Ph.D.

REGULATIONS
July 2018 onwards

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI – 620 015, INDIA

1
Ph.D. REGULATIONS

P.1 INTRODUCTION

P.1.1 The Regulations govern the conditions for imparting courses of instruction, conduct of the
examinations and evaluation to research scholar’s performance leading to a Ph.D. Degree. These
Regulations are effective for the batches of students admitted from the academic session 2012-2013
and onwards.

P.1.2 Doctoral Programme leading to Ph.D. is offered in the following Departments/Centre of the
Institute:
1. Department of Architecture
2. Department of Chemical Engineering
3. Department of Chemistry
4. Department of Civil Engineering
5. Department of Computer Applications
6. Department of Computer Science and Engineering
7. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
8. Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
9. Department of Energy and Environment
10. Department of Humanities and Social Science
11. Department of Instrumentation and Control Engineering
12. Department of Management Studies
13. Department of Mathematics
14. Department of Mechanical Engineering
15. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
16. Department of Physics
17. Department of Production Engineering
18. CECASE (Part time - External only)

P.1.3 The provisions of these Regulations shall be applicable to any new disciplines that are introduced from
time to time and added to the above list.

P.1.4 Notwithstanding any of the Clause(s) provided in the Regulations, the Senate shall exercise its powers
to change / amend / interpret / implement decisions and action concerned with academic matters.

P.1.5 The Board of Governors of the Institute may, on the recommendation of the Senate, change any or all
parts of these Regulations at any time.

P.2 STUDENT STATUS

There shall be provision for 2 categories of registration to the candidates willing to register for Ph.D.

1. Full Time: Scholars who are willing to pursue Research Studies on full-time basis.
2. Part Time:
i) Faculty & Staff of NITT

2
 ii) Part-time Ph.D. Programme is offered for working professionals from Govt. R&D Organizations /
Public sector / Industries / National Research laboratories and for faculty members from Govt. / Govt.
aided / Private Engineering / Science and Arts Colleges / Universities.

P.2.1 Part-time (External): Candidates working in reputed industry / organization having R & D facilities,
Govt. R&D Departments / National Research Laboratories / Units of Government / Quasi Government
/ Public sector are considered under this category. The candidates must be officially sponsored by their
employing organization. A candidate working in an establishment which is equipped with the necessary
research and library facilities only shall be considered for admission under this category. A committee
appointed by the Director (consisting of Dean – Academic or his nominee, Dean-R&C or his nominee
and Head of the Department) in addition to members of Departmental Administrative Council shall
assess the adequacy of these facilities before recognizing the organization for the above purpose

P.2.2 At the time of application the employer must expressly undertake to pay full salary to the candidate and
relieve him / her to complete his/her residential requirement. A candidate applying for admission to the
external registration programme must provide detailed information about the research facilities
available to him / her for carrying out research. He / she should also provide the bio-data of the
prospective supervisor (External guide) or Research Coordinator who would supervise/ co-ordinate the
candidate’s work at his/her organization.

P.2.3 Part–time (On Campus): Regular / Full-time teachers / employees working in Govt. / Govt. aided /
Private Engineering / Technology colleges or Science and Arts Colleges / Universities / Industry /
Public sector organization are considered under this category. At the time of application, the candidate
must submit a ‘no objection’ certificate and also a ‘relieving certificate’ from the Parent College /
Organization to relieve him / her to complete his / her residential requirement. The candidate should
have at least three years’ experience in a regular / permanent position at the time of application. The
college / organization must have at least 5 years of its existence for patronizing candidates to part-time
Ph.D. program. The Departments concerned would decide the candidature of the selected candidates,
after thorough discussion and analysis in DAC.

Amendment: Resolution 38/SENATE/2017/7

P.3 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

P.3.1 Faculty of Engineering

Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Engineering / Technology in the appropriate branch of study with a
minimum 60% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.5/10 in UG and PG for admission under OC
/ OBC category or a minimum 55% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.0/10 in UG and PG for
admission under SC / ST / PH category.

For Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department

Candidates with PG degree in Science (Physics / Chemistry / Material Science / Applied Science /
Applied Physics / Applied Chemistry) followed by M.Tech. Degree in Material Science and
Engineering/ equivalent PG degree in related discipline are also eligible to apply.
3
 For Civil Engineering Department
Candidates with B.E./B.Tech. or M.E. M.Tech. with any specialization offered by Civil Engineering
department are also eligible to apply.

P.3.2 Faculty of Architecture

Bachelor’s degree in Architecture / Planning and Master’s degree in Architecture / Design / Planning
/ Building Engineering and Management / Building technology or its equivalent with a minimum of
60% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.5/10 in UG and PG for admission under OC / OBC
category or a minimum of 55% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.0/10 in UG and PG for
admission under SC / ST / PH category.

P.3.3 Faculty of Management Studies

Master’s degree in Business Administration with a valid NET / UGC / CAT / ATMA / XAT / MAT
score or Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering / Industrial Management with a minimum of 60%
aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.5/10 in UG and PG for admission under OC/OBC category
or a minimum of 55% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.0/10 in UG and PG for admission
under SC / ST / PH category. A valid NET / UGC / CAT / AIMA is required for full-time candidates.
Candidates with the above eligibility requirements and JRF or equivalent qualifications may also apply.

P.3.4 Faculty of Computer Applications

Master’s degree in Computer Applications or M.Sc. (Computer Science / OR&CA) with a valid GATE
/ UGC / CSIR / NBHM / NET score and a minimum of 60% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of
6.5/10 in UG and PG for admission under OC / OBC category or a minimum of 55% aggregate marks
or equivalent CGPA of 6.0/10 in UG and PG for admission under SC / ST / PH category.

Master’s degree (M.E./M.Tech.) in Computer Science and Engineering with a minimum of 60%
aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.5/10 in UG and PG for admission under OC / OBC category
or a minimum of 55% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.0/10 in UG and PG for admission
under SC / ST / PH category.

P.3.5 Faculty of Science & Humanities

For Maths and Chemistry Departments

Master’s degree in Science in the relevant discipline with a valid GATE / NET / UGC / CSIR / NBHM
score and a minimum of 60% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.5/10 in UG and PG for
admission under OC / OBC category or a minimum of 55% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of
6.0/10 in UG and PG for admission under SC / ST / PH category.

For Physics Department

Master’s degree in Physics / Applied Physics / Material Science / Applied Electronics with a valid
GATE / UGC / CSIR / NET score and a minimum of 60% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of
6.5/10 in UG and PG for admission under OC / OBC category or a minimum of 55% aggregate marks
or equivalent CGPA of 6.0/10 in UG and PG for admission under SC / ST / PH category.

4
 (or)
M.Tech. in Non Destructive Testing with a minimum of 60% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of
6.5/10 for OC / OBC category and 55% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.0/10 for SC / ST /
PH candidates.

For Humanities and Social Sciences

Master’s degree in the relevant discipline of Humanities / Social Science / Economics / Business
Administration / Statistics / Commerce with a valid UGC / NET / CAT / AIMA / XAT / MAT and a
minimum of 60% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.5/10 in UG and PG for admission under
OC / OBC category or a minimum of 55% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.0/10 in UG and
PG for admission under SC / ST / PH category.

Master’s degree (M.E./M.Tech.) in Engineering with a minimum of 60% aggregate marks or equivalent
CGPA of 6.5/10 in UG and PG for admission under OC / OBC-NCL category or a minimum of 55%
aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA of 6.0/10 in UG and PG for admission under SC / ST / PwD
category.

Ph.D. (Full Time) – Non-Stipendiary Category

In the Faculty of Science and Humanities, non GATE / UGC / CSIR / NBHM / NET candidates will
also be considered for admission on non-stipendiary basis.

P.4 SELECTION PROCEDURE

P.4.1 Candidates recommended by the Departmental Selection Committee will be called by HODs to appear
for an entrance test.

P.4.2 The candidates short listed based on the written test performance need to appear for a personal interview
by the Departmental Research Committee comprising HOD, all eligible guides and the Senate nominee
(observer). The merit list for all the candidates in each category (Institute scholarships, Sponsored,
External, On-Campus) is based on the cumulative score in the written test, interview, marks in UG /
PG, experience, and publications. Considering the background experience, greater weightage may be
given for the interview and other components (such as academic qualifications, research
publications/patents, work experience, etc.) and less weightage for the written test for Part-time
(External) candidates only.

P.5 ADMISSION

P.5.1 Candidates whose selection is approved by the Director will be admitted to the Ph.D. Programme by
paying the prescribed fees. The candidate should also pay fees every semester until the submission of
Thesis as prescribed by the Institute failing which registration will be cancelled, scholars who submit
the Thesis on or before July 31 need not pay the ensuing odd semester fee. Similarly, scholar who
submit the Thesis on or before January 31 need not pay the ensuing even semester fee.

P.5.2 A candidate is not eligible for re-registration for Ph.D. after cancellation of his / her earlier registration.

5
P.6 DURATION OF THE PROGRAMME

P.6.1 A full-time candidate can submit the synopsis (after satisfying P.16) only after a minimum period of
study of 24 months from the date of registration.

Amendment: Resolution 38/SENATE/2017/7

P.6.2 Full-time candidates are allowed to convert to part time (On campus/External) mode for taking up jobs,
only after the successful completion of
a) Course work
b) Comprehensive exam and
c) Minimum residential period of two years
If the candidate leaves the institute without satisfying any one of the above conditions, the registration
will be cancelled.
No objection certificate from the employer should be submitted along with DC recommendation with
proper justification, within six months from the date of request for the conversion of registration from
Full Time to Part Time.

P.6.3 A part-time candidate can submit the synopsis (after satisfying P.16) only after a minimum period of
study of 36 months from the date of registration.

P.6.4 The maximum period to complete the programme is 6 years for Full-time candidates and 7 years for
Part-time. However, Scholarship will be given up to 5 years or date of submission for Full-time
candidates.

P.7 CHOICE OF GUIDE

P.7.1 Allotment of research scholars to guides will be made by the Head of the Department taking into
consideration the areas of research of the department and the preferences of the research scholars and
guides.

P.7.2 The candidates admitted under Part-time (External) category will normally carry out part or all of
his/her research work in their respective industry/ organization/ national laboratories / employing the
scholar. For these scholars, there will be one internal guide from NIT Trichy and one external guide /
research coordinator from his/her organization.

P.7.3 For the candidates admitted under Part-time (on Campus) category, place of work is NITT even though
he / she may be carrying out a part of work in his / her College / Institution. For these scholars, NITT
faculty shall be the internal (principal) guide.

P.7.4 There shall not be more than two guides for a research scholar.

P.8 GUIDESHIP

P.8.1 All faculty members of the Institute holding doctorate degree and having a minimum of 2 papers in
6
 refereed journals are eligible to guide Ph.D. scholars. For Part-time (External) category, the external
guide should have a Ph.D. degree and a minimum of 2 papers in refereed journals or the research
coordinator should have a PG degree and ten years of experience. The internal guide shall be from
among the full-time NITT faculty (of the particular department where the research scholar is admitted
to). For the purpose of administrative expediency the internal guide shall be the principal guide.

P.8.2 No guide shall have more than four full-time Ph.D. Scholars selected under Institute Scholarship
category and four part time (on campus) candidates at any point of time. Notwithstanding the above,
eligible guides can take Ph.D. scholars with sponsorship from various funding agencies and Ph.D. part
time (external candidates) from the Industries. The guides taking Ph.D. students for the first time, may
take only one candidate at the first instant (In subsequent years, they can guide additional scholars within the
mentioned limit). Also, in a given academic year, not more than two part-time candidates shall be assigned to
one guide.

P.8.3 External guides: In addition to NIT faculty, eminent professionals working in reputed research
Organizations / Industrial units / R&D Departments / National laboratories / Units of Government /
Quasi Government may be recognized and empanelled as eligible guides (external) in specific areas of
specialization / for interdisciplinary research. These external guides should be in service throughout the
period of Ph.D. guidance period.

P.8.4 As the tenure of the Emeritus Fellow / Professor Emeritus will be for a period of one or two years only,
they will be allowed to continue their guidance of Ph.D. scholars as per the existing superannuation
[P.8.6].

P.8.5 Continuance of retired faculty members as guide:

i) When a faculty member, who has guided a candidate for 3 years, retires, he will be permitted to continue
as guide on his written request, and will be invited for the DC meetings without any commitment to the
Institute. But TA and DA limited to II class AC train fare, will be paid within India to attend the
synopsis meeting and the Viva-voce examination.

ii) However, there will be a co-guide for taking care of administrative, and to some extent, the research
responsibilities, of the scholar.

P.8.6 Faculty retiring within two years and CSIR / Emeritus Fellows as Research Guide:
i) If a faculty member is to retire within 2 years, and if he is allowed to guide any scholar, another faculty
member, who is not likely to retire within 2 years, will be nominated as Co-guide of the scholar at the
time of registration itself. The retired faculty member will be informed of the DC meetings, and will be
invited to attend the meetings without any financial commitment to the Institute. However, the retired
faculty members who continue to be guides will be paid TA/DA, limited to II class AC train fare, within
India, to attend the Viva-Voce examination.

ii) The CSIR and other Emeritus Fellows / Scientists who hold office at this Institute for a period of 3
years and more can take fresh students during their period of appointment as Emeritus Scientists only
7
 with financial support for the candidates from other sources along with another Guide who has at least
3 years service still left at the Institute.

iii) Any Guide-in-charge, who has acted for more than one year during the absence of the guide allotted to
the candidate, will be a special invitee / co-opted member of the Doctoral Committee when the original
Guide takes over. The rest will be left to the discretion of the original Guide.

iv) External guides will be invited to attend Doctoral Committee meetings, Synopsis meeting, and Viva-
Voce examination, TA / DA will be provided as per institute norms.

P.9 CHANGE OF GUIDE / ADDITION OF CO-GUIDE

The Research scholar may request the Chairman, Senate, for a change of guide or add a Co-Guide for
valid reasons. The Chairman of the Doctoral Committee (DC) or his nominee shall convene the Doctoral
Committee and based on its recommendations, the request shall be considered by the Chairman, Senate.

P.10 DOCTORAL COMMITTEE

P.10.1 The HOD will intimate to the Dean (Academic) the area of research, name(s) of the Guide(s) and a
panel of names suggested by the guide for the DC for each research scholar, within one week of the
date of joining of the research scholar.

P.10.2 The following is the composition of the Doctoral Committee.

Amendment: Resolution 38/SENATE/2017/7

1 One Professor from the institute to be Chairman
nominated by the Research Guide
2 Research Guide Member
3 Co-Guide (if any) Member
4 One faculty member from same
department nominated by the Chairman
Member
Senate or his nominee from the panel of
names suggested by guide
5 One faculty member from allied
department nominated by the Chairman
Member
senate or his nominee from the panel of
names suggested by guide
6 One external member from Industry /
Research establishment / Academic
institution to be nominated by the Member
chairman senate or his nominee from the
panel of names suggested by guide (or)
One faculty member from same
department

8
P.10.3 In case the Chairman, DC or any member goes on long leave, resigns or retires from the Institute, the
Chairman, Senate or Dean (Academic) will nominate another member on the suggestion of the guide.

P.11 REGISTRATION

The DC will meet normally within a week of its being constituted, fix the date of registration for the
Ph.D. programme, consider the proposed research topic and prescribe the courses of study. The external
member need not be present for the first DC meeting.

P.12 COURSE WORK

P.12.1 The full time research scholars should successfully complete four courses as prescribed by the Doctoral
Committee within one year (preferably in one semester for regular scholars) from the date of admission
into the programme.

P.12.2 Regularly offered PG electives should not be taken for Directed Study – the full time Ph.D. scholar
should rather wait to study along with PG students.

P.12.3 In the case of PG subjects, the full time Ph.D. scholar will attend classes along with PG students and
will be evaluated in the same relative grading scale.

P.12.4 In the case of Directed Study subjects, details of contact classes shall be maintained in the attendance
book. The evaluation pattern will be similar to that of PG subjects – cycle tests and assignment
evaluated in the Department and end semester examination conducted. However, for awarding grades,
the absolute grading scale shall be followed.

P.12.5 The minimum residential requirement for candidates under Part-time (External) category for
undertaking course work is eight weeks. Four relevant theory courses at Master’s degree level (as
recommended by the DC) shall be taken by the scholar. The candidates may complete the course work
during their mandatory stay of at least eight weeks which may be undertaken in maximum of four
instances of two weeks each. The research scholars are permitted to undertake the course work under
‘directed study’ mode. The course work shall be completed within one and half years of provisional
registration in the programme. Subsequent to the completion of course work, they can continue their
research work in their respective industry / institution. However, the scholar shall spend at least one
week per semester on campus until the submission of synopsis.

For the candidates under Part-time (On Campus) category, the minimum residential requirement is one
semester. Four relevant theory courses at Master’s degree level (as recommended by the DC) shall be
taken by the scholar. Normally the course work shall be undertaken during the residential period of one
semester itself. The requirements relating to course work will be as per norms of full- time scholars.
Subsequently, the scholars shall continue their research work on a part-time basis, through regular
interaction with the guide. The scholar shall spend at least one week per semester on campus until the
submission of synopsis.
9
P.12.6 PG level courses may also be prescribed to Ph.D. scholars irrespective of the department they belong
to and credit may be given as per usual evaluation procedure. But such courses should not have been
taken by the candidate in their Post Graduate programme.

P.12.7 Courses may also be prescribed from those offered by Departments other than that in which the research
scholar is registered. No change in courses prescribed shall be made without the approval of the DC. It
shall, however, be open to the DC to prescribe additional courses whenever found necessary.

P.12.8 Courses completed after the date of registration will only count towards the requirements of award of
Ph.D. degree.

P.12.9 Research scholars admitted to the programme shall obtain at least an overall average B grade in their
course work with a minimum of C grade in any individual course for successful completion of the
courses prescribed.

P.12.10 If the DC desires that the scholar should take more than 4 courses, then the credits of the extra courses
need not be taken for calculating the average grade.

P.12.11 Candidates who fail to satisfy the grade requirement, may attempt other prescribed courses or rewrite
(once) the examination in the subjects(s) where they had scored less than C. If they still fail P.12.(i),
their registration will be cancelled.

P.13 PROGRESS REPORT

P.13.1 Research scholars shall sign the attendance register on all working days. They are eligible for leave as
per MHRD / GOI guidelines.

Amendment: Resolution 39/SENATE/2018/14

P.13.2 DC meeting will be conducted every semester for all the research scholars (Full time, part time, part
time external and sponsored categories) to monitor the progress as per the academic schedule specified by the
academic office.

P.13.3 HoD shall forward the consolidated report for all the scholars (DC recommendations) to the academic
office in the stipulated time for further continuation of Ph.D. registration.

P.14 COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

P.14.1 On the successful completion of the prescribed course works, about one or one and half year from the
date of registration, the candidate shall undergo a qualifying Comprehensive Examination to test
his/her background knowledge in the broad area of specialization.

P.14.2 The Comprehensive Examination will cover the topics in the discipline and all the allied areas. The
comprehensive Viva-Voce Board shall be common for all candidates of a given department. The
composition of the Comprehensive Viva-Voce Board shall be as follows:
10
 i) HoD / HoD’s nominee
ii) One External member - Professor / Associate Professor from IIT / IISc / IIM / NIT / Anna University
/ SPAs / JNAFAU / Central Universities or Scientists / Scientific Officers holding Ph.D. degree and
drawing the scale of Professor and above, working in National and Regional laboratories, Defense
Research Organizations, Atomic and Space Research Organizations
iii) One senior faculty from the same Department
iv) One senior faculty from the allied Department
v) Guides of all the candidates appearing for comprehensive viva-voce

P.14.3 The External Member for comprehensive Viva-Voce Board shall be nominated by the Chairman,
Senate or Dean (Academic) from a panel suggested by the Head of Department in consultation with
the Guides.

P.14.4 The Comprehensive Examination shall have a written examination (of at least one hour duration)
followed by an oral examination. The Comprehensive Examination for all eligible candidates
registered during a particular session will be held at a particular period. The HOD of the department
is expected to give an indicative syllabus for the written test about one month prior to the
Comprehensive Examination.

P.14.5 Based on the result of the Comprehensive Examination, the comprehensive Viva-Voce Board shall
report to the Dean (Academic) about the fitness of the candidate to proceed further with his Ph.D.
work, within two weeks of the date of the examination held.

P.14.6 If, based on the results of the Comprehensive Examination, a candidate is not approved by the
Comprehensive Viva-Voce Board, then a grace period of up to a maximum of six months shall be
given for reexamination. If found fit, the candidate shall be permitted to proceed with doctoral work.
Otherwise, the candidate’s provisional registration will be cancelled.

Amendment: Resolution 38/SENATE/2017/7

P.15 TEMPORARY BREAK FROM PH.D PROGRAMME

Ph.D. scholars who completed their course work can be permitted to take a temporary break from the
programme for up to one year for personal calamities and medical reasons, with the recommendation
of the DC and the approval of the Dean (Academic).

P.16 SYNOPSIS OF THESIS

P.16.1 On satisfactory completion of the prescribed courses, the Comprehensive Examination, and the
required publications in his / her research area, the research scholar shall submit one copy of the
synopsis of his/her research work to the DC. Synopsis presentation and subsequent DC meeting to
approve the panel of the examiners will be held in the presence of the Dean (Academic).

11
 Amendment: Resolution 38/SENATE/2017/7

P.16.2 Two seminar presentations, one seminar at the end of the second year and another one prior to
submission of synopsis should be given by the Research Scholar. Publications should be in two
journals (SCI, SCIE, ESCI, SSCI or Scopus). Publications in paid journals and conference proceedings shall not
be considered. DC must ensure this during the synopsis meeting.

P.16.3 The research scholar should present the synopsis before the DC. The DC will (if it approves the work
reported in the synopsis) permit the research scholar to submit the thesis and recommend a panel of at
least six thesis examiners (three from India and three from Abroad).

P.17 SUBMISSION OF THESIS

P.17.1 The research scholar shall, within three months of submission of the synopsis, submit four copies of
thesis embodying the results of investigation. On the recommendation of the Guide and Chairman,
Doctoral Committee, additional three months may be granted.

P.17.2 The thesis submitted for the Ph.D. degree shall contain an account of the research work carried out by
the scholar leading to the discovery of new facts or techniques or new correlation of facts already known
(analytical and / or experimental and / or hardware oriented in nature), the work being of such quality
that it makes a definite contribution to the advancement of knowledge.

P.18 PANEL OF EXAMINERS

P.18.1 The thesis shall be referred to two examiners with five years of postdoctoral experience (one from
overseas) chosen by the Chairman, Senate or Dean (Academic) from among the panel of examiners
submitted by the Guide and recommended by the DC at its synopsis meeting.

Amendment: Resolution 38/SENATE/2017/7

P.18.2 Each panel (one for Indian examiner and another for overseas examiner) should have at least three
experts in the area of research. The following guidelines should be followed while deciding the panel
of examiners.

i) Indian Examiner: At least two examiners from any IIT / IISc / IISER / IIM / NIT. Others may be from
State & Central Government funded Universities / Institutions and centrally funded research institutes.
The examiner(s) should have at least 5 years of Post-Ph.D. experience.

ii) Foreign Examiner: Should be from research institute/Universities. At least one should be from
Universities in USA / UK / Canada / Australia / Germany / Japan / Singapore. The examiner(s) should
have at least 5 years of Post-Ph.D. experience

12
 Amendment: Resolution 38/SENATE/2017/7
P.18.3 The panel should not have any examiner who had evaluated a thesis within one year for the same
Department.

P.18.4 Co-authors of the paper for the particular candidate should not be nominated as an examiner.

P.19 THESIS EVALUATION

P.19.1 The examiner is expected to send the report on the thesis within two months from the date of receipt of
the thesis.

P.19.2 In case of undue delay in receiving the evaluation report, the Chairman, Senate or Dean (Academic)
shall appoint another examiner from the panel, for evaluating the thesis.

P.19.3 If an examiner suggests resubmission of the thesis, after revision, the research scholar will be allowed
to resubmit the thesis within the time stipulated by the DC failing which the revised thesis will not be
accepted and his/her registration will be cancelled.

P.19.4 If one of the two thesis examiners declares the thesis as not acceptable, the thesis shall be referred to a
third examiner from the panel for evaluation. If the third examiner also reports the thesis as not
acceptable, the registration of the scholar shall stand cancelled.

Amendment: Resolution 38/SENATE/2017/7

P.19.5 If reports of two examiners, (if necessary after referral to a third examiner) declare the thesis as
‘accepted’, the DC will consider the reports and recommend for conduct of oral examination which
will be conducted normally not earlier than two weeks from the date of the constitution of the Oral
Examination Board. Under extraordinary situations, the chairperson, senate may permit a scholar to
defend his/her thesis in a viva-voce examination before the stipulated notice period of two weeks. The
DC will suggest a panel for nomination of one member for Oral Examination Board. However, if both
the thesis examiners accept the thesis without requesting any correction, DC excluding the external
member will suggest the panel for oral examination board.

P.19.6 In all other cases, not covered by the above Regulations, the matter will be referred to the DC for
consideration.

P.20 VIVA-VOCE EXAMINATION

P.20.1 The following is the composition of the Thesis Viva-Voce Examination Board:

1. Chairman of Doctoral Committee - Chairman

2. Research Guide - Member
3. Co-guide (if any) - Member
4. The Indian examiner of the thesis or a specialist in the subject nominated by the Chairman, Senate
or Dean (Academic) from the panel of examiners approved by the DC.
13
 5. An external examiner - A specialist nominated by the Chairman, Senate or Dean (Academic) from a
panel outside approved by the DC.
6. The DC members of the Research Scholar concerned will be invitees to the Viva-Voce Examination.
P.20.2 The Examination Board will examine the scholar based on his / her thesis work and evaluate his / her
performance as satisfactory or otherwise.

P.20.3 If the Viva-Voce Examination Board declares the performance of the research scholar as not
satisfactory, he / she may be asked to reappear for Viva-Voce examination at a later date (not earlier
than a month and not later than six months from the date of the first oral examination). On the second occasion,
the Viva-Voce Examination Board will also include the members of the DC.

P.20.4 If the thesis Viva-Voce Examination Board on the second occasion also evaluates the performance of
the research scholar as not satisfactory, the matter will be referred to the Senate for a decision.

P.20.5 The Viva-Voce Examination Board may also recommend revision to be made in the final version of
the thesis after taking into consideration suggestions of the examiners who evaluated the thesis and the
discussion at the oral examination. The Chairman of the Viva-Voce Examination Board shall forward
the thesis to the Dean (Academic) along with the report of the Viva-Voce Examination Board.

P.21 AWARD OF Ph.D. DEGREE

If the performance of the research scholar in the Viva-Voce Examination is satisfactory, he / she will
be awarded Ph.D. degree on the recommendation of the Senate and with the approval of the Board of
Governors of the Institute.

P.22 POWER TO MODIFY

Notwithstanding all that has been stated above, the Senate has the right to modify any of the above
Regulations from time to time.

**** END ****

14