NBHM Doctoral Scholarship Written Test
Wednesday 18 August 2021, 1300-1600 hrs, IST
Logistics for the Written Test
Reassurance about possible change in Roll numbers (entry dated 17 August)
The new Roll Numbers---those calculated according to the serial numbers in the final version of consolidated centre lists (published on 12 Aug)---could be different from the ones on the old lists (dating from April), even for candidates who did not request a centre change. This should be no cause for concern. These new Roll Numbers are the ones that will be used for all future reference. Those of you who have communicated your old Roll Number to institutes that use the NBHM test scores for their admissions may rest assured that those institutes will have no issue with any change in your Roll Number (the Name and Application Number remain the same). At any rate, if there is any problem arising purely out of this matter, the NBHM Examination Authorities will be available for help towards its resolution.
The rest of this web page was last modified on 13 August
Important recent changes (or reminders)
- You must bring your own drinking water in transparent bottles. Due to pandemic related issues, drinking water supply during the test may not be available at some centres. (You may also carry your own hand sanitiser if you so wish.)
- The reporting time at the Delhi Deshbandhu College (DDB) and Kolkata East Salt Lake (KOE) Centres is officially one hour before the start of the test (12:00 noon).
- While the official reporting time at centres other than DDB and KOE continues to be 12:30 p.m. (half an before the start of the test), candidates are encouraged to report somewhat earlier (starting 12:00 noon), especially if the capacity of the centre exceeds 60.
- Candidates on the AUD and DSS lists are hereby reminded that they must travel to Deshbandhu College (DDB) to take the test.
- While inside the test centre candidates must wear masks at all times covering nose and mouth, invigilators may ask for the masks to be removed briefly for purposes of identification.
- If you filed a request for a change of centre, then your name is struck out in the position in which it appeared on the original lists published on 25 July, and appears in the updated list of the centre to which you wanted to change. Some of you have, perhaps impelled by a bug on the portal which displayed incorrect centre choices, requested a change to centre X when in fact you had already been assigned to centre X! In such instances, in the updated list for centre X, your name is struck out in its original position and appears later in a new position. Rest assured that you can appear at centre X for the test. All the best! Use the later entry (the one that is not struck out) to generate your Roll Number.
- You must visit the test centre web page (see below) on Tuesday (17th August) or later to check if there are any changes in the reporting time or pandemic protocols at your test centre.
Here is a checklist (may not be exhaustive!) of things to be carried to the test centre by the candidates:
- Pens, pencils, and erasers (to write the test).
- Admit Cards (both the Candidate's Copy and the Examiner's Copy with identical photographs affixed):
These are valid even if they show an outdated or otherwise incorrect date or time of the test, reporting time, or centre choices.
- ID card (the one whose details are printed on the Admit Cards).
- COVID-19 self-declaration form which you can download from here if don't already have. (Note that this is the new version and the old version showing the test date as 11 April is no longer valid.)
- Drinking water in transparent bottles: Due to pandemic protocols, water supply may not be available at your centre.
- Masks: Your nose and mouth must be masked at all times while at the centre.
- Hand sanitiser (if you so wish, not mandatory).
- Mobile phones, although these must be left outside the exam halls. Arogya Setu on the mobile is required for candidates at the Gandhinagar (GND) centre.
Instructions to candidates
- The test is scheduled for 01:00--04:00 p.m. on Wednesday 18 August.
- We will frequently refer to the test centre web page in what follows. It is
here.
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The updated centre-wise lists of candidates (after taking into account the centre change requests and the new applications) have all been uploaded now. See the test centre web page.
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Some of you who are perfectly happy with your old centre assignments (dating from April) have tried to download your admit cards from the portal and have been shocked to find that the centre names displayed on them bear no relationship to your choices. We want to reassure you that:
- This problem, for which we apologise, is being caused by a certain bug in the portal.
- Your old centre assignment continues to hold good (assuming you have not filed a request for centre change), no matter what is displayed on your newly downloaded admit cards.
- Your admit cards are perfectly valid even if they are displaying the wrong centre choices. You may please go ahead and print them if you want to.
Just to make doubly sure, check the revised final lists (whenever they are published) to see that your name continues to appear under the correct centre.
- Neither centre in Delhi North (Ambedkar University AUD,
St. Stephen's DSS) is available for the test on 18 August. These centres have been relocated lock, stock, and barrel to Deshbandhu College DDB. However, the AUD and DSS candidate lists have not been merged with the DDB list. For candidates on the former lists, the centre code continues to be AUD / DSS, so that their roll number (see below) also continues to be the same. They must however travel to Deshbandhu College to take the test.
- The requests for withdrawal of application and refund of application fee have not yet been processed. Once they are, the names of the withdrawing candidates will be struck out from the lists. This will not have any affect on the other candidates: their serial numbers in the lists will remain the same.
Centre addresses and other details:
More information about the centres, including special COVID-19 related rules if any, will be uploaded on the test centre web page,
as and when they become available.
The pandemic situation, while it presently seems under control, might deteriorate (in some locations more than in others) affecting the conduct of the test. Changes might be forced upon us.
While we hope that there will not be any serious change between now and the test date, candidates must visit the test centre web page
often and keep track of the changes affecting them, and in particular
update themselves about any COVID-19 rules that apply at their centre. These rules may become stricter, without too much notice at that.
My application is complete but my name is not on
on any of the lists. Should I worry?
Yes, but only after checking the consolidated centre-wise lists thoroughly.
If your name is missing from the consolidated lists of all the four centres of your choice, send at once an email to the Zonal co-ordinator of your first choice centre (see the advertisement for their names and contact details) attaching your admit card. The main NBHM Scholarships Web Page has the advertisement link among others.
What is my Roll Number?
You can determine your Roll Number as follows. Find your name and application number in the centre-wise lists. You will most likely find them listed under your centre of first choice (but if you don't, look up the centre of your second choice, and so on). Suppose that your serial number in that list is 7 (respectively 32, respectively 121). Then your Roll Number is Zk-ABC-007 (respectively Zk-ABC-032, respectively Zk-ABC-121), where k is the number of the Zone in which your centre is located (North = 1, North-Central = 2, West = 3, East = 4, South = 5) and ABC is the three letter code for your centre (the letter codes for the centres are given below). Example: Suppose, for instance, that you are the 13th candidate in the list for the Shillong centre. Then your Roll Number is Z4-NEH-013: Shillong comes under Zone-4 (East), NEH is the centre code for Shillong (North Eastern Hill University).
Date, Time, Reporting Time:
The test is scheduled for Wednesday 18 August 2021, 1300--1600 hrs, IST. The reporting time is half an hour before the start of the test. At centres with strength exceeding 60,
candidates are well advised to report even earlier (starting 12 noon). Candidates reporting after 1:30 p.m. will not be admitted to the exam hall.
Letter Codes of Centres:
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Zone-1 (North):
Chandigarh (CHD), Delhi North Ambedkar (AUD), Delhi North St. Stephen's (DSS), Delhi South DU South Campus (DSC), Delhi South Deshbandhu (DDB), Jodhpur (JOD), Patiala (PTL), Ropar (ROP), Shimla (SHM), Srinagar (SRI).
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Zone-2 (North-Central):
Bhopal (BHO), Indore (IND), Jabalpur (JBL),
Kanpur (KAN), Prayagraj (PYG), Raipur (RAI).
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Zone-3 (West):
Dharwad (DWD), Gandhinagar (GND), Goa (GOA),
Mumbai (MUM), Nagpur (NAG), Nanded (NDD), Pune (PUN), Vallabh Vidya Nagar (VVN).
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Zone-4 (East):
Agartala (AGT), Berhampur (BPR), Bhubaneswar IMA (IMA), Bhubaneswar NISER (NSR), Burdwan (BRD), Dimapur (DIM), Guwahati (GWH), Jamshedpur (XLR), Kharagpur (KGP), Kolkata North Dunlop (KON), Kolkata East Salt Lake (KOE), Kolkata South Narendrapur (KOS), Ranchi (RNC), Shillong (NEH), Siliguri (NBU), Tezpur (TEZ).
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Zone-5 (South):
Bengaluru (BNG), Chennai (CHN), Hyderabad (HYD), Kochi (KOC), Kozhikode (KZK),
Madurai (MKU), Mysuru (MYS), Pondicherry (PDY), Salem (SLM), Surathkal (STK), Thiruvananthapuram (TVM), Tirupati (TPT), Warangal (WGL).
Miscellaneous:
NBHM does not offer any support, financial or otherwise, for you to appear for the test.
Calculators and mobile phones are not allowed inside the exam hall (they must be left outside).
Question papers from the previous years (along with keys) are available on this repository. However the pattern and difficulty level of this year's test may bear no predictable relation to those in the previous years. The advertisement and the
official FAQ may be consulted for details regarding the scholarship scheme.
At the test:
Your identity will be verified. You must oblige by removing your mask briefly when asked, for purposes of identification. The invigilator will sign both copies of your admission ticket, will take away the Examiner's Copy, and return the Candidate's Copy to you. You must preserve your copy of the admission ticket (with the invigilator's signature) as you will need it if called for the interview.
Publication of the key:
The test paper along with its key will be uploaded to the repository a day or two after the test. NBHM does not publish the interview cutoffs or reveal individual scores.
Test results:
The names, roll numbers, and application numbers of the candidates shortlisted for the interview (for the NBHM Doctoral Scholarship) based on the test performance will be displayed on the NBHM Scholarship Schemes
web page about a month after the test. For information on the selection for interview for PhD / integrated PhD program of HRI / various IISERs / IMSc / NISER / ... based on the test performance, you are referred to the web pages of the respective institutes.