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.

C-DAC's Post Gradate Diploma courses are full-time courses of 24-week duration. The list of PG Diploma courses 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.

• Graduate in Engineering or equivalent (e.g. BE / BTech / 4-year BSc Engg / AMIE / DoEACC B Level) 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.

(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 30 November 2019.

• Well established courses with excellent placement records.
• 24-week full-time courses with 900 hours' theory + lab + project.
• 8 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.
• Syllabus regularly updated with the latest trends in the 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.
• Well equipped computer labs with internet that can be accessed most of the time.
• Special training on aptitude, general English, effective communication and interview skills.
• Extensive placement orientation and region-wise common campus placements.
• Excellent participation from top ICT companies in campus placements.

Over the 25 years, C-DAC has shaped the careers of around 3 lakh IT professionals in software development and other specialised advanced computing domains. The Placement Cells of C-DAC organise Common Campus Placement Programmes (CCPP) for its PG Diploma students. For every batch, C-DAC's CCPPs are conducted region-wise at Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Noida and Pune. Training centres from other cities are attached to one of these regional placement programmes, so that students from all centres across India get fair chance in placements (see Table 2 for details). All C-DAC training centres actively coordinate and organise campus interviews for all their PG Diploma students. About 300 companies participated in C-DAC's campus placements in 2018, wherein overall 80% placement is achieved.

Table 2: Region-wise distribution of cities in C-DAC’s Common Campus Placements (CCPP)

C-DAC has always been the ICT recruiters’ first choice when it comes to recruiting ready-to- deploy manpower for their turnkey projects. Top ICT companies (some are listed in Table 3) have expressed faith in C-DAC's trained resources by regularly recruiting them through CCPP. C-DAC has also recruited many of the PG Diploma students for its R&D projects.

Table 3:Selected list of companies visiting C-DAC for campus placements

Hostel and canteen facilities are available for students at some of the C-DAC training centres as shown in Table 5. Hostel allotments are made on a first-come, first-served basis. However, outstation students will be given preference when the allotment is done. If any vacancy is there after allocating rooms to the outstation students, local students' hostel applications may also be considered. Some of the centres, which are not offering hostel facilities, may provide assistance to find out suitable boarding and lodging to their students.

Candidates interested to avail hostel accommodation should send their requests to the Administrative Officers at the respective training centres, after the admission lists are published. Hostel/canteen fees, room availability and other related information may be obtained by communicating to the respective centre’s contact person whose name is mentioned at http://cdac.in/index.aspx?id=cdaccenters and also in Section 18 of this Admission Booklet.

Table 5: Hostel/canteen facility at C-DAC’s training centres.

Admissions to all PG Diploma courses of C-DAC are done through C-DAC's computerised Common Admission Test (C-CAT). Candidates have to apply for C-CAT online at www.cdac.in or acts.cdac.in. Every year, C-CAT is usually conducted in June (for August admissions) and December (for February admissions). Candidates who clear the June 2019 C-CAT will only be considered for admission to C-DAC’s PG Diploma courses of August 2019 batch on the basis of their C-CAT ranks and centre/course preferences.

8.1 C-CAT Test Papers

C-CAT has three sections (Section A, Section B, Section C) of one hour duration each. As shown in Table 6, 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 6: Categories of PG Diploma courses and the corresponding test paper(s) in C-CAT.

8.2 C-CAT Syllabus

Table 7a: 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 7b. Candidates are, however, advised to read more books than the ones specified in this table.

Table 7b: Reference books for the various topics in C-CAT.

8.3 C-CAT Schedule

C-CAT for admission to the August 2019 batch of PG Diploma courses will be held on 23 June 2019 and 30 June 2019. Candidates may choose one of these dates as per their convenience/availability while filling the online application. The tentative schedule for different test papers of C-CAT is given in Table 8.

Table 8: Tentative schedule of June 2019 C-CAT. (Slot timings may vary slightly.

 The final timings will be printed on the admit cards.)

8.4 C-CAT Centres

C-CAT will be conducted in computerized mode in various cities across India. The list of cities where C-CAT will be conducted in June 2019 is given in Table 9. C-CAT centres will be allocated to candidates on a first-come, first-served basis of application, depending on the centres’ seating capacity and availability.

Table 9: Cities where C-CAT will be conducted in June 2019.

The C-CAT date and city once selected in the online application form cannot be changed unless approved in writing by C-DAC, subject to availability of seats in the requested city. All such signed letters of requests with proof of valid reasons should be received at C-DAC ACTS, 5^th Floor, Innovation Park, Sr. No. 34/B/1, Panchvati, Pashan, Pune 411008, before the last date of C-CAT application.

8.5 Use of Candidates' Laptops for C-CAT

Candidates will have the option to use their own laptops for C-CAT. Such candidates have to choose the 'Own Laptop' option in the online application form.

•        Minimum configurations required of the laptop:

            Processor                    : Intel’s Pentium 4 or above

            RAM                           : 1 GB or more (Recommended: 2 GB)

            Operating System       : Windows (XP, 7, 8, 8.1 or 10)

            Browser                      : Any one of the browsers: IE9 and above,

  Mozilla20, Mozilla16, Chrome26 and above

•        JavaScript must be enabled on the browser.

•        Laptop should be LAN and WiFi enabled and these ports should be working.

•        Laptop should have antivirus running on it and should be free  from any virus , malware and spyware.

•        Laptop should have proper power backup for the entire duration of the exam.

Candidates who have opted to use their own laptops will have to report one hour before the scheduled start of C-CAT to check and confirm the readiness of their laptops. Detailed instructions about configuring the laptop for C-CAT will be provided along with the admit card.

For candidates who opt (in the online application) to use their own laptops for C-CAT, the examination fee for Category I (Section A) is Rs. 1100/-, for Category II (Sections A & B) is Rs. 1300/-, and for Category III (Sections A, B & C) is Rs. 1500/-. A computer usage charge of Rs 250/- will be added to the fee if the candidate opts in the online application to use the computer of the C-CAT centre. Candidates may note that the C-CAT examination fee once paid is not refundable. C-CAT examination fee structure is illustrated in Table 10.

Table 10: Category-wise C-CAT examination fee.

After filling the online C-CAT application form, the examination fee is to be paid online through the ‘Make Payment’ step on the main menu of the online application. No cash or cheque or demand draft (DD) will be accepted towards payment of C-CAT examination fee.

The examination fee can be paid using credit/debit cards through the payment gateway that will be opened upon clicking the 'Online' option of the 'Make Payment' step. Candidates are advised to follow the instructions/steps given on the payment gateway, and also print/keep the transaction details for their records.

On receiving the examination fee at C-DAC, the ‘Make Payment’ step on the main menu of the online application will be tick-marked, and the status of payment will be updated on the ‘Status Check’ menu. The pdf application form obtained by clicking the ‘View/Print Application Form’ on the main menu will now have the transaction details of the payment made.

Candidates facing any issues during online payment may contact C-DAC ACTS Pune through phone (020-25503143) or email (actssupport@cdac.in).

Candidates can download their admit cards from C-DAC’s website during the dates mentioned under Important Dates.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.

The venue, date and time of C-CAT will be communicated to the candidates on the admit cards. Candidates must appear for C-CAT on the specified date and time at the venue mentioned on the admit card. Candidates who have opted to use their own laptops for CCAT must configure their laptops well in advance as per the instructions given on the admit cards. Examination fee will not be refunded to candidates who are absent or coming late for C-CAT.

Candidates will be provided ranks based on their performances in Section A, Sections A+B, Sections A+B+C of C-CAT. If a candidate appears for multiple sections and qualifies in them, he/she will be provided multiple ranks. For example, if a candidate appears for Sections A and B by choosing Category II in the application form, he/she will be provided two ranks: (i) based on the performance in Section A, and (ii) based on the performance in Sections A+B.

Candidates with the lowest 10% performances in any of the sections (A or B or C) of C-CAT will not be qualified for ranking in that particular section and its higher sections. Even after the removal of the lowest 10% performers as stated above, if there exist candidates in any section with zero or less than zero marks, then these candidates will also not be qualified for ranking.

All qualified candidates will be awarded Category I ranks based on their performance in Section A. Qualified candidates who have selected Category II in the C-CAT application form will be awarded Category I and II ranks based on their performances in Sections A and A+B. Qualified candidates who have selected Category III will obtain Category I, II and III ranks based on their performances in Sections A, A+B and A+B+C.

If two or more candidates have acquired the same marks in Section A or Sections A+B or Sections A+B+C, then the candidate having more marks in Section A will be given the higher rank. If these candidates have the same marks in Section A also, then the candidate having higher value in the ratio of ‘number of correct answers / number of attempted questions’ in the specific section required only for that category of courses will be given the higher rank. Candidates who have the same value of this ratio, and having the same total as well as Section-A marks will be given the same C-CAT rank.

Admissions to C-DAC’s PG Diploma courses at various training centres will be offered in the order of ranks obtained in C-CAT and based on the preferences of courses and centres given by the candidates during online counselling. Only those candidates who are in the C-CAT rank-list will be considered for admissions to C-DAC’s PG Diploma courses.

Rank-lists of June 2019 C-CAT are only applicable for admission to the August 2019 batch of C-DAC’s PG Diploma courses. Candidates should note that mere appearance in C-CAT or being in any of the rank-lists neither guarantees nor provides any automatic entitlement to admission. Qualified candidates will have to apply for admission as per the prescribed procedure.

C-DAC’s PG Diploma admission process has two counselling sessions and three rounds of seat allocations. Counselling means online filling of preferences of courses and training centres by the candidates.

•   There are two rounds of seat allocations based on the first counselling. This means that using the course-centre preferences given by the candidates during the first choice filling, two rounds of seat allocations (Round 1 and Round 2) will be done. Further details of the first counselling and first/second rounds of seat allocations are given in Sections 16(f-j) of this Admission Booklet.

Depending on their C-CAT ranks, candidates will be allocated seats strictly based on the order of preferences of courses and centres given by them during the counselling. If some candidates' ranks are not good enough to get them their top preferences in the first round of seat allocations, they may be offered their lower preferred courses/centres depending on their ranks. Such candidates may be allocated their higher-preferred course/centre in the second round of seat allocation, depending on their ranks. However, if candidates get their first preference in the first round of seat allocation itself, then that will be their final allocated seat and there will be no change for them in the second round of seat allocations. The seats allocated in the second round are final and there will be no further change in them.

•     Through the second counseling, candidates who have not got/confirmed admission are given one last chance to online fill their preferences of courses and training centres for the vacant seats that arise after the second round of admissions. The second counselling is scheduled after the payment of the first installment fee of the second round of seat allocation. The third round of seat allocation is based on the second counseling. The categories of candidates who are eligible to take part in the second counselling, and more details of the second counselling and third round of seat allocation, are given in Sections 16(k-m) of this Admission Booklet.

During both the counselling sessions, candidates will be permitted to give preferences for only those courses belonging to the category they had selected in the C-CAT application form. However, a candidate can give as many preferences of training centres and courses belonging to the applied C-CAT category.

Based on the C-CAT ranks, admissions to various courses at different training centres are offered in the order of preferences of courses and centres given by the candidate and the number of seats available for the courses at the particular centres. Therefore candidates must take utmost care while filling the order of preference of the courses and centres. Under any circumstance, a candidate will not be allocated another course/centre which was not given as a preference during the counselling stage.

13.1 Course Fee

The fee of all the PG Diploma courses (except PG-DBDA and PG-DAI) offered by C-DAC is Rs. 90,000/- + Goods & Services Tax (GST) on it applicable at the time of payments (July/August 2019). GST in May 2019 is 18%. The course fee for PG-DBDA is Rs 1.15 lakh + GST. The course fee for PG-DAI is Rs 1.50 lakh + GST. The course fee includes expenses towards course materials, computer lab usage, examinations, final mark-list/certificate, and placement assistance provided at the local training centre. The fee for all the PG Diploma courses is to be paid in two installments (details given below). Candidates may take note that no Demand Draft (DD) or cheque or cash will be accepted at any C-DAC training centre towards payment of any installment of course fees.

13.2 Scholarship Scheme

C-DAC Kolkata and C-DAC Mohali offer Rs 3000 per month scholarship (for a total period of 5 months) for the students joining these centres after paying the full course fee as given in the below sections. Candidates are advised to contact these centres for further details.

13.3 First Installment of Course Fee

The first installment course fee of Rs 10,000/- + GST on it as applicable at the time of payment (July/August 2019) is to be paid online as per the schedule given under Important Dates (Table 11). It can be paid using credit/debit cards through the payment gateway that will be opened upon clicking the 'Pay First Installment' button on the candidate's logged-in page on the C-DAC website. Candidates are advised to follow the guidelines given on the payment gateway, and also to print/keep the transaction details for their record.

On receiving the first installment fee at C-DAC, payment received message will be displayed when the candidate logs in on the C-DAC website and receipt of the first installment payment will be e-mailed to the candidate's registered email id. Candidates are advised to contact C-DAC Mumbai (022-27565303/26703251) regarding any issues they face during the payment of first installment of course fee.

13.4 Second (Final) Installment of Course Fee

The second installment of course fee is Rs. 80,000/- + GST on it as applicable in July/ August 2019 for all PG Diploma courses except PG-DBDA and PG-DAI. For PG-DBDA the second installment fee is Rs 1,05,000/- + GST whereas for PG-DAI it is Rs 1,40,000/- + GST. It is to be paid before 14 August 2019 through NEFT from any bank to the account of the C-DAC centre where the candidate is finally allocated for his/her PG Diploma course. For all private training centres of C-DAC, the payment is to be made to C-DAC Pune.

Candidates are advised to follow the steps given below for NEFT payment.

(a)     Click on "NEFT for 2^nd Installment" button that will be seen after logging in on the C-DAC website using candidate's Form No.

(b)    Print the NEFT form that will be opened. Details of the bank account to which the candidate has to transfer the second installment fee will be given on it.

(c)     If the candidate has personal net banking facility, he/she can make online transfer of the fees using the details given on the NEFT form.

(d)    If the candidate does not have personal net banking facility, submit the NEFT form at any bank having NEFT facility along with the fees amount.

(e)     Keep a record of the NEFT form with the UTR (unique transaction) number and other required details written on it. (Candidate has to submit it at the admitted centre while joining the course.)

(f)     After the NEFT payment, carefully enter the NEFT transaction (UTR) number, name of account holder (from whose account the money is transferred), city and IFSC of the bank (from where the money is transferred), and transaction date in the text boxes that will be appearing on candidate’s logged in page on the C-DAC website.

(g)    It may take up to 48 hours for the NEFT payment to be reflected on the Payment Status page.

On receiving the second installment at C-DAC, payment received message will be displayed when the candidate logs in on the C-DAC website, and receipt of the second installment payment will be e-mailed to the candidate's registered email id. Candidates may contact C-DAC Mumbai (022-27565303/26703251) regarding any issues they face during the payment of second installment of course fee.