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Bio-Informatics National Certification (BINC) 2011 will be conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi during February 2011. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India has started this exam to certify Bioinformatics professionals and make them available for potential employers for recruitment. School of Computational and Integrative Science, Jawaharlal Nehru University is acting as nodal agency for this exam. The govt. of India identified other six centers to coordinate the process. These are Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology, Bangalore; University of Pune, Pune; North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong; West Bengal University of Technology, Kolkata; Anna University, Chennai and University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad. Following are other details:

Eligibility: Applicants should be Graduate in Science/ Engineering / Technology/ Agriculture/ Veterinary/ Medicine/ Pharmacy. Candidates do not need any kind of formal training in Bioinformatics such as certificate, diploma or degree in Bioinformatics. Those going to appear or waiting for final year exams / results also can apply. International students also can apply for BINC 2011.

Pattern of Examination: BINC examination consists of three papers. These are:

1. Paper I: Objective Paper: 100 questions – 100 marks.
2. Paper II: Short Answers Type paper: 15 questions – 150 marks
3. Paper III: Practicals: 2 questions – 100 marks (This is computer based practical exam with questions from Bioinformatics).

The syllabus of BINC exam consists of four sections. These are Biology, Physical and Chemical Sciences, Information Technology and Bioinformatics. The DBT awards DBT-BINC – Junior Research Fellowships to all BINC qualified candidates to pursue Ph.D. in any Indian University provided they meet the criteria of the respective institutes /universities. Top 10 BINC candidates shall get a cash prize of Rs. 10000 each.

Remember these points: There will be negative marking for Paper I. Candidates those secured at least 40 percent marks or above in Paper I only eligible to appear for Paper II and III. Candidates those secured a minimum of 40 percent marks in each of the 3 papers will be certified.

Interested candidates can apply online only through http://binc.scisjnu.ernet.in/. Candidates should pay the fee as a DD for Rs. 600 (Rs. 450 for reserved candidates). You can also download hard copy of application and send it to the below address along with required copies and fee. Printed application forms should be sent to ‘Coordinator BINC, School of Computational & Integrative Sciences, JNU, New Delhi -110067.

Important Dates of BINC 2011:

1. Start of online application process: 13th December 2010
2. Last date for application: 03th February 2011
3. Display of the list of eligible candidates: 12th February 2011
4. Availability of admit cards on the website: 12th February 2011
5. BINC 2011 Examination: February 26-27, 2011
6. Announcement of Results: 27th March 2011

This could be a good news for aspiring MBBS students. It is most likely that the Medical Council of India may go ahead with this plans of conducting all India level common entrance test called National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for admission to MBBS and Post Graduate Medical courses. The Supreme Court of India on 13th December 2010 clarified that MCI can go ahead with its plan to hold a single entrance exam for medical admissions from next academic year 2011-12, notwithstanding the pending petitions in the court. If the MCI issues the notification of NEET 2012, a single entrance test each for MBBS and MD courses shall come into force. Presently there are number of medical entrance tests at state and college levels. There are CETs conducted by States, separate test by private colleges and deemed universities. A unified entrance test shall bring down stress on the students. MCI has also proposed to conduct NEET-PG and NEET-SS for admission to Post Graduate and Super Specialty Medical Courses across the country. Syllabus, exam pattern and other modalities for NEET-UG is already released. The same formalities for NEET-PG and NEET-SS are being worked out.

There are 271 medical colleges in the country out of which 138 are run by governments and remaining 133 under private management. There are 31,000 seats on offer for MBBS and another 11,000 seats for PG medical courses. MCI also clarified that state quota in medical colleges would remain intact as National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) will draw up a merit lists at national and state levels separately for General Category, SC, ST and OBC and PD candidates.

The proposed NEET entrance examination would cover all medical colleges except AFMC- Armed Forces Medical College, AIIMS- All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (Chandigarh0 as al these were set up by separate laws and may be out of the purview of NEET. The new entrance test of the MCI may not interfere with the management quota of the medical colleges.

Following are brief statistics of medical education in India:

1. At present, there are 144 government funded medical colleges with a total intake capacity of 16,398 students.
2. There are 170 private medical institutes in the country with 19,085 seats. Out of these 170, there are about 50 deemed universities.

Syllabus for NEET-UG is displayed on the MCI website http://www.mciindia.org/tools/announcement/CoreSyllabus_NEET-UG.pdf . You can post your feedback on the syllabus before it is finalised by MCI.