Ph.D.

REGULATIONS
(w.e.f. January 2017)

1.1 ELIGIBILITY

a) Candidates (Indian / Foreigner) who have studied under 10+2+3+2 years pattern or
10+2+5 years or 11+1+3+2 or 12+ 2+ 3+3 or 10+2+4+2 pattern of education and
qualified for the award of the Master’s Degree in relevant discipline in Gandhigram
Rural Institute – Deemed University (GRI-DU/GRI) or any other university recognized
by the University Grants Commission in relevant discipline with not less than 55% marks
(50% for SC/ST and part-time non-teacher candidates) or an equivalent grade are
eligible.
b) In addition, he / she should have qualified the entrance test conducted by GRI
OR
should have obtained M.Phil or qualified the UGC - JRF / NET / SLET / Lecturership /
GATE / CSIR / ICAR / ICSSR or other fellowships or passed equivalent examinations.

2.1 CATEGORIES OF Ph.D. CANDIDATES

There shall be three categories of Ph.D. candidates:

i) Full-time candidates
ii) Part-time candidates (Internal)
iii) Part-time candidates (External)

2.1 FULL-TIME Ph.D. CANDIDATES

2.1.1. Admission will be done during August Session for full time candidates.
The candidates who pursue their full-time research for Ph.D. in GRI fall under this
category. UGC / CSIR/ NET qualified Research Fellows and Project Fellows / research
fellows working in GRI in projects sponsored by the UGC / CSIR / ICSSR / ICAR / DOE
/ DST / DBT / MOES / MOEN / MNRES and other national / international funding
agencies and industries; candidates awarded any other recognized fellowships, and
qualified technical staff working in projects with the duration of not less than two years
shall also be eligible to register for Ph.D. under this category, with the due approval of
the Principal Investigator.

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2.2.0. PART-TIME CANDIDATES (INTERNAL)

2.2.1 Admission will be done during January Session for part-time candidates

2.2.2 Teachers and the non-teaching staff working in Gandhigram Rural Institute will
fall under this category.

2.2.3 The teacher candidates should have two full academic years of experience in
teaching or research at the time of registration.

2.2.4 The non-teaching candidates working in Gandhigram Rural Institute should have
five years of experience at the time of registration.

2.2.5 The study leave conditions of UGC shall become applicable for the Part-time
(internal) candidates.

2.3. PART-TIME CANDIDATES (EXTERNAL)

2.3.1. Admission will be done during January session for part time candidates.

2.3.2 Persons working in Academic / Research Institutions / Government

Departments in their relevant discipline will come under this category.

2.3.3 Such in-service candidates should have five years of experience at the time of
applying for the Ph.D programme.

2.4. RESIDENTIAL REQUIREMENT (Part-time)

2.4.1. The part-time external candidates are required to reside in GRI for a minimum of
180 days in a single spell or in different spells and the Research Supervisor will
decide the residential requirement.
It could be in GRI, or in the organization of the Doctoral Committee
Member or in outside agencies or in the field or in all the above mentioned
institutions cumulatively.

2.4.2. The Research Supervisor, at the time of submission of synopsis by the candidate,
shall furnish a certificate to the Controller of Examinations to the effect that the
candidate has fulfilled the residential requirement of 180 days.

3.0 INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

3.1. Admission to Ph.D. programme will be considered only in those faculties

and departments which are in existence at GRI.

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 3.2. The candidates doing Ph.D under interdisciplinary research mode will have two
supervisors: Research Supervisor and a Joint Research Supervisor both from GRI.

3.3. It is permitted to do Ph.D programme under interdisciplinary subject with the

condition that the candidates should have the basic degree in the prime /

concerned subject.

4.0. PROCEDURE FOR APPLYING

4.1. Ph.D admission will be done through Online mode for both foreign and Indian
candidates.

4.2 There shall be two sessions every year for Ph.D registration as hereunder:

Category Session Last Date

Full-time August Last working day of August

Part-time January Last working day of January

The department-wise / discipline-wise availability of seats will be notified in the website

of GRI well in advance. However, the candidates who have passed UGC - JRF / NET /
SLET / GATE / CSIR / ICAR / ICSSR / equivalent examinations or those who have been
granted fellowships from recognized institutions and agencies will be admitted at any
time of the year under full-time and part-time on producing the required evidence.

4.3 Candidates seeking admission to Ph.D. programme should fill the application form
online referring to the instructions given by remitting the cost of the application
through online.
4.3.1 Admission for Foreign Scholars

Foreign/NRI candidates can download the application from GRI website. The filled-
in application should be submitted on or before the prescribed date mentioned in
4.2 remitting the cost of application or in the form of DD in favour of the
Registrar (Canara Bank, GRI Branch, Gandhigram( Code No.8500) or State Bank
of India, Ambathurai (Code 3373).

Foreign nationals including NRIs must produce a valid research visa at the time of

seeking admission to the Ph.D. programme. If admitted, they will be governed by

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 such rules and regulations as may be framed by the Government of India and by the

authorities of GRI from time to time.

The foreign/NRI scholars will be admitted as full-time scholars through writing Online
Entrance test and attending Skype / Video conferencing interview. No foreign scholar
will be admitted under part-time category. The fee structure for such online examination
and online interview will be followed as per the decision of the Fee Revision
Committee.

4.3.1.(i) Online entrance test and interview will be conducted for the candidates from
North and North Eastern besides NRI candidates

4.3.2. As and when need arises online entrance examinations will be conducted to the persons
who applied from foreign countries and if necessary provisional orders will be sent
through e-mail. This will be applicable during the January and August Sessions and not
at any time.

Incomplete applications will be summarily rejected.

5.0 ENTRANCE TEST, ADMISSION AND ALLOCATION

5.1 A Common Entrance Test will be conducted by the Controller of Examinations for the
eligible candidates for a duration of 2 hours: One hour on Research Aptitude (General)
and one hour on the Subject concerned. A minimum of 60% in each component is a must
to become eligible for provisional admission. Question papers for Research Aptitude Test
(General) and Subject Test will be set and evaluated by a Board consisting of the HOD
and the Research Supervisors concerned.

5.2. Method of conduct of Entrance Test under online admission: 60 (sixty) objective
type questions will have to be answered within one and a half hour time. The
question paper consists of Research Aptitude (25%) and the subjects concerned
(75%). It is applicable for Indian and foreign students.

5.3 There will be an interview for the candidates who passed the entrance test and the M.Phil
holders in which the candidates shall discuss their research interest / area. The number of
candidates to be admitted will depend on the vacancies available.

5.4 The allocation of the Supervisors for those candidates will be done by a committee of the
respective departments headed by the HOD concerned and the Research Supervisors
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 under whom vacancies are available. Allotment will be done depending upon the number
of vacancies available with the Research Supervisors, specialization of the supervisors,
and the research interests of the candidates as indicated by the candidates during the
interview. The allotment/allocation of supervisor (s) will not be left to the choice of the
teachers or the candidates.

5.5 Admission will be made following the reservation policy by each department.

6.1 COURSE WORK

It is mandatory that all Research Scholars (both full-time and part-time), after their
provisional admission, must undergo the following three courses, each having one
semester duration. However, these three courses can be done either in one or two or three
semesters.
I. Research Methodology (including Quantitative Methods and Computer
Applications whenever applicable).
II. Basic concepts and Theory in the Subject Area.
III. Specific area of research.

Those who have got M.Phil degree will be exempted from Course Work No.1.
Course work shall be done by the candidates by attending the regular classes in
their departments/other departments in GRI or in the institution of the Doctoral
Committee Member. If not possible by the part-time scholars, the courses designed by
the Doctoral Committee may be completed by the scholars under self-study mode. Full
time scholars are not eligible to do the course work under self-study mode. Each
Department / Faculty of GRI must officially announce the possible courses that can be
attended by the scholars from their departments and other departments 45 days ahead of
each semester to the Registrar for circulation.

6.1. The course work of the Ph.D scholars is to be completed within the prescribed time
specified in the Regulations (i.e. within 1½ years). If it is not done, their
registration will stand cancelled. No representation will be entertained if it
deviates from the Ph.D Regulations in force. The Doctoral Committee should be
convened by the Guide/Supervisor as laid down in the regulations. Exemption
can be obtained showing the evidence within the period of 1½ years.

6.2. The syllabus for the Course Work –I and panel of examiners may be prepared by the
espective faculties/departments/centres with the approval of the respective Board of
Studies. Further, for course works II and III, the Doctoral Committee will prepare the
syllabi and set the question papers.

6.3. The full-time candidates shall undergo compulsory course work for one
year and two seminars and the performance in the course work and
seminars will be evaluated by the Doctoral Committee concerned. In
the case of part-time candidates, the course work shall be as prescribed
by the Institute from time to time

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6.4. The course work shall carry 24 credits which may include theory
courses, seminars, assignments, topical research and other components
as decided by the respective Board of Studies (BOS)

7.0 DOCTORAL COMMITTEE

7.1 A Doctoral Committee (D.C.) shall be constituted separately for each candidate

immediately after his / her provisional admission.

7.2 The Doctoral Committee shall comprise

a) Research Supervisor .. Chairperson & Convenor
b) Joint Research Supervisor .. Member and
(wherever necessary from within)
the GRI)
c) An external expert from the .. Member
relevant discipline (to be suggested by the
Research Supervisor &
approved by the Vice-Chancellor)
7.3 The functions of the Doctoral Committee are to: (i) scrutinize the research proposal
submitted by the candidate; (ii) frame syllabi within six months from the date of
admission for the course work for all the three courses with 4 credits and 5 units each;
(iii) prepare the question papers wherever necessary; (iv) approve the synopsis of the
thesis; (v) prepare the panel of examiners for the evaluation of the thesis; and (vi) any
other matter related to the candidate’s Ph.D work. The Convenor will convene the
Doctoral Committee meetings with intimation to the Registrar.

7.4 The Doctoral Committee of each candidate shall meet at least twice during the entire
period of the candidate’s work.

7.5 The above meeting can also be conducted through video conferencing or internet chat,
with the prior approval of the Vice-Chancellor, if the candidate or the main Supervisor or
the Joint-Supervisor is in a foreign country, or is unable to attend the Doctoral Committee
meeting due to unforeseen circumstances.

7.6 Doctoral Committee can be conducted outside GRI also. And if it is conducted in
the place of the doctoral committee member, TA/DA for the Research Supervisor
will be borne by GRI, and the external member shall be paid sitting fee. TA/DA
and sitting fee for external expert will be borne by GRI whenever the Doctoral
Committee meeting is held at GRI.

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 7.7 The minutes of the meeting of the Doctoral Committee along with enclosures will be
submitted to the Controller of Examinations and a copy of the covering letter (without
minutes / enclosures) will be submitted to the Registrar.

7.8 The convenor of the Doctoral Committee will inform the Controller of Examinations
about the date of the meeting of the Doctoral Committee well in advance.

8.0 EXAMINATION
8.1 If the Research Scholars are attending the regular courses in their Departments
or/and other department of GRI, they will write the examinations along with the
regular students and COE will conduct the exams, declare the results and issue the
mark sheet. Similarly, Ph.D Scholars who have undergone the course work in the
Academic/Research institutions of the Doctoral Committee Members will write the
examinations in those institutions which will declare the results and award marks.
The COE will get the question papers set as per the pattern given in Annexure-II and get
the answer scripts evaluated by the question paper setters and the Research Supervisor /
course teacher. The passing minimum will be 50 marks but the average pass minimum
is 60% (of both valuations). Grade Sheets will be issued by the Controller of
Examinations.

8.2 Candidates with less than 60% in the examination(s) of the course work shall apply for
the second appearance within six months from the first appearance. If a candidate does
not pass the examination of the course work in the second appearance also, his/her
registration will be cancelled.

8.3 Examinations for Course Work will be conducted after six months and before 1½ years
for full-time and part-time scholars.

9.0 ATTENDANCE

Full-time candidates shall regularly sign the attendance register maintained in the
Departments concerned for the minimum prescribed period of research.
9.1 The progress report and attendance certificate shall be verified by the RQC
periodically and report of the RQC shall be submitted to the Planning and
Monitoring Board.

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10.0 RESEARCH QUALITY CIRCLE

Each Department shall have a Research Quality Circle (RQC) with the HOD as the
Convener and the other Research Supervisors as members. The HOD shall facilitate
research presentations by the full-time and part-time research scholars before the RQC,
teachers, research scholars and students of the Department concerned at least twice a
year.

11.0 PROGRESS

11.1 All candidates shall submit six monthly Progress Reports of not exceeding 1000 words
to the Registrar and the COE as per Annexure III on or before 30th June & 31st December
along with the details of the presentations made before RQC and the attendance sheet
showing the list of people (not less than 15) who attended his/her presentation. This must
be duly countersigned by the Research Supervisor and the HOD. They will continue to do
this until they submit their synopsis. This is applicable to part-time scholars also. Under
special circumstances such presentations shall be arranged for part-time scholars through
video conferencing. For presentations made through video conferencing, candidates must
submit the six monthly progress report through their guides in advance for circulation and
submission to COE / Registrar. This facility shall be extended to the full time scholars
also in case they have gone abroad or to other long distance institutions in connection
with their Ph.D work.

11.2 Full-time JRF / SRF Research Scholars of any funding agency may be assigned teaching
work for a maximum of 4 hours per week in the Department / Faculty and they are not
eligible for any honorarium.

12.0 DURATION OF THE PROGRAMME

with M.Phil without M.Phil

Category Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum
(Yrs) (Yrs) (Yrs) (Yrs)
Full-time 2 4 3 5
Part-time 3 5 4 6

13.0 CONVERSION

13.1 Conversion from part-time to full-time and vice-versa shall be done at any time by
producing authenticated documents.
13.2 If a candidate has already completed the minimum period as a full time or a part-time
scholar, he / she need not undergo the process of any conversion.

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14.0 EXTENSION

14.1 Two spells of extension of six months each will be granted after the expiry of the
maximum period as mentioned above (item 12.0) on the specific request (with
justification) from the candidate and the recommendation of the Research Supervisor and
on payment of the prescribed annual fee and extension fee as shown in Annexure-I.

14.2 The prescribed extension fee is to be paid besides the regular annual research fee as
shown in Annexure-I. The candidate must have cleared all his / her dues to the university
if his / her application for extension is to be processed.

14.3 In exceptional situations, on the requests of the candidates and on the

recommendations of the Doctoral Committee, the Vice-Chancellor shall give three
months extension beyond two extensions. The candidate shall have to remit the
prescribed fees to GRI for this purpose. Beyond the special extension of three
months given by the Vice-Chancellor no more extension shall be given.

15.0 EARLY SUBMISSION

For a Research Scholar with at least four publications (based on his/her doctoral research
work) in refereed journals / patents, the minimum period can be reckoned as follows:
i) Scholars with M.Phil. - (Full-time) 2 years to 1½ years
ii) Scholars without M.Phil - (Full-time) 3 years to 2½ years
iii) Scholars with M.Phil. - (Part-time) 3 years to 2½ years
iv) Scholars without M.Phil - (Part-time) 4 years to 3½ years

The decision on the above will be on the recommendation of the Research Supervisor and
at the discretion of the Vice-Chancellor.

16.0 CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION

16.1 A Research Scholar who fails to fulfill the RQC requirements and / or fails to submit his /
her thesis even after the maximum period mentioned above including special extension, if
any his / her registration will be cancelled.
16.2 The registration granted to a candidate shall stand cancelled automatically in the
event of non-payment of Annual Research Fee within 3 months from the due date.
And in the event of non-submission of Half-yearly report by a candidate, the
registration shall stand cancelled automatically. No request for condoning the
delayed payment of fees and submission of report will be entertained from the
candidates whose registration is cancelled automatically.
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17.0 RE-REGISTRATION

If a candidate has made significant progress in his / her work, but has not completed
his / her thesis even after availing extensions, she / he will be allowed for re-
registration on payment of prescribed fee with the same topic and on the
recommendation of the Research Supervisor besides fulfilling RQC requirements
with adequate published / documented work. Such candidates will be permitted to
submit the thesis after 12 months and not later than 24 months from the date of re-
registration. These re-registered candidates are not eligible for any time extension.
Even after re-registration, if the candidate is not able to submit thesis within the
prescribed time limit, his/her re-registration will be cancelled. He / she will not be
admitted for Ph.D in GRI anymore.

18.0 LEAVE

18.1 A full-time research scholar may avail leave to the maximum of one year during his / her
research period within the maximum period fixed for the submission of the thesis. But he/
she is not eligible for leave during the period of extension.

18.2 However, a full-time research scholar may avail leave during the period of extension
under extraordinary circumstances such as maternity and medical grounds. Such leave
will be granted by the Vice-Chancellor only on the specific recommendation of the
registered medical officer not below the rank of Assistant Civil Surgeon and the
recommendation of the Research Supervisor and the HOD.

19.0 RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

19.1 A Professor / Associate Professor / Assistant Professor of GRI will be recognized as a

Research Supervisor, if he / she fulfills the following conditions:
a) Only the permanent teachers having Ph.D degree after declaration of probation will
be recognized as Research Supervisor and
b) Evidence of research publications (a minimum of two articles in refereed journals
after the Ph.D viva-voce).
The application for recognition should be submitted along with copies of supporting
documents (CV, copy of the Ph.D degree certificate and reprints) to the Registrar through
the HOD concerned and based on the expert opinion, the recognition will be given.

19.2 The Research Supervisors of GRI are not permitted to guide the research scholars
of other Universities / Institutes and the other University faculty members are not
permitted to guide GRI scholars for Ph.D degree.

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19.3 Research Supervisors in the cadre of Professor are permitted to take a maximum of Eight
candidates, Six for Associate Professors and Four for Assistants Professors (both Full-
time and Part-time) in GRI as per UGC Regulations. This is inclusive of JRF or Project
Fellows and excluding number of post-doctoral fellows.

The credit for the Joint Research Supervisor is the same as that of the Research
Supervisor. However, it shall not be counted for permissible number of candidates for
Joint Supervisor.

19.4 Normally no change of Research Supervisor is permitted. However, in exceptional cases,

it can be permitted.

19.5 If a Research Supervisor retires or takes up an assignment outside GRI on

deputation/lien, the candidate will be permitted to continue his / her research under the
same Research Supervisor OR he/she may be permitted to change his / her Research
Supervisor if he/she desires so. But the date of registration, the area of research and the
title of the study shall remain unaltered.
19.6 In case the Research Supervisor leaves GRI permanently, he/she cannot continue to
guide any scholars in GRI.

19.7 Research Supervisors on lien/deputation to other institutions and those who have retired
from GRI cannot enroll new candidates for Ph.D at GRI.

20.0 FEE

20.1 This will be decided and notified by the authorized committee from time to time.

20.2 Those who have not paid the research fee within the prescribed date shall have to remit
the fee along with the prescribed late fee notified from time to time.
20.3 If a candidate has not paid the fee continuously for two years, his/her registration will be
cancelled.

21.0 TITLE
At the admission stage, a research scholar will give a tentative title. But the title
mentioned in the synopsis will be final and cannot be altered. The title of the thesis
should be compact and adequate enough reflecting the content of the research.

22.0 SUBMISSION OF SYNOPSIS

22.1 Research Scholars of the Department should present their synopsis before the RQC and
the Doctoral Committee members. Before submitting their synopsis they should
incorporate the comments and feedback of the RQC as well as the Doctoral Committee.
The Research Supervisor will forward 11 copies of the synopsis duly approved by the
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 Doctoral Committee, along with the attendance certificate of synopsis submitted before
the RQC to the COE, through the convenor of the RQC. A Minimum of 15 members
should be present.

22.2 The research scholar must also submit a softcopy of the synopsis.

22.3 The synopsis should contain the title of the thesis, its objectives, methodology, structure
and findings in 4 to 10 pages ( Annexure –IV and xiii in Annexure-V)).

22.4 The Ph.D thesis must be submitted within six months from the date of the submission of
the synopsis.

23.0 THESIS

23.1 Candidates should have published at least two research papers in refereed journals /
books / edited volumes with ISBN and produce the evidence in the form of reprints or
acceptance letters to the COE before the submission of the thesis.

23.2 The thesis shall not exceed 300 pages excluding the bibliography, annexures, etc. The
thesis should be prepared in accordance with format (Annexure-V).

23.3 Five copies of the thesis along with a softcopy (as per Annexure -V) shall be submitted.
The research supervisor shall forward the copies of the thesis to the Controller of
Examinations through the HOD concerned with intimation to the Registrar.

23.4 The title and the certificate for Ph.D theses in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam shall be given
in the respective languages.

23.5 Along with the thesis, an abstract of the thesis not exceeding 200 words must also be
submitted.

24.0 PANEL OF EXAMINERS AND EVALUATION OF THESIS

24.1 The Doctoral Committee shall provide a panel of 10 examiners, 5 from India (outside
Tamil Nadu and also not belonging to the candidate’s state) or 5 from other
countries/other states who will be the specialist in the subject in which the candidate has
submitted the thesis. While submitting the panel of examiners, the Doctoral Committee
has to submit a one page CV highlighting the specialization and recent contributions of
the panel of examiners.

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24.2 The thesis will be evaluated by three examiners selected from the above panel. One shall
be from abroad and of the remaining two, one must be from outside

Tamil Nadu and at the same time not belonging to the State to which the

candidate belongs. The Research Supervisor will be the third examiner and shall
consolidate the examiners’ evaluation reports.

24.3 Wherever it is not possible to find a suitable examiner outside the country for some
specialized topics, another examiner within the country, but outside the state and also not
belonging to the state of the scholar, may be considered for appointment.

24.4 The examiners will adjudicate the thesis and send their evaluation reports to the
Controller of Examinations by selecting any one of the following options I to V:

I. The Thesis can be accepted for the award of the Ph.D degree in
the present form.
II. a) The thesis can be accepted for the award subject to the
incorporation of the minor corrections indicated in my report. (OR)
b) The candidate’s satisfactory clarifications at the time of viva-voce.

III. The thesis must be revised, as suggested in my report and the revised
thesis may be referred to the supervisor for verification.
IV. The thesis must be revised as suggested in my report and the revised
thesis must be resubmitted to me for evaluation again.
V. The Thesis cannot be accepted for the award of the degree and rejected.

24.5 The thesis will be accepted for the award of Ph.D degree if all the three examiners accept
it. If one of the examiners rejects the thesis, it will be sent to the fourth Examiner of the
same category and the decision of the fourth Examiner will be final.

24.6 If a revision of the thesis is sought, the candidate shall revise and resubmit it within a
period of 3 months from the date of receipt of the communication from COE.

24.7 The thesis will be sent for revaluation only to those examiner(s) who suggested revision
as per item IV in 24.4.

24.8 If revision is suggested for the second time as per item IV in 24.4 then the thesis, along
with the reports of the examiner, will be placed before the Doctoral Committee. If the
Doctoral Committee, after going through the reports and the thesis, endorses a second
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 revision, the thesis will be revised again by the candidate and will be referred to the same
examiner for re-evaluation.

If the Doctoral Committee does not endorse the second revision, the thesis without
further revision will be referred to the fourth Examiner of the same category without the
report of the examiner who has suggested for second revision. The decision of the fourth
examiner will be final.

24.9 If the revised thesis is rejected, it will be rejected once for all.

24.10 The examiners are expected to send their evaluation report within 60 days. At the
end of 30 days and 45 days reminders will be sent to the examiners by the COE.
A final reminder will be sent on 60 th day and, in the event of no response within 2 weeks
after the third reminder, alternative arrangements shall be made.

25.0 VIVA-VOCE

25.1 A candidate shall take the viva-voce examination only when the thesis has been accepted
by all the three examiners. The Viva-Voce Board shall consist of the Research Supervisor
and one of the adjudicators (Indian Examiner). The Research Supervisor shall be the
Chairperson of the Viva-Voce Board.

25.2 The viva-voce must be conducted by the Convenor within 60 days from the date of
receipt of all the three reports from the COE.

25.3 The Viva-Voce Board can recommend the award of the degree based on the candidate’s
defence of his / her thesis.

25.4 At least fifteen persons should attend the viva-voce.

25.5. In case, a candidate could not defend his/her thesis successfully in the Viva-voce board
in the first appearance, the board may recommend for reappearance within 30 days.

25.6 A candidate who is not successful in the second viva-voce also, his/her thesis will be
rejected.

25.7 Video conferencing facilities may be permitted in special cases.

25.8 Viva-Voce board should recommend the publications of the thesis either eligible or
not and indicate conditions if any.

26.0 AWARD OF DEGREE

26.1 The recommendations of the Viva-Voce Board will be placed before the Board of
Management (BoM) for approval. However, COE shall declare the result with the
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 approval of the Vice-Chancellor and issue the provisional certificate with effect from
viva-voce date.

26.2 The title of the Ph.D thesis alone will be mentioned in the provisional / degree
certificate and neither the nomenclature of the Department nor the Faculty will
find a place. However, a testimonial regarding the Department and Faculty, subject
of research and field of specialization/discipline, shall be issued separately by the
Controller of Examinations on request, based on the recommendations of the Head
of the Department and the Research Supervisor concerned.
26.3 A softcopy of the thesis incorporating all the corrections / suggestions recommended at
the time of viva-voce, if any, must be submitted to the Controller of Examinations within
15 days after the viva-voce.

27.0 PUBLICATION OF THESIS / FINDINGS

The thesis, once submitted, becomes the property of GRI. In case the research comes
under the “classified” category, it shall not be published without the approval of the
Board of Management. The Board of Management may grant permission for publishing
the results / findings on getting appropriate recommendation from the Vice-Chancellor.
Two copies of the thesis in its published form must be submitted to the office of the
Registrar.

28.0 Solving the Problems

In the event of any unforeseen problems/issues, the Vice-Chancellor’s
decision will be final.

Note:
Notwithstanding anything contained in the above pages as rules and regulations
governing the Doctoral programmes at Gandhigram Rural Institute, the Board of
Management is vested with the powers to revise them from time to time on the
recommendations of the Research Advisory Committee through the Academic Council.

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 Annexure I

1. FEE DETAILS

Cost of Applications
Sl.No. Programme Other
SC/ST*
categories
1. Ph.D.
a) in online Free of cost Rs.1,000/-
b) Foreigners
i) SAARC & Developing countries Rs.1,000/-
ii) other countries 100 US $

* on producing the number mentioned in the community certificates.

The fees for the research scholars from SAARC and developing countries will be the
same as that of the Indian candidates. However, Research Scholars from other foreign
countries have to pay four times all the fees except caution deposit levied for Indian
candidates in US $.

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 Annexure-I(1)
a) Fee Structure for Ph.D. programmes:
Arts Science
Break-up Full-time Part-time Full-time Part-time
(in Rs.) (in Rs.) (in Rs.) (in Rs.)
Per annum

Research fee 5000 10000 5000 10000

Laboratory fee --- --- 2500 2500

Library fee 500 500 500 500

Computer fee 500 500 500 500

Health care fee 100 100 100 100

Group Health Insurance 200 --- 200 ---

Calendar fee 75 75 75 75

Subscription fee 500 500 500 500

One-time payment

SMART Card 100 100 100 100

General caution deposit 2000 5000 2000 5000

Lab caution deposit --- --- 2000 2000

Library caution deposit 500 500 500 500

Co-op stores share capital 30 --- 30 ---

Other fee

Re-registration fee 7500 15000 7500 15000

Thesis Submission fee 2000 5000 10000 5000

Evaluation and Postal expenses actuals actuals actuals actuals

17
 Annexure-I(2)

b) Extension Fee

First Extension Fee (upto 6 months) : Rs.5,000/-

Second Extension Fee (7th month to 12th month) : Rs.10,000/-
Special Extension fee upto 3 months : Rs.15,000/-

c) Fee for Course Work Examination (for each paper) : Rs.1000/-

2. Late Fee

a) From those who do not pay the Research Fee within the prescribed time, the
following period-wise fine will be collected:
i) Upto one month : Rs.500/-
ii) Upto three months : Rs.2000/-

b) Late fee for delayed submission of thesis : Rs.5000/-

(beyond 6 months after the submission of Synopsis but before 9 (nine) months
or within the permissible research period whichever is earlier)

If any Research Scholar does not pay the Research Fee even beyond three
months, his / her Ph.D registration shall stand automatically cancelled and this will be
intimated to the candidate through the HOD and the Research Supervisor.

The fee may be paid through online using Debit Card or by Demand Draft in favour of
the Registrar, Gandhigram Rural Institute, Gandhigram, payable at Canara Bank, Gandhigram
(8500) or State Bank of India, Ambathurai (3373).

18
 Annexure II

Question Paper Pattern for Course Work of Ph.D.

QUESTION CODE
SEMESTER / NON-SEMESTER
Title of the Programme ( Ph.D. (Subject)
Title of the Course
(Name of the Ph.D. Scholar)
Time: 3 Hours Maximum: 100 Marks
Answer ALL Questions
5 x 20 = 100
I A.
(OR)
B.

II A.
(OR)
B.

III A.
(OR)
B.

IV A.
(OR)
B.

V A.
(OR)
B.

***

Note: Each Question may contain any no. of subdivisions with the specification of mark
distribution for each subdivision.

19
 Annexure III

THE GANDHIGRAM RURAL INSTITUTE – DEEMED UNIVERSITY

GANDHIGRAM
Six Monthly Progress Report ( to )

1.0 Name of the Candidate :

2.0 Date of Registration :

3.0 Name of the Research Supervisor :

4.0 Name of the Joint Supervisor :

5.0 Brief Report on the work carried out during the six months reference period
to (1000 words).

Supervisor’s Signature Candidate’s Signature

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 Annexure IV

FORMAT OF THE SYNOPSIS OF Ph.D.

(Cover Page)

Title of the Thesis (not exceeding 15 words)

Synopsis of the Thesis to be submitted to

The Gandhigram Rural Institute – Deemed University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the
Doctor of Philosophy

By
(Name of the candidate)

Gandhigram Rural Institute – Deemed University

Gandhigram – 624 302
Tamil Nadu
India

Month and Year

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 Annexure V

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR THESIS

Prescribed format for submission of Thesis for Ph.D programmes

i) Cover / Face Sheet

Title of the Thesis

(Title of the Thesis should be compact)

Thesis Synopsis

Submitted to
The Gandhigram Rural Institute – Deemed University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

By
Name of the candidate

Gandhigram Rural Institute – Deemed University

Gandhigram – 624 302
Tamil Nadu
India

Month and Year

22
ii) Certificate

Name of the Research Supervisor

Designation
Department / Faculty
Gandhigram Rural Institute
Gandhigram.

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Thesis titled

is the bonafide

record of the original research work carried out by

under my supervision and that it has not been

submitted elsewhere for the award of any degree / diploma.

Place: Signature of the

Date : Supervisor

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iii) Declaration
DECLARATION

I declare that the Thesis titled

is the bonafide record of the
original research work carried out by me under the guidance of
, and that it has not been submitted elsewhere for the award
of any degree / diploma.

Place :
Date : Signature of the Candidate

iv) DECLARATION AGAINST PLAGIARISM

I, , hereby declare that to the best of my
knowledge and belief, the thesis / dissertation titled
“ ” and submitted for the
degree of Ph.D to the Gandhigram rural Institute is my own work to the extent that all
sources have been properly acknowledged and the work contains no plagiarism.
Further, I submit a soft copy (PDF format in CD) and acknowledge that the above work
may be checked for data-matching and if found to be plagiarized of any part I may be
subjected to any disciplinary action including to either rejection of the work or
cancellation of the registration from the entire programme of the study.

Date : Signature

Counter Signature of the Research supervisor/Guide.

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v) Acknowledgement
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The thesis shall carry an acknowledgement of not more than two pages,
wherein the candidate shall thank the Supervisor, the Institute specifying the
department and the Faculty, other persons / institutions who helped him/her
academically and those who helped him/her non-academically in the course of
the study and in the preparation of the thesis. Thanking the typist / Xerox
company and others should be avoided.

Place :
Date : Signature of the Candidate

vi) Contents
CONTENTS
The contents shall list the chapters of the thesis and the bibliography in
their order along with the numbers of the first pages. In the case of the thesis,
wherein chapters are subdivided into distinct sections, the sectional subdivisions
may also be listed in their order with the numbers of their first page under each
subdivision. The Appendix may be listed in their order after bibliography.

25
vii) List of Symbols & Abbreviation
The symbols and abbreviations used in the thesis wherever applicable shall be
listed with their explanation / expansion.

viii) List of Tables

The tables shall be listed in the contents with their respective page numbers.
Within the body of the thesis, the figures should have captions with explanations
for the symbols used therein

ix) List of Figures

The figures shall be listed in the content with their respective page numbers.
Within the body of the thesis the table should have self explanatory captions.

x) Abstract
ABSTRACT
The abstract of the Dissertation / Thesis shall not exceed two pages (a soft

copy of the same in a CD should be handed over to the Office of the Controller of

Examinations).

xi) Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY

List of publications, journals, monographs, books etc.

List of publications out of this work.

26
xii) Other specifications to be followed for thesis

Paper : A4 size Bond paper (any brand)

Font size : 10 to 14
Font type : Times New Roman / Gothic
Line Spacing : 1.5 space (or 2 spaces)
Top margin : 0.75 inch
Bottom margin : 1 inch (with page no. at the centre) Left
margin : 1.5 inch
Right margin : 0.75 inch

xiii) General Conditions

I. The thesis shall be presented in A4 size paper of the bond variety because it is
an important document to be preserved.
II. The maximum number of pages of a Ph.D. thesis excluding the
bibliography and the appendices (i.e. from page one to the last page of the text
only of the thesis) shall not exceed 300.
III. Xerox copies can be made from the original script. Copies of the Ph.D
thesis should be with calico binding using flexible white boards.
IV. Five copies of the Ph.D. thesis along with a CD containing the full thesis are
to be submitted to the Department/Faculty concerned through the Research
Supervisor. The Head of the Department will immediately forward the copies
of the thesis to the Controller of Examinations.
V. No insertion of “dedication” is allowed in the dissertation.

xiv) Format of the Synopsis

The synopsis of the thesis should be typed as specified in (xi) and should strictly
follow the conditions given below:

i) A4 size bond paper.

ii) The synopsis must contain a minimum of 6 pages and must not exceed 10
pages.
iii) 11 copies of the synopsis must be submitted to the Controller’s office,
through Proper Channel.
iv) The cover must be in white board with calico binding.
v) The title of the synopsis and the thesis should be the same.
********

27
 THE GANDHIGRAM RURAL

INSTITUTE-DEEMED UNIVERSITY

Ph.D REGULATION

From JANUARY 2017 SESSION

28