Hyderabad Diaries: Engineering Studies in Hyderabad

Follow this thread for updates in Engineering studies in the city of Hyderabad & its neighbours...


JEE 2016 office sending text messages to applicants whose documents sport errors

If you have committed any errors while filling the JEE 2016 application form, be ready to receive a message from Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) authorities asking for changes.

JEE authorities have started checking applications and begun to send text messages to those which seem like errors. The errors are being primarily found in the Photograph, Thumb Impression, and Signature areas.

JK Yadav, Deputy Secretary, JEE Unit confirmed this development to PaGaLGuY. He said: "We are verifying all the 2016 JEE applications. Those with discrepancies are being sent text messages by the JEE office." Those who have received such messages will need their 'Application Number' and 'Password' to login to make the necessary changes.

Please note that this facility has been extended only to those who receive messages from the JEE office and not all applicants. Those not sure of their documents can visit the JEE website anyway and cross check.

If an applicant is welcomed with this message -

'No discrepancy found in your uploaded Photograph, Thumb Impression and Signature. You are not allowed to Login through this window,' - it means that their uploaded documents have been accepted by the JEE Unit.

JEE is conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) every year and is the gateway to IITs, NITs, IIITs, government and private engineering colleges in the country. For 2016, JEE Main offline examination will be conducted on April 3, and online examination on April 9 and 10.

The admit card for JEE Main 2016 will be released before March 12, 2016, JEE authorities confirmed the development to PaGaLGuY. Applicants are advised to download their admit cards from JEE Main website only. Candidates will require their Application Number, and Class 12 board exam details, to download the admit card.

Students can now download their Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2016 admit card from the JEE website. Aspirants will require their application number and password to download it.

However, if applicants have not updated their percentage of marks in class 12/qualifying examination, or roll no of class 12/qualifying examination, they won't be able to download it. Applicants will have to update the information on the first page of their account as they log in on the JEE website. After submitting the required information, applicants can review their changes, and save.

If applicants find are any problems with regards to their admit cards, they can call on the helpline numbers given on the JEE website.

JEE is conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) every year and is the gateway to IITs, NITs, IIITs, government and private engineering colleges in the country. For 2016, JEE Main offline examination will be conducted on April 3, and online examination on April 9 and 10.

Private colleges' strike over pending dues to affect entrance exams in Telangana

Lakhs of students appearing for various entrance examinations, including the Engineering, Medical and Agriculture Common Entrance Test (EAMCET), in Telangana may find themselves at the receiving end following the indefinite strike called by private college managements on April 18. 

The private colleges in the state are up in arms against the Government's inordinate delay in releasing fee reimbursement scheme funds amounting to Rs 3,000 crore. The Joint Action Committee constituted by the management of private colleges has sought the immediate release of this amount.

What has irked the private colleges is the Government's decision to inspect 6,843 colleges by officials from the anti-corruption bureau, police and intelligence officers, CID among other concerned department officials. The Committee demanded that inspections must be held only by the concerned department officials.

The Government aims to identify irregularities and misuse of funds provided under the fee reimbursement scheme to private colleges in the state. "We will not cooperate with the government for conducting the entrance examinations if our demands are not fulfilled by April 30," said Ramana Rao, convenor of JAC.

As per the order issued by the Telangana earlier this month, the teams have to inspect the colleges and submit a report with specific recommendations not later than the beginning of the 2016-17 academic session.

The Government has already allotted centers for various examinations. The strike called by the private colleges will impact the plans set by the Government for competitive exams. 

However, the Government is unwilling to budge on the inspection issue. "We have every right to inspect these private institutions for misuse of funds and other irregularities. They cannot threaten the government as we have already issued a GO to release pending fee reimbursement of Rs 2,500 crore. The colleges should be patient and not play with the future of lakhs of students as it may not serve their purpose," said T Papi Reddy, Chairman, Telangana State Council of Higher Education.

Proving its mettle, Hyderabad IIT aspirants bagged top positions in the Joint Entrance Examination (Mains) with All India highest score of 345 secured by Sai Teja, a student of Narayana IIT Academy. 

Among the top all India 300 scorers, 43 students are from the Narayana Sri Chaitanya IIT Academy. Apart from Sai Teja, Vignesh Konda secured the second highest with 340 marks, Malpuru Prashant and Sai Aditya Shanthi secured the third highest rank with 335 marks and Praneeth Reddy, Chappidi Laxminarayana and P Saikiran Reddy secured the fourth highest rank with 330 marks.

Above nine students' secured marks above 330 and above 34 students secured marks of above 310. According to a press release issued by the institute, 43 students secured marks above 300.

Academic Director Sindhura Narayana and Sushma Bopanna attributed the students' success to the committee faculty members, students and parents. While nearly 59,000 students from Hyderabad had appeared for the IIT-JEE (Mains) earlier this month, the institute claimed to have majority aspirants going to the advanced level.

The FIITJEE institute had four toppers with highest marks of 296 secured by AV Laxmi. Other toppers include KTS Sai Teja (294), NV Vineet (291) and Aditya Jain (290).

Nearly 13 lakh students had appeared for the examination in both online and off-line modes, out of which 1.5 lakh were from two telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Laying to rest speculations regarding performance of students from Telangana from the current academic year, an IIT co-ordinator from the Narayana Group of Educational Institutions said nearly a quarter of selections are likely from Telangana and AP in JEE advanced examination.

While the advanced exam will be held on May 22, coaching institution in Hyderabad are all pepped. "While Hyderabad this year has taken over Kota as well, it is expected that even in the advanced exams, students will do well," said Sankar Rao, a faculty member of IIT in Narayana IIT Academy. 


The Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao postponed the Engineering, Medical and Agriculture Entrance Tests (EAMCET) late on Thursday evening due to the on-going strike by nearly 6,800 private colleges in the state.

According to source, the EAMCET is likely to be held before May 20.

The private colleges in Telangana had went on strike on the government's decision to inspect 6,843 colleges by officials from the anti-corruption bureau, police and intelligence officers, CID among other concerned department officials. The Joint Action Committee constituted by the private colleges had demanded that inspections must be held only by the concerned department officials.

While the JAC had threatened the government to not cooperate in holding the Eamcet among several other entrance examinations, the CM took charge and put off the examination. In a press release issued, the CM said the entrances will now be conducted in government-run educational institutions under the supervision of government teachers.

The CM stated that the private colleges' objection was invalid and that they cannot hold the state and the future of students to ransom saying they will not let their premises for conduct of these exams. He refused to be a mute spectator to such actions and said that the institutions were taking students and parents for a ride.

Despite the strike called by the private educational institutions, the CM maintained that the inspections will be held under the aegis of the vigilance teams. He further added that if required, even institutions such as BITS, IIT will be a part of it.

The CM has instructed the deputy chief minister and education minister Kadiyam Srihari to take strict action against all erring institutions. The inspections in all private educational institutions are likely to begin from next week onwards.

Meanwhile, the private educational institutions continue their strike as they demand the government to immediately roll-back their decision. "We have been betrayed by the government. Srihari had earlier assured us that police will be kept out of the inspections. But if the government will crack the whip on us, we will further intensify our struggle," said a member of the JAC. 

JEE Mains topper Sai Teja Talluri does Hyderabad proud 

Hyderabad: Sai Teja Talluri from Hyderabad has created history by scoring 345 out of 260 marks in IIT-JEE (Mains) 2016.

A student of the Narayana Sri Chaitanya IIT Academy, Sai has been a bright student throughout. He did his schooling from the Sri Chaitanya Techno School, Madhapur, and joined the orientation classes for IIT-JEE at an early stage. 

In an exclusive interview with PaGaLGuY, his father Talluri Chalapathi Rao shares the success mantra that made him the topper of this year's IIT-JEE Mains.

He always wanted to be an engineer and study at one of the IITs. However, he is undecided on the stream that he will pursue in engineering.  Rao said that Sai has kept his options open. "At this stage, we are not bothering him. He is free to choose whichever stream he wants to pursue. He must keep his future in mind and choose accordingly," he said Rao.

JEE Advanced is scheduled to be held on May 22. Sai's father said that his son is studying hard. "He maintains a strict timetable; devotes eight hours in a day for his studies. We only get to see him at night, and that too after 10.30 pm as he spends most of his time in the coaching centre," he said.

His father shares that the 18-year-old aims to get admission in one of the top five IITs - Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kharagpur and Kanpur. He is gold-medalist in the International Junior Science Olympiad held in Argentina in 2014. Sai is a movie buff too. "He is very particular about movies. It is either sci-fi or suspense thrillers fro him. His interest in movies has added value to his knowledge," said Rao.

Apart from IIT-JEE, Sai will also take the state-level EAMCET (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) and BITSAT. 

His father said that his son aims to pursue Masters in Business Administration after his undergrad in engineering. "Our son wants to pursue MBA abroad, preferably the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US. However, we have asked him to look for courses where orientation facilities will be better," said his father.

Sai has an older sibling, who is employed with Cognizant. His mother is a homemaker while his father runs a construction business.

Telangana's private engineering colleges to hike fee by 30%

Hyderabad: After the Indian Institutes of Technology, the private engineering colleges in Telangana are all set to hike their fee. Around 200 private colleges are currently on the last lap of fee fixation with the Admission and Fee Regulation Committee (AFRC), and officials privy to the discussion revealed that the fee is expected to see a hike of 30%; it will come into force from the current academic year.

The Telangana government had constituted the committee last year to fix the fee structure in the state's professional colleges. While AFRC had received 258 proposals from private engineering colleges, the committee will fix the fee structure of only 200 colleges. The remaining colleges have failed to seek affiliations from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad.

As per the existing norms, fee for engineering colleges must be revised every three years based on inflation, income, and expenditure of each college. However, the last revision happened in 2013-14 and so the fee will be increased from the current academic year. "We are holding discussions with the colleges to decide on the fee structure for each course. The fee fixation is likely to conclude in a couple of days," said Rama Rao, consultant of TAFRC.

Although the Telangana government provides full fee reimbursement to those securing ranks below 10,000 in the Engineering, Agriculture, and Medicine Common Entrance Test (EAMCET), officials believe that the hike may be a hindrance for many to seek admissions in top engineering colleges. "Fee hike may severely affect the prospects of aspirants who won't be able to afford seats under the management quota. Even those who get ranks above 10,000 will have to spend a fortune as the government will only provide partial reimbursement to them," said Ramana Rao, Convenor, EAMCET.

This year around, 1,43,376 will be vying for around 75,000 seats. Even aspirants, who will take the exam, rued that the fee hike will affect their choices. "After IIT fee hike, the state government's move to increase the fee of all private engineering colleges proves to be a bane for several students like me. We will now have to perform or perish in the EAMCET," said Challa Karthik, an engineering aspirant.  

Telangana Govt makes elaborate arrangements for conduct of EAMCET on May 15

The Telangana government has made elaborate arrangements for smooth conduct of the Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET) scheduled for May 15, 2016, across 466 centres in the state. More than two lakh engineering, agriculture and medical aspirants are expected to take the exam this year. 

The new hall tickets for the common entrance test can be downloaded by the students from May 9 onwards. "The hall tickets will have to be signed by a gazetted officer. Candidates have to produce the hall tickets at the entrance of the test centre and examination hall," said NV Ramana Rao, convenor of EAMCET.

The exam hit a major roadblock after 6,800 private colleges in the state refused to cooperate with the Government. It led to the postponement of the exam. The government has garnered support for the upcoming exam not just from the state-run institutions but also central institutions such as IIIT-H and NIT, Warangal, who have agreed to hold the examination. "Around 466 centres have been identified by the Government, out of which 276 are for engineering and remaining for medical. Although the centres for the online exam have not been decided so far, IIIT-Hyderabad and NIT, Warangal have shown interest to conduct the exam," said Rao.

While aspirants are given customised OMR sheets every year, the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, (JNTU-H) will now be giving out regular sheets to students due to change in examination centres.

Apart from this, JNTU-H has made it clear that candidates will be permitted into the examination hall an hour before the commencement of the test. Candidates will not be allowed to go to toilets once the exam begins. The University has also refrained students from using fat ball-point pens, wristwatches, electronic devices, log tables to avoid malpractice and impersonation.

For the first time, candidates will also have to enrol their fingerprint through the biometric system, failing which his/her candidature will be rejected. "The applicant's data will further be used during counselling and admission process. The fee reimbursement to all the candidates will also depend on their fingerprints," said Rao.

While elaborate arrangements in place for Common Entrance Test, officials now fear that the Supreme Court order over NEET may stall the state-level examination. The Supreme Court on Monday restrained states from conducting their tests for admission in medical colleges and go as per the NEET.

Hyderabad technical varsity blacklists 903 faculty members

The Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad on Friday blacklisted 903 faculty members from various colleges during the affiliation process for academic year 2016-17.

The university revealed the list of fraudulent faculty members on its official website. The list claims that the members were found to be flouting the JNTU-H Affiliation Regulations 11.9.1b, 12.9 and recommendations of standing committee on affiliation.

Officials identified these fraudulent members when they examined the mandatory information uploaded by faculties on the university website. The university found that majority faculty members were registered in more than one college. As per regulation 11.9.1b, faculty members have to intimate the university while shifting from one college to the other. They have to register the new college in the official university registration portal. However, the university found that several teachers continued to work in multiple colleges despite the university norms. "Most of the teachers were found to be working in as many as five colleges at a time. Teachers made slight changes in their names and registered with the university portal. It was in clear violation of the rules set by the university," said N Yadaiah, registrar of JNTU-H.

Those who even registered on the university portal were found to have submitted fraudulent identity proofs, degree certificates, experience etc. leading to non-fulfilment of norms as per 12.9 affiliation regulation.  Officials also found few faculty members who were studying post-graduation programs while they were working in colleges.

The university will now take punitive action against them. "Apart from being blacklisted by the university, those found guilty may also have to pay penalty or face legal action," said an official from JNTU-H.

Meanwhile, teachers argue that due to low pay scales in engineering colleges, several faculty members end up taking part-time jobs in multiple colleges. "Faculty members fill up posts wherever there is requirement. Majority college managements don't pay salaries as per UGC norms, forcing teachers to look for options. Efforts should be taken to retain the faculty members in one college so that quality of education is maintained," said Ramakrishna Reddy, president of Telangana Affiliation Engineering Teachers Association.

EAMCET 2016: Medak records 97.71% attendance in engineering, Warangal sees 96.56% in medical and agriculture  

Hyderabad: The Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, (JNTU-H) successfully conducted the Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET) on Sunday with 92.34% of attendance recorded for the engineering test and 88.02% registered in the agriculture and medical test.

For the engineering stream, 1,33,442 out of 1,44,510 aspirants took the test while 89,792 out of 1,02,012 appeared for the agriculture and medical stream. The Siddipet centre in Medak district recorded 97.71 percent attendance for the engineering exam while Janagaon in Warangal district recorded the highest attendance for agriculture and medical test with 96.56 percent.

The engineering candidates found Physics section tougher than others - Chemistry and Mathematics. "Some questions had no correct answers among the four options. A few questions were confusing and time-consuming," said Pratyusha Rao, an EAMCET aspirant, who took the exam in Medak district. The university has asked candidates to send their objections over EAMCET paper latest by 5 pm on May 18, 2016.

The online mode faced some glitches due to rain on Saturday night that led to the power cut at Osmania University (OU), one of the centres for the test. The OU College of Engineering had to arrange three generators to accommodate 154 students in six labs. One of these six labs, which was meant to accommodate 36 students, did not get power supply despite arranging generators, following which students had to take the exam in the offline mode. Out of total 534 candidates, who had opted for the online mode, only 444 appeared for the exam.

Officials successfully recorded fingerprints of all the candidates in the biometric attendance system at 466 government centres across the state. A total of 11,300 invigilators, 320 observers, 38 special observers for the regional centres, 190 enforcement officers for each agriculture and medical test centre along with the police and revenue officials, flying squads were pressed into action for smooth conduct of the examination. No incidents of malpractice were reported. 

Earlier during the day, deputy chief minister and education minister Kadiyam Srihari picked up "Q" set code paper for the engineering exam and "S" set code for the agriculture and medical exam was picked up by the health minister C Laxma Reddy.   


Hyderabad: The results of the Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET) were declared on Thursday and Sai Teja Talluri, All India topper of JEE (Mains), has stood first in the engineering stream. Talluri is a student of Sri Chaitanya Narayana IIT Academy of the Madhapur branch in Hyderabad.

Apart from Talluri, Digumurthi Chetan Sai and Gunda Nikhil Samrat, also from the Sri Chaitanya Narayana have bagged the second and third positions, respectively, in the engineering stream. 

The exam was conducted by the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, on May 15. Out of 1,33,428 candidates, who had appeared for the examination in the engineering stream, 1,03,923 have qualified for the counselling process. 

With a combined score of 100 and EAMCET marks of 160, Talluri from Hyderabad secured the top position. Despite seeking top position in EAMCET, he aims to get a seat in one of the top IITs.

The other two are also aiming for securing a seat in IITs. "My focus is to get into IIT-Bombay first. I wouldn't even appear for the  counselling process as I am positive of clearing JEE Advanced and getting into IIT," said Digumurthi.

Samrat echoed similar views and said he hadn't prepared much for the state-level exam. "My JEE preparation helped me crack the state-level exam. I got 326 in JEE (Mains) and I am optimistic of obtaining a seat in IIT-Bombay."

Kondeti Tanmayee from Vizianagaram is the only girl, who has secured the seventh rank in EAMCET, and features in top 10.

Out of top 10 candidates in the engineering stream, four are from Telangana and six from Andhra Pradesh.

Kadiyam Srihari, state education minister, while releasing the results said that the admission schedule will be released soon. "The counselling process will start after inspection of all private engineering colleges gets over. The classes for engineering students will start from August 1," he said.

All eyes are now on IIT-JEE (Advanced) results scheduled to be out on June 12.

Telangana to observe massive drop in engineering seats

For the first time in its history, Telangana will observe a massive drop in number of engineering seats as the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTU-H) has found 166 engineering colleges to have submitted incorrect teacher qualification details.

Big names such as Anurag Group of Institutes, Aurora Group of Institutes, CMR Group of Institutes, CVR College of Engineering, Malla Reddy Group of Institutes, Marri Laxman Reddy Institute of Technology and Management, St Mary's Group of Institutes, Vardhaman College of Engineering, Vignan Group of Institutes among many others are a part of the list which is available on the official website of Telangana Admissions and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC).

The TAFRC has sought clarification from the 166 engineering colleges and has stated that if they fail to do so then fee for these colleges would be reduced accordingly. The TAFRC has called representatives of these colleges between June 16 to June 20 for clarifications. Officials said if the colleges fail to address the issue, it will eventually lead to disaffiliation of colleges, resulting into drop in number of engineering seats. 

This year, 1,03,923 candidates have qualified for the counselling process in the engineering stream. While the counselling process for engineering colleges is set to begin from June 22, it is most likely that the number of seats available would be as low as 50,000. "A lot of engineering colleges have either sought closure or have not fulfilled the affiliation norms. Therefore, the number of engineering seats will drastically drop this year," said N Yadaiah, registrar of JNTU-H, not wanting to disclose any specific figures. 

Last year, there were total 98,691 candidates who had qualified for the Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (Eamcet) counselling. The total number of engineering seats available were 86,805 of which only 56,017 were filled and 26,695 remained vacant. While last year 17 government colleges and 231 private institutes were a part of the counselling process, this year the picture seems to be grim as the list of affiliated colleges is yet to be declared by the JNTU-H.

The final phase of allotment of seats for engineering will be made on July 30 and the classes will begin from August 2.


IIT-Hyderabad opens new campus to students


The new campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad is all set to welcome a fresh batch of engineering students this year. Located at Kandi village in Yeddumailaram in Medak district, the new campus is spread over 576 acres.

Since 2008, IIT-Hyderabad was operating out of a temporary campus at Ordnance Factory, Medak. The new campus is being developed in four phases, out of which the first phase has five blocks. A total of fourteen departments will function in phase one buildings, where students will be shifted to from this academic year. The main building, known as Academic Block A, has six floors. Classes for all the departments will be held in this Academic Block which has 40 classrooms, laboratories, an auditorium and incubation centres.

The Academic Block also has space for the Centre for Digital Fabrication, Centre for Healthcare Entrepreneurship, Centre for Digital Fabrication (3D printing) among many others.

An additional 15 buildings will be built over the next phases for each department to have its own building. However, the work for the rest of the buildings is estimated to take nearly a decade to complete.

Apart from this, the institute has 10 new hostel blocks and a large dining hall which will house 1,900 students from this academic year. Each hostel will accommodate nearly 192 students. The new campus will also have facilities for the 145 faculty members at the institute.

The speciality of the new campus is that it is eco-friendly. For example, the street lights on campus will run on solar power. The administration has also given special attention to the needs of differently-abled students with regards to making every facilities such as toilets differently-abled friendly. Internal transportation is also arranged by the administration so that students have easy accessibility to all facilities inside the campus.

The reporting procedure of candidates at IIT-Hyderabad began on July 1 with buses arranged from Secunderabad railway station and Nampally railway station. The institute also held an Open Day last month where parents and students were invited to explore the new campus. The State Bank of India has also set up a spot loan approval counter at IIT-Hyderabad to help those visiting the campus.

Fee structure of engineering colleges in Telangana announced



As web counselling for engineering seats in Telangana has begun, the state government on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, issued orders fixing fee structure for 179 engineering colleges in the state.


After three years, the Telangana Admissions Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC) revised the fee structure for the block period 2016-2019 for all engineering colleges with the average fee going up by nearly Rs 8,000. As per the government order, the Rs 1 lakh mark has been crossed by four institutions: Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, Gandipet (Rs 1.13 lakh), Kakatiya Institute of Technology and Science (Rs 1.05 lakh), Vardhaman College of Engineering (Rs 1.05 lakh) and Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology, Gandipet (Rs 1 lakh).


While 14 colleges have fee structure above Rs 80,000, the fees for the majority of colleges is fixed in the bracket of Rs 35,000 to Rs 80,000. The colleges which have the lowest fee in Telangana are Aurobindo Institute of Engineering (Rs 35,000), Bandari Srinivas Institute of Technology (Rs 36,000), DRK College of Engineering and Technology (Rs 37,000), Vidya Bharati Institute of Technology (Rs 38,000) and Nizam Institute of Engineering and Technology Rs 39,000).


Apart from the fee fixed by the TAFRC, aspirants seeking admissions into engineering colleges will additionally have to pay Rs 3,000 per annum towards tuition fee, Rs 2,000 per annum towards admission /registration / recognition fee, Rs 1,000 per annum towards special services, Rs 1,500 per annum towards common service fee and Rs 1000 per annum towards library and laboratory deposit by way of refundable caution deposits at the time of admission as one-time payment.


Although the government has instructed the institutions not to charge any additional amount apart from the one fixed by the TAFRC, there are few engineering colleges which are issuing public notices in the newspaper. For example, despite fixing the fee at Rs 86,000 for Vasavi College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, the management issued a notification in one of the newspapers on Tuesday stating, 'Candidates who intend to opt and join Vasavi College of Engineering are hereby notified that in case the tuition fee is less than Rs 1.60 lakh, the institution will seek legal remedies and the fee that will be notified by the TAFRC or the government will be subject to the result of the remedies going to be pursued by Vasavi College of Engineering.'


According to sources, other colleges also intend to issue similar notices and seek legal route against the fee structure fixed by the TAFRC.


For more details kindly refer to the attached government order.


Government to regulate fees for management quota seats in Telangana

There is good news for engineering aspirants in Telangana planning to get a seat under the management quota as the government has put an end to heavy tuition fee charged by private unaided colleges by issuing fresh set of guidelines this year.

For years now, private unaided colleges in Telangana have been charging as high as Rs 3 to 10 lakh for BTech seats under the management quota, which also comprises of 15% of NRI quota. However this year, the state government has barred unaided colleges from charging any excessive fee other than the one prescribed by the Telangana Admissions and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC). "From this year onwards, colleges will have to collect the same amount for the management quota seats as prescribed for the convenor quota. Colleges can no longer take donations or charge any additional fee apart from the one prescribed by the government," said Rama Rao, consultant of TAFRC.

This decision comes days after the Telangana government announced the fee structure for all the engineering colleges in the state.

As per the new guidelines, parents can lodge an official complaint with the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE), which is the competent body to regulate all private unaided colleges in the state. Colleges violating the fee structure are liable for action under AP Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Prohibition of Capitation fee) Act, 1983, (adopted by the Government of Telangana).

This is a huge relief for many students, who score low or fail to clear the Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET), to gain entry into top private colleges through the management quota. While in 2014, there were nearly 12,000 students who sought admissions through the management quota, in 2015, this number went up to nearly 15,000 students. Although there are 89,055 seats in private colleges, there are high chances that many low-scorers may go for the management quota seats after final seat allotments by the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad concludes.

As per the fresh guidelines issued by the TSCHE, college managements have to facilitate a web portal for filling up of B category seats. Colleges have to notify the details of courses offered with intake, schedule of admissions (date wise), and registration fee for the application, minority or non-minority status etc. Admissions under the management quota have to be made on merit-basis and details of selected students have to upload on the web portal. Colleges have to submit the detailed list of admitted candidates to the TSCHE, who is authorised to reject the list if applications of candidates are not fulfilling the required conditions as per the selection process.

IIT-Guwahati's Technothlon to offer winners free tour to NASA

Dream of visiting the NASA in the USA? Participate in Technothlon - the nation-wide school championship which will be held by students of IIT-Guwahati across the country for students of class 9 to 12 on July 17 from 10:30 am to 1 pm.

Recognising the dire need of technical exposure for school-going students, the student fraternity of IIT-Guwahati organises Technothlon as part of their annual techno-management festival Techniche. This is the 13th edition of the tech fest which has become an event that serves as a platform for many aspiring students to expose themselves to innovation and creativity.

The championship will be held in two phases - Prelims and Mains, where the prelims phase would be conducted over 350 centres all over the nation. In Hyderabad, FIITJEE Narayanaguda, DAV Safilguda, Little Flower Junior College, Uppal and Indus Universal School, Yapral have been designated as exam centres. Those winning the championship will be offered a free guided tour to NASA in the US. "Until last year, we used to offer a cash prize to the winners of the championship, but this year, we are offering a free guided tour of NASA to the winners so as to give them better exposure," said AG Goutham, south zone chief organiser.

The students are divided into Junior squad (classes 9-10) and the Hauts squad (classes 11-12). The paper is different from that of any other competitive exams. It is based on logic, analytical ability and practical observations. Thus, the prelims require no initial preparation but spontaneity and out-of-the-box thinking capabilities. Students can participate in the prelims in a team of two from their own school / college. The top 50 teams from each squad will then be invited for the next round - Mains held during Techniche at IIT-Guwahati between September 1 and 4, where the students will be tested on more challenging grounds to bag the championship. Winners from the two squads will visit NASA.

To provide a thorough analysis on the strengths and weaknesses of the student with respect to the topics, Technothlon introduced a new initiative this year called 'TechAnalysis Report' which will help students know about their potential and will enable them to do better in future endeavours.

Interested students can register by paying Rs 100 for each team for the examination on technothlon.techniche.org. After the offline registration, participants can access Technopedia - the online module of Technothlon. These are a monthly set of questions which will help students get an idea of the papers of the championship.

Engineering students in Telangana to have semester system from this year

Students seeking admissions in engineering colleges affiliated with the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTU-H) will have a range of subjects from this academic year as the university has revamped the syllabus and the examination system as per the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) guidelines.

After decades of annual examination system, engineering students in Telangana will have semester system in place according to which, they will have to appear for examinations twice a year. Officials believe that the semester system will make engineering students in Telangana more serious about the course.

The university is also introducing a Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) from this year onward under which students will have a range of core and elective subjects that they can choose from. "Under CBCS, students have the freedom to choose a few subjects as electives apart from the core subjects in their particular field of specialisation. This means a student studying mechanical engineering can choose any subject from computer science or aeronautical engineering under CBCS," said BN Bhandari, director of academic planning in JNTU-H.

While the credit system will be the same, the university has fixed 90 instructional days for each semester. A total of 24 credits will be allocated for every semester. Even the evaluation system will have certain changes as per the credit system. "Until last year, the performance of students was accessed based on the credits they got. This year, the university will be grading students on the credits that they get in their exams," said Bhandari.

New syllabus has also been designed to match the changing system. The university has made a few subjects such as gender sensitisation, environmental studies and associate analytics and security analysts. The university is also planning to have subjects on industrial patents and copyrights. "In the new syllabus, few changes are being made as per the latest technology available in the market. Students will also be trained separately for the electives they choose as per the new syllabus," said Bhandari.

While classes for all the engineering students in Telangana will begin from August 2, the university is yet to finalise on the syllabus. The designed syllabus has to be approved by the executive senate after which it will be pushed for publication.


IIT-Hyderabad gears up for orientation programme from July 27-31

The Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad is geared up for the orientation programme to be held on July 27 and July 31 as a fresh batch of engineering students report to the institute on Tuesday. The orientation programme is aimed to introduce freshers' to the campus by getting them acquainted to the various facilities available, before their classes commence on August 1.

There will be an informal and cultural orientation programme on the first day at the upper deck dining hall between 5 pm to 10 pm where students can interact with each-other. On July 28, the institute has organised an institute orientation, departmental orientation during the day followed by sport activities and bonfire in the evening. In the departmental orientation, students will be given information about each department. They will be introduced to the labs, libraries, research centres etc. in each department. As far as the orientation programme goes, students will be told about the institute, academics, examination and evaluation pattern, etc.

On July 29, the institute will orient students on the National Sports Organisation (NSO) and National Service Scheme (NSS). During their first year of BTech/Integrated MSc programme, students are required to register themselves with extra-curricular activities such as NSO or NSS from 10 am to 12:30 pm. The NSS programme is aimed to inculcate social welfare among students by training them into being active volunteers in various events organised by the NSS every week. One of the major events organised by IIT-H is Vidya Daan, where first year students share their knowledge in nearby government schools. In NSO, students have to participate in sports and fitness related activities conducted throughout the year. There are inter-departmental tournaments held on campus. Apart from that, the best students in each sport are chosen to represent the college at the Inter IIT Sports Meet.

In the evening, students will have a one and a half hour interactive session with IIT-H alumni where they can clear all their doubts about the institution. The second day will conclude with Tedex and Elan orientation where students will be told about the two annual programmes that the IIT-H conducts.

On July 30, students will be informed about the E-cell, counselling cell, green office, women's cell, SPIC MACAY, Swachch Bharat etc. In the counselling cell, students will not only provided with professional counselling but also peer counselling called 'Sunshine'. The women's cell will ensure safety of women in the institute. Similarly, the E-cell is a group of entrepreneurs that helps students innovate, design and resolve entrepreneurial issues. The day will conclude with introduction of n-Vision which is a techno-management fest held by the institute in November every year.

On 31 July, students will have various sports activities followed by Sci-tech orientation on campus. There are six Sci-tech clubs related to cyber security and hack, astronomy, automobile, electronics, programming and logical reasoning and robotics.