Recruitment Special GATE CONNECT

by Pritha Roy Choudhury The lesson plan is aligned in accordance with the
AICTE mandate in such a manner that it will very

A
re you looking for a dream job which not
only pays you well, but takes care of your
well prepare a student to appear for any
family as well? Try your luck in one of the competitive examination like the GATE
public sector undertakings (PSUs), just as
Divyanshu Jha did through the Graduate Aptitude
Dr. Nalin Behari Dev Choudhury,
Dean, Department of Electrical Engineering, NIT, Silchar
Test in Engineering (GATE). “Basically for any
engineer, PSUs offer the best field to work in the
technical area, the core area. They provide you the to move from E-0 (entry level) to E-1 in Mineral
platform to apply what you have learnt in the core Exploration Corporation Ltd., whereas it takes two
subjects. So, get an entry to a PSU through GATE. years to move from E-1 to E-2 level. In most of the
And that was why I decided to appear for GATE,” PSUs, career growth is based on an individual’s
says Jha, who did B.Tech (Mechanical) from Delhi performance and contribution to the common goal
Technology University in 2016. Jha cracked GATE for a sustained period. Seniority also plays a role in
in 2017 and got appointed as Executive Trainee in promotions and assured career growth. Incentives
GAIL (India) Ltd., an integrated energy PSU in the are also given from time to time in accordance with
hydrocarbon sector, in the same year. one’s performance.
PSU is a government-owned entity in which the
central government has more than 51 percent of Remuneration
share. PSUs are divided into Maharatna, Navratna Almost all PSUs offer very good salary packages,

ONGC
and Miniratna categories, based on their turnover though the quantum may vary depending on the
and performance. There are at least 257 operating profitability of the PSU. At IOCL, an entry-level

PSUs: A preferred
PSUs, out of which eight are Maharatnas (ONGC, for at least three years, failing which they will have job in ‘Grade A’ fetches a pay scale of Rs. 23,000 to
IOCL, GAIL, NTPC, BHEL, BEML, Coal India to pay the penalty of Rs. 3 lakhs. Rs. 46,500. At ONGC, the pay scale for an engineer
Ltd and SAIL). at E1 level is Rs. 24,900 to Rs. 50,500. Besides the

destination for
Scope for skill enhancement basic pay, the employees are also eligible for Dear-
PSU jobs through GATE The scope to enhance one’s skill is immense in the ness Allowance at variable rates, housing allow-
If you are a final year engineering student, you PSUs. In IOCL, employees are regularly engaged in ance plus healthcare facilities for immediate family

engineers
should prepare for GATE as at least 50 PSUs various in-house training programs to boost their members. “At an entry level, one gets around Rs.
recruit through the same for entry-level jobs that performance. In BHEL, each employee is given 15 14 lakhs per annum,” says Jha, “PSUs have a good
require an undergraduate degree in engineering. days of training on an average every year to upgrade remuneration; they have a good work life balance.
Around 10 lakh candidates appear for GATE every himself. ONGC also provides in-house trainings for They also have healthcare facilities for the employ-
year. More than 2,000 vacancies were filled up its employees. ONGC has set up centres of learning ees,” he added.
through GATE 2017, with BSNL topping the list As uncertainties loom large on the job and research in each of its locations. The company
with 2510 jobs. National Highway Authority of markets, more and more engineering also provides world-class learning opportunities to Grooming for GATE
India recruited 25 engineers while NLC and Power executives at all levels, beginning with induction The course curriculum at the Indian Institutes of
Grid Corporation of India took in more than 100 graduates are eyeing jobs in public sector training for new recruits, refresher trainings to mid- Technology and the National Institutes of Tech-
engineers each.
However, if you are not looking for a job and have
undertakings (PSUs) that offer stability and dle and senior level executives in technical, techno-
managerial and managerial domains.
nology has specific components that prepare the
students for various competitive exams like GATE.
set your eyes for higher studies, GATE score comes assured career progression… “The lesson plan is aligned in accordance with the
in handy. GATE is mandatory for admission as well Career progression AICTE mandate in such a manner that it will very
as for financial assistance to M.Tech and direct advertised. Their application will be considered Career progression in a PSU may not be as fast well prepare a student to appear for any competitive
Doctoral programmes in engineering or technology only if they have appeared in the GATE and quali- as in the private sector. However, career progres- examination like the GATE. The course is aligned
or architecture and also doctoral programmes in fied the same,” says Deepak Sinha, who retired as sion is assured as all PSUs have well laid-out HR such that by attending the classes and appearing in
relevant branches of science. senior HR professional from IOCL, India’s largest policies in place. For example, it takes three years the tests, the students should be able to crack the
oil refiner. exam,” says Dr. Nalin Behari Dev Choudhury, Dean,
Recruitment method The final merit list is prepared on the basis of can- Divyanshu Jha, Department of Electrical Engineering, National
PSUs usually adopt a three-tier process for recruit- didate’s GATE score and his performance in GD, Executive Trainee, GAIL (India) Ltd., Alumnus, Delhi Technology University Institute of Technology, Silchar.
ment. The first requirement, of course, is a good GT and PI. These rounds may vary from one PSU As jobs become scarce and competition gets
GATE score. Based on the GATE score, candidates to another, though the basic methodology remains Basically, for any engineer, PSUs offer the best tougher, Shubham Verma, who did a 5-year inte-
are called for Group Discussion (GD). The next the same. field to work in the technical area, the core area. grated M.Tech from Gautam Buddha University,
round is Group Task (GT)) and finally the Per- Some of the PSUs insist on a service bond, which They provide you the platform to apply what you sums up what other GATE 2019 aspirants also feel.
sonal Interview (PI). “The Maharatna PSUs recruit the selected candidates need to sign on the date of “I always wanted to get through in one of the PSUs.
through GATE exams. In order to be selected, the joining. For example, IOCL’s service bond stipu- have learnt in the core subjects. So, get an entry There is stability, job security and one gets paid well
candidates need to apply for a post which has been lates that new recruits have to serve the company to a PSU through GATE at an initial stage,” says Shubham.

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