New Delhi, 17 March 2022: The University Grants Commission (UGC), the regulator of Higher Education,  has revised the rules for admission to PhD programmes. Now Sixty percent of the total vacant PhD seat of the academic year shall be filled from NET/JRF qualified students and the remaining forty percent through the university/common entrance test qualified students on the basis of Interviews conducted by the concerned Institute.

The draft of the revised regulations — ‘UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of PhD Degree) Regulations, 2022’ is being uploaded on the official website of the UGC.

The new norms have been put on the official UGC website and made public. Based on the public feedback, the commission will finalise the regulations.

NET/JRF (Junior Research Fellowship), conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), is the exam that determines the student’s eligibility to apply for Assistant Professors in Universities and Colleges and JRF status.

However, from now, 60 per cent of the total seats of the academic year for a PhD programme in universities and colleges shall be filled by NET/JRF qualified candidates. The remaining 40 per cent shall be filled through the university/common entrance test.

For those who have qualified through NET/JRF, the selection will be based on interview/viva-voce.

For candidates who have passed the entrance test, the selection shall be evaluated in the ratio 70 (written test) to 30 (interview).

The syllabus of the Entrance Test shall consist of questions that test research/ analytical/ comprehension/quantitative aptitude.

Qualifying marks in the entrance test will be 50%, provided that a relaxation of 5% of marks (from 50% to 45%) shall be allowed for the candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC (Non-creamy layers)/Differently-abled category in the entrance examination conducted by the Universities. Provided further that, if despite the above relaxation, the seats allotted to SC/ST/OBC (Non-creamy layers)/Differently-abled categories remain unfilled, the Universities concerned shall launch a Special Admission Drive, for that particular category within one month from the date of closure of admissions of General Category. The University concerned shall devise its own admission procedure, along with eligibility conditions to ensure that most of the seats under these categories are filled.