The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are premier technical institutions that are funded by the government and have deemed University status. The NITs were originally called Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs). In 2002, the Union ministry of human resource development, government of India, decided to upgrade all 17 RECs to NITs, on the lines of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology. Currently, there are 20 NITs , the newest addition being NIT, Agartala. The NIMCET (a national level entrance exam) is conducted by NITs for admission to the master of computer applications (MCA) course.

The notification is published in the month of February in the leading dailies. The application form can be downloaded from www.nitdgp.ac.in or www.mnnit.ac.in or www.nitw.ac.in.

The filled-in application form and a demand draft for Rs 700 (Rs 350 for SC/ST) should be sent by post or courier to the Convenor, NIMCET- 07, Academic Section, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, NIT Campus, Post-713209, West Bengal.

The form should be accompanied by a graduation certificate or the marksheet. The demand draft should be drawn in favour of The Convenor, NIMCET-07 and should be payable at State Bank of India, R.E. College (code 2108), Durgapur. The draft can also be payable at any other nationalised bank in Durgapur.

Eligibility

You should have a bachelors degree with 60 per cent marks (6.5/10 CGPA) with mathematics or statistics or business maths as one of the subjects in any one semester/year, both in your graduation and 10+2 exam. Those appearing for their qualifying exam can also take the test. Only Indian nationals are eligible to appear for NIMCET.

Entrance exam

The two-and-a-half hour NIMCET exam is held in May in several centers across India.

Pattern of exam

The question paper consists of 120 multiple choice questions covering maths (40 questions), analytical ability and logical reasoning (50 questions), computer awareness (15 questions) and English (15 questions). Each correct answer is awarded four marks while you are negatively marked for each incorrect answer.

How to prepare

For maths and logical reasoning, you could prepare from books like Quantitative Aptitude by Abhijit Guha, Quantitative Aptitude by Arun Sharma, Test of Reasoning by R.S. Agarwal, Mental Ability and Quantitative Aptitude by Edgar Thorpe and How to Prepare for GMAT by Tata McGraw Hill publishers.

Some of the books that can help with the section on computer awareness are Chipping In by D’Souza, Fundamentals of Computers by Raja Raman and P.K. Sinha or the Rapidex computer course.

To tackle the section on English, refer to Barron’s GMAT guide or Excellence in Comprehension by Madhurima Mishra, Ivy Nathani and Charles Osta. Revise the fundamentals of grammar from Practical Approach to Communication in English by R.L. Agarwal and Objective English by Prasad and Sinha. You can also consult the various MCA guides available, especially those by Bookhives and Upkar publishers.

You should also develop the ability to read fast. This will help you scan the question paper and attempt those questions which you can answer easily. Avoid guesswork because, with negative marking, it can prove to be a costly mistake.

sample test paper

Mathematics

At an examination, in which full marks were 500, A got 10% less than B, B 25% more than C, and C 20% less than D. If A got 360, what percentage of full marks was obtained by D?
(a) 50% (b) 80% (c) 75% (d) 60%

Computer awareness

The basic hardware components of a network include the following:

a) transmission facilities b) access devices c) devices that repeat transmitted signals
d) none of these

English

Choose the word which is similar in meaning to furlough.

a) soldier’s holiday b) wild growth c) wooden plough d) till

Logical reasoning

Six people are sitting on the ground in a hexagonal shape. The hexagon’s vertices are marked as A, B, C, D, E, and F. All the sides of the hexagon are of the same length. A is not adjacent to B or C; D is not adjacent to C or E; B and C are adjacent; F is in the middle of D and C. If one neighbour of A is D, who is the other one ?

(a) B (b) C (c) E (d) F