The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, will now allow students pursuing BTech from the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) to get admission in its PhD programmes without appearing for The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) exam.
The new admission policy will be implemented from the academic year 2020-21. NIT students will have to score a cumulative grade point average (GCPA) of 8 and above to be eligible for the admission.
"Teaching and examination pattern at NITs is similar to IITs. The quality of students in both the institutes also does not have much difference. Hence, it would help us in attracting the right research talent and improve the overall research ecosystem," says V Ramgopal Rao, director, IIT Delhi.
Final year BTech students from NITs will be able to join IIT Delhi on provisional admission and will have to maintain the CGPA for a year to secure a seat. They will receive a bachelors degree from the respective NITs but will be allowed to complete their coursework at IIT Delhi along with their research project.
The move, says Rao, is in sync with MHRD's mandate to help NITs across the country and the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF). "PhD programmes are scaling up across the country and we will sign MoUs with select NITs," he adds.
Rao also cites decreased interest among IIT graduates to pursue PhD programme at IITs as a reason behind the move that aims to tap the "second-best talent pool".