The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has announced the result of the Graduate Aptitude Test For Engineering (GATE 2021) at its official website, gate.iitb.ac.in, on March 19. A total of 1,26,813 candidates have qualified the test this year. The exam is held primarily for admission to MTech programmes and selection for PSU jobs, but direct entry to PhD with the Prime Minister's Research Fellowships (PMRF) in top engineering colleges is also via the GATE.
Institutes offering PMRF include all Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, all Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and a section of the other centrally-funded technical institutions. In May 2020, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' had announced significant amendments in the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF) scheme. Two channels of entry to the PhD and fellowship programme were created -- direct and lateral. One requires the candidate to have qualified GATE, the other doesn't.
The eligibility criteria for the two paths into PhD with PMRF at the IITs, IISc, IISERs and other CFTIs are given below.
With GATE 2021: Direct Entry
To apply for PMRF through direct entry channel, a candidate must meet the criteria relevant for their group to be eligible:
The candidate should have completed or be in the final year of a Bachelors or Masters degree programme in science and technology at recognised institute or university in India with CGPA of 8 or above and should have attained a GATE score of 650 or above in the relevant subject in the previous three years. GATE 2021 was conducted in 27 subjects.
However, if the candidate obtained their degree from a CFTI, a GATE score is not necessary.
The candidate should have qualified GATE and completed or be pursuing MTech or MS by research at one of the PMRF-granting institutes and must have a minimum CGPA of 8 or above at the end of the first semester with a minimum of four courses.
Without GATE 2021: Lateral Entry
In the lateral entry path, students who are pursuing PhD in PMRF-granting institutions can also apply to become a fellow under the scheme. However, they need to have spent 12 months or 24 months -- depending on whether they joined with a Bachelor's or Master's degree -- in the PhD programme before becoming eligible.
Reduced GATE Score
For students from any recognised institute or university other than IISc, IITs, NITs, IISERs, IIEST, IIITs and CFTIs, the requirement of GATE score is reduced to 650 from 750 apart from a minimum CGPA of 8 or equivalent.
The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) among the top 25 institutions as per NIRF ranking will also be eligible to grant the fellowship.
