Joint Entrance Examination-Advanced, the examination for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology, will be held on August 23, Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said on Thursday.
It was earlier scheduled to be held on May 17.
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The announcement comes days after the rescheduling of the JEE-Main, the pre-qualifying examination for JEE-Advanced. JEE-Main will now be held between July 18 and 23, allowing exactly one month for results to be announced and qualified candidates to apply for JEE-Advanced.
In 2019, the top 2.5 lakh candidates from JEE-Main were eligible to apply for JEE-Advanced. JEE-Advanced is being organised by IIT-Delhi this year.
Changes announced
The HRD Minister also announced changes to expand the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship this year. Eligibility norms have been relaxed, lateral entry options introduced and the top National Institutes of Technology permitted to join the scheme.
The scheme, which was launched last year, offers financial support of ₹70,000 per month to PhD scholars at all IITs and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), as well as the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, the NIT at Tiruchirapalli and six top central universities.
The modifications announced on Thursday will allow other NITs to join the scheme if they are among the top 25 institutions under the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF). It will also open the doors for lateral entry into the programme for students who have already completed one or two years in a PhD programme at these institutions.
The direct entry option for fresh PhD applicants will also continue. Students who have completed their pre-doctoral studies at a non-PMRF institution earlier required a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 8.0 or above and a GATE score of 750 in the relevant subject. That requirement has now been relaxed, with a GATE score of 650 or above considered sufficient for eligibility to the programme.
