has also decided to cancel the results of the BTC examinations held in 2001. The Cabinet also decided for the dismissal of three officials who were indicted by the vigilance department for committing irregularities in the BTC examinations. 5,000 candidates were selected through BTC examination for recruiting primary school teachers in 2001. Serious allegations of irregularities and corrupt practices were levelled against the officials of the State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT). It was alleged that many candidates, who did not even appear in the examinations, were selected and also completed the training. As per the Cabinet decision the candidates, selected in 2001, would be permitted to appear in fresh examinations and they would also be given relaxation in age. If these candidates are again selected then they would be exempted from undergoing the mandatory training. The state Cabinet also approved the compounding scheme for biscuit manufacturers of the state for the current fiscal. Biscuit units having four chambers would be charged trade tax at the rate of Rs 2.5 lakh per chamber per year, while units with two chambers would have to pay Rs 2.81 lakh per chamber per year. The report of the pay committee for removing anomalies in pay scales of various categories of employees was also approved by the Cabinet. The pay committee had submitted its report to the Chief Secretary. Several employees and their organisations had represented against the anomalies caused by the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission report. The representations were examined by the pay committee and it had submitted its report to the Chief Secretary. A draft of the service rules for teachers in recognised junior basic schools was also approved by the Cabinet. So for there were no service rules governing the services of these teachers.

News of National Institute of Fashion Technology

Unhappy with the quality of students, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), has decided to allow students from other avenues entry into the B-school. CAT will no longer be the sole entrance test to determine doctoral students. This year, IIM-B has just eight doctoral students. Starting 2006, it will admit students who have given their Graduate Record Exam (GRE), Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) for its Fellow Programme in Management. The move is to combat the acute shortage of candidates who qualify for admission for FPM, which is an equivalent to a PhD by traditional universities. Though IIM-B offers FPM in eight areas, there is not a single student in Production and Operations Management and Marketing programme. We have been getting about 500 applicants every year and the final number of students who qualify is too low. Though we accept GMAT scores for NRI and foreign students practically no one has ever qualified through this. We decided to open up other channels because we will get more qualified students, L Prasad chairperson (FPM), IIM-B said. Prasad feels there will be more choice for IIM-B to choose the right candidate. This year there was only one student who applied for production. If we go beyond CAT, we hope to get quality students from IISc and IITs. For instance, we may get good students with economics background who wants to do public policy by opening up GRE stream. GATE will give us good engineering students, said Prasad. The FPM admissions committee will shortlist applicants and send it to eight areas offering doctoral programmes. Each area headed by a specialist with three to four faculty as members will decide the final number of students. The role of the admissions team is just to shortlist candidates. It is then left to the concerned area to select candidates, said Prasad

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