Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Acting on the recommendation of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (Bamu), Maharashtra governor and ex-officio chancellor of state universities Ramesh Bais has withdrawn the PhD degree awarded to a candidate in 2013 over plagiarism charges. This action is the first of its kind for Bamu. The university on March 16 received a complaint alleging plagiarism in the PhD research thesis of Kishor Dhabe in a political science subject based on tribal leadership in Kinwat taluka of Nanded district and implementation of government welfare measures.After receipt of the complaint, the matter was referred to the Departmental Academic Integrity Panel (DAIP) and Institutional Academic Integrity Panel committees (IAIP) for verifying the plagiarism complaint.The first committee checked 204 pages of the thesis and observed plagiarism in 104 pages, which was nearly 51%. The second committee observed that out of 205 pages, there had been a similarity in the contents of 134 pages, with 65% plagiarism.Following such findings, the Bamu moved a proposal to the chancellor for withdrawal of the PhD degree after a formal nod from the management council and the academic council of the university as per the enabling provisions of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016.During a hearing held before the chancellor on September 14, Dhabe denied all the allegations of plagiarism and said he himself had done research and had all the supporting documents. Dhabe argued that it took him five years to complete the research. After completing the research, a CD of the thesis and research thesis was submitted to the PhD section, which formed a panel of two external examiners to approve his research with approval from the vice-chancellor. The thesis was then sent to two subject experts who submitted confidential report of the dissertation to the university. The governor said that DAIP and IAIP have confirmed the charges and statutory bodies of the university have recommended withdrawal of the PhD through a proposal dated July 5. Invoking powers of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016, the governor on October 19 accepted the proposal and the degree was withdrawn. We also published the following articles recentlyNTA PhD entrance exam 2023 admit card released at phd-entrance.samarth.ac.in; Heres how to downloadThe National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the admit card for the PhD entrance exam 2023. The exam will be held on October 26, 27, 30, and 31, 2023 at various examination centers across India. The exam is a computer-based test (CBT) for admission to PhD programs at Delhi University (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Benaras Hindu University (BHU), and Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University Lucknow (BBAU). It consists of two parts: Part A, a general aptitude test, and Part B, a subject-specific test.Why PhD scholars feel stipend hike is below the markThe Education Ministry in India has increased the stipends for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), Senior Research Fellowship (SRF), and Research Associates (RAs) to support researchers and boost the countrys research ecosystem. The JRF stipend has increased to Rs 37,000, while the SRF stipend has increased to Rs 42,000. However, many PhD students are protesting, demanding a 60% increase in stipends. Experts argue that the stipends should be competitive to attract talented scholars and that the slow disbursal of research stipends must be addressed. Increasing research spending and engaging the private sector in funding are also suggested.Quotas in PhD programme likely from 2025: IIM-AhmedabadThe Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad has stated that it may implement a reservation policy in its PhD programme starting from the 2025 academic year. This comes after resisting the introduction of quotas for several years. The decision was made in response to a Public Interest Litigation filed by the Global IIM Alumni Network. The institutes counsel mentioned that the quota policy is likely to be introduced in 2025 as the admission process for the 2024 batch is already underway. The PIL was filed in 2021 to support candidates from marginalized communities and those with disabilities.

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