Rajkumar Roychowdhury Head, physics and applied mathematics unit, ISI, Calcutta

Q: I am in Class XI and my subjects are economics, maths, statistics, English, Nepali and computer science. I want to become an IPS officer. Will this combination help?

P. Sherpa

A: The eligibility criteria for appearing in civil services examinations like the IAS or the IPS is a graduate degree from any recognised university and hence, the subjects you take in your undergraduate courses do not make much difference. Carefully read the advertisement for the examinations, which appears in all the leading newspapers in India, before you apply.

Q: I am studying in Class XI. My combination is physics-chemistry-mathematics-biology (PCMB). I want to study biotechnology after Plus Two. What is the difference between a BE in biotech and an MSc in biotech? Is maths compulsory for doing a BE in biotech?

Vargab Baruah

A: Since your combination is PCMB you can appear in the JEE for admission to BTech/BE in biotechnology. Mathematics is not a major topic in biotechnology.

BE is a bachelors degree while MSc is a masters degree. If you want to do research in biotech you can do it after an MSc degree but after BE you need an MTech or an equivalent to get a research scholarship.