GATEWAY TO A GREAT JOB- GATE 2013

Online Exam : Jan 20, 2013
Offline Exam : FEB 10, 2013

GATE scores are used not only for admission to major institutions but also for recruitment in many PSUS, says

This is a good time to be an engineering graduate. With many public sector undertakings now recruiting through the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), science and engineering graduates in the country can look forward to secure and lucrative jobs. GATE is conducted for admission to postgraduate programmes in engineering and science at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, Indian Institutes of Technology, National Institutes of Technology and other engineering colleges in the country.

The all-India examination conducted jointly by the IISc and seven IITs, including IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras and IIT Roorkee. It primarily tests the comprehensive understanding of various undergraduate subjects in engineering and technology.

 All about GATE 2013 

GATE 2013 will be a threehour exam with 65 questions (30 one-mark questions and 35 two-mark questions) totalling up to 100 marks with questions from core subjects, engineering maths and general aptitude. “Questions from the core engineering subjects far outweigh the other two areas with 70% weightage. General aptitude and engineering maths with 15 marks each, however, play a vital role in maximising the score. A good performance in aptitude and maths ensures the minimum qualification marks in GATE,” says Prudhvi Reddy, course director of GATE at TIME. IIT Bombay is the organising institute for GATE 2013. One-third of the marks allotted to each question are deducted in case of a wrong answer. 

How GATE can help you

Along with a chance to pursue higher education, GATE comes with multiple benefits. With the introduction of the aptitude section from 2010, focused preparation for GATE comes handy for other PSU exams such as Coal India Limited, Steel Authority of India Limited, GAIL India Ltd etc and also campus recruitment interviews. GATE scores are considered as the merit criterion by organisations such as Powergrid, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, IndianOil Corporation Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, HECL and National Thermal Power Corporation, for recruitment to the posts of executive trainees and management trainees. “In the last five years, it has more than quadrupled from 1.8 lakh applicants in 2008 to 7.7 lakh applicants in 2012. Out of the total applicants, only 15-20% of the applicants manage to qualify in GATE. This means that it is highly competitive,” says Reddy. The GATE score is valid for two years. Since GATE is also the entrance test for MTech/ME/direct PhD courses in India, it has other advantages too.

“It gives great research and development opportunities. All GATE qualified students pursuing a masters programme at any college are eligible for a financial assistance of R8000 per month from the ministry of human resource development,” says Abhijit Chaudhury, director, GATE Forum.

Manipal University will introduce 12 new courses

 Manipal University will introduce 12 new courses in the forthcoming academic year. At present the varsity is offering 320 courses in 18 streams. 

GK Prabhu, registrar of Manipal University, said here on Monday that the university would conduct online entrance tests (OET) for all its courses, including MBBS, BTech and BPharm from April 15 to May 15, 2013. The number of test centres has been increased from 30 to 50 this year, he added. 

"There is no clarity in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical courses introduced by the Union government. As a result several deemed universities have moved court. We have also moved court against NEET and if the Supreme Court directs us to admit students through NEET, we will do that. However, we will conduct the online entrance tests as per the schedule," he added.

This year, the university has added a new feature to the entrance test. The candidates will be allowed to take a second test, if they are not satisfied with their performance in the first attempt. "The better score will be considered for the merit list," he said. 

He also said that even though there is a need for more nurses in the country, there is a decline in the demand for nursing courses. To encourage more students to take up the course, the university has introduced scholarships for nursing students. 

"Candidates who have scored above 80% in their 12th standard exam and whose parents' family income is below 12.5 lakh are eligible for the scholarship," he added. 

The university has also increased the funds set aside for scholarships from Rs 18.13 crore to Rs 25.01 crore. "There is also a 10 percentage tuition fee waiver in all course for Konkani speaking students," he said. 

A few seats in all the courses are reserved for schools and colleges of Academy of General Education. Some of the scholarships offered are Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) scholarship for qualified students, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) scholarship, merit-cum-means scholarship.