Set up in 1988, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) is a scientific society of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India, carrying out Research and Development (R&D) in IT, electronics and associated areas. Different thematic areas of C-DAC's research include high performance computing, grid and cloud computing, multilingual computing, professional electronics, software technologies, cyber security, health informatics, ubiquitous computing, and education & training.

As an institution for high-end R&D, C-DAC has been at the forefront of the IT revolution in the country, constantly building capacities in emerging technologies, and innovating and leveraging its expertise, calibre and skill sets to develop and deploy IT products and solutions for diverse sectors. It has resulted in the emergence of a high-quality intellectual resource base at C-DAC in the form of expert teams with specialised knowledge of various facets of advanced computing.

With such a rich resource base at its command, C-DAC set up the Advanced Computing Training School (ACTS) in 1993 to meet the ever-increasing skilled manpower requirements of the Information Communication Technologies (ICT) industry as well as supplement its intellectual resource base for cutting-edge research and development. Over the years C-DAC has designed and delivered various postgraduate and undergraduate degree and diploma programmes. In addition, C-DAC imparts ICT training to state and national governments and agencies, strategic sectors, corporate and industries, foreign countries and international students, based on specific requirements.

Presently C-DAC is offering Post Graduate Diploma courses through its centres located in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida, Patna, Pune, Silchar and Thiruvananthapuram. PG Diploma courses are also offered by C-DAC’s Authorised Training Centres in Bhubaneswar, Indore, Jaipur, Karad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, New Delhi, Patna and Pune. Each year, thousands of students are trained at these centres, enhancing their knowledge-base and equipping them with the latest methodologies in advanced computing so as to make their mark in the ICT industry. So far more than 3 lakh students have passed out from C-DAC. Many of them are successful employees of multi-national and premier Indian ICT companies today, and many more have become booming entrepreneurs.

C-DAC has made strong presence globally by providing visibility and brand name for India through establishing state-of-the-art IT Training Centres and projects in many developing countries like Ghana, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Myanmar, Tanzania, Belarus, Armenia, Lesotho, Seychelles, Syria, Grenada, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Peru, Palestine, Bhutan, Costa Rica, Panama, Commonwealth of Dominica, Egypt, Morocco, Guyana, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Cook Islands, Namibia, Sao Tome & Principe, Jordan, Argentina & Solomon Islands, in close association with Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Electronics & IT, Government of India. C-DAC has also conducted specialised training for students from more than 100 countries.

ü    C-DAC has been awarded as the 'Most Popular Training Institute in India' at the Electronics For You Awards.

ü       C-DAC received ‘Manthan 2019 Award’ for outstanding contribution in the        Skill Ecosystem - Training Category by the Telecom Sector Skill Council.

C-DAC's Post Graduate Diploma courses are full-time courses of 900 hours (approx 30 calendar weeks). The list of PG Diploma courses being offered in September 2021 along with their eligibility criteria and fees is given in Table 1. Details of these courses are given in Section 17 of this Admission Booklet.

All PG Diploma classes of September 2021 batch will be held in ONLINE mode. Students are required to have laptops/PCs with high-speed uninterrupted internet connection, webcam and microphone to effectively participate in the course from their homes or personal places. It is not advisable to join the online classes from mobile phones.

Graduate in Engineering (10+2+4 or 10+3+3 years) in IT / Computer Science / Electronics / Telecommunications / Electrical / Instrumentation.

OR

In addition to the common eligibility criteria given above, candidates with the course-specific qualifications mentioned in Table 1 are ALSO ELIGIBLE for the particular courses. Minimum percentage of marks required in the qualifying examination is also stated in Table 1. The minimum percentage of marks will be considered as per the norms of the university from where the candidate has graduated.

Table 1: C-DAC's PG Diploma courses and their eligibility criteria.

Laptop/PC configuration, and hardware, software and network specifications required for the online classes are given in Section 18 of this Admission Booklet.

There is no age restriction for admission to C-DAC’s PG Diploma courses. Candidates who have appeared for the final examination of their qualifying degree in 2021 will also be considered for admission to the above courses. By qualifying in C-DAC's admission tests of August 2021, such university result-awaiting candidates can apply for provisional admission in September 2021 batch, subject to the condition that:

(a)   All parts of their qualifying degree examination shall be completed by the date of joining the course, and

(b)   Proof of having passed the qualifying degree with at least the required minimum marks shall be submitted at C-DAC by 31 January 2022.

·      Well established courses with excellent placement records.

·      30-week (approx) full-time courses with 900 hours' theory + lab + project.

·      6 hours per day theory + lab sessions on 6 days a week in most centres.

·      Continuous lab and internal assessments during the course.

·      Centralised course-end theory exams across all centres.

·      Courses designed and developed in consultation with the domain experts in C-DAC, academia and ICT industry.

·      Expert faculty from C-DAC and ICT industry with widespread domain knowledge.

·      Tutorials, hands-on and projects relevant to the standards of the ICT industry.

·      Special training on aptitude, effective communication and interview skills.

·      Extensive placement orientation and region-wise common campus placements.

Across India, C-DAC is offering Post Graduate Diploma courses through its centres located in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida, Patna, Pune, Silchar, and Thiruvananthapuram. Post Graduate Diploma courses are also offered by C-DAC’s Authorised Training Centres (ATC) in Bhubaneswar, Indore, Jaipur, Karad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik, New Delhi, Patna, and Pune. The address and contact details of these training centres can be found at http://cdac.in/index.aspx?id=cdaccenters and also in Section 19 of this Admission Booklet. Table 4 shows the courses offered and the seat capacity at various training centres of C-DAC in the September 2021 batch.

Table 4: PG Diploma seat capacity at C-DAC’s training centres.

Admissions to all PG Diploma courses of September 2021 batch are done through C-DAC's Common Admission Test (C-CAT) that will be conducted in computerised mode physically at C-DAC’s test centres on August 7 and August 8, 2021. Candidates have to apply for C-CAT online at www.cdac.in or acts.cdac.in. Candidates who clear the August 2021 C-CAT will only be considered for admission to C-DAC’s PG Diploma courses of September 2021 batch on the basis of their C-CAT ranks and centre/course preferences.

7.1 C-CAT Test Papers

C-CAT has three sections (Section A, Section B, Section C) of one hour duration each. As shown in Table 5, depending on the category of courses selected by the candidate, he/she will have to either appear for just one test paper (Section A) or two test papers (Section A and Section B) or all the three test papers (Section A, Section B and Section C). The medium of C-CAT is English.

Every section in C-CAT will have 50 objective-type questions. Each question will have four choices as possible answers of which only one will be correct. There will be +3 (plus three) marks for each correct answer, -1 (minus one) for each wrong answer, and 0 (zero) marks for each un-attempted question. The maximum mark a candidate can obtain in any one section of C-CAT is 150.

Table 5: Categories of PG Diploma courses and the corresponding test paper(s) in C-CAT.

7.2 C-CAT Syllabus

Table 6a: Indicative syllabus of the different sections of test papers in C-CAT.

The list of reference books for the various topics of C-CAT is given in Table 6b. Candidates are, however, advised to read more books than the ones specified in this table.

Table 6b: Reference books for the various topics in C-CAT.

7.3 C-CAT Schedule

C-CAT for admission to the September 2021 batch of PG Diploma courses will be held in computerised mode physically at C-DAC’s test centres on August 7 and August 8, 2021. The tentative schedule for different test papers of C-CAT is given in Table 7. The exact schedule of C-CAT will be communicated to the candidates through the Admit Card.

Table 7: Tentative schedule of August 2021 C-CAT.

7.4 C-CAT Cities

C-CAT will be conducted in computerised mode in various cities across India. The list of cities where C-CAT will be conducted in August 2021 is given in Table 8. Candidates need to give 3 choices of cities while filling the online C-CAT application form. Refer to Section 14(b) of this Admission Booklet regarding C-CAT city preferences and allocation. All C-DAC test centres will adhere to the safety precautions issued by the government.

The C-CAT city once selected in the online application form cannot be changed unless approved in writing by C-DAC, subject to availability of seats on the requested city. All such signed letters of requests with proof of valid reasons should be received at actssupport@cdac.in before the last date of C-CAT application.

Table 8: Cities where C-CAT will be conducted in August 2021*.

*   C-DAC at its discretion may cancel any of the above C-CAT cities due to less number of candidates or any emergency situation arising out of pandemic/calamities or any other relevant reasons. Refer to Section 14(b) regarding C-CAT city preferences and allocation.

Candidates can download their admit cards from C-DAC’s website during the dates mentioned under Important Dates. The venue, date and time of C-CAT will be communicated to the candidates on the admit cards. Instructions for appearing C-CAT will also be given on the admit card. Candidates must appear for C-CAT on the date and time at the venue specified on the admit card. The examination fee will not be refunded to candidates who are absent or coming late for C-CAT.

No candidate will be permitted to appear for C-CAT without a valid admit card. The admit card along with a photo identity proof must be presented to the C-CAT officials/invigilators for verification at the time of the test.

No candidate will be permitted to appear for CCAT without a valid admit card. The admit card along with a photo identity proof must be presented to the CCAT officials/invigilators for verification at the time of the test.

Candidates can download their admit cards from C-DAC’s website during the dates mentioned under Important Dates. The date and time of C-CAT will be communicated to the candidates on the admit cards. Instructions for appearing C-CAT from the candidate homes will also be given on the admit card. Candidates must appear for C-CAT on the date and time specified on the admit card. The examination fee will not be refunded to candidates who are absent or joining late for C-CAT.