UGC to Offer PG Scholarships to GATE Qualified Candidates

The engineering graduates, who also qualified the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), will now be able to avail a crucial Scholarship from University Grants Commission (UGC) to pursue their postgraduate (PG) studies.

The UGC executive body approved the proposal on 27 February 2014 to re-implement the PG scholarship in all universities and colleges for PG programme - Master of engineering (ME) and Master of technology (M. Tech) courses, only for the GATE-qualified candidates.

The Dean of Engineering faculty in University of Pune, Gajanan Kharate said that this move resulted from the Supreme Court judgment of April 2013 that stripped chief regulatory powers of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), falling in favour of the UGC.

Earlier, GATE-qualified PG pursuing engineering students were given scholarship of Rs 8,000 per month from the AICTE until now.

The GATE is a competitive qualifying exam for admission to the postgraduate engineering or technical programmes. GATE is jointly conducted by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science to pursue studies at these premier institutions and some central government-funded institutions.

A valid GATE score is indispensable for obtaining monetary aid while pursuing Mater level and direct doctoral programs in engineering, technology, architecture and doctoral programs in related branches of science in institutes backed by the Ministry of HRD with other government agencies.

The online 'GATE 2014' was held between 02 February and 02 March 2014 and results will be announced on 28 March 2014.