IIT invited to open centre in Malaysia

NEW DELHI: Malaysia on Wednesday invited the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to set up a branch in the south-east Asian country which has nearly two million people of Indian origin.

Addressing the 12th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas here, Malaysian Federal minister for Natural Resources and Environment Datu Seri G Palanivel invited IIT to open a branch in that country.

He said several students from Malaysia come to India to get degrees in dentistry, engineering and medicine and some of the Indian educational institutions have already set up centres there.

Palanivel, who is the chief guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, is also the president of Malaysian Indian Congress.

Assam Higher Secondary Education Council to accept CBSE school-based exam certificates

GUWAHATI: Students wanting to migrate from the CBSE to the state board after passing their Class X exam conducted by the school under the central board will no more face difficulties during admission.

The Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) has decided to recognize 10th standard certificates issued by the CBSE for school-conducted exams for further studies under the state board, according to an office circular issued by the council.

"In previous years, some students who took the school-based examination under the CBSE instead of the board exam at the Class X level were denied admission in some colleges and senior secondary schools following the state board curriculum. But, from now, CBSE students taking school-conducted exams will not face any problem during admission," said a senior official of the AHSEC.

CBSE to hold financial literacy test in January

To make students economically more aware and educate them about the current fiscal scenario, Central Board of Secondary Education in association with National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), Mumbai, is going to hold National Financial Literacy Test (NFLT). This will be the first national-level test to measure financial literacy among school students.
The test will be conducted across the country for students of Classes VIII to X. It is the first step towards building a nation which not only understands the value of money but also has the right knowledge and skills required for taking responsible financial decisions.
The test is scheduled for January 12, 2014 and will be bilingual (Hindi and English). It will comprise 75 questions which will analyse the basic concepts of finance and business. Over three lakh students have registered for the test.
"It is important to educate the next generation on economics. Fiscal knowledge plays such an important role in our lives that crucial decisions depend on it. This test would help children understand economics better," said CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi.
NISM is the nodal agency which has set up National Centre for Financial Education in association with CBSE. It helps in providing better job prospects and improving financial knowledge among students.
Source: http://sakshieducation.com/%28S%28ufzjkxz3pkybmcyenw124t2t%29%29/tenthclass/Story.aspx?nid=63569

CBSE Class 12th result expected in third week of May

Class 12th Board exams 2014 will commence from 1st March 2014 to April 17, 2014. All Kendriya Vidyalayas, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, private schools and most of the government approved schools of India are affiliated to CBSE.
The exam result of Boards Class 12th 2014, is expected to be declared in the third week of May. In 2013, a total of 21.76 lakh student had appeared for the Board exams whereas, this year a total of 22.65 lakh students have registered themselves for the CBSE Board exams.

Govt approves 5,800 more MBBS seats across the country

New Delhi: Government on Thursday cleared a proposal to set up 58 new medical colleges in states with central assistance and upgradation of district hospitals, thus creating 5,800 more MBBS seats.

At present, there are around 50,000 MBBS seats across the country and government is keen to increase them to address the issue of shortage of doctors.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of the ministry of health and family welfare for setting up new medical colleges attached with existing district or referral hospitals.

Finance minister P Chidambaram said the central assistance share will be of Rs8,457.40 crore and the State/UTs share will be of Rs2,513.70 crore.

HRD Ministry wants JEE Main, JEE Advanced to be combined as one exam

Human Resource Department (HRD) Ministry wants to combine JEE Main and JEE Advanced examination to be one common entrance exam from 2015. According to the government decision, all the engineering colleges have to conduct common counselling for students who will be admitted in 2014. All the central government engineering colleges including Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) will select the students through common entrance examination in 2015. Presently, JEE Main is conducted for admission to Engineering / Technology courses in NITs, CFTIs, SFTIs. JEE Advanced is conducted for admission to IITs and ISM Dhanbad. The top 1.5 lakh students of the JEE Main examination are eligible to appear in Advanced examination.

KVPY : Selection & Cut off

Introduction : The "Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana" is an ongoing program conducted by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, to encourage students of Basic Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to take up research careers in these areas.

Streams :  (A)  SA  - XI  (B) SB + 2 (SX)  -  XII    (C) SB  - 1st Year

Selection Procedure :- The candidates have to go through the 2 stages to be selected in KVPY

• Aptitude Test : A written aptitude test conducted both in Hindi and English at different centers across the country
  
• Interview : Based on the performance in the aptitude test, short-listed students will be invited for an interview which is the final stage of the selection procedure.
  

Note :- The merit list is based on the marks obtained by a Candidate: 75% of the marks in the Aptitude Test + 25% of the marks in the Interview.

No. of selections in test:  SA - Around 1100  , SB - Around 100, SX - Around 1700

Approx 3000 students are called for an interview, which is the final stage of the selection procedure , in which around 500 students are selected and are awarded scholarship worth Rs.2,000 to 5,000 per month besides contingency grants for studies in Basic Sciences, Engineering & Medical.

Cut-off for  Aptitude test - 2013

*   Stream SA- 53 marks out of 100  ; 41 for SC/ST

*   PWD(Person with disability) – 41 marks out of 100

*   Stream SB- 40 marks out of 100 ;  30 for SC/ST 
*   SB PWD(Person with disability) – 27 marks out of 100

*   Stream SX- 46 marks out of 100  ; - 35 for SX SC/ST 

*   SX PWD (Person with disability) – 35 marks out of 100

Cut - off  for Fellowship award  -  2012 

*   Stream SA‐ 65 %  ; 42% for SC/ST

*   Stream SB‐ 56 %  ; 32% for SC/ST

*   Stream SX‐ 56 %  ; 41% for SC/ST

Cut - off  for Fellowship award  -  2011 :

*   Stream SA - 66%

*   Stream SB - 58%

*   Stream SX - 59%