Kerala: Opposition walkout on private engineering institute’s issue

Thiruvananthapuram: CPI-M led LDF Opposition in Kerala on Friday staged a walkout dissatisfied with the govt. response to a High court order regarding effective steps to enhance the quality of education in private engineering institutes.

Both Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb assured the House that government would adhere to the court directions and take necessary measures to ensure that infrastructure and faculty in private professional institutes were of high standards.

Seeking leave for an adjournment motion on the court order asking government either to close down the sub-standard institutes or take steps to enhance the quality of education, CPI-M member Sreeramakrishan wanted government to take steps to rein in the private institutes that, he said, were functioning with commercial interest.

The court had also made the observation that pass percentage in most of these colleges was very low.  

Rabb said the state government was yet to receive a copy of the court order.

Government would examine the order and take necessary measures, he said.

However, he said it was not practical to close down the private institutes where the pass percentage was less than 40 % as it would lead to various other problems as well.

Government would come out with guidelines for functioning of private institutes in the light of the High Court observation, he said.

CPI-M Deputy leader in the House Kodiyeri Balakrishnan resented government's attitude towards the issue and said it was taking the matter very lightly and staged a walkout.

Speaker G Karhtikeyan refused leave for the motion after Chandy and Rabb replied.

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Mechanical Engineering: First choice for Diploma students

AHMEDABAD: Mechanical engineering appears to be the first choice of students seeking admission to diploma courses this year.

Admission Committee for Professional Diploma Courses (ACPDC) said that in the first mock round of admissions, 82, 239 students out of the total 93,190 filled their choice. The total number of choices submitted was 35, 54596. The students have to fill in their choice of subjects and inst institutes in the mock round. They can choose any number of subjects ranging from just one over 100.

The mock round is done online. Of the total 47,323 seats in nearly 96 diploma institutes, only about 100 seats are remaining vacant. Mechanical engineering topped the list of subjects chosen with 54, 4674 choices being filled in. As many as 3, 94850 choices went in favor of electrical engineering, while 3, 64306 choices were for civil engineering. Computers engineering was chosen 2, 02574 times. Textile design was the least preferred with only 140 choices.

Nearly 3646 new students registered for admissions, according to a press release issued by ACPDC. Also, 2,375 forms have been distributed in the last 3 days.

The second mock round will be conducted from July 7 to July 12.

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Maharashtra: 40,000 engineering seats likely to remain vacant

Getting an engineering seat in the state seems to be a cakewalk. For, this year too, up to 40,000 seats are likely to remain vacant in engineering colleges, defying the very purpose of an engineering entrance exam in the state.

With more seats than the numbers of students, most engineering institutes will struggle to fill up their seats.

Around 2.8 lakh students had appeared for the engineering stream (physics-chemistry-mathematics: PCM) in MHT-CET this year. Of them, only 1.2 lakh students have registered for the engineering admissions, while there are a total of 1.48 lakh seats in 363 engineering institutes in Maharashtra. According to an official from the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), the numbers of seats is likely to go up by at least 5% under the tuition fee waiver scheme (TFWS).

Last year, the corresponding figure for students was around 1.04 lakh, while there were 1.4 lakh seats in all.

"The last date of registration was June 28. We extended the date by a couple of days for students who were unable to procure the required documents. However, the numbers of applicants went up only by a few thousands in the two days. Once the TFWS seats are counted, the numbers of vacancies may go up to 40,000."

An official in admission department

He said most of the vacant seats are usually found in institutes in remote areas of Vidarbha, Marathwada, Jalgaon and Nagpur.

"In cities like Mumbai and Pune, the problem is not very severe. But even colleges here face problems in filling up seats in programmes like information technology (IT), chemical, production and textile engineering."

An official in admission department

Last year, close to 35,000 engineering seats remained vacant. The AICTE lowered the eligibility criteria for engineering/technical programmes from 50 percent in Class XII (in PCM) to 45 percent for the general category. This, however, made the matter worse.

While several states, including Maharashtra, have requested the AICTE not to give approval to new colleges, around 15 new institutes have been given sanctioned this year.

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Never be afraid of the unknown: Inspirational Talk

Ruchi Sanghvi, Facebook's first female engineer, decided early on to follow her intuition rather than let fear or convention dictate her decisions.

From joining Facebook, to building Facebook Newsfeed, to quitting Facebook and embarking on her own startup, Sanghvi has continuously defied--and then surpassed--expectations.

Her startup, Cove, was acquired soon after she gave this talk.

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UPSEE counseling at Institute of Engineering and Technology marred by mismanagement

LUCKNOW: Students and parents on Thursday were a troubled lot at the ongoing counseling of the state entrance examination held on 20 percent centralized seats. The counseling organized by Gautam Buddh Technical University (GBTU) was marred by mismanagement.

At Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), students waited for their turns since morning only to know that they will be able to lock the seat on Friday only.

"We waited since morning for our turn. But, the officials did not give us a clear view. When the situation got out of control, they advised the students to report again for counseling on Friday."

A student at the counseling venue

Students also complained that the officials were themselves confused on the issue which prevented them from continuing the counseling. A parent who waited for her daughter's turn said, "There is absolutely no rule. Till late in the night, only ten students could lock their seats. The students were called randomly." Poor arrangements added to the woes. There were complaints of poor seating arrangements and system failure.

Admitting the failure of the system, SEE admission co-coordinator, Prof VK Singh said:

"Water logging and networking issues led to a late start of the counseling problem. Since the problem could not be sorted out till late evening, we asked girls to first lock their seats. Students who could not lock their seats will be given a chance tomorrow."

Prof VK Singh, SEE Admission Co-coordinator

He added that at the 2 other centers in the city, the counseling was peaceful and ended in time. Students who will lock their choice will get an allotment letter a day after.

BTE makes AICTE approval mandatory for counseling: Board of Technical Education on Thursday directed managers and directors of all colleges that offer various diploma courses to the students to get approval from AICTE for admissions in 2012-13. Secretary, BTE said all such institutes which do not have AICTE approval will not be included in the counseling schedule. This means, that no admissions can take place in these institutions for the academic session 2012-13. In such a situation, the institutions will be answerable to the board.

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Top Engineering Colleges in Bangalore

Bangalore, the silicon valley of India is known for some of the finest engineering colleges in country. Students from both India as well as abroad come here to get the best education in engineering and technology. Top engineering colleges in Bangalore provide courses at the UG and PG level in different streams, viz: civil engineering, mechanical engineering, computer engineering, chemical engineering, electronics and communication engineering, Architecture, Electrical and Electronics Engineering to name a few.

Bangalore has some of the best Engineering institutes which are widely recognized as centers of excellence to its credit. Some of these include - R.V.College of Engineering, PES Institute of Technology, BangaloreInstitute of Technology, M.S.Ramaiah Institute of Technology, BMS College of Engineering among many others. Bangalore is considered as hotspot of education and knowledge among engineering aspirants and specially IT students.

These colleges offer courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in various disciplines of engineering leading to the award of Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.), Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech), Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) Master of Engineering (ME), Master of Technology (M.Tech.), etc. Admission in different courses of engineering is offered on the basis of entrance examination, aptitude test etc.

Admission criterion may vary for different institutes. Some colleges accept scores of All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE), some select students on the basic of ranking in State Engineering Exam, while some institutes conduct their own entrance tests. For admission into post graduate programs i.e. M.E. / M. Tech., M.Plan. Etc, colleges accept score in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), Graduate Record Examination (GRE) etc. However, some colleges for post graduate courses also conduct individual written test and Interview.

For admission into undergraduate engineering degree programs, minimum educational requirement that one should possess is Intermediate (12th) from CBSE Board or any other qualification in relevant discipline. For admission into postgraduate engineering degree programs, minimum educational requirement is Post Graduate in Science or Graduate in Engineering. Score in relevant entrance examination is perquisite for entry into both undergraduate and post graduate degree programs.

College Ranking Parameters

The list of top engineering colleges in Bangalore has been determined by judging colleges on several parameters including:

• Reputation
• Selection process
• Faculty
• Placements
• Personality development & Industry interface
• Infrastructural facilities

List of Top Engineering Colleges in Bangalore

Given below is the list of top engineering institutes in Bangalore

1. R.V.College of Engineering (RVCE)
2. PES Institute of Technology (PESIT)
3. BMS College of Engineering (BMSCE)
4. M.S.Ramaiah Institute Of Technology (MSRIT)
5. Bangalore Institute of Technology (BIT)
6. RNS Institute of Technology (RNSIT)
7. University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE)
8. Sir M Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology (MVIT)
9. JSS Academy of Technical Education (JSSATE)
10. BMS Intitute of Technology (BMSIT)
11. Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering (DSCE)
12. Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Technology (Dr.AIT)
13. CMR Institute of Technology (CMRIT)
14. Sapthagiri College of Engineering (SCE)
15. PES School of Engineering (PESSE)
16. New Horizon College of Engineering (NHCE)
17. B.N.M Institute of Technology (BNMIT)
18. Kammavari Sangham Institute of Technology (KSIT)
19. Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology (NMIT)
20. Global Academy of Technology (GAT)
21. Don Bosco Institute of Technology (DBIT)
22. SJB Institute of Technology (SJBIT)
23. M J V of Engineering (MVJCE)
24. The Oxford College of Engineering (OCE)
25. Atria Institute of Technology (ATRIA)

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Manufacturing industry boom, fuels demand for mechanical engineers

Rajasthan: The boom in the manufacturing sector both in the public and private domain has led to a sharp rise in number of takers for mechanical engineering programme.

This core branch of engineering accounts for about 20% of the total seats in Rajasthan’s 154 engineering institutes and 34 private universities.

The manufacturing sector's growing contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the years has fuelled the demand for the course that is giving other popular courses such as electrical engineering and electronics and communication a tough competition.

The course offers several career options in production and industrial to automobile engineering, among others.

"The robust growth in infrastructure has spurred the demand for mechanical engineers. Barring IT, the core companies are recruiting mechanical professionals in every industrial sphere."

Manish Jain, Associate Professor of mechanical engineering, JECRC University

With the auto ancillary industry developing around Alwar, the requirement for skilled professionals has gone up. Engineering institutes in the state too are aiming at building a pool of talented professionals who can be recruited by the industry.

PSU'S such as BHEL, SAIL, ONGC and Indian Railways besides private sector organizations like Sterlite, Tata Steel, L&T have massive expansion plans and are looking at absorbing a sizeable number of mechanical engineers.

Pavan Kaushik, head of corporate communication at Hindustan Zinc, Udaipur said the company hires a substantial number of mechanical engineers every year.

"There are several instances in which mechanical engineers have gone on to take senior management and leadership positions."

Pavan Kaushik, Head of Corporate Communication at Hindustan Zinc

This branch is also a gateway to enter defense and strategic sectors such as Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Energy, Federal Aviation Administration, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Getting a professional degree in mechanical engineering is no cakewalk, warn academicians. A sound background in Mathematics is extremely important for one to understand the concepts.

"Ideally students who can work with machines and have a good temper to work in all conditions is the minimum requisite to become a mechanical engineer."

Manish Jain

The branch offers tremendous scope in research and development too. A master’s degree in mechanical engineering can open vast avenues in academics, production and automobile engineering.

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Calicut University: B.Tech in printing technology

Calicut University Institute of Engineering Technology is the only institute in Tamil Nadu which offers a B.Tech. programme in Printing Technology.

B.Tech. course in Printing Technology offered by the Calicut University Institute of Engineering Technology (CUIET) remains unique by way of being one of the only 7 engineering colleges in the country giving an undergraduate programme in Printing Technology.

Even at the diploma level, Printing Technology courses are rare. The Institute of Printing Technology and Government Polytechnic College, Shoranur, is the only polytechnic in the State offering a diploma in the subject.

CUIET’s programme has come once again in focus with an increase in demand for expert hands in the industry. The potential of the programme is being slowly recognized by the people as the technology of printing is fast growing.

The admission process for this year’s programme is about to begin. The institute is set to undergo a facelift with the university coming forward to spend an additional amount of Rs. 1 crore every year for improving its quality. The university says it will spend the entire income generated from the institute for the development of college.

The Department of Printing Technology there boasts 100 % placement for its students.

“Ours may not be as lucrative as some most-sought-after streams like computer science, but it certainly has its advantages and potential.”

Manoj Jose, lecturer at printing technology department, Calicut University

Majority of the faculty members at the Printing Technology Department are new. They spend long hours with their students. Apart from an assistant professor, who heads the department, there are 5 lecturers there. One more teacher with research experience abroad is expected to join soon.

The programme comprises study of all digital and conventional printing techniques and design software. It includes web- and sheet-fed offset printing, flexography, screen printing, gravure, finishing operations, print management, costing and estimation, mechanics of printing, digital prepress, digital printing, tone and color analysis, paper and ink, security printing and DTP software.

Opportunities

Students with a B.Tech. degree in Printing Technology can be employed in printing presses, packaging industries, e-publishing firms, machine manufacturing industries, designing firms and banks, including the Reserve Bank of India.

They can take up the jobs of production executives and engineers, quality control executives, prepress managers, management trainees, maintenance managers, quality engineers and project managers.

As many as 3 of the 20-odd students from the outgoing batch have got job with a Malayalam newspaper. A brand development firm, Schawk, has shortlisted 10 from this batch. Universal Printe System Ltd. and International Printo Pack too have offered jobs to the students.

Almost all newspaper publishers will have some posts to offer to those with a B.Tech. degree in Printing Technology. Among the firms and institutions which offered jobs to the students in the past couple of years include RBI, Bank Note Press at Dewas, Thomson, HCL, Emirates and Punjab National Bank.

Although there are 30 seats for the programme, there has been a strong demand to increase the intake capacity. Students in 50 % of the seats will pay government fees. The 35 % management seats will charge a fee of Rs. 65,000 a year. The annual fee for the 50 per cent government seats will be Rs. 22,000.

As many as 3 seats will be left for lateral admissions. Students with a polytechnic diploma or B.Sc. in printing technology can opt for lateral entry. A recent order by the authorities making it mandatory for all students to write the State’s lateral entrance test has distanced many students from other States. Earlier, lateral entry was possible through a national-level test.

“The real potential of this course, especially abroad, lies in research. Three of our students recently did their MS degree from Germany. The research potential in printed electronics is immense.”

P.C. Saritha, Former Head of the Department. 

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Utkal University scraps engineering institute plan

The Utkal University authorities have confirmed that the plan to establish the Institute of Science and Technology, an engineering institute under the varsity, has been scrapped.

The university had already brought out admission notice and started accepting application forms for B.Tech and M.Tech courses. The university authorities, however, declined to reveal the reasons for the decision.

"There are certain issues. The engineering college plan did not materialize."

Debendra Nath Jena, Registrar, Utkal University

Declining to elaborate, Jena said the Post Graduate (PG) Council was looking into the matter. "We have kept the plan in abeyance due to some technical reasons," said PG council chairman P K Mishra. Despite attempts, vice-chancellor P K Sahoo was not available for comment.

Sources said the varsity abruptly terminated the ambitious plan after the govt. pointed out that it had not taken a no-objection certificate (NOC) to start the technical courses. The varsity is supposed to get a go-ahead from the Directorate of Technical Education and Training and obtain approval from the All India Council of Technical Education and Training (AICTE) for the engineering programmes. The varsity had done neither and it’s too late this year for the procedure when admission process has already begun.

"We did not receive any such application or accorded approval to the varsity," said technical education and training (TET) secretary Chandra Sekhar Kumar, adding for starting any course, the varsity has to get concurrence from the higher education, finance and technical education departments.

The latest development inconvenienced many students as they had already applied for admission.

"The flip flop is ridiculous. I had already made 2 drafts as required of Rs 350 and Rs 150 to deposit the form. I had also started preparing for the Utkal entrance examination."

Swaraj Kumar, an M.Tech aspirant

Officials pointed out that the cancellation means wastage of public money spent on building renovation for ISTUU. The varsity had renovated portions of Master of Computer Application (MCA) building and University Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UDPS) deploying the central public works department (CPWD) for the cancelled technical institute.

Utkal advertised to admit 60 students each for B.Tech in electronics & communication engineering, computer science & engineering (CSE) and electrical & electronics engineering branches. Besides, it had invited applications for 30 seats of M.Tech in computer science engineering. The university had announced to take B.Tech students by giving weightage to Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE), GD and personal interview. For M.Tech, however, the university had announced to conduct its own exam.

The Syndicate, the apex decision making body of the varsity, during a special session on May 29 had given its go ahead for the proposed institiute. A section of faculty members questioned as to how the syndicate and the chancellor's (governor's) office allowed the college in the first place without seeking required approval from the relevant departments.

Some faculty members said the government scuttled the varsity's move bowing before the pressure from private engineering institutes.

"The private colleges pressurized the government arguing that when their seats are lying vacant, the varsity should not open a new college. However, the varsity seats would not have fallen vacant and the move would have given financial strength to Utkal. AICTE approval was a non-issue as the varsity would have got it easily. The VC himself is an AICTE member."

A professor at Utkal University

Private engineering institutes said Utkal should not have planned an engineering college.

"When seats in most colleges remain vacant, it seems illogical why the university should open an engineering college. Moreover, the government last year agreed to a proposal from the private colleges that no new engineering college will be given permission to open in the next 5 years."

Binod Dash, General Secretary, Odisha Private Engineering College Association (OPECA)

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Students should carefully select engineering colleges

Considering that technology is the religion of modern days, becoming an engineer is a dream of most students. However, of late, the field has lost its charm, thanks to increasing number of engineering colleges, dilution of eligibility criteria, lack of good faculty and hence overall degradation of quality.

Last year, over 7,000 B.Tech. first year seats remained vacant in Nagpur University alone, while the first year result was a poor37.22 percent. From 2007-09, the results hovered around 54 percent before plunging to 38.85 percent in 2010 and 35.47 percent last year.

Engineering education experts and principals attributed the trend to several factors, apart from huge increase in number of colleges. They cited inadequate teachers and principals, lack of proper infrastructural facilities. They warned students to carefully choose institutes before taking the plunge. They also highlighted the kind of caliber and talent required to become a good engineer.

"Approved faculty should be a priority while choosing a college, followed by infrastructure and placements. Laboratory, classrooms and workshops are factors which draw a student's maximum attention towards studies."

Deepak Kulkarni, senior lecturer of Government Polytechnic

Commenting on the poor results, Deepak Kulkarni adds that engineering is an application of science and there is no practical learning till standard XII.

"Logical thinking is not developed and they have learnt to study mechanically. The quality of students in the last 3 years has been extremely poor."

Deepak Kulkarni

Disagreeing with him, Wainganga Engineering College principal Surendra Gole feels that placement is the most misguiding factor.

"Students are placed on their ability and colleges never decide their recruitments. It is erroneous to say that a specific college gives good placements. The competence of the students places them in good companies. Nobody in the 4 years of a student's graduation will ever ask him his name or the college's name or his strea.,"

Surendra Gole, Principal, Wainganga Engineering College

Commenting on poor results, Gole says today every mathematics student wants to become an engineer. "So, an ordinary child may take more than 4 years to become one. His pace is slow and so he takes more time," he adds.

Gaikwad Patil group chairman Mohan Gaikwad believes that it is the interest and dedication of a student which helps him create a niche for himself.

"Self study is must. College is of least importance. Every college has decent infrastructure but faculty is necessary for third and fourth year. First year depends on the child's hard work and self-study. Grooming oneself in all aspects is crucial for desired placements."

Mohan Gaikwad, Chairman, Gaikwad Patil Group

Faculty is of prime importance according to director of Laxminarayan Institute of Technology (LIT) and NU registrar Mahesh Yenkie.

"Analytical skills must be present in order to understand engineering principles. These are only sharpened during graduation. Any inquisitive child will flourish in the science stream."

Mahesh Yenkie, Director of Laxminarayan Institute of Technology

Agreeing with his view, engineering dean Ravindra Kshirsagar says honest, qualified, interested and experienced staff can change the scenario to a great extent. "Institutes having faculty with at least 10 years experience should be chosen. Even reputation of college needs to be considered," he adds.

He blames poor admission criteria for poor results. "Admission into engineering is permissible with just 40% marks now, and so almost anyone can get entry into this stream. Moreover, everyone is not friendly with English language and it's a barrier in scoring good marks. Semester pattern may offer a solution, as the burden reduces," he says.

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Galgotia Student bags 5 million offer from US based firm

The placement season at Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology, Greater Noida, witnessed some top companies making a beeline for the campus students despite the prevailing sense of economic gloom. In a candid chat, Placement Head Ms. Manisha Choudhary explains how despite recessionary pressures, Galgotias students bagged big fat pay cheques from blue chip companies.

Q. Does your experience with campus placements show that things are not as bad for India Inc as it is being made out to be?
We may be seeing a drop in the performance levels of Indian economy, but it has not affected placements so far. The process is still on and yet we placed 88 % of the students at some of the top companies, including HCL, Infosys, Accenture, Daksh Technology, Larsen & Toubro, NIIT Technology, Tech Mahindra and Huawei Telecom. As many as 96 companies have come to our campus for hiring.

Q. What is the salary range being offered to your students?
Most students from our institute have bagged jobs in reputed organizations. Infosys was the highest recruiter this year with 301 students getting job in the company.

Accenture hired 175 students. Naveen Kumar Goswami, a final-year B. Tech Computer Science student, bagged the highest offer of 50 lakh from the US-based Helix Energy Solutions Group.

Q. What are some of the most sought-after specializations at Galgotias?
Our B.Tech. programmes in Computer Science, Information Technology, Electronics and Communication, Mechanical and Civil Engineering are the favorites amond students.

Q. Do you have any academic collaboration with corporate houses?
We have a Memorandum of Understanding with Infosys called the Campus Connect Programme. It is a 7 year-old programme which offers access to training to our faculty members and students.

We also have academic alliances with Microsoft India, Wipro Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and Larsen and Toubro.

To enable our students to make the best use of opportunities they get, they are put through a rigorous corporate readiness programmes which run concurrently with the academic courses. These programmes include industry visits, mentorship, project support, field research, corporate interface and faculty monitored internships.

Our Microsoft Student India initiative organized by the Galgotias Technology Hub and the Computer Science and Engineering Department in March was attended by more than 500 students from different colleges and universities across Delhi/NCR.

Q. What were some of the specializations that recruiters focused on this year?
Out of the 96 companies which visited our campus, 45 of them came for students who have specialized in Computer Science, IT, Electronics, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.

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Chhattisgarh PET and PPHT 2012 results out

Chhattisgarh Pre Engineering and Pre pharmacy Test 2012 results have been declared today. Students can check their result on ChhattisgarhVYAPAM website.

Click here to check results

The PET and PPHT result 2012 were highly awaited among the candidates who had given these tests for entryl engineering and pharmacy colleges of Chhattisgarh. Every year Raipur based Chhattisgarh professional examination Board organizes the entrance test for PET, PPHT and a host of other courses.

In this year’s Chhattisgarh PET and PPHT results, Manas Ranjan Sahu has topped the PET test while Gaurav Ramrakhyani has topped the PPHT test.

The declaration of Chhattisgarh pre engineering Test (PET) and Pre Pharmacy Test (PPHT) has brought an end to the wait of the engineering and pharmacy aspirants.

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